Buildings of Philadelphia

In any city with history, you have wonderful architecture from major craftsmen and artists. This beauty can not be reproduced for several reasons, such as cost, but mostly because of the lost craftsmanship of a gone-by era. While modern-day architecture is a marvel to look at, there are no longer amazing artisans who make imbedded statues within the walls of a building.

Philadelphia has many beautiful older buildings and I will share a few of those with you today. This is the front and side of City Hall.

Check out the closeup of this amazing artwork that I presume to be stone.

We expect churches to be amazing on the inside but some wonderful structures from the early 19th century and later are striking on the outside.

The Masonic Temple entrance had intricate arched layers as it came down to its arched door.

Along with churches, the Christ Church Cemetery had monuments of artesian flair.

You have to be of a certain age to get a chuckle and be amazed by this building’s stained glass masterpiece. I chuckled with fond memories of the TV commercials when I was a kid.

If the window does not ring a bell, it is the RCA music mascot, Nipper. Since I have always been an animal lover, of course, I would remember Nipper. This building is now apartments and shops.

A must-see if you go to Philadelphia is Elfreth Ally. It’s the oldest neighborhood in the entire country still being used as it was first built. They are still homes plus a museum giving history information of the ally.

A photo contrasting the buildings of 1700 and today…

I close with a smattering of photos taken at random as we walked the streets of Philadelphia. The last day was misty rain but the beauty of this place could still be seen.

One last string of photos – if you go to Philly, you have to visit Reading Terminal. Shop after shop of amazing food.

Well, the Philly trip is done, I hope you had fun looking through my picture fun. Don’t forget that wherever you may travel, always be kind. When you are kind, kindness will be returned.

Fun With Paint

I am by no stretch an artist and thank goodness art critiques are in the eye of the beholder. My daughter thinks my style is Clampet tacky but you would not get that reference unless you were of a certain age here in the US.

This spring and early summer we had several storms of high winds that played havoc on my plastic lattice fence, breaking it in a couple of places. Since the support beams were still in place, I bought the fence planks and a dear friend installed them for me. I choose an not straight line with the thought that then no one can accuse you of your fence not being straight. This caused more eye rolling from my daughter.

Not it is my time to play. Last week I got the base coat painted on one side.

Since I love my flowers, I decided to paint meadow and flower scenes on the fence. Now I can have flowers even when it snows. The cool thing about that is, if you don’t like it, just paint over it. This morning before it got too warm, I painted the meadow grass and one test flower panel…we will see if it stays.

I think I need to come back with the darker green for all of the lower boards. But it’s a work in progress. I am of the opinion that if you enjoy an activity, and that activity hurts no one, (you can choose to not look at my fence), then you should enjoy your activity. Life is too short to not enjoy what you do.

I close with a reminder of being kind. Kindness is a secret power that can heal many a broken heart.

Have a great day and always be kind.

Thursday Doors & Tour

The architecture tour from Tuesday through the older buildings of Davenport, Iowa, had many amazing doors, but I think my favorite one was once the First National Bank building which now houses the US Bank Center. It very much fits with the Thursday Doors prompt.

The bank was built in 1924, this year marks its 100th birthday. Smith and Childs, an architectural firm from Chicago, and architect O.H. Breidert, designed this beautiful building. While it is still a full use bank, it also displays a section of the history of the area with photographs and historical information. But its brass door…

Inside the archway of the door are raised sculptures reflecting the Renaissance Revival period.

Here is a closeup of one of the figures. Amazing detail.

When you first enter the entrance alcove of the bank, there is a wall display on marble slabs of important people from the area, from Chief Blackhawk to Bix Beiderbecke.

When you go into the main lobby of the bank, the ceiling may make you forget what century we now live in.

Check out these closeup details of the ceiling.

I find it heart breaking that this era of design is no longer affordable to build plus not having the artistic skill with stone they had back then. So enjoy your older buildings while they are still around and appreciate the talent it took to create them. Don’t get me wrong, the architectural talent we have today is just as amazing, it just doesn’t have that artistic flare that I love.

In closing, I remind you of the value of kindness in all that you do. Your gentle smile may be just the thing that a hurting person needs to carry on with the day.

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.

FOTD, January 4

I thought I would share some “Not Flowers” flowers from my trip to Vegas. At the Bellagio, they have a Conservatory & Garden made totally out of dry flowers. It was amazing so I will share those for my Flower of the day.

As you first walk in the lobby area, the ceiling is covered with glass flowers that look like they are floating like balloons.

Then the archway going into the conservatory is bordered with 20 foot tall sunflowers (compare by the huge doorway, column and arch ceiling). Since I had huge sunflowers myself in my yard, I was not surprised by this but the flowers themselves are decidedly larger and all made from dried flowers and grasses.

The mushroom fairy houses of this magical land were fabulous. This is where you could get close enough to see the individual flowers.

And of course you can’t have a mystical forest without a mystical moon…

…with a very large owl.

I hope you enjoyed a walk through the “Not Flower” garden. Remember, all flowers are beautiful, even those that are not flowers. Let their designed beauty and their radiating kindness bring a smile to your face.

Always Be Kind!

Amazing Stonework, 9/28

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.

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.

Amazing Stonework, September 6

***Share the beauty of old buildings with me here!***

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.

Amazing Stonework, August 24

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.

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.

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.

The carvings above each window show columns and more intricate details.

The the last photo is of the roofline above the marquee.

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.