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:

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!

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Sometimes I forget to look up.  This time I was glad that I didn’t. 

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.

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.