BrightPathTours

Ginter's whole life is very interesting! And entertaining...

Hollywood Cemetery, Est 1847, Richmond VA
One of the first of the Rural or Garden Cemeteries in the US, Hollywood has many magnificent trees and plantings. Here is what's left of one of the great oaks, a tree that witnessed the founding of America.

President James Monroe Burial, 1858
Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond VA
Our 5th President, James Monroe, died on July 4th, 1831, the third of the Founding Fathers to die on July 4th -- Adams & Jefferson died on the 4th, just 5 years earlier.
The "Birdcage" Memorial was designed by Albert Lybrock

Lewis Ginter, Jefferson Hotel, Richmond VA
Lewis Ginter opened "the finest hotel in America" in 1895. The hotel benefitted from the north-south seasonal migration of the very wealthy during the era known as the Gilded Age.
Ginter's imposing mausoleum sits in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.

Beautiful carving!

Beautiful shapes and forms from the shadows!

In the American Colonial Era, people called it first sleep and second sleep

This is a very good year for crape myrtle -- abundant blooms!

What a beauty! And quite a lovely setting

Was it the Knights Templar or another group of Knights who were responsible for protecting pilgrims? And would that be prior to the Crusades? It's a very interesting era

In high school, I worked at the local florist shop and the florist would use "glads" in corsages. They were quite nice and so different from the usual rose/carnation corsages. Does anyone today remember wearing a corsage -- or even recognize what a corsage looks like??

I love urban geometry!

The Revere Bell, King's Chapel Bell Tower, Boston MA.
The 2nd bell installed in the tower (1816), most likely cast by Paul Revere's son, Joseph Warren Revere. It weighs over 2400 pounds and is about 5 inches thick.
This was Paul Revere's favorite bell -- and it is still rung today.

I love the play between shadow and light and the different textures. And I love those curved stairs

Stewart Mausoleum, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY
This is the burial place of the parents of Isabella Stewart Gardner, the wealthy Bostonian who travelled the world collecting treasures that are now housed in the Gardner Museum in Boston. Augustus Saint Gaudens created the lovely bas reliefs

St Mary's Basilica, Wilmington NC
The renowned Spanish architect, Raphael Guastavino, brought his unique tiling method to America in the late 1800s. His work can be found in many places, but the Basilica is a tour-de-force -- a spectacular display of vaulting, brickwork, and tiling.

Some of the men look like they're wearing military hats -- a reminder that WWI had ended just 7 years before. Seeing these people having a good time after so much destruction during the Great War is an interesting viewpoint

This looks like a riff on The Canterbury Tales. The writing is clear -- is that Dutch or Middle English?

Robert Gould Shaw / 54th MA Memorial, Boston MA
Augustus Saint Guadens
Of all Saint Gaudens' works, this Memorial took the longest to complete -- almost 15 years (instead of the expected two years!)
Many of the 54th MA, including Shaw, were killed in the attack on Battery Wagner, SC, 18 July 1863

Beautiful symmetry!

Bigelow Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery
Cambridge, MA
Designed by Jacob Bigelow, one of the founders of the cemetery
The building is Quincy Granite; the large rose window over the entrance is from Edinburgh, Scotland, and is one of the earliest examples of stained glass in America

Trinity Church, Boston
Window over the West entrance
Christ in Majesty -- John LaFarge, 1883

Memorial to Irish Sculptors, Joseph and Martin Milmore
"Death Stays the Hand of the Sculptor," Daniel Chester French
Forget the Lincoln Memorial in DC, IMO, this is French's masterpiece. The bronze is the original at Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston. The marble version is in the Met Museum of Art, NYC

Entry Gate to Forest Hills Cemetery
Jamaica Plain, Boston MA

George Robert White Memorial
Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Boston MA
Another of sculptor Daniel Chester French's superb angels, this stately, imposing figure resides just on the edge of the forest and marks the grave of the well-known, well-respected Boston businessman/philanthropist

Dr Edward & Paul Revere
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge MA
Grandsons of Paul Revere, both served in the 20th MA
Dr Edward Revere died at the battle of Antietam, 17 Sept 1862, while tending a wounded soldier
Paul Joseph Revere, died at Gettysburg, 4 July 1863, from wounds received on 3 July.

Wow! Pen, pencil, and watercolor! That is incredible

Yeah, I know. But there are SO many buildings like this in SO many cities. I really want something miraculous to happen! Like, have cities be more pro-active. How much good could come of that! And sure, cities do try to do this sometimes -- but not enough IMO.

I agree 100% on reuse, if feasible. OR -- the owner could be required to tear down the building if it's end-of-life. If they are out of business, then the city should be able to take over and tear it down then sell the lot for development, preferably for something that would enhance the city.

Urban decay at its best. There should be a tour for all of these buildings.