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.

Beauty of Wildlife in the City

I live in an area that is considered an island but you don’t notice it as bridges are everywhere and it is engulfed in a conglomerate of four cities grown together as one city, the Quad Cities of Iowa/Illinois; two cities each on opposite sides of the Mississippi. Davenport is the major city.

Quadcity — Davenport, green; Bettendorf, yellow; Rock Island, red; Moline, blue

Rock Island has a small forest which is named after Black Hawk, a tribe leader of the Sauk Indian tribes that originated from this area and that forest is on the backside of my subdivision. So we see a lot of deer that have no real fear of man as long as we keep our distance. When I first moved here from Alabama, the rental house was located on the other side of the forest and my house actually backed up to that forest. The deer slept in my backyard and it amazed me when we went came in at night, they would just raise their heads and look at us before going back to sleep.

This morning I noticed Mimi become very interested in what was outside. I can tell from her stance if it is wildlife or human…or squirrels. The worst offenders are the mailman and the squirrels.

As I go to the window I saw a fawn. It was several months old as you could barely make out its spots but still way too young to be with out it’s mom. I watched it as it slowly walked down the side of the road munching on grass but saw no signs of mom. As the doe got to the next driveway, I ran to my bedroom to get a better look from those windows and there was mom, on the other side of the trees. It was neat to watch them. Mom was too hidden for a decent shot.

I lived on 3.5 acres of open land in Alabama and didn’t see as much wildlife as I do here. I will have to tell you a funny story about raccoons and Mimi one day. Too funny.

Hope you enjoy your Saturday. Smile and remember to be kind to man and beast alike.

kind22

Reflecting Back on History

Man has the arrogant attitude that he is superior to all beings because he can communicate and analyze situations. I question that theory as all things were created by God and God doesn’t make mistakes…and the animals were created first. Hmm, ever thought of that? Just because we can not communicate with the animal kingdom, does that mean they don’t communicate. Watching Animal Planet on TV tells you that the animal kingdom is more complex than ever first imagined.

Eden was the beautiful place God created for beast and man, along himself, to enjoy and thrive in. Then when he created man in His likeness and gave him free will, things began to change. In theory, as Adam looked around Eden and saw how magnificent it was, that should have been enough, right? No, but that snake of a fellow, with his lies and twists on words ruined it for all creation and he has been using those same tactics on man ever since for further destruction of this world.

Humans

I bring this up due to a painting on a building that is downtown. A reminder of the cruelty of man since the beginning or rather since the banning of Eden. I won’t open this can of worms any wider as it misses my point of what I am trying to make. When Europe first discovered America, thinking it was India and thus calling the people Indians, that was the first sign intelligence.(Sorry for the sarcasm.)And that wasn’t the first time man ran over a people to prove one groups superiority over another but again we are not opening that can of worms as there are so many many opinions. But today I want to talk about the beauty of art. Wow, that is a full right turn isn’t it? Not really. While I was out walking last week when the sun did dare to shine I ran across this mural and was reminded of the plight of the Indians. Not just in running them off, but the diseases that were brought to them from another people.

This area was inhabited by the Sauk tribe of which Black Hawk was a leader. Because I am not from this area, I do not know a lot of the Indian history or if this mural is of Black Hawk or one of the other prominent leaders. I just know there is a lot of reference to Black Hawk here. A college, a shopping center, banking, street names and so on. When you first walk up to the building you see that the building is flat but when you walk to the front to see the mural, it has a 3D effect and is truly beautiful.

IMG_20190523_125639 — Ordinary flat face building.

IMG_20190523_125732 — Amazing art looking like he is inserted into the building and standing on a protruding rock.

IMG_20190523_125809

So remember that sometimes we all have our own agendas but those agendas must be thought on correctly so that we don’t overrun someone just because. And the “because’s” could have as many reason as there are sands on the beach.

I challenge you to remember the love and kindness God initially intended for all of us and that if we truly stand with Christ then we must remember to reflect His love, not our history. Let the love of Christ flow from you and reflect the graciousness He lavished on all of us and always be kind.

kind8