No jokes about killing one.
See, look, I’m totally a nature photographer when nature just sits there and lets me bumble up to it.
February 27, 2011
Here come the geese
Many of us who have grown up with Canada geese— which I suspect is most people in the United States, or at least most of us on the east coast, or at the VERY least most of us in the northeast— see a field of Canada geese and think, “Oh no, I hope I haven’t already stepped in $#!t.”
February 26, 2011
St. Teresa’s
St. Teresa’s Church was established in 1862, on or near its current site. (Click here for the Google Street View of the site!) The landowners sold the property to the church for a mere $600… provided the new church’s ediface would be constructed of stone. (Apparently they had a thing for stone churches, I dunno. Also: this information pertains to the building depicted BELOW, not the flared-out photo above.)
It was the second church building in Summit (after the Episcopal one)!
In 1886, they decided they’d rather have a wooden church, so they built one, and used this stone one as its sacristy.
In 1923, they moved the wooden church across the street and built this modern building in the top photo from granite stones rescued from a Montclair church as it was being demolished. (Montclair is maybe a half-hour drive from Summit.) The new church was finished and dedicated in 1926.
What they DON’T mention in the history books is how impressive this structure really is in person. I was photographing the little memorial hall across the street (aka: the old wooden church, which they’ve apparently renovated so it no longer looks old), I turned around, and I was almost blown away by this freaking cathedral behind me. Oy.
Vintage photo and information from:
The Summit Historical Society. (1978). Glimpses into Summit’s past: A selection of photographs and texts tracing the city’s growth. Benway, Maxwell & Smith: Chatham, NJ.
February 25, 2011
Cobalt
The Summit firehouse, for all its excitingly brick-like brick, has some really interesting cobalt blue glass lights flanking either side of its main entrance. They’ve got a logo for the Summit Fire Department (S-F-D), which is unusual ‘cos the emblem that appears everywhere else in the city (and boy do I mean everywhere) is the swastika-steam bowl of soup. (I am pretty sure it’s not actually supposed to be a swastika.)
And I mean who doesn’t like blue glass come ON.
February 24, 2011
Gum balls
When I was growing up, we called these things “gum balls,” presumably because they fall from the sweet gum tree. But the term “monkey balls” is, apparently, more common.
We made spiders out of ‘em in Girl Scouts–just thread some pipe cleaners through the holes, glue on some googly eyes, and voila! you have yourself some real art.
They kinda stick around. (no pun intended.) They’re not nearly as sticky as burrs.
February 23, 2011
F is for Fonts!
Around the corner from this photo, once again we see bicycle parking at Chatham Station.
And, uh, being an amateur font nerd, I am very excited that these labels are in Century Gothic! That’s kind of unusual for signs in general, but it’s especially unusual for NJ Transit signs.
The station signs for most of the Morris/Essex line are some weird indeterminate serif font; the closest I can figure is some indeterminate variation of Garamond.
New Providence is the only one I’ve seen that uses a nice standard Helvetica.
Is there a rhyme or reason for any of this? No idea. Just makin’ observations.
February 22, 2011
Ice palace
I think this looks like an ice palace.
It isn’t really.
I mean, for one thing, palaces can hold more than 10 people.
February 21, 2011
Cook’s folly
Maaaaaan, I just took a whole bunch of photos to capture the snowlessness of the area, and it went and blizzarded again last night (as you see here). But I digress.
This house, about half a mile from where I live, was “built as a pioneer venture in concrete construction in 1857.” At the time, everyone thought it was crazy. It’ll crumble in years, they shook their heads. But here it stands!
Here it is in 1875!
It was erected by Rev. Thomas Cook as a school for girls (in 1857), and it became privately owned in 1872.
Vintage photo and information from:
The Summit Historical Society. (1978). Glimpses into Summit’s past: A selection of photographs and texts tracing the city’s growth. Benway, Maxwell & Smith: Chatham, NJ.
February 19, 2011
