Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is close to my heart as I hosted last summer amazing stonework buildings in my area. Today, I am highlighting some of those favorite photos. Hope you enjoy.
Massive building built with red granite stone First Presbyterian Church – 1833Carnegie Libraries, Moline & Rock IslandRock Island County Office BuildingVarious fun Building Attributes
As you look around at the buildings in your area, or buildings you come across in your travels, think on the love and vision of the builders and designers. Some are truly amazing.
And as always, I remind you of the building of kindness. It can be the strongest building you ever build.
Welcome to my ongoing post of beautiful old architecture. If you know of wonderful old buildings with interesting architecture, post them here. I would love to see them and the only criteria is brick, stone or mortar and of course concrete but we are focusing on older buildings instead of the mega concrete structures of today with modern straight lines. The architectures of yesteryear would cost a fortune to replicate today so I share them to show their beauty that I feel we should appreciate. So, welcome to Amazing Stonework. Link up and share what you see.
Today we are focusing on another church, Trinity Episcopal. Churches seem to always have ornate architecture, and amazing stained glass windows. And if you think about it, most older churches follow this pattern where the newer churches are straighter lines with colored glass instead of pictured stained glass. If you are a bible reader are at all, you will remember that in Exodus 35, God told Moses how to build the Tabernacle, with gold, silver and precious stones in honor of Him, so we still try to honor that today, many years later.
I was not able to find a date anywhere on the outside of the building like some have had, but it does have the bronze plaque from the National Register of Historical Places.
This particular church seems to have had several additions and you can tell the era of each by its architecture. Today I am focusing mostly on the original building and its two main entrances; one that faces the busy road and one that faces a small inadequate parking lot. On Sundays, the road and the parking lot on the opposite end are mostly used. This church also has the typical red door of legendary safety. I do apologize for the pictures being a bit crooked. The terrain was not level and I was a bit precarious on some pictures as I tried getting on the grass to get good shots.
With the many interesting shaped windows, I want to tap in with Ludwig and his Monday Windows Blog. Check it out for some interesting views of windows. All of the windows of the original building had this tall arched look to them, even when they were smaller, and all are stained glass.
The shape of the building was also interesting with turrets and sections of the building jutting out like in that last picture. The side door off of the little parking lot was a turret and that entire section of the building was surrounded by huge hardwoods.
The side view shows better and those clover shaped holes are wire messed grills so I am not sure of the purpose for this structure.
From this side view, you also have the side view of the huge steeple. This steeple tower is also a chimes that goes off every hour with a chime for each hour.
The last bump out section of the original building is actually part of the sanctuary. With beautiful stained glass windows and dark oak woodwork on the inside that accentuates the interior.
And the last photo is something I don’t seen much anywhere, decorative metal work along the top line of the roof; maybe its tied to a lightning rod or it may just be decorative.
I hope you enjoyed this walk around with me. I have been inside this church and the sanctuary is stunning but the rest of the church can easily get you lost with all the extra additions. Growth is a good problem to have sometimes.
As you walk about enjoying the things you like to do, remember to always be kind. Kindness makes any situation you face look good.
Welcome to my ongoing post of beautiful old architecture. If you know of wonderful old buildings with interesting architecture, post them here. I would love to see them and the only criteria is brick, stone or mortar and of course concrete but we are focusing on older buildings instead of the mega concrete structures of today with modern straight lines. The architectures of yesteryear would cost a fortune to replicate today so I share them to show their beauty that I feel we should appreciate. So, welcome to Amazing Stonework. Link up and share what you see.
Today’s post is a bit of this and a bit of that instead of a single building. Some buildings only have one little feature that sparks my interest so this is a shout out to the many building that showoff their minimal creativity. Some are intricate designs around a column, or a window or along the roof line. So enjoy these photos. All buildings(except 1) were built in the late 1800 era and have some of the same flavor as other building I have posted.
Not 1800s
This building was not of the older era but they tried to mimic the architecture of that era. I thought this concrete casting quite interesting so I am including it in this “details” posting of interesting parts of buildings.
The is the corner monument is for the building for the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Davenport.
