If I can figure how to transfer pics from my camera onto here, I will post when I get back Sunday.
This topic is started because my youngest daughter send me a couple of pictures today.
It's of a HUGE old place, meaning big even after half of it burned down!
Located in Frontenac,MN, 20 miles away from me and about 10 from my parents place.
It's what was the "whorehouse" way back when. Balconies, double doors, three stories really imposing looking even now.
So what interesting pieces of history are in your area?
It's not still there, but at one time there was a house with an observatory in it, in my old neighborhood. A well-to-do bookstore owner had built it. I have no idea how large of a telescope was in it, but the university in Little Rock ended up with it, as I understand it.
In Omaha, that would be the Joslyn Castle, officially known as 'Lynhurst'.
http://www.joslyncastle.com/
Built in 1903 in the Scottish baronial style, it reflects the wealth and ambition of the richest newspaper man in the city at the time. Now located in the middle of the city, it was originally located just outside Omaha, on a farm the Joslyn family bought for the purpose.
If I was in New Orleans, I would say it was my family house in the French Quarter. You can see it in the street scenes of the movie, Double Jeopardy.
Built around 1780
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/petuniasoutside2.jpg)
There is a bunch of old buildings around town here, they tore down a hotel that was falling apart and when they did there was a old cigar ad painted on the side of the building nextdoor. It was so cool then the damn devolper covered it up with a ugly buliding. But it was nice to look at while they were building it.
The Millermore Mansion (http://www.city-data.com/articles/Millermore-Mansion-in-Dallas.html) in Dallas was once the center of a cotton plantation that included a large area of south Dallas and Pleasant Grove. It was moved to Old City Park to prevent its destruction.
It is haunted by Emma Brown, first wife of the builder and Lieutenant Governor Barry Miller, both of whom died in the house.
(http://www.tarpsociety.com/resources/millermore_manchin.jpg)
The Tower Building is near my work. It has some wonderful 1920s details, and really needs to be saved and/or new businesses in it. I don't have a picture of the entire building at the moment, just this detail:
(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/redkimba_photo/02-15-11TheTowerBuildingwith1920sArtDeco.jpg)
EDIT - history of the building: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Petroleum_Building Opened in 1931; The Federal Bureau of Investigation had offices on the 12th floor of the Tower Petroleum Building from 1937 to 1943.
Cool stories and pics! :)
If I ever had enough money, I would buy that place in Frontenac and restore it. Wishful thinking!
I wonder if IT is haunted????
If only buildings could tell their tales, I bet it would be fascinating.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on May 20, 2011, 02:47:53 PM
It's not still there, but at one time there was a house with an observatory in it, in my old neighborhood. A well-to-do bookstore owner had built it. I have no idea how large of a telescope was in it, but the university in Little Rock ended up with it, as I understand it.
That was the home of Mr. Fred Allsopp, long-time business manager of the Gazette Newspaper (Allsopp Park is named for the family). I was in the Physics & Astronomy Explorer Post (sponsored by the UALR Physics & Astronomy Dept.) with his grand-children. The observatory dome from the Allsopp home was donated to UALR and placed on the roof of Stabler Hall in 1973.
Reference:
UALR Physics & Astronomy Dept. - UALR Observatory Pictorial History (http://ualr.edu/physics/index.php/home/the-ualr-observatory-pictorial-history/)I'm not sure if a Telescope came with the dome, but I do know that by the mid- to late-70's the University had purchased a new 24" Schmidt–Cassegrain reflector Telescope to go in the dome.
Take Care,
David Baldock
Yes...the family had operated a bookstore on Main Street for years (Allsopp-Chapell). By the late 60s, the house had been abandoned, and was supposed to be haunted. One of my brothers was "questioned" for being caught on the grounds (inside?) with one of his girlfriends...
I live about 15 mins away from the Winchester Mystery House, which is probably the most famous supposedly haunted building in the country. In case you are unfamiliar, it was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of the Winchester rifle company owner. She had been told that the noise of construction would drive away the spirits of all the people killed by his guns, so construction continued 24/7 on the house until she died. There are doors that lead to walls, stairs that lead to ceilings, etc. It's really a neat house to tour.
http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/thehouse.cfm (http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/thehouse.cfm)
In 1992, the Grapevine Heritage Foundation relocated the 1901 Grapevine Depot to its 1937 location along the Cotton Belt Railroad tracks. The Foundation also relocated the Section House to its original site. The facilities were converted into a museum complex focused on the history of the area and the depot now serves as a terminal for steam-powered rail service.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3929609757_d7fdb63dc4.jpg)
I have a couple. Old Hannastown still exists and is a tourist attraction.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.co.westmoreland.pa.us%2Fwestmoreland%2Fcwp%2Fview.asp%3Fa%3D1430%26q%3D576537&ei=JezbTYrxD-PX0QH7-antDw&usg=AFQjCNEPMGAdaphFERhwWkEFAJES4nweKg
Gina
This is kind of interesting. Down the road from my parents place there is a tiny little building that used to be a bar WAY back. It was called "Peppers Bar" and closed down when the mill did. There is also an old store building,the old creamery and part of a cement wall. A cluster of seven houses is all that is left of the town. (where I grew up being one of them) There used to be a dance hall and a barn for people to put their horses when they came for dances.
