Providence Athenaeum
This is the fourth oldest library in America, and the oldest one in Rhode Island. It was founded in 1753 as a subscription library, and it is said that Edgar Allan Poe carried on an illicit affair with the poet Sarah Whitman within the book stacks. They were engaged to be married and their nuptials were even announced in a Connecticut newspaper, but Sarah’s mother put the kyebosh on it when she found out that Poe was also having an affair with another woman at the same time.
It was fun to wander around and wonder if I was standing in the very same spot that Edgar Allan Poe used to smooch his girl.
Bonus shot:
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Providence Renaissance
What you see here is the “new” train tracks where Amtrack trains run underneath the Providence Place Mall on their way to New York City and other points south.
Buddy Cianci gets a lot of credit for rebuilding the city of Providence into a vibrant center of culture and arts, but the true reason these train tracks follow this path is because a man named Warner was out drinking with his architect buddies in 1981. As the booze kept flowing, they sketched out a plan to move the rivers and the train tracks to more convenient locations so that more malls and other projects could be developed.
Yup, that’s right - here in Rhode Island we move rivers and trains to build malls. A reproduction of the bar napkin appears in the book “Providence: The Renaissance City” – complete with wine stains!
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:55, said:
A nice leading lines shot.
Providence State House
A favorite subject of mine. Built during 1795-1904, it’s the fourth largest self-supporting dome in the world, and the second largest marble dome in the world (losing that distinction to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome).
This building is featured in several movies, most notably as representing the US Capitol Building in the movie “Amistad.”
Also of interest, it was one of the first public buildings to use electricity.
The statue at the top is called the Independent Man. It’s a bronze statue covered in gold leaf, and is meant to represent the independent spirit of Roger Williams, who fled Boston to found Rhode Island in search of religious freedom from the Quakers.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:55, said:
It looks so majestic. It’s color but has this gray scale look to it. Which is pretty nice.
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Emily at 2007-06-25 12:30, said:
I have always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way
Brown University
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:53, said:
Yeah, I turned down the scholarship they offered me. Something about the local community college appealed to me instead.
I like this shot with the people framed by the trees, lamppost, etc.
Ivy League Refrigerator
One of the dorms at Brown University, during winter. It might be mostly rich kids that get to go there, but clearly at least one of them has found a way to use the weather outside to keep milk cold and use the space inside the room more effectively. :) If it weren’t seen at Brown University, I’d call it a Redneck Refrigerator.
I know it’s just a snapshot, but it made me smile and I hope it does for you as well.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:50, said:
I know some real life rednecks and this is something they would totally do. A fun capture.
John Brown House
Inside the courtyard at the John Brown House/Museum in Providence, RI. They don’t allow photography inside the museum for insurance purposes, as many of the items on display are on loan from private collectors.
The house was the grandest mansion in the State of Rhode Island when it was built in 1788.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:49, said:
From the groundwork this looks like the same courtyard. Again, looks like a nice place.
In the Garden
On the grounds of the John Brown house in Providence, RI. John Brown made most of his money by being a slave trader, but is best known for founding Brown University.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:48, said:
Probably a nice peaceful spot to relax.
Old Stone Bank
The gold dome is the top of the Old Stone Bank building in Providence. The Old Stone Bank building was designed in 1854 and the view here is from the Gov. Stephen S. Hopkins House. It’s distinctive roof is a local historical landmark, and still glows with pride in the late afternoon sun.
Old Stone Bank was most popular here in RI in the late 1960’s, having 14 branches. It failed in 1993 after a bad deal with the federal government. It exists today as a paper company, pursuing lawsuits and tying up loose ends. The actual building is now owned by Brown University today.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:47, said:
Looks like some really interesting architecture out that way.
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Lynn Miner Flynn at 2007-09-28 14:27, said:
Ahhh. The memories! I worked for the marketing department of Old Stone Bank in the early 1980s. Life was good then….and budgets were big! I do miss Fred Flintstone and the “Ready Freddy” ATM machines!
Cirque
Sometimes I forget to look up. This time I was glad that I didn’t.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:46, said:
Was this at the library, too? Looks cool.
Glow
Meghan was a mother before she ever became pregnant. Her philosophy on guests in her home is “Come as quick as you can and stay as long as you like.” Patient and kind, she just takes care of everything and always RSVP’s on time…for everyone.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:42, said:
Good thing I was sitting down when I checked for a new photo. Not only one, but a bunch of them.
I like the silouette of this one.
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Marc at 2007-06-21 00:44, said:
sheesh, where did I learn to spell? I’ meant silhouette.
Rangefinder
This is my late grandfather’s vintage Argus C3 rangefinder camera with a coated Cintar lens, which I “inherited” at Christmas.