“The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international non-profit organization uniting fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness and hope.“
These are three different types of rooflines that I thought interesting enough to share here. I fully realize this is not everyone interest but this middle picture with its “ship port” type windows faces the Mississippi River for viewing or at least bringing in the light.
Watch towers and bell towers are prominent all along the river.
Then in closing is the tallest lookout tower but instead of the tower, I took pictures of the huge winged dragon type creatures that are on the four sides of the tower that sit on the top roof six floors high. The tower itself is another two or three floors high and this building was probably in the middle of the town when it was built.
This Amazing Stonework post is created for us to share the beauty of old buildings. As we all go through life, remember we are always building something – whether it be tangible or intangible and with each thing we build, let us build more bridges of kindness than walls of coldness.
Good morning. I bring to you another church in the Quadcities area between Iowa and Illinois. This church, on the Illinois side, seems to be one of the older churches from the late 1800s. If you know of wonderful old buildings with interesting architecture, post them here. I would love to see them and the only criteria is brick, stone or mortar and of course concrete but we are focusing on older buildings instead of the mega concrete structures of today with modern straight lines. The architectures of yesteryear would cost a fortune to replicate today so I share them to show their beauty that I feel we should appreciate. So, welcome to Amazing Stonework. Link up and share what you see.
This church is made of stone block with a central bell tower that is still quite stunning and well cared for. Again we are seeing rounded corners, angled walls and interesting small turrets with spires and other architectural details.
First African (D) Methodist Episcopal Church, 1889
I could not find a reference as to what the D stands for. If you know please let me know. This church’s very impressive bell tower is next to the main entrance that has a door that is painted red. Most Episcopal church have a red doors and the legend comes from England during the Middle Ages noting that the church was a safe sanctuary to come to for protection.
The window designs vary from pointed arches, rounded arches and a few are square. While I could see their colors from the inside you could see their intricate details from the outside.
I want to tie in with Ludwig’s post of Monday Window as his challenge highlights the beauty of windows. Churches have many windows that reflect the light from the sun by sprinkling colors inside of the building. This particular church has many windows and most of them are stained glass.
Look around you area with fresh eyes and see the beauty in older buildings. Oh, the stories they could tell.
I close with reminding you of the value of kindness. In this hurry-up world we often go to fast and forget how to be kind. It’s a simple gesture that has astounding benefits not only for the receiver but also for the giver.
Its time for my weekly post of Amazing Stonework. A post where I showcase old buildings of interesting architecture that you probably could not afford to build today. If you have interesting buildings that you enjoy seeing, link them here to this post and share the beauty of yesteryear with us with other Amazing Stoneworks. The only real criteria is brick, stone or mortar. Join in on the fun.
I am always amazed with the lives of churches. My church for instance, changed it’s name over its nearly 200 years of life but it has remained a Baptist Church. Some churches change entirely but we really are the same if all share the love of God, we just do it a little differently. One day it will all be one.
Today’s church is a old one and according to the concrete marker out front it started as a Lutheran Church in 1856.
EV. LUTH. Immanuels KIRCHE U. A. C. 1856 1896
I was not familiar with what a Kirche UAC was so I looked it up. This was an orthodox Lutheran Church holding to the teachings of the Unaltered Augusburg Confession (UAC). They combined parts of the Protestantism and Roman Catholicism beliefs.
Today this church is The Grace City Church but I am not sure which doctrine they follow. It is a striking building with many spires reaching to heaven and still very much in use.
The Grace City Church
The artistic details in the brick work are truly amazing and run all along the tops of the walls on all faces of the church. Every corner or point toward the front is topped with a spire of some sort. The back of the church had an hexagon shape to it with more of the intricate brick work and arched windows.
Both sides of the church have beautiful arched windows with detailed brick around them and concrete sills.
The area I live in is rich in history as it is divided by the Mississippi – Iowa on one side and Illinois on the other, but I am amazed at the number of wonderful buildings of the mid to late 1800s that are still standing and being used. So much of our modern mentality is tear it all down and start new with bigger and better. Not only do we miss out on the beauty of the architecture, but the heritage and history as well. If older buildings are maintained, they can be preserved for generations.
