New York Public Library

Someone asked us before we left for New York City, what did we plan to do. One of the main things we wanted to see was the Public Library. This person could not understand why a library. Besides there being a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the library is also a museum of printed works. Plus the building was fabulous. During my early career, I was a drafting designer, before we had computers to do that for us. We drew with pencils while standing up to a huge drawing board. How technology has changed but the beauty of the buildings in NYC from the 1800s is still something to see. So, if you never get a chance to see this library, I hope you enjoy this long post of things that I marveled at in a building of books. I took over 50 pictures in this one building but I promise I won’t post them all.

The Library has been guarded on either side by massive lion statues, named Patience and Fortitude since the library dedication on May 23, 1911.

On either side of the entrance are fountains. It is February so they are not running but still beautiful.

Once we got inside I was amazed at the ceilings of marble, mosaics, and inlayed wood.

And the marble columns with their beautiful patterns were striking, but then again I am a design nerd.

Now for some printed inspiration. Having a quasi interesting in writing myself, these ancient works give you quiet pause.

I tried to figure out where in the bible this was but couldn’t. But regardless, the very first printing of a book as we know it today, in 1455, was a Bible.

There is a book of Shakespeare’s works and a score of Mozart’s Music.

Then coming to a more modern era and closer to home, there are copies of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and letters of Washington’s Farewell address, and the book showing the beauty of birds by John Audubon.

And on a softer whimsical note, there is a constant audio playing of the reading of Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie is a good place to stop and remind us of the power and beauty of kindness that should always be displayed to man and beast alike. Where in the world would we be without kindness. May we never find out.

A few other pictures taken are below.

Grand Central Station

I think it is fitting that I start my ‘tour’ of New York City for you with Grand Central Station, a huge hub of transportation for the entire area. My pictures do not really do it justice so, for more amazing views with a real camera and wide-angle lens, go to the web to get the panoramic shots. But this will give you a taste.

The original train station was designed by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1871. There were several reconstruction projects after that due to rapid growth and in 1897 it reached its capacity again serving 11.5 million passengers a year. In 1913 it was redesigned by Stem & Warren and Warren & Westmore to its current view. Today a train stops every 58 seconds with 1,200 people getting on or off and there are over 100 tracks. Then of course you have the subway lines and the bus lines. It’s a very busy place.

But this is not just a transportation station, while we did not go there, there is a dining area that goes from fast food to elegant food. My favorite part was of course the architecture and the famous ceiling with the zodiac star path on an aqua-blue background.

The architecture outside of the world’s largest Tiffany Clock is a true wonder to see.

Below are some of the other shots I took that you may enjoy. Make sure if you visit New York that you visit Grand Central Station.

It is encouraging, and sad at the same time, that we have to have military guys with the big guns to assure everyone is safe…or behaves.

All through the magnificent buildings in New York that were built in the 1800s, their architecture designs are amazing and made with granite and marble. All through this journey of my trip, I will share the intricate designs that the new architecture does not have. The have a different type of beauty that is wonderful to see, just different.

I will say this, as I have lived in a major city and understand how the people can sometimes be. The people in New York, the resident that we encountered, were amazingly kind and considerate. So, it shows that it doesn’t matter how big or small you town may be, you can always be kind.

Monday Windows, July 4, Non-Square

I have always loved interesting shaped windows or architecture around windows. Monday Windows gives us the opportunity to share the beauty we see with windows.

Older architecture has always fascinated me. When I went to San Francisco earlier this year I loved the windows I saw.

Then closer to home we have some more interesting architecture and non-square windows.

And last but not least, we have many beautiful church windows. This is just a sampling.

Just as our eyes are the windows to what is deep inside of us, windows on a building have the same correlation. From the outside, you can guess the beauty from within but when inside, and God’s light is shining through them, the true beauty is seen in any building.

And remember that inner light can reflect our kindness from within – whether it be a person or a building. So, remember to always be kind.

Fun on the River, Part 2

If you read my post yesterday, you will remember I promised more interesting pictures today. When I was young I grew up on the rivers of Florida and saw wonderful wildlife and interesting plant life. The Mississippi River is a much larger river and throws out a different kind of beauty. The people who founded the Quad Cities area, recognized this beauty and built amazing homes along the river. Today I want to share a few of those homes. While I don’t have history on a lot of them, the few I do have, knowing these home are now close to or over 100 years old makes them more interesting. For instance…

This house, built in the late 1800s is now a museum on the Rock Island Arsenal. It was built by a high-ranking military official…and the second one he built. I don’t remember on what military grounds they said he built the first one, but the government was not happy about it and took it away from him. They transferred him here where he proceeded to build another one. They tried to take him to court and fine him but he died before that could happen. The reason for their unhappiness…it was almost the size and opulence of the White House, where the President lives.

Another beautiful home along the river was built in 1855 by Antione LeClair, one of the founding fathers of Davenport, Iowa. I believe it is also a museum.

Below are other interesting home built along this section of the river. Some are more modern but still in the early 1900s.

This one below was one of my favorites, not because of it size but the design. I love the Victorian turrets.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of the fun I had. Tomorrow I will share the pictures of the bridges and the lock and dam. Until then be safe and be kind.

Sunday Stills: Churches

I have long been a fan of older church architecture, so I have to chime in with a few of my favorite details I thought interesting of churches in the Quad City Area.

Sunday Stills: #Sacred Spaces — Churches, Temples and Spiritual Centers

First Presbyterian Church

Grace City Church

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Interesting details from several churches

As we study the buildings of a designer’s vision, let’s appreciate their beauty and marvel at their construction, especially those built long ago and are still being used.

And in all things remember to be kind. Kindness has a beauty that outshines many other things.

CFFC: Buildings

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 – 1833

Carnegie Libraries, Moline & Rock Island

***Rock Island County Office Building***

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.

Amazing Stonework, 10/13

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.

Amazing Stonework, 9/28

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.

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.

ALWAYS BE KIND

Amazing Stonework, 9-21

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.

Amazing Stonework, Sept. 13

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 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.