On a side note, the man who built my parents house supposedly dug out the entire basement by hand.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q193/Kasco2/Boldt%20castle/castle.jpg
Not to far from me in Alexandria Bay, New york is Boldt castle.Above is a picture of the boathouse that goes with the castle.
here is an aerial shot of the castle.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o41/CliffordP/Boldt1.jpg
At the turn-of-the-century, George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, set out to build a full size rhineland castle in Alexandria Bay, on picturesque Heart Island. The grandiose structure was to be a display of his love for his wife, Louise.
Beginning in 1900, Boldt's family shared four glorious summers on the island in the Alster Tower while 300 workers including stonemasons, carpenters, and artists fashioned the six story, 120 room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, and a dove cote. Not a single detail or expense was spared.
In 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt telegraphed the island and commanded the workers to immediately "stop all construction." Louise had died suddenly. A broken hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved. Boldt never returned to the island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love.
For 73 years, the castle and various stone structures were left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow and vandals. When the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property in 1977, it was decided that through the use of all net revenues from the castle operation it would be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.
Also in Alexandria Bay is Singer Castle .
http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o331/BRUNOMAN68/THOUSAND%20ISLANDS/IMG_0464.jpg
Opened to the public only since 2003, this dramatic medieval castle is worth going out of your way to see. It's a stunning creation, made of the same granite used for Boldt Castle and erected at the same time in the first years of the 20th century. Unlike its sister castle, however, Singer was actually occupied, and it's still furnished with period pieces. Its builder and owner, Frederick Gilbert Bourne, was a self-made millionaire who became the director and president of the Singer Sewing Company at age 36. He bought the island and built this 28-room gem with a four-story tower as a retreat for himself and his family. It's a sprawling and beautiful, with plenty of parking space for his boats and oddities like underground passageways and dungeons. You have to take a tour, but it's an interesting one: Guides point out Bourne's secret passageways and peepholes used to spy on guests
I visited Boldt Castle two years ago, and it was sooo cool! I loved the fact that the upper floors are still in their state of disrepair.
The "witch's tower" is an old water tower in Prospect Park in St. Paul, MN
(http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/kimjpalmer_1299094102_prospectpark2.jpg)
Another view
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Prospect_park_witchs_hat_fall.jpg
I got one.
The LeDuc Mansion in Hastings, MN about 15 mins from home and is open to the public for tours. I gotta go out there one of these days. Its an 1860's gothic revival style building. Looks really neat from the street.
(http://www.dakotahistory.org/images/leduc_gallery/house2003-1_big.jpg)
Wow- two very cool buildings there. I suppose they don't use the water tower anymore?
The LeDuc mansion is definitely on my "to see" list! :)
As strange as this sounds, I really like looking at old buildings that have been "taken back by the earth". I'm not sure what it is about them; but they always catch my interest. Another thing that I REALLY like is closed down amusement parks. Those thing give me a creepy vibe, but in a good way, if that makes any sense.
One in my area that I really used to like looking at was the old Six Flags Astroworld site (that is now just grassland, but you can still make out areas where they still had rides and the walkway into the theme park itself). The other ones, since there are quite a few, are the car dealerships that just closed abruptly, with little or no warning. Since there are so many in my area, it's hard to name all of them.
Maeven, I like those kind of buildings too. Never seen an old amusement park but it sounds interesting.
On one of the roads going to my parents place, there is an old run down mansion. Someone still lives in the smaller house (I assume a caretakers house?) but the big house is pretty gutted and being taken over by nature. Creepy but cool as well.
Quote from: DonaCatalina on May 27, 2011, 10:21:00 AM
Wow- two very cool buildings there. I suppose they don't use the water tower anymore?
