Jonathan Williams began construction of Castle Williams in 1807 and was completed in 1811 - It's a three level 100 gun casemate. It was the first casemated fort in North America. It was part of a larger system of forts such as Fort Wood, Fort Hamilton,and Castle Clinton protecting New York Harbor and New York City.

The northern half of Governor's Island is a National Register historic district #85002435. It's also a National Historic Landmark. The National Park Service runs Castle Williams and Fort Jay as a National Monument. The rest of Governor's Island is administered by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation. The island is required by law to have no housing (which is a shame - I think the Presidio model works very well).

The island is open to visitors only on the weekends from spring through fall. If you're ever in New York City, I would highly recommend taking the free ferry over to the island and explore. You can even rent a bike on the island.

The Gothic spire of Fort Street Presbyterian Church is contrasted with the modern architecture of the Wayne County Community College Building.

From Wikipedia:

King's Chapel was founded in 1686 as the first Anglican Church in New England during the reign of King James II. The original King's Chapel was a wooden church built in 1688 at the corner of Tremont and School Streets. It was situated on the public burying ground because no resident would sell land for a non-Puritan church.

In 1749, construction began on the current stone structure which was designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754. The stone church was built around the wooden church. When the stone church was complete, the wooden church was disassembled and removed through the windows of the new church. The wood was then shipped to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

King's Chapel is on the National Register #74002045.

The old Federal Courthouse is on the National Register #69000076.

Auguste Chouteau and John Lucas donated land to St. Louis County for a courthouse in 1816. The original courthouse was constructed of brick in the Federal style of architecture and completed in 1828. A second courthouse was designed by architect Henry Singleton, which incorporated the original courthouse as the east wing of the building. The second courthouse was designed with four wings and a dome in the center of its axis. The Old Courthouse underwent a second period of construction beginning in 1851. Due to the extensive remodeling, the original dome, a classic revival style, was replaced. The new dome was of wrought and cast iron with a copper exterior in an Italian Renaissance style, and was designed by William Rumbold. Carl Wimar was commissioned to paint the murals on the interior of the dome. The Old Courthouse was abandoned by the City of St. Louis in 1930. In 1935, St Louis voted a bond issue to raze nearly 40 blocks around the courthouse in the center of St. Louis for the new Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The courthouse was deeded to the Federal Government in 1940 by the city of St. Louis.

In 1846, slave Dred Scott sued for his freedom in the St Louis County Courthouse based on the fact that he and his wife had lived in the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin. The case was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1856 case Dred Scott v. Sandford which ruled against Scott. The decision In effect, ruled that slaves had no claim to freedom; they were property and not citizens; and they could not bring suit in federal court.

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (including the Arch, Old Cathedral, and Old Courthouse) is on the National Register #87001423, and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The Soldiers' Home (now the Armed Forces Retirement Home) dates to 1851 when Congress created it to serve as a place for retiring soldiers. It's on the former George Riggs summer estate (and his home was utilized by presidents as a summer residence). The home has a large number of buildings and recreational facilities and can now be utilized by all retired service members. The Soldiers' Home is on the National Register #74002176 and also a National Historic Landmark.

St Mary's Church is the oldest surviving church in Nashville and the oldest Catholic church in Tennessee. The Greek Revival church was constructed in 1845 and was designed by Adolphus Heiman. It was superceded as Cathedral in 1914 when the Cathedral of the Incarnation opened on West End Avenue.

St Mary's Church is on the National Register #70000609.

The building on the left is the IBM Building designed by Vladimir Ossipoff in 1962 (I don't know what the name of the building is on the right). I fell in love with this building at first sight. We were told that Vladimir Ossipoff was the Frank Lloyd Wright of Hawaii.

The John J. Glessner House, operated as the Glessner House Museum, was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in late 1887. John Glessner was a partner in the firm of Warder, Bushnell & Glessner, a farm machinery manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Ohio. He and his wife moved to Chicago in 1870 where he opened a branch office. In 1902, the firm and four others, including firms controlled by J. P. Morgan, Cyrus McCormick, and James Deering, merged to form International Harvester. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places #70000233, and also is a National Historic Landmark. It is also in the Prairie Avenue Historic District which is also on the National Register of Historic Places #72000452.

Constructed around 2600 BCE, during the Neolithic, Avebury is a large henge with a large outer stone circle, and two separate smaller stone circles located at the center. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site named Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites. It's also a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Unlike Stonehenge where the public typically cannot get up-close to the stones, Avebury allows almost full access.

Chrysler building, New York. The pre-war Art Deco of the Chrysler contrasts with the Modernist slab next to it

Food Dance Cafe in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan

The Price Tower was commissioned by Harold C. Price of the H. C. Price Company, a local oil pipeline and chemical firm. It opened to the public in February 1956.

The Price Tower is nationally significant as one of two completed designs for "high-rise buildings during Frank Lloyd Wright's long career, and the only one that might "be appropriately termed a "skyscraper." It was one of a group of sixteen Wright buildings singled-out in 1959 by the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as his most important "to the nation [and]...which ought to be preserved in their original form."

