Saturday, May 26, 2012

Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, New York, New York

Stadium Ave - Watt Ave intersection
Ampere Ave - Ohm Ave intersection
The American Boy
Pelham Bay Park is divided by the Hutchinson River.  The southern portion features two unusual sights, a spectacular war memorial and a statue remnant from an old stadium.  The World War Memorial (1925) designed by John Sheridan is one of the best-maintained monuments in all of NYC.  Rice Memorial Stadium (1925) was recently demolished.  It featured a small Greek temple framing Louis St. Lannes' heroic statue The America Boy.  The stadium was given to the city by the widow of Isaac L. Rice, developer of storage batteries for cars and first president of the Electric Storage Battery Co. in 1897.  In gratitude, city fathers named neighboring streets Watt, Ampere, and Ohm.  Rice was also inventor of the Rice gambit, a chess opening.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, New York, New York

horse stable borders canal
improbable expansive lawn
improbable pool sighting
note moorings


Gerritsen Beach lies between Sheepshead Bay and the Brooklyn Marine Park (Brooklyn's largest Park), home to a wetland habitat.  Many houses lie along creeks (Shell Bank Creek) and canals with large marinas and even a horse corral.  Yet again, this does not look and feel like Brooklyn.  Long-standing residents of Irish descent refer to the community as being cois farraige, which is an Irish language phrase meaning "by the sea."

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Bay State Village, Northampton, Massachusetts

This is a perfectly preserved New England mill in Bay State Village, a hamlet of Northampton.  The immaculate green lawn accentuates the brickwork, note bell tower.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Canal District, Worcester, Massachusetts

One57 Tower, Manhattan, New York, New York

Manhattan's newest skyscraper story involves a 72-story condo due to be completed in 2013 topping out at 1004 ft.  The duplex penthouse has already been purchased at $90 million.