Architheming – Travels With Ackbar

Chicago – That Toddlin’ Town

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin’ town… The city of Chicago has some really unique architectural history. The Cultural Center located near the Loop and Millennium Park. when it was completed in 1897 it served as the city’s central library.

The center of the Grand Army of The Republic Memorial hall is a massive Tiffany dome. This massive installation is the world’s largest Tiffany dome and went through a major restoration in 2007.

Chicago’s Harold Washington Library replaced the Central Library (now the Cultural Center) in 1987. The roof is adorned with 7 Acroteria or archiectural ornaments. On the corners and center can be found large sculptures of Owls, the symbol of the goddess of knowledge, Minerva. This Great Horned Owl sits over the center of the State Street entrance on Printer’s Row.

Another bird hanging around the loop is the majestic peacock. The Jeweler’s CD Peacock store at State St. and Monroe. The House of Peacock was the first retail jewelry store in Chicago and catered to such big names as Mary Todd Lincoln, Marshall Fields and Mick Jagger.

One of the coolest facades in Chicago has to be the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building. Built after the great Chicago fire, the Sullivan Center as it is known today, was built as a major retail center. Today, the building hosts a Target on the bottom floors, but the ornamentation is still intact. The ornate floral details are bronze cast iron and were meant to appeal to the female clientele.

Metropolitan Capital Bank on the Magnificent Mile features details from the Prairie School of the Arts and Crafts movement, Frank Lloyd Wright once had a studio at Chicago’s Tree Studios artist’s enclave.

At one time, the Jeweler’s Building at 35 Whacker Drive was considered the tallest building in the US outside of New York City. Movie fans may recognize the building from Batman Begins and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

The Chicago Water Tower was one of the few buildings to survive the great fire. It’s tower was built to house a massive pump that would pump water directly form Lake Michigan. Built from Joliet limestone, it stands 154′ tall, Oscar Wilde said it looked like “a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.

The Chicago Tribune Building completed in 1925 is adorned with gargoyles and grotesques designed by American sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan.

June 29, 2013 by janoseagle

Boston Through A Fisheye

On my recent trip to Boston I decided to give a new lens a try. I made a point of only shooting with my new fisheye and here are some of the results.

There are several buildings that have always captured my imagination, I frequently find myself returning year after year and finding new angles. One of these buildings is the Burrage House on Commonweath Ave at Hereford St. This unusual mansion is currently divided into 6 condos, former residents included New England Patriot’s Tom Brady.

Similar homes werre built on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Modeled after Chenonceaux, a chateau located in the Loire Valley of France. Covered in Gargoyles and Grotesques, it represents the only example of the “chateauesque” style in Boston.

Walking along the mall at Commonwealth Ave, one encounters a number of sculptures representing some of Boston’s noteworthy citizens. Merdith Bergmann’s The Boston Women’s Memorial features likenesses of Lucy Stone, Phillis Wheatley and Abigail Adams,

All along Commonwealth Ave, you can see architecture ranging from the typical Boston Brownstones to the fabulous marble mansions.

At the end of Commonwealth Ave, heading towards the State House, is the Boston Public Gardens. This public park features the Swan Boats, beautifully manicured lawns and one of my favorite statues.

Robert McCloskey’s children’s book, Make Way For Duckings, tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks that raise their family on the Public Gardens Lagoon. Through the years, pranksters have duck napped individual ducklings, only to return them. The story is so popular that a sister to the statues was installed in Russia. The Boston residents take great in their duckings, each spring they don straw Easter bonnets. And in remembrance of this year’s Marathon bombings, they wear their own Marathon runner’s bibs.

The Post Office in Beacon Hill on Charles Street, is the oldest operating Post Office in the city. This 2 window Post Office is one of the most popular in Boston , due in part to the friendliness of the customers and workers.

Stephen Score Antiques is nestled among 18th and 19th century buildings in the Back Bay. The vivid blue paint and the French Clown standing guard above the sign welcome you to a gallery full of antiques and fine arts. Previous owner, Israel Sack installed many of the period arcitectural details found throughout the gallery. Many were taken from an old mansion in Marblehead.

