A Grand Old Ship

After visiting Independence Seaport in Philly on Saturday, May 21, I took this photo of the SS United States.







There are efforts under way to preserve it, which you can find out more about on the SS United States Conservancy website. Since I took the photo from a distance, I want to go to where the ship is docked and take some close-ups of it sometime. Anyway, I wanted to share this as someone who is interested in maritime history. Anyone who loves maritime history will find a lot of interesting stories from this great ship's past. I hope its preservation will be successful.

Exploring Near Arcadia U

For a while now, I've been wanting to visit Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia University or catch a glimpse of it for photos. I searched online to see if there were any scheduled public tours between semesters for those interested in architecture photography. Not really finding much on that, I did come across some other places of interest. I found out about them while researching the route to Arcadia University. The route, following Skippack Pike, has many historical buildings that I'd like to check out. However, there is one more very stunning place of historic significance that is entirely new to me...further to the East / Southeast of Arcadia.

That stunning place is Lynnewood Hall, not too far from Arcadia University as it turns out. So my search about Grey Towers Castle led me to the blog page of another person on here. From that point, I learned that efforts are in progress to save Lynnewood Hall and I'm so glad to find that out. It is always a great thing to find others who care about saving historical places. I feel that these places need to be saved, especially because you never know what stories from history may be found in the process.

Last year, at the beginning of October, demolition on the La Ronda mansion began after preservationists tried to save it. I had only just heard about La Ronda about a month or more before it was lost, and went to take some photos of the beautiful structure. I hope that for Lynnewood Hall, the preservation community sees a better outcome of a building saved for restoration.

Below are some of the photos I took when I went to see the La Ronda mansion early last September. I also have a slideshow of more La Ronda photos on my youtube channel.

Although it was lost, maybe La Ronda can serve as a preservation example of why Lynnewood Hall should be saved. I'm thinking of it in these terms...that we don't want to keep losing our history, and so Lynnewood Hall should remain standing. With each historic building we lose, big or small, it means more parts of our story in America lost. That is why I believe in preservation.

There is a tour coming up at Lynnewood Hall, so I think that will be a good time to explore the area surrounding Arcadia. I'll make it a roadtrip to Grey Towers Castle and Lynnewood Hall, along with any other interesting points in between.

Rose Tree Park

This park is a place which I have driven by many times on the way to work over the years, but had never really explored before. However, recently I visited the park to check out a picnic area for a reunion my friends and I are planning. So for any tourists coming to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, I have a few thoughts on why they should make a stop at Rose Tree Park.

The history / old architecture buff will love the historical buildings within the park. The Leedom House, in my photos below, is beautiful and features columns, a classic architectural detail in my opinion. It also has an arched walkway through the structure, a nice feature not seen very often.

There is also the stone-faced Rose Tree Tavern in my photo below, dating back to before 1750. The tavern was moved a few years ago from where it once stood, near the road, to further inside the park grounds. I'm curious to see whether or not it will be restored fully, up and running at some point. Even at its current state, boarded up windows and all, there is something interesting about it. It really gives the sense of how old it is, connecting you back to its earlier days.

Another old structure in the park came into sight from certain points near the picnic area. I didn't see any mention of it online, so I don't know anything about it. However, as someone who loves old buildings, it caught my eye. As you can see in the photo, it is a lonely, old structure...mysterious and hidden from view. You won't see it from most points in the park.

Rose Tree Park features a fourth historic building, standing along the left side of the driveway leading towards the picnic area. At the moment, I don't have a photo of it. However, it is a stone-face with columns along the porch. This and the Leedom House are currently in use at the park.

Another reason to visit Rose Tree Park is the scenic aspect, which includes an expansive view toward the rear of the park. The landscaping brings out the natural features within the park, such as in the photo below, which I took a few years ago. The fence seems to bring your eyes right to the tree's foliage.

I took the photo of this gazebo during my recent visit to the park...very pretty addition to Rose Tree. I would love to have one of these myself!

Here is another photo I took a few years ago...partly scenery, partly the entertainment venue of Rose Tree Park. During Summer 2009, I met up with some of my friends for one of the many free concerts held here. These free concerts are held all Summer long each year, and I'm looking forward to a few this year as well. So, for the music lover, this is a great place for Summer entertainment without worrying about budgets!

The Fabulous Greaseband is who my friends and I saw last year. They played 50s, 60s, 70s...a great variety! I definitely recommend seeing them...they rock!

Last, but not least...Rose Tree Park is very patriotic, featuring a huge American flag and memorials for fallen police officers and firefighters. I took the photo of Old Glory as viewed though the trees a few years ago, and the firefighter memorial photo was taken during my recent park visit.

So, these are the reasons why Rose Tree Park is worth a visit...history, scenery, free concerts, and patriotic displays. I'm looking forward to the reunion my friends and I will be having there this Summer.

Around Norristown

Due to recent weather and other various reasons, it has been a while since I've been on an outing for photography. Most recently was on Feb. 1st, when I was scheduled for day one of a tutoring project with classmates from my social justice class. The tutoring would be at a K-12 school within the Norristown area, and having arrived in the area an hour or so early, I decided to take some photos. This includes the one above, which I took because I thought the stones and wrought iron detail of the window looked interesting together.

The first set of photos below were taken within the downtown part of Norristown. That steeple has to be one of the tallest I've seen in areas outside of Philadelphia.

I'm not sure what this castle-like structure is, so I'll have to find out. It's very impressive, though...and reminded me of photos I've seen of Eastern State Penitentiary.

The following photos were taken outside of the tightly-packed downtown Norristown area and into the parts on the opposite side of route 202, where many Victorian houses could be found.

Still further out from the downtown part of Norristown, I came across this old abandoned building. It had a number of "No Trespassing" signs hanging on it, so I took the photo below from a little parking lot across the road.

There is a farm off in the distance behind this house and its large barn...maybe originally part of the farm property long ago. Whatever the case, this is another building I'd love to learn more about. Some people actually go and explore the inside of old, abandoned buildings since, in some cases, people can get permission from whoever the owner is. It would be interesting to know what they find, and see what photos they take, in their ventures.

The Main Line

On Monday, January 11, I finally had the chance to work on what I call my Main Line Photo Project to capture images of historic architecture. I wasn't able to photograph everything I had wanted to, and also found a few more impressive places along the way.

Some places I managed to take photos of included this old structure below, which has a sign on the side of it that reads: "Historical Inn and Tavern." The sign also had contact info on it, but I thought I should block that out before posting.

The historical inn and tavern unfortunately didn't have the actual name anywhere on it, but I wish it did just for the purpose of finding out any history about it. It is definitely the most intriguing place I came across along the Main Line.

Another old place is this lonely, forgotten looking one below.

There wasn't anything indicating a name or any historic significance. Maybe in this case, it is just simply an old style of architecture instead of having a great deal of history. Although, given the history along the Main Line and its role in American history going back to the Revolutionary War, you never know. There may just be some interesting undiscovered stories in there.

Although I didn't concentrate on the entire building in the photo below, I liked its detail of stone work surrounding stained glass. This building neighbors an Entenmann's outlet store, which has the old-time lighting detail (below), and is just across from The Ship Inn.

So, this is what I have for the moment. I'll be taking more photos of historic architecture along the Main Line in the near future. Maybe along the way, I'll also have dinner at The Ship Inn to compliment photographing historic architecture in the area. The restaurant itself is historic as well.

Main Line Photo Project

As viewed from the St. David’s exit of the Blue Route, this is a photo I took of some insignia detail that crosses over Lancaster Avenue. Taking this exit is the way we often go when heading out to the areas of Wayne, Berwyn, Devon and Paoli. A recent drive heading toward those areas from Exton, PA inspired the idea for my Main Line photo project.

I was coming from a family dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Exton and afterwards followed Lancaster Avenue / Route 30 back to the towns mentioned before. Along the way, I noticed a number of historic structures dotting either side of the road often referred to as the Main Line. Although a passenger on this particular trip, I didn’t get to take photos of these structures as most were in difficult spots or noticed at the last minute.

However, I managed to map these structures out with the help of Google Maps and made note of anything nearby when next approaching them. The street view feature also helped in finding some places to get off the road to capture images of these intriguing old structures. Now if only I could find out about the history of each one to go along with any photos. There are always the historical societies…and whatever I find out, I’ll add in a future post.

I have to say that I’ve been interested in this stretch of road, and the area surrounding the Main Line, since my high school days. That is when I first started to see the areas of Wayne, Berwyn, Devon and Paoli on a regular basis. Back then, I remember thinking, “I would really love to live around here someday.” The back roads are so scenic, but I love to see the little shops right along certain parts of Lancaster Avenue as well. Overall, when going through this area, I can feel of real sense of the local history and American tradition.

In the near future, I’ll head back up for a drive along the Main Line and look for my planned out photo stops here and there. A couple of the structures I want to get photos of are abandoned and have no historical markers onsite. These types of old buildings always draw me in, wondering what the history is behind them and if they’ll be restored to their former glory. In the meantime, they inspire my imagination about their stories going back to various times.

Check back soon for photos and any history I can dig up.

Taking Flight

I was always very interested in the story of pioneering woman aviator Amelia Earhart, so I’ve been waiting a while for the release of “Amelia” in theatres. When I first heard about it, it was as though filmmakers knew I had wanted to see a movie about this brave woman. Now that I’ve seen the preview, I am already amazed at Oscar-winner Hilary Swank in this role and the scenes shown so far. So, for this post, I decided to write about places I’ve been to (and hope to go to) that are linked to flight history.

With the family connection on my Mom’s side to the Outer Banks, there has always been an interest in aviation history going back to the Wright Brothers. There are no ancestral ties to Orville and Wilbur Wright that we know of; our interest comes from the connection between the Outer Banks and humans taking flight. So, in a way, I guess that is what draws some of my family to that particular part of human history. Below are some photos I took during my visit to the Outer Banks in June 2004.

My grandfather (on my Dad’s side of the family) worked on helicopters at his job. As a kid, my Dad was interested in space exploration programs such as Apollo, collecting related memorabilia along the way. Later, he was a part of the 101^st Airborne division in Vietnam. From all of that comes his interest in going to air shows including those at Willow Grove, PA and Millville, NJ. Below, some of my photos from at least one air show I went to a few years back.

So my family is where I inherited my own interest in aviation history from. I always wanted to go to the Air & Space museum and D.C., see the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds perform aerial stunts, and see a space shuttle launch in person. The slideshow in this post includes photos I took of the displays at the Air & Space museum (including that of Amelia Earhart), and aerial stunts by the Blue Angels and other planes over the Millville air show grounds.

Having visited the Air & Space museum and watched the Blue Angels fly overhead, there is one more flight-related goal I have. I still haven’t seen a space shuttle launch in person and there aren’t many launches left at this point. Hopefully, I’ll get to visit Titusville, FL soon to witness one of the final moments of the space shuttle era. As the part of space exploration that my generation grew up watching, a space shuttle launch has always felt like something I should see in person.

I think in general, everyone has some degree of fascination with flying; maybe because to fly means escaping our natural ground setting and going into new territory. Humans became curious about it at some point, and a handful of pioneering people began to see what we could do in the skies. Below is another photo I took while in the Outer Banks and visiting the Wright Brothers museum.

Having not flown anywhere myself yet, the skies are still new and unfamiliar territory for me and I hope to see many places. Eventually, I’ll have my own first flight experience to help me on my way to all those far off places. The pink-tinted skies over my area one day prompted me to wait for a plane to fly overhead and take the picture below.

Next Stop - Philly

I have been to Philadelphia, the closest big city to me, a number of times and it is amazing how much I still haven't seen. So, while in the City of Brotherly Love next weekend, I hope to visit multiple sites.

The photo below is one I took during my last visit into the city, which was fairly short; just to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Other times, I have only gone to Penn's Landing for fireworks and stadiums for concerts. It has been years since I visited the zoo and major museums of the city. As for what I would like to see / do in and around Philadelphia for the first time, the list includes:

• The Betsy Ross House
• Old City Tavern
• The Mutter Museum
• National Constitution Center
• Elfreth's Alley
• Fairmount Park
• Boathouse Row
• Laurel Hill Cemetery
• Museum of Art
• Dining on the Moshulu
• Cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia
• Carriage ride
• Ride the Ducks
• Double decker bus tour

With all of those things to see and do, I probably couldn't get it all done in one day's time and I'll only be in the city for one day.

I'm actually not much of a big city person, although I do like day trips into the city. One other trip into the city, by train, was for a job interview years back. It was the first time I went into Philadelphia by myself and I was so nervous, but only half of that was because of the interview. I didn't get that particular job in the end, but everything else went well. One thing is for sure though; it is somewhat hard to believe that I ventured into the city by myself back then. Only the job prospect made me do so, but it was a moment of adventure for me when I think about it.

That adventure is still in me, only for the sake of travel itself...although fulfilling travel goals has been difficult what with the economic situation these days. I think about all of the places I want to visit, local or not. I hope I get to see as many of them as possible because of the inspiration that these places give to people.

Being in a big city for just a day is exciting to me, with so much going on and so much to check out; definitely a source of inspiration. So I'm looking forward to next weekend and how many sites I'll cover while in Philadelphia this time around.

October Spirit

The season may officially start in September, however it is October that really makes me feel the spirit of Autumn. The festivities are in full swing for Halloween all month and there are so many to choose from.

I found out about an apple harvest festival taking place near Gettysburg, a town that I would love to go back to soon. I have not been back since a camping trip at Artillery Ridge Campgrounds in 1994. Anyway, along with the apple festival during the first two weekends this month, why not check out the best-known haunted sites of Gettysburg?

Other military-related and thought to be haunted sites I'd like to visit include Fort Delaware and Fort Mifflin. Chances are better that I'll go to Fort Mifflin first, or else wait until next year to see both forts with earlier planning.

There are a few events and places in particular interest me the most regarding the spirit of the enchanting Autumn season. These include a train tour of Fall foliage in West Chester, PA...a haunted trolley tour in Cape May...and the legendary town of Sleepy Hollow, NY. I have never been to Sleepy Hollow, so going there has its own little bonus.

If I could fit it in this year, I'd also love to visit another place for the first time...and especially close to Halloween. That place is the historic seaport town of Salem, MA...but that will definitely have to wait until next year.

As a fitting end to this post, below is a photo I took years ago on a family trip. For the longest time, I could not remember where we saw this place. I hadn't written anything on the back of the photo or in a photo album about it. I just knew we had seen it either on the way to Williamsburg, VA, or to Johnstown, PA. But then, I stumbled across something about it on the internet. The info on the internet revealed that it was located in Ashville, PA (Cambria County), confirming we had seen it on the way to visiting relatives in Johnstown. I just wonder if this place is still standing and if so, if it still looks like this.

Happy Haunting!

Return to Valley Forge, Part 2

While exploring Washington Chapel, I came across a number of things to photograph both in and outside of the structure dedicated to our first president. I definitely didn’t capture all I wanted to, so I’ll definitely have to go again at another time.

Inside the chapel is a breathtaking sight with very detailed pews, miniature revolutionary soldier statues and colorful stained glass. The high-vaulted ceilings, like the one in Washington Chapel, are always impressive architectural features to me as well.

Also, like the tower room containing the Justice Bell, there was a sign in the chapel pertaining to fundraising efforts to maintain it.

Walking the open-air halls or standing in the courtyard, I was surrounded by beautiful Victorian Gothic stone windows. It was like exploring an old abbey somewhere in the countryside of England, rather than being in Valley Forge, PA.

This particular scene below I felt was my favorite one near the chapel because it looked so enchanting and timeless. It looked like a movie setting in which a medieval maiden awaits the return of her knight in shining armor.

Aside from the surrounding ornate windows, my favorite details within the courtyard included these two pieces below. The flower plant looks like something I would use to decorate a garden with because of the particular old look to it. The statue of the kneeling woman was a little difficult to figure out a decent angle for photographing the statue, though, but is a nice photography subject all the same.

There are definitely a lot of beautiful details at the chapel; too many to get all of them in one visit, so I know I'll have to go back another time.