Show us the beauty of what you see and remember to always be kind. Kindness is a gift we must preserve for many generations to come. Its how we were meant to do.
Good morning friends. If you are in the USA, I hope you are having a good holiday. If you were in the path of Ida, my prayers go out to you. Nature can at times be a truly unimaginable beast.
I did not make a post on Amazing Stonework buildings last week as weather was not camera outside weather. As a matter of fact, it cleared a bit on Friday when I was finally able to take these pictures of the First Presbyterian Church of Davenport. Another beautiful made of that colorful red granite.
While this church was started in 1833, the location and style more match that this structure was built late 1800s or early 1900s.
As with some of the other churches from this Hill Top area, it was hard to get far away enough from the building itself to get a full view of the building so there are several picture of the more amazing features.
This is the main front of the building with two entrances. The main one under the portico and then a second one with stairs to the far right. Notice the beautiful curved wall below the three stained glass windows.
In this wall are beautiful stained glass windows as well. You also can see the beauty of the granite from this shot with each block being placed to show off its individual color and details.
The second door into the church has a lovely archway that is delicately detailed.
Check out the cross at the top eve, the details along the eve and around the arch and the leaf details at the bottom side of the arch
There are several turrets on this building showing their own style of artistry.
This one is on the west side and has a pointed roof with octagonal type shape. Its windows and stone structures around them show the beauty of craftsmanship of the era.
The two on the east side are more rounded in shape but still show the beauty and details in the stone.
Check out the windows on them as well. But my favorite windows for this church are between these two turrets. The windows, the stone color, the details of the columns surrounding the windows are all stunning.
Truly beautiful from the onside as well.
With the beauty of the windows of this building, I have to tie in with Ludwig’s Monday Windows. Make sure you review the other post on Ludwig page for their windows – the plane with which we review our worlds. They are quite interesting and amazing. I also remind you to share the beauty of old stone buildings with us here on Amazing Stonework. They can be brick, mortar or stone. My goal is to share the beauty of architecture of old that we don’t really have with our modern structures. Come share what you see here.
And in closing, I remined you always to be kind. Kindness is an attribute that can last a long time, like these amazing buildings. Be amazingly kind.
Today’s building was an accidental find. I was looking for the QC Coffee & Pancake House and this was across the street. All the buildings in this area seem to be from the late 1800s matching styles of dated buildings but I found no date on this building. While the building itself is interesting by shape, the details on the building are fascinating. I asked someone if the features were carved wood but he said they were probably concrete. I question that as one of the pictures with chipped paint looks like wood but regardless, they are awesome, so there are lots of detail photos for today.
This area of the midwest, back in the 1700s, was owned by right of birth by the Sauk Indians, and their chief was Black Hawk. This building honors the Indians with its design as does much of the area. While not wanting to get into the horrors’ of what all they went through, I do want to share with you the design of this building which is now a dinner theater. Theaters built in the late 1800s and early 1900s show artist flair with their design and this one is no exception.
Rock Island Dinner Theater
The building is brick with masonry windows and artist details. I thought it is interesting how the corner was rounded including the window. With all the windows, I have to tie in with Ludwig’s Monday Window.
The window in the corner has a likeness of Black Hawk above it. The window itself is metal with a iron grill.
Corner Window with Black Hawk
The details above the curved window closer to the roof line showed more artistic details, even in the brick work.
Here is a closer closer look at the side details. Not sure if this is true representation of the Sauk tribe, but still intriguing.
The door into the theater was pretty plain but the windows above the marquee were very detailed.
Windows above the marquee
The carvings above each window show columns and more intricate details.
The the last photo is of the roofline above the marquee.
Roof line above
I hope you enjoyed this walk through the beauty of this building. Many older building have fascinating stories they could tell if only we stop long enough to listen. And in closing, I remind you to be kind. Kindness is a gift we do not share often enough.