The Price Tower is on the National Register #74001670, and it is also on a National Historic Landmark.

Totally surrounded.

A "Jewel Box" bank designed by designed by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in 1912. On the National Register #74001045, and also in the Winona Commercial Historic District #98001220.

There seems to be some disagreement amongst historians about when this place was actually built. Some say it was built in the 1780s, while others think that perhaps 1815 or so is a more accurate date. Either way, it's very old, and is indeed the oldest stone structure in the county, and now, is the oldest structure in the downtown area (since the other possibly-oldest structure was recently demolished, much to my great dismay.)

The interior is in pretty good shape, though the place is currently used as a gift shop... which I think benefits a Methodist charity (forgive me, I'm not sure what it's called.) It's a very fun place to visit, if you want to feel how cramped old days living was. It's rather suffocatingly small inside. I've never been upstairs. They do have very nice gifts and tchotchkes for sale, too.

On the National Register, #72001290.

Also a designated Methodist Historic Site, #234

I was going to fix the perspective on this, but decided I loved how the new buildings were overlooking the older buildings.

Designed by Henry Austin in 1849 but the front and tower were heavily modified in 1904.

There seems to be some disagreement amongst historians about when this place was actually built. Some say it was built in the late 1700s, while others think that perhaps 1815 or so is a more accurate date. Either way, it's very old, and is indeed the oldest stone structure in the county, and now, is the oldest structure in the downtown area (since the other possibly-oldest structure was recently demolished, much to my great dismay.) This was a house, and was also a tavern, I believe.

The interior is in pretty good shape, though the place is currently used as a gift shop... which benefits (I think) a Methodist charity/service organization (forgive me, I'm not sure what it's called.) It's a very fun place to visit, if you want to feel how cramped old days living was. It's rather suffocatingly small inside. I've never been upstairs. They do have very nice gifts and tchotchkes for sale, too.

On the National Register. #72001290

Also a designated Methodist Historic Site, #234

These three rowhouses and the brick apartment building are In the Greater Fourteenth Street Historic District National Register #94000992; however, the new condo tower is just outside the boundary.

At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Hub (transportation center), was designed by Santiago Calatrava for the eastern side of the new World Trade Center. The Corbin Building is located adjacent to the Fulton Center. It was originally slated to be demolished, the building was instead restored as a part of the Fulton Center project and incorporated to the overall transit complex. It opened in 1888 and was designed by Francis H. Kimball in the Romanesque Revival style. The Corbin Building is on the National Register #03001302.

My first visit to Japan was far too brief - just a week to explore Tokyo and Kyoto. And yet, it surpassed my expectations, demolished my preconceptions, and spoiled me with color and vibrancy.

These images do not utilize AI beyond basic de-noising and are original imagery with no items added or removed (such as errant leaves, pieces of trash, or power lines). What you see is as close to the moment as I experienced it.

All images by Alex Berger, please reach out directly for licensing or usage requests.

Find more of my work at alex-berger.com or on virtualwayfarer.com.

Holy Cross Church was dedicated in 1848 and is on the National Register of Historic Places #79001837.

Looks like a religious spaceship landed in front of a Renaissance Revival church.

The architect incorporated historic buildings into the design of the stadium.

The Government Service Center by Paul Rudolph was designed in 1962 and finished in 1971. It's in the Brutalist style with his signature ribbed concrete or "corduroy concrete".

The Fox Theater opened in 1930 as the Tower Theater and closed in 1974. It sat empty for twenty-five years, and was finally restored in 2005. It is on the National Register of Historic Places #03000905.

Auguste Chouteau and John Lucas donated land to St. Louis County for a courthouse in 1816. The original courthouse was constructed of brick in the Federal style of architecture and completed in 1828. A second courthouse was designed by architect Henry Singleton, which incorporated the original courthouse as the east wing of the building. The second courthouse was designed with four wings and a dome in the center of its axis. The Old Courthouse underwent a second period of construction beginning in 1851. Due to the extensive remodeling, the original dome, a classic revival style, was replaced. The new dome was of wrought and cast iron with a copper exterior in an Italian Renaissance style, and was designed by William Rumbold. Carl Wimar was commissioned to paint the murals on the interior of the dome. The Old Courthouse was abandoned by the City of St. Louis in 1930. In 1935, St Louis voted a bond issue to raze nearly 40 blocks around the courthouse in the center of St. Louis for the new Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The courthouse was deeded to the Federal Government in 1940 by the city of St. Louis.

In 1846, slave Dred Scott sued for his freedom in the St Louis County Courthouse based on the fact that he and his wife had lived in the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin. The case was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1856 case Dred Scott v. Sandford which ruled against Scott. The decision In effect, ruled that slaves had no claim to freedom; they were property and not citizens; and they could not bring suit in federal court.

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (including the Arch, Old Cathedral, and Old Courthouse) is on the National Register #87001423, and is also a National Historic Landmark.

