As I drove onto Belle Isle, connected to the City of Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge, I blew by a small booth. Thinking I should stop after all, I backed up and talked to the woman and realized I had to pay $11 for the honor of driving my car around the park for around…
Tag: Sculpture
Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit
Founded in 1895 on Woodward Avenue, Woodlawn Cemetery relieved pressure on the smaller cemeteries such as Elmwood or Mount Elliott cemeteries deeper into the city. It is big, clocking in at 140 acres, and is placed strategically close to the border with the suburbs. It is huge, and boasts over one hundred mausolea, which in…
Mount Elliott Cemetery, Detroit
For some reason, Mount Elliott Cemetery, part of a constellation of other cemeteries, no longer promotes itself as a Catholic burial ground, though it opened as one in 1841, making it the oldest in Detroit. It’s a beautiful cemetery, and I only discovered its existence when I noticed a barbed wire-topped fence on the eastern…
Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit
Created in 1849 in the same period as many other rural cemetery movement burial grounds were founded throughout America, Elmwood Cemetery was inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, which we looked at back in October of 2022. It’s the oldest still existing non-denominational cemetery in Detroit, and it lies to the northeast of downtown…
Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Interior, Detroit
The staff graciously turned on the lights for me so I could photograph the interior of the cathedral, which was completed in 1930, several years after the church was consecrated. There were some renovations in the early millennium that are apparent as they look different than in a typical Gothic Revival cathedral. The stained glass…
The Chicago River and Civic Identity
I would argue that the approximate one mile from the Lake Shore Drive Bridge to Wolf Point, where the Chicago River splits into its North and South branches, is easily one of the most famous vistas in the world. Along it you will see the Wrigley Building, the Tribune Tower and many others you’d recognize…
Francis Howell Cemetery
Tucked away but not hidden in August A. Busch (Sr.) Wildlife Conservation Area is the Francis Howell Cemetery. We’ve looked at the Thomas Howell Cemetery a few years back, and there are even more cemeteries founded by the family, including one just a few miles away, showing just how prolific and important the clan was…
Winneshiek County Courthouse, Decorah, Iowa
One of the more spectacular courthouses I’ve seen lately is the Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah, Iowa, located in the northeastern reaches of the state. Replacing the first permanent courthouse on the site, and costing $125,000 to build, it was designed by A.C. Kinney of Minneapolis and completed in 1904. I suppose I would describe…
Sinclair Dinosaur Sighting, Hazleton, Iowa
This Sinclair Dinosaur looks like it had been getting its party on before we spotted it in Hazleton, Iowa. This is now the second sighting in about a month, and about a year after we saw another one in Northeast Iowa. The earliest and last time in St. Louis that we spotted one was way…
Grant’s Farm, Mid-June 2023
The Busch Family Ownership Group (minus Billy and Adolphus IV) welcomes you to Grant’s Farm! We paid an evening visit to the Busch family estate recently. I learned the structure below was the ice skating building. This was part of the original holdings of the Dent Family, and the Hardscrabble log cabin is one of…