Yes, I am behind schedule. Its been one of those weeks. But I have a beautiful building for you today, built in 1904, out of porphyritic granite. After doing my granite research and verifying the many colors ranging from white to black, I believe this to be Dakota Mahogany, from Milbank, South Dakota. This granite bed is 2.6-2.7 billions years old and that in itself is amazing. This being Iowa, that makes more logic sense that the granite on the east coast, but I am no expert.
The building is still used as a high school and will soon be crawling with teenagers. As I pass by it going home from work, I see the marching band is already practicing, getting ready for football games. Football means fall and I am more than ready to be rid of this 90 degree heat.
In reviewing a lot of the columns you see on buildings today, you see them polished and shinny but these they left in their natural block form that was ground into rounded shapes where they came out from the building. You can see the individual blocks and enjoy their wide variety of color.
But when you look close, you can see the cuts in the stone where they shaped the columns plus making their colors more prominent. Even the feet of the columns are cut and sanded into shape.
Above the doorways on the east and west sides of the building are beautiful arched windows with a masonry balcony above them that has interesting metal grillwork. Here I want to tie in with Monday Window and Ludwig’s challenge of beautiful windows for these are indeed striking.
The north side door is not as artistic but still amazing to look at with scroll work and stone columns at the roofline.
The south side of the building is where the school has expanded down through the next block making a quite large school. And while the extension is made of brick, it just doesn’t have the artistic heart of the older building. So I remind all to look at older buildings with a different eye and see the beauty of architects of old. You could not afford to build buildings of this artistry today. So I remind you before destroying an older building, check to see if there is any soundness left to the structure and if so, find a use for it and let its beauty remain among us.
In closing I remind you of always being kind. Kindness can open doors thought to be closed and let light in through windows once thought dark.
Good afternoon friends. Today’s building is quite beautiful but I am not sure what the column material is – red marble or red granite. I may do the high school next week because even the blocks seem to be out of the same material where today’s building is brick and concrete with the red columns.
The Rock Island County office building has beautiful details of concrete that show off the brick around the building. You can see the edge here in this picture, delicate details in concrete. I find it amazing.
The front door is surrounded by massive columns, and a large archway open through the concrete columns above.
The inner area inside the columns show intricate details on all edges and levels. The ax, gavel, and greenery with ribbon are interesting.
The corners of the building each have a detailed roof design with what I am assuming may have some copper metal somewhere due to the greenness, or just painted that color. But the concrete design in the block panels are similar to what we have been seeing in other building of that time.
Thank you for coming to read about the old stone buildings in my area. If you have them in your area, feel free to share them with us here. And as always remember to be kind. Kindness shows inner power, strength and beauty.
I have enjoyed sharing the amazing buildings in my area that are considered old. Most are still very much in use but all show incredible artistry of that day. Today’s post is close to my heart as it is my home church, First Baptist Church of Davenport, Iowa.
This church, built in 1889, was originally named Calvary Baptist but later became know as First Baptist. It is a building built with brick, carved stone and decorative concrete. One of the interesting features to me is the building corners which are not sharp corners but rounded. The steeple used to sit atop the squared off section above the door but a tornado came through in the 50s and sent the steeple through the roof – on top of the pipes for the organ. Yeah, those had to be replaced but they make a beautiful sound today.
As with most churches there are many beautiful windows but I am partial to these not only because of the beautiful stained glass but the way the stone, brick and concrete highlight their beauty.
In more modern years, an extra window of glass was added to preserve and protect the original windows. the heavy wooden doors also have a stained glass window above them.
The windows on the side that are the adult classrooms are a favorite of mine due to the large decorative concrete panels.
The full side of the building…
This is amazing artistry when you think about construction that was nearly 130 years ago. Even the far side wall has a little artistry to it as the wall is curved instead of a straight and features glass blocks in the windows.
Since I am including a lot of window pictures here, I want to tie in with Ludwig’s Monday Windows. Windows are an opening that allow light to shine through. And we as Christians need to be windows to allow the love of Christ to shine in and through us.
Look around your area and see the beauty of architecture from long ago. It can be quite amazing when you really look. And as always, remember to be kind. Kindness radiates as bright as any window and shows a beauty beyond compare.
For the Love of 