I conjure Siracusa, and bite my lip. It’s wonderful. Layers of civilization created this hauntingly beautiful city on the southeast coast of Sicily. Remnants of Greek, Roman, and European pasts overlap. Pots of flowers sat on the streets around doors … Continue reading
Category Archives: Historic Preservation
Staring out over New York Harbor, the Central Railroad of New Jersey’s (CRRNJ) Communipaw Terminal was an early and major powerhouse of New York City transportation and where two thirds of immigrants landed after their stop at Ellis Island. The CRRNJ … Continue reading
I had been warned that Albuquerque wasn’t much. Last week, I attended the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works annual meeting. Much of my time there was observing the southwest-flavored interior of the Albuquerque Convention Center, with … Continue reading
First designated in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway across the United States, stretching from Times Square in New York City to Golden Gate Park and the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco. In 2005, I drove the … Continue reading
If there’s one thing I felt after reading the excellent New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg ( eds. Marshall Berman and Brian Berger, University of Chicago Press, 2007), it was a compulsion to challenge the statement that newcomers to New York … Continue reading
Make sure you slip in that “th.” Bar-thelona. Crazy architecture. Eating dinner at 9:30 pm there means you are dining with the elderly set. It didn’t matter that I had packed my luggage for hot and sunny, and I arrived … Continue reading
Stockholm: scary sandwiches, incredible museums, and the beautiful islands which serve as the city’s perch. I visited Stockholm in September of 2011. Approximately fourteen islands make up Stockholm and the reflections off the water filled the autumn air with light. The … Continue reading
Who cares about the PATH? That’s Port Authority Trans Hudson trains to those of you not from the area. And I do. Dr. V and I got acquainted with the PATH route from 33rd St. to Hoboken thanks to our … Continue reading
Gas was 99 cents a gallon in the Midwest in May of 2005. Driving east across the Indiana state line, my friend Mrs. G and I entered Van Wert, Ohio. There, beckoning to us in hot neon: Balyeat’s Coffee Shop … Continue reading
Bumping around the Internet, I came upon this group of images of North American train stations. Some I recognized, while others were from towns I have never considered. As I looked at the first photos, more photos kept loading, until … Continue reading