On May 17, 1664 issue a warrant to purchase this property for use by the Royal Navy as a gun wharf. A gun wharf was where a ship would offload all of its guns before it went in to dry dock so that the weight of the guns would not destroy the keel when it was no longer supported by water. After ships went to steel hulls, the Gunwharf Quays was converted into a torpedo school called the HMS Vernon. It saw great use in World War I and World War II. It was decommission in 1996 and Berkeley Homes adaptively reused it into a shopping and residential complex. The Main Gate and surviving walls date to the early 1870s and are a Grade II listed building.

The Alamo National Bank Building (left) opened in 1929 and was designed in the Art Deco style. The building was adaptively reused into a Drury Hotel. It is on the National Register #06000364. And the Tower Life Building opened in 1929 as the Smith-Young Tower, and designed by Ayrers & Ayrers in a Art Deco interpretation of Gothic Revival. The Tower Life Building is on the National Register #91001682.

The Old State House was constructed in 1713 in the Georgian style. It served as the chambers for the Royal Governor and then the government of the Commonwealth until the move to the new State House in 1798. It was the Boston City Hall from 1830 to 1841. It was restored in the 1880s. The Old State House is on the National Register #66000779, and is also a National Historic Landmark. It is also part of the Boston National Historical Park, National Register #74002222.

The Unity Temple was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and opened in 1908. It is probably one of Wright's most well-known works and is on the US tentative list for the World Heritage List. It is on the National Register #70000240 and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The Royal Military College (RMC) is the military academy of the Canadian Forces. RMC was established in 1876. It is on the Canadian Historic Register.

The Empire State Plaza was the idea of then governor Nelson Rockefeller. It was designed by Harrison and Abramovitz and was constructed from 1965 to 1976. Rockefeller reportedly doodled his ideas on a napkin incorporating elements from Brasilia and Chandrigahr. As was typical for urban renewal efforts of the era, an entire neighborhood was destroyed and rebuilt from the ground up. The focus of the development was the plaza itself were the buildings are situated along an axis emanating from the 1860s Romanesque Revival capitol building. The capitol building was constructed from 1860 and finally finished in 1899. A series of different architects worked on the building giving it it's mixture of Renaissance Revival and Romanesque Revival elements. The capitol is on the National Register of Historic Places #71000519, part of the Lafayette Park historic district which is also on the NRHP #78001837, and also a National Historic Landmark. Empire State Plaza is not yet on the NRHP.

Brooklyn Borough Hall was designed in 1835 by architect Gamaliel King. It was completed in 1849 to be used as the City Hall of the City of Brooklyn, but when the counties of New York, Kings, Queens, a portion of Westchester (The Bronx), and Richmond consolidated into New York City it became the Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Brooklyn Borough Hall is on the National Register #80002630.

It's amazing to me how the District has kept these historic schools going. It's not that way here in Champaign.

I love that they kept the Central Library downtown and they adaptively reuse a historic building!! I don't have a photo of it but the parking structure is great with these huge books.

In the West Ninth Street-Baltimore Avenue Historic District , National Register #76001113.

I wonder if these buildings once looked a lot alike.

The original church at this location was built in 1828, during lulls in the construction of the Rideau Canal, though the church building seen here was built in 1872, and then, much later, in 1988, an office building attached directly to the church, St. Andrew's Tower, was built. St. Andrew's Tower is mainly the headquarters of the Department of Justice, but the church still has some offices in the lower floors.

The two source photos were composited together in Autostitch.

Interesting, the Avant building on the left was originally constructed in 1971 as the Dulski Federal Building.

a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/167197_1015011139...

It was adaptively reused (basically stripped down to the structure) into an Embassy Suites, offices, and condos.

I don't know what the building on the right is, but it deserves to be saved.

The Customhouse and Post Office was designed by Alfred Mullett in 1873. It is one of two surviving Federal buildings by Mullett. The other one is the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House. You can't see it from this perspective, but there is a large domed portion on the other side of the building.

This building's adaptive reuse was part of a huge controversy between the Landmarks Association of St Louis and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Basically the developers interested in the adaptive reuse of the Old Post Office wanted to demolish the historic Century Building for a parking structure (which is what eventually happened). The National Trust sided with the developers horror, and the Century Building came tumbling down.

The Customhouse and Post Office (Old Post Office) is on the National Register #68000053, and it is also a National Historic Landmark.

On the foreground a beautiful old warehouse and behind it the Tower on South (Architect: Renzo Piano)

On the left: part of the Erasmus Bridge.

The Iolani Palace was constructed in 1871 and designed by Thomas J. Baker in the Hawaiian Regional style (think of Second Empire in this case).

The Iolani Palace is on the National Register #66000293, and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The Government Service Center by Paul Rudolph was designed in 1962 and finished in 1971. It's in the Brutalist style with his signature ribbed concrete or "corduroy concrete".

The Gothic Revival style cathedral was completed in April 1914 and designed by Charles A. MacDonald and George Winkler. It is on the National Register #82003704.