After doing a bit of research it appears that Argus produced the C3 model from circa 1938 to 1956. I believe mine is one of the earlier C3 models and dates before 1945. This is based on the following: the fact that the exposure dial is silver with black numbers (instead of black with white numbers), there is no accessory shoe, there is no Argus nameplate on the front, it has a Weston film speed reminder dial (later models didn’t have this), the back also has three stripes of leatherette divided by chrome (instead of being plain). The camera’s serial number is 137195 (inside the film compartment instead of on the bottom), which means it was produced after WWII had started. It will take a picture in the 24 x 36mm size, and is commonly referred to as “The Brick.” Many people estimate that of the 35mm cameras that American soldiers took into WWII, the Argus “Brick” was the most popular one. All this seems to fit with what I know of my grandfather; he was a US Marine in WWII and did have pictures that he took during the war buried in his desk drawer. There was one picture that I’ll never forget: that of group Japanese soldiers chained to their tank while being shot at. My grandfather said that it was common for the Japanese to chain their soldiers to the tanks during battle, to prevent them from running away. One of the Japanese soldiers had already fallen when my grandfather took the shot.
If I can ever figure out how to work it, I’d like to take some pix with my little piece of history. Knowing that my grandfather probably used it during WWII would only make that more special.
22 responses so far...
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Lisa at 2007-01-07 19:58, said:
What a great shot! Excellent start to your PAW
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L1 at 2007-01-07 19:59, said:
This is a most awesome picture…and the camera is so cool! I hope you get it all figured out; I’d love to see what that baby can do!
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Jeff at 2007-01-07 21:14, said:
What an interesting post. Old cameras are very interesting…especially when you have a family story to go with it.
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Jeni Yantis at 2007-01-07 22:38, said:
Wow - What a great photo and such a cool camera!! I love it!!
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asim at 2007-01-07 22:39, said:
great picture… great story… helps us remember the importance of photography in documenting the world around us…
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puzzled at 2007-01-07 22:52, said:
Whoohoo, you’ve kicked off 2007 with this beauty representing your own heritage - so cool that your grandfather was also a photographer! Love the sepia tones and depth.
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Jojo at 2007-01-07 23:04, said:
Wow! That is beautiful. And a great little interesting fact to go with it too! Kudos!
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Marc at 2007-01-08 01:11, said:
This is a nice shot. I like the antique look of it.
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Ancientimages at 2007-01-08 04:02, said:
Fantastic image of a great camera, and what a wonderful story to go with it. I hope you are able to take some pictures with it soon. What a wonderful piece of history and what a special Christmas present.
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Jason at 2007-01-08 17:32, said:
This is a textbook shot.
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Karp at 2007-01-09 10:18, said:
The shot is a bit dark on my screen but I sure do love the story behind it :p
And a small reply on your comment. The third escalator-shot is pretty much the same exposure but has different channel-mixer settings. I like the 2 blurred silhouettes myself because I think they give a feeling of movement and they create a sort of pathway down the image. Thanks for your comments and keep it up here!
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islandpaddler at 2007-01-09 17:10, said:
Great sepia image…it fits the antique camera nicely!
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Faye Pekas at 2007-01-10 20:47, said:
What a wonderful piece of history to have. I hope you do take some photos with it and post them.
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KarenNfld at 2007-01-11 17:44, said:
Wonderful photo.
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error99 at 2007-01-13 13:20, said:
I really like the sepia tone on this shot. I bet that camera has taken some cool shots.
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MattO at 2007-01-14 18:39, said:
Wow what a find and nicely photographed and post processed.
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Alain at 2007-01-15 04:30, said:
Beautifull picture, using sepia gives it a great vintage look.
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kteach at 2007-01-17 21:35, said:
Nice shot, and a great story to go along with it! If you get it working, I’m sure we’d love to see some scanned shots of the photos you were able to take!
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Konrad at 2007-01-21 04:39, said:
The sepia tone really give it that antique feel. You should load some B&W film into it and try it out.
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goc at 2007-01-22 03:53, said:
excellent, some piece of equipment !
great photo and story -
Ingrid at 2007-01-23 20:19, said:
This is such a good shot - I can feel the age and history.
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HAHAEvan at 2007-02-12 10:31, said:
woww
very cool piece of equipment!
Photo-A-Week Project
Many thanks to Setz who inspired this little project.
I’ve a number of projects that I’ll be working on in this space, but for 2007 the focus will be on Historical Landmarks and Objects. From time to time, there will be other images representing a contribution to another project, but I’ve made a committment to post at least one picture per week that relates to this theme.
So, this space is soon to be replaced with an amazing image of something with historical significance. Hmm, perhaps I ought not to promise “amazing,” but it’s important to have goals, so there ya go.
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Faye Pekas at 2007-01-03 08:10, said:
It works now. Looking forward to your posts.
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james_so at 2007-01-06 10:26, said:
Looking forward to your photos, amazing or otherwise
Very doll!
Beautiful shot…with good colors. The story is interesting too
Good shot. Good story.
Edgar Allan Poe has always been a favorite of mine. I just picked up a copy of selected works and have been working my way through it. Thanks for the mini history lesson.
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