Steinert Hall on Boylston Street was built for piano dealers, M Steinert and Sons in 1896. The six story Beaux Arts style building used to feature a concert hall frequented by the elite of Boston’s arts scene.

This unique facade is at 356 Boylston Street and currently houses iParty with a Twist. In a past life, this was the site of a Schrafft’s Restaurant. Schrafft’s was the kind of place you could see an old lady sipping a cocktail at one table, a group of businessmen having lunch and a gaggle of kids enjoying ice cream cones over at the counter. Schrafft’s was closed on Sunday with the exception of this one location, where Sunday church goers needed somewhere to have lunch.

The Berkeley on Boyslton Street was built in 1906 and long considered the crown jewel of Boston’s Back Bay. Designed by Désiré Despradelle, a professor of architecture at MIT had been educated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. The magnificent facade is encased in terra cotta details and panes of glass.

April 27, 2013 by janoseagle

Eastern State Penitentiary

Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison that stressed the reformation of it’s inmates over punishment. Prisoners were completely separated from each other and never knew who was in the cell next to them. They lived in complete isolation every day, never seeing another living soul, eating, sleeping, showering and exercising alone. In reality, the guards developed cruel and hideous tortures, to show their dominance over the prison population.

In 1966, the prison was designated a National Historic Landmark. By then end of it’s life as a prison it had abandoned the solitary concept and prisoners lived as a community until it was abandoned in 1971. One can only imagine what kind of terrors are imbedded in it’s aging walls.

The old prison has found new life as a movie set. The decaying building has been featured in Terry Gilliam’s TWELVE MONKEYS and in 2008, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.

The possibility of actual ghosts still haunting the prison has led to paranormal investigators conducting numerous explorations of the site. GHOST ADVENTURES, GHOST HUNTERS, MTv’s FEAR and Great Britain’s MOST HAUNTED LIVE have all produced episodes at Eastern State.

The building is in a state of preserved decay. Areas that are less safe for the average tourist are off limits.

Among the hauntings witnessed are a shadow figure that quickly scoots away when approached and mysterious ghostly faces in Cellblock 4.

In addition to being a historical site, the building is also home to more than a dozen art installations. My favorite one was called GHOST CATS. Amongst the grounds and cells are sculptures of 39 cats, representing the colony of cats that had inhabited the prison since it was abandoned in 1971. Artist, Linda Brenner created the cats out of a clay that will slowly dissolve over time to represent the inevitable decaying of all living things.

Eastern State had it’s share of celebrity guests during it’s prime. “Slick Willie” Sutton, a bank robber known for over 50 robbieries. One of the unusual inmates was #C-2559, a dog named Pep. The story goes that Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot was sentenced to Eastern State for murdering his wife’s cherished cat.

Perhaps the most famous or infamous of Eastern State’s residents was Al Capone. He served his first prison term of 8 months, for possession of a concealed weapon, at Eastern State. His cell was quite comfortable compared to the others, he was allowed to decorate it himself with rugs, art and antiques.

Capone was also Eastern State’s most famous paranormal victim. He claimed that he was haunted by the ghost of James Clark, the brother-in-law of Capone’s rival, murdered in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Fellow inmates reported hearing Capone screams nightly, begging “Jimmy” to go away and leave him alone.

Is Eastern State Penitentiary haunted ? I can honestly say that after visiting, you certainly get a feeling of the oppressive isolation and despair felt by the inmates. EVP’s have captured disembodied voices and more than one person has seen ghostly figures in the Guard Tower. At least for a few days a year, Eastern State is definitely haunted and a scary experience is guaranteed.

“Terror Behind The Walls” happens every Halloween. In 2012, the prison will be the host to 6 different haunted experiences. You can check it out at http://www.easternstate.org/halloween/preview

October 7, 2012October 7, 2012 by janoseagle