Update: These “cheap” bulbs are still alive as of January 1, 2021 and continue to bloom around Easter. They have also split off and formed several more bulbs over the last decade. My big box chain store inside bulbs have greatly pleased me in their performance. The flower below bloomed over Christmas, just in time…
Month: December 2009
Morton, Illinois: Pumpkin Capital of the World
Yes, it’s hard to believe, but Pumpkinland does exist. It’s in Morton, Illinois, which is sadly succumbing to suburbanization.
Chain of Rocks Bridge
Update: See photographs of the bridge from 2010, 2015 and 2016, as well as the two water intake towers from 2010.
Left Behind: A Church in Southwest, Washington, DC
Sliced off from its neighborhood, buffeted by an interstate, this Franciscan monastery continues on in the shadow of the massive government office buildings of Federal Center Southwest. What is cool is how the church received a Modernist makeoever, with this stylish railing that leads around the property. In back, this funky Modernist chapel completes the…
Rowhouses, Southwest, Washington, DC
Oddly enough, once all the historic 19th Century rowhouses had been swept aside, they proceeded to build these new ones in their place. While I’m not a huge fan of the design, Southwest could have used more of these streets during the rebuilt, considering how much of the area is dominated by large apartment buildings.
Southwest Freeway, Washington, DC
The Southwest Freeway was one of the few legs of what would have been a giant, destructive double loop of interstates planned for Washington, DC. Thankfully, the interstates were stopped before any more damage could be done. See the church below in the background here. Sadly, it was too late to salvage the connectivity of…
Waterfront Mall, Southwest, Washington, DC
This failed mall on the riverfront in Southwest appears to have been largely demolished for redevelopment. It was a total failure, but what was cool is that it was suspended in the 1960’s, complete with its sole remaining tenant, a cheap restaurant with harvest orange dining benches. The Brutalist apartment blocks lining the area still…
Modernist Churches, Southwest, Washington, DC
The architects who rebuilt Southwest DC designed everything, including new churches.
Arena Stage, Southwest, Washington, DC
Update: Here it is complete. The Arena Stage, so-named because it was originally housed in the arena of the Heurich Brewery in Foggy Bottom before it was demolished for the Kennedy Center, is once again undergoing a transformation. They’re literally building the new theater over the top of the 1960’s one. Bizarre.