QuoteAffectionately known as the "Witch's Hat," the Prospect Park Water Tower acts as a unique visual landmark identifying the surrounding community. Situated at the highest elevation in Minneapolis, it was originally built in 1914 to improve water pressure for the hilly Prospect Park neighborhood. City engineer F.W. Cappelen designed the water tower to be a metal tank interior standing 320 ft. tall with a holding a capacity of 150,000 gallons of water. The tower is crowned with a conical cap of steeply pitched green tile which acts as a roof. Directly beneath the roof, an octagonal Romanesque-arched belvedere surrounds the tower top, giving it a medieval feel. The water tower served the neighborhood until 1952 before advancements in technology rendered it obsolete. While the observation deck is only open one day a year, the tower still stands as a symbol and a source of pride for the Prospect Park neighborhood.
I live in a town full of Colonial buildings, the oldest dating back to 1680. New Castle (New Amstel) was founded by the Dutch in 1651. For a time (very short) it was the Capitol of Delaware and the County Seat until 1882, then it was forgotten by time. My favorite building is the tiny New Castle & Frenchtown R.R. ticket booth from 1832. Check out link for some photos and list of historical sites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Castle,_Delaware (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Castle,_Delaware)
Also check out Flickr for more photos-
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=new+castle+delaware (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=new+castle+delaware)
In my orientation tour we were told that some group on campus at the University of Minnesota (The ROTC?) wanted to build a building in the shape of a bra and that the tower of Pillsbury Hall was the final result
(http://probelab.geo.umn.edu/assets/img/eml_pillsbury.jpg)
Quote from: Mairte on May 27, 2011, 02:48:23 PM
Maeven, I like those kind of buildings too. Never seen an old amusement park but it sounds interesting.
On one of the roads going to my parents place, there is an old run down mansion. Someone still lives in the smaller house (I assume a caretakers house?) but the big house is pretty gutted and being taken over by nature. Creepy but cool as well.
There's a house like that about 15 minutes away from where I live. It always gives me the heebie-jeebies but in a good way. I like that when you drive by, you can see inside the windows and there is nothing inside. It's pretty neat.
I like houses that give me the heebie jeebies!! ;D One other building (a big house) used to exist kitty corner across the street from my parents house when I was growing up. OLD and interesting. Sometimes at night we would see a light in an upstairs bedroom window even though no one had lived there in a very long time. Its been torn down for a few years now.
Aren't heebie-jeebies fun? There are a few places where my family used to vacation that I used to love driving by: this old gas station where the coolers still looked like they had sodas in it (that was one of my favorites). There's one place by my parents' house that was in the beginning stages of building-the sheetrock was put up and it had the outer insulation put up as well-but was never completed. The building was to be a nursing home and I guess the idea fell through. There was even a driveway constructed. With all the grass growing around it, it looks really cool when I drive by there.
I live in downtown Bettendorf, Iowa. There are three fairly interesting buildings very close to my place, just up on top of the "hill" (really the bluffs of the Mississippi River).
One is The Abbey Center, currently an addiction treatment facility. It was built in 1915-16 as a Carmelite monastery. It was named Regina Coeli. The nuns moved to a new monastery in Eldridge, Iowa, in 1975, and the Davenport Diocese sold the building to an Evangelical Christian Church. It was then purchased in the 80's by the Franciscan Brothers of Christ the King, who called it St. Francis Monastery. When the Brothers left the Diocese, it was purchased by a private developer and turned into a 4-star hotel. Two years ago, they closed the hotel and re-opened as a rehab center.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/The_Abbey_Center_Bettendorf.jpg)
Next is the Joseph Bettendorf Mansion, now the home of Rivermont Collegiate, an independent PreK-12 college prep school. Joseph and his brother, William, were the owners of the Bettendorf Company, which made railroad cars. When the company outgrew its factory in Davenport, they built a new one in the neighboring town of Gilbert, with the condition that the town be renamed Bettendorf. Joseph, the businessman of the brothers, had his mansion built on the edge of the Mississippi bluff in 1915.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Rvmt_mansion.jpg)
A little farther east is the William Bettendorf Mansion, now part of the Iowa Masonic Health Center. William was the inventor brother. He had close to 100 patents by his mid-50's. He started building his house in 1908-9, and died in 1910, just as the house was being completed, but before he could live in it. I can't find any good photos of the house online, but it is probably the coolest looking one of the bunch. It was built in Spanish Revival style. Lots of arches and all. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of it.
Oh, that factory that the Bettendorf Company built? All that's left of it now is part of the roof, which is covered employee parking for the Isle of Capri Casino.
That looks so awesome.
Quote from: groomporter on June 01, 2011, 11:52:22 PM
In my orientation tour we were told that some group on campus at the University of Minnesota (The ROTC?) wanted to build a building in the shape of a bra and that the tower of Pillsbury Hall was the final result
(http://probelab.geo.umn.edu/assets/img/eml_pillsbury.jpg)
Bra is not what comes to my mind. :o
I agree!!!!!!! :D :D :D