Writer & Traveler with a passion for history, photography & the unusual
A re-edit of model Luna Mae at Cobb’s Hill Reservoir in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. My photo editing skills have progressed a lot since this photo shoot in spring 2018, so I decided to revisit one of my favorites. What do you think?
Designed by Architect Howard Daniels and established in 1848, Green Lawn Cemetery, at 1000 Greenlawn Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, is a historic private rural cemetery. Its meandering roads wander 360 acres, where over 155,000 are interred, including Samuel Bush, grandfather of President George H.W. Bush and great-grandfather of President George W. Bush, and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker.
The Hayden mausoleum is a centerpiece of Green Lawn Cemetery. It was designed by Ohio architect Frank Packard and built at a modern-day cost of approximately $2.5 million. Built for banker Charles H. Hayden (1837-1920) and his family, it is made from granite and white marble, and its interior sarcophagi were made in Italy. It is truly impressive.
I love this bronze statue of an old fisherman, erected in the memory of Emil Ambos (1844-1898). Emil was the son of Peter Ambos, a talented German confectioner who became a wealthy banker and industrialist. The statue used to be holding two fish, but apparently both have been stolen.
Continue reading “Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio”History and magic comes alive outside Annapolis at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, where a huge crowd turned out for Celtic Day last weekend. I was impressed! Jousting and chariot fights were the highlight of the day, but a menagerie of performers kept fair goers entertained throughout the day.
Welcome to Revel Grove, Oxfordshire, England in the year 1532. King Henry VIII and his mistress Anne Boleyn visit the village as part of their annual summer progress. I didn’t see much of the King and his court, but it’s possible they blended in with the costumed crowd. Visitors were deeply committed to getting into the spirit of the fair.
Rides on a colorfully-painted elephant were one of many amazing experiences for children. The Maryland Renaissance Festival is thoroughly family-friendly, with a huge play area for kids. What a great way to spark children’s imaginations!
Continue reading “Royal Progress at the Maryland Renaissance Festival”Dan’s Diner, at 1005 NY-203 in Chatham, New York, is a 1925 O’Mahony. Owner Dan Rundell purchased this dilapidated diner in 1993 in Durham, Connecticut (where it was called Moe’s Diner or the Durham Diner) and spent 12 years restoring it to its former glory. A photo album in the diner tells the story, but I’m sure its proprietor would be happy to share. The ornate lattice in the windows is very classy.
Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.
Diner Resources
It’s fashionable for bars and restaurants to claim some connection to the days of Prohibition, but Roc’s Blackfront Tavern & Grill, at 410 Sixth Street in Charleston, Illinois, is the real deal. It even has the memorabilia to prove it. In my senior and graduate school years at nearby Eastern Illinois University, I frequented Roc’s to have a drink with friends in a classier atmosphere than the usual college bars.
That brick building, absent its black tile facade and martini glass-shaped neon sign, was originally built for the Charleston Courier newspaper office in 1841. Willis W. McClelland opened the Red Front Saloon there in 1917. As fate would have it, the Eighteenth Amendment banning the sale of alcohol in the United States passed in 1919. What were establishments like the Red Front Saloon to do? The saloon changed its name to McClelland’s Cafe and continued to clandestinely sell alcohol a short walk from the county courthouse.
Racing enthusiast Hank O’Day bought the speakeasy in 1931 and renamed it Hank O’Day’s Tavern after Prohibition’s repeal in 1933. Illegal activities continued, however. O’Day ran an underground casino in the room above the bar, complete with buzzer system to alert patrons of police raids. When owner Mike Knoop renovated in 1996, he discovered hidden gambling devices and paraphernalia, including total boards for horse racing and a roulette wheel that now hangs on the wall.
Continue reading “EIU Memories: Roc’s Blackfront”
