Home on Mission San Luis Grounds and Artifacts

Whenever I travel and do the "tourist" thing, I try to make a photo of every sign at the place so I can remember what I saw. Apparently, I missed this sign. I remember seeing it and now I don't remember what this building was and when it was built.

Not knowing the significance of this home on the grounds of Mission San Luis which was obviously built during a later period makes me curious now. That is the reason I tell my photography students to take pictures of any signs when visiting for the first time. This is the consequence of not following my own advice. If any of you have visited the Mission and know what this house signifies, please let me know in the comments. I certainly would appreciate it. The mission was used until 1967 so this home could be that one of the leaders or maybe it was the home of a prominent citizen.

The second photo was on a table in the Council House. (If any of you didn't see that photo, just look back a couple of days to find it and to learn more about Mission San Luis in Tallahassee.) These look like they could be either eating or cooking utensils. Your guess is as good as mine. I wish the volunteer was able to spend more time with me so I'd know what these were used for.

The final clay pot was used as a smudge pot and was on the same table as the others. There were smudge pots on all the tables and near all the "beds" along the outer walls of the Council House. The smudge pots were for burning corn cobs to keep the mosquitos away.

The Apalachee Indians wasted nothing. There was no such thing as trash in those early days. They were the original "green people". We could learn a lot from them.

Mission San Luis

This is the entrance to the Mission San Luis in Tallahassee. It is the last look at the 21st century until you leave this magnificent place.

Mission San Luis was built in 1656. It burned down in 1987 and this community has been recreated by the City of Tallahassee. Everything here is rebuilt with artifacts found around the place and from archeological digs.

In all, there are 60 acres to explore and that includes a nature trail of sort (it's not actually a trail; it's more like a walk in the woods) where you'll find many species of birds, fox, and all types of wildlife.
Pictured here is the Apalachee Indian council house, built by Apalachees. At over 120 feet in diameter, the council house is among the largest Indian structures ever built in the Southeast. It wasn’t uncommon for the council house to hold 1,500 or more people in the 1690s.

There is not enough space to give you all a tour, but I'll be posting more from this community in later posts.

Seaboard Air Line Caboose

The Seaboard Air Line Caboose is on display in the Big Bend area of the Tallahassee Museum. This car ran from 1924 to 1963. Inside the caboose, one can see the sink, icebox, water, a stove, closets and bunks which were used by the crew.

There were 10 cabooses in all with each caboose having their own slogan, which was keyed to the last number. According to this plan, this one should be, "Look Around Getting Down".

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was in operation from 1900 to 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It then became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. In the '50's, the route mileage was a little more than 4,000 miles.

According to Wikipedia, Air line, in the days before air travel became a reality, was a common term for the shortest distance between two points: a straight line drawn through the air (or on a map), ignoring natural obstacles. Hence, a number of 19th century railroads used "air line" in their titles to suggest that their routes were shorter than those of competing roads.

The Snell Arcade Building

The Snell Arcade Building, built by C. Perry Snell is one of St Petersburg's gems. It's on the National Register of Historical Places and the architectural style is one of many.

The architecture is partially Spanish-Moroccan, Gothic tracery, romanesque capitals, Egyptian half-columns, baroque brackets, classic running moldings, renaissance portrait medallions, multifoil arches and fanciful finials. Even with all of these very different styles, one would think it would be hideous. It's just the opposite. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown St Petersburg.

One part of Snell’s creation that no longer has it’s former glory is the arcade itself which was built as a passage from Central Avenue to First Avenue North. I agree with Lowe’s impression from the photographs, “To say that it was lavishly decorated is clearly an understatement” (p. 121). Perched high along the arcade were seven Venuses as well as a large mosaic tile imported from Europe that depicted a Baroque Venetian church. The name of the mosaic is Baldassare Longhena’s Santa Maria della Salute. The tiles were uncovered during a 1983 restoration and Snell himself removed the statues when he sold the building (Lowe, 2006).

Today, there are a few stores on the ground floor in the "arcade" and some offices on the first couple floors. The remainder of the building houses condos--one condo per floor!

Historic State Theatre

Constructed in 1924, the State Theatre is an outstanding example of Beaux-arts style architecture. At the time of its construction, the State Theatre's 6000 sq. ft. made it one of the largest banks in St. Petersburg. Its original use as the Alexander National Bank lasted only two years until Jacob Alexander died in December 1926.

During part of 1927, the building was occupied by the Gregory Electric Refrigeration Company but by 1928 sat vacant. The Fidelity Bank and Trust Company purchased the building in July 1929. The stock market crash in October of that same year was too much for the local economy and the Fidelity Bank, like most St. Petersburg banks, was forced to close. After Fidelity's liquidation in 1931, the building was used for a succession of small office tenants until 1949 when it was remodeled into the State Theatre.

Neel Reid was the architect who designed the original building and was also responsible locally for the Alexander Hotel. In 1949 another notable architect, Archie Parrish of St. Petersburg, remodeled the building. The facade of the State Theatre is a symmetrical composition of three bays.

The bays are defined by engaged pilasters expressed as a series of quoins above a projected water table base topped by an ionic capital with an attached swag. A projected cornice with a simple entablature tops the facade. Above this is a parapet divided into three corresponding bays again divided by projecting pilasters. Each of the three main bays contains a pair of ionic columns on a block base supporting a banded arch with an engaged keystone with an acanthus motif.

A stylized bas-relief eagle fills the space between the sides of the three arches and the engaged pilasters. The original fenestration was removed at the time of the 1949 remodeling when the openings at the side bays were filled, and a new contemporary projecting marquis was added at the central bay above the theater doors. A later renovation into a concert venue included the installation of glass blocks at the two side arches. -Wikipedia

Today the State Theatre is used for concert venues. It has room for a stage, 3 bars and 400 guests.

Kennebunport Inn

Since I've been getting behind in my editing, I'm posting this one from my vacation to Maine with my son and daughter-in-law last June.

This is the famous Kennebunkport Inn. It has been a landmark since 1899. It was once a tea merchant's mansion and has the distinction of being listed as one of the Travel Channel's "Maine's Best Escapes".

The Kennebunkport Inn is located in Dock Square, Kennebunkport's shopping district and the only hotel/inn there and well worth checking out if you're going to be in the area.

Webhannet Falls

These are the Webhannet Falls in Wells, Maine.

Webhannet Falls is on the site of the first settlement of Wells, Maine, It honors Edmund Littlefield, who erected his saw and grist mill at this site in 1640-1641, thus being the first settler of Wells. This little park and the falls are just off Rt 1.

You might notice that the water is sort of coffee colored. I believe that's because of the iron content in the area. It's too bad that tree has fallen obscuring part of the falls. I tried and tried at different angles to find a better spot but unfortunately this is the only possible angle to shoot this.

This little "park" is so small, all of it would fit in my backyard. Officially though, it's a dedicated park, so who am I to question it?

The Oswego County Courthouse

I lived in Oswego for nearly 4 years and never got around to photographing this beautiful building even though I was always drawn to it. It's a shame that we all feel that we need to travel to photograph things that fascinate us until we move away and think about all the lost opportunities.

There is so much old and beautiful architecture in the City of Oswego, but this is one of my favorite buildings. It is the Oswego County Courthouse and it is located in downtown Oswego, NY on Oneida St. It was built in 1860 and made the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

The Oswego County Courthouse at Oswego, built between 1859 and 1860, is historically significant for its association with the development of government in Oswego County in the nineteenth century and architecturally significant as an outstanding example of mid-nineteenth century Renaissance Revival public architecture. Designed by the noted Syracuse architect Horatio Nelson White, the stylish and expensively built courthouse reflects a period of extended prosperity in the county based in great measure upon the success of the Oswego Canal and the port of Oswego. Joining several other distinguished public buildings of the period including the Market House (1836), the United States Customs House (1858), and the Gerrit Smith Library (1855), the Oswego County Courthouse reflects Oswego's mid-nineteenth century stature as an important center of shipping and commerce. Continuing in use for 140 years, the Oswego County Courthouse stands out as one of Central New York's finest examples of historic civic architecture.

"Seminole Indian"

Yesterday yet another Meetup took me to Ft Foster in Thonotosassa, FL for a reenactment of a skirmish between the Seminole Indians and the Army, of which was mostly volunteers during that time.

This man was dressed as a Seminole Indian and I really liked his profile.

If anything could go wrong yesterday for getting to the reenactment, it did. I had to work in the morning, and the skirmish started at 1:00 pm, but for some reason, there were a lot of new babies born for me to photograph. Usually, I can leave by 10:30 or 11:00 on Saturdays, but that wasn't about to happen. Finally, I left at 12:50 pm and with a 1 hour drive, I thought at least I'd get there for the second half of the skirmish. As luck would have it, there was something going on in Ybor City and the traffic was backed up from downtown Tampa all the way to Ybor.

I finally got through that, and arrived in Thonotosassa at 2:30 with only a 1/2 hour to shoot the reenactment. As I was entering Ft Foster, I was told by a volunteer that I had to wait at the end of the road for the ambulance and the Fire Department vehicles to pass. After waiting for about 10 minutes, I decided to park the car there and walk in, not knowing how long the walk would take. I got there just after the skirmish ended. It was a long walk with my equipment on my back.

I settled for taking a few photos of the reenactors and the encampment site and left about 45 minutes later. I was lucky to get the photos I got.