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This is a photo of the new Bull's Garage after the original site was demolished due to the opening of RAF Swinderby.
A pub was demolished to make way for this garage which in the present day is the A46 Lincoln to Newark road.
I don't know how long the garage operated under the name Bull's Garage as in later years this became more of a service station between the two locations.
In 1989 this was a Heron filling station, later selling Elf before it closed around 1994 and was decomissioned.
The buildings still stand in the present day and has been home to a plumbing & heating company for some time.
In the early 2000's this road was made dual carriageway.
The site in the present day
www.google.com/maps/place/Green+Ln,+Lincoln/@53.1465521,-...
Thanks to Geoff Lloyd for permission to reproduce this photo.
Paul Farrows photo from 1989 as well as a recent photo from me are in the comments below.
This is a dalmatian bellflower named 'Catharina' which grows in my garden and I love the violet colour of the flowers. The scientific name of this low growing perennial is Campanula portenschlagiana.
This is a Challenge in a newly formed Group, It is the Down Under Challenge 2022. We are small but growing and you are welcome to join us if you are into Photo Manipulation. The main idea here is to have fun with Challenges and one Challenge will be posted once per week on Friday (in Australia). Take a look HERE
Only Challenge entries can be posted to this Group.
This week's Challenge was Art Deco.
The U.S. had 3 World'sFairs in the 1930's. In 1933 was the 100 Anniversary of the city of Chicago. Then San Francisco and New York both had one in 1939. RCA introduced TV to the World but the development of TV. was shut down by WWII. There was no official logo for Art Deco, the AD on my image was just one of many. The only rule for a Logo was that it be Gold on Blue.
The image above is a 2000 X 1250 pixel scan from an original slide. Anything that is not from an original Kodachrome™ is noted as such, including later digital images and a limited number of scanned prints. The vast majority of Kodachrome™ shots were scanned during the period 2007-2014. As of 2022, there remains thousands of scanned, and unscanned images yet to go.
Early uploads were done in a 1024 X 683 pixel size. Since then, technology and software has improved, so I am beginning to re-upload in the much larger 2000 X 1250 pixel size, with the eventual goal of having only that format.
The images in the various galleries come mostly from my slide collection, gathered over the past 40+ years. They are a combination of my own photographs and others acquired over those years through trading, purchasing, and attending conventions.
This photostream was created in 2017 for the sole purpose of holding my slide collection as an archive, and has had over 10 million image views (to 2022)
REG’N: C-FKCR
MFR/TYPE/SERIES: Airbus A320-211
MSN: 290
OPERATOR: Air Canada
LOCATION (if known): St. John's YYT
PHOTOGRAPHER (if known):
DATE (if known):
REMARKS:
This is a strange looking car to come from Subaru but a looker. This is the second one I've seen. But this time, I was lucky enough that it's close by my house so I was able to stop and have a better close up look.
I'd say this is definitely a rare car, probably wasn't very common when new, I'd guess.
This is taxed up to February of next year, so it's got some more heads to turn in the future.
It is a former estate garden featuring annuals, roses and wildflowers and an extensive rockery. It is located on Wilket Creek, one of the tributaries of the Don River West Branch. The estate's title was once held by Alexander Milne, a Scottish weaver who settled here after the War of 1812 and left in 1832. The land and the woolen/saw mills was obtained by Rupert E. Edwards in 1944 and created his country home. Edwards home was left in neglect and was purchased by the Municipality of Metro Toronto in 1955 and became Edwards Gardens in 1956.
Today is my 12th Trannyversary… the day when I celebrate the anniversary of the first time I ever fully dressed up in 2011 and became Penny.
The pic on the right is from 10 years ago, and was when I finally found the look I wanted for myself after dressing up for a couple of years. I kept pretty much the same look until two years ago when I had a revamp and went blonde, changed my eye makeup, and did my lips differently.
Living in the sunshine for three and a half years has made me way more tanned now… I didn’t realize how pasty white I used to be!
Virgin Atlantic is celebrating 25 years of flying between London and Miami with a "Miami Vice" themed photocall. Sir Richard Branson arrives by speedboat, whilst giving chase to supermodel Karolina Kurkova, eventually catching her and handcuffing her with gold cuffs, to a press conference announcing the launch of a new route between London and Cancun. Mondrian Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida, USA. June 16, 2011. Photo: Edmond Terakopian
3x2 project.
That is, three targets for two astrophotographers (or self-styled so), myself and Alessandro Bucci.
Second target of the joint project, in fact the main subject, what pushed us to "join forces" for this project was the reflection nebula M78, in Orion. Beautiful subject, yet difficult if not taken from sufficiently dark skies, which requires a lot of care even in the processing phase. It took me about a week of attempts and "pauses for reflection" before reaching the result below, which seems to me quite satisfactory overall.
Unfortunately we were unable to dedicate the two entire evenings to shooting, due to the atmospheric problems I mentioned in the previous post, but 13 hours of shooting still proved to be enough to finally obtain a good photo on this target which I had never shot in optimal conditions.
Hope you like it as well!
Techinical data:
159x300s T-20°/-10° Gain 100 (13h25m Total Integration Time)
Bortle 3 rural sky, Pietralunga, PG (Italy)
Equipment:
Skywatcher Newton 254/1200 @F4.5 1140mm
Tecnosky 0.95x Coma Corrector
Omegon veTEC571C Color
ZWO OAG + ASI290MM Mini
Ioptron CEM70
Skywatcher Newton 254/1200
Skywatcher Coma Corrector 1x
Toupteck 571c Color
ZWO OAG + ASI224MC
Skywatcher Eq6-R
Software:
N.I.N.A., PHD2
Processing(Francesco Radici):
Pixinsight, Photoshop
Progetto 3x2.
Ovvero, tre target x due astrofotografi (o sedicenti tali), il sottoscritto ed Alessandro Bucci.
Secondo obiettivo del progetto congiunto, nonché il soggetto principale, quello che ci ha spinto ad "unire le forze" per questo progetto era la nebulosa a riflessione M78, nella costellazione di Orione. Soggetto bellissimo, quanto ostico se non ripreso da cieli sufficientemente bui, che richiede molte accortezze anche in fase di elaborazione. Ho impiegato circa una settimana tra tentativi e "pause di riflessione" prima di giungere al risultato qui sotto, che mi sembra abbastanza soddisfacente, nel complesso.
Purtroppo non siamo riusciti a dedicare le due intere serate alle riprese, per i problemi atmosferici di cui accennavo nel precedente post, ma 13 ore di riprese si sono rivelate comunque abbastanza per ottenere finalmente una buona foto su questