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.

Saving La Ronda

Facebook is where I first heard about the historic mansion known as La Ronda, located on Roscommon Road in Bryn Mawr, PA. Due to its history and architectural detail, many people have been rallying for the mansion to be preserved rather than be demolished. As someone who loves historic sites, I decided to go up to Bryn Mawr and see the La Ronda mansion for myself and photograph its ornate exterior details.

The window details were really impressive as well as the chimney with a style you just don't see everyday...or anymore for that matter.

I also love this detail on the front wall of the mansion, such as the sculpted bust of a knight in armor above a family crest shield. It's the kind of detail that speaks of great history associated with La Ronda.

I have seen a few old photos of La Ronda’s interior posted online, and they showed how grand the mansion really was. There was a great hall, like those you would see in a high society scene from many historical period movies. If only there were scheduled tours of La Ronda to this day, but given the situation of whether or not it will be preserved, I’m not sure about the interior condition. On the Facebook group page called “Save La Ronda,” someone posted a message that the mansion was being ransacked for artifacts prior to demolition.

However, I know that those on the preservation side still hope to save the mansion from being demolished and I would love to see it saved as well. It is a wonder to me that this place, or any other historically significant site, could possibly be torn down. Any historic site in tells some part of the story of the country they are located in. For more information on the La Ronda mansion, check out the savelarondanow.com Web site.

Photographing History

During any trip, local or not, one subject of interest is photographing different styles of old architecture that come into view. What makes me take notice to such structures is my interest in historic travel destinations and individual sites. Some nearby areas have a great number of old buildings, making it an easy road trip of photographing architecture from the past.

As for houses in particular, some may have those historic markers and may be in the process of being restored or have been restored. Other houses, however, are abandoned relics with untold stories that always draw my attention to them. I wonder what stories they hold; stories that can be added to the history of their surrounding communities. Maybe when their stories are finally discovered, those stories will help to save these long abandoned old houses from demolition.

Of the two photos below, I believe that the one on the right is currently in use. However, the one on the left is now the only old structure standing near new homes.

Unfortunately, many other old abandoned homes seem as though they may be demolished soon because new housing has built up around or near them. So I like to photograph old buildings for the purpose of documenting them, preserving them in images to compliment their stories.

Along with whatever untold stories yet to be found in these abandoned houses, the architectural details from another time also catch my eye. Turrets, gables, widows’ walks, Greek Revival columns and intricate wrought iron work…such details in old buildings bring some extra charm to a neighborhood. The photo below is an example of historic detail found on a building at a nearby college campus.

Given my interest in old architecture as a photography subject, some of my favorite destinations include Cape May, NJ and Gettysburg, PA. However, there are quite a few old homes in my local area which I have taken photos of in recent years. Some are Victorian, others go back to the 1700s and there are also a few castle-like buildings on college campuses. The photos below are examples from two different nearby college campuses.

Whatever architectural style and whether abandoned or in use, old buildings have such great character. Unique and often mysterious standing among newer development, they keep us connected to the history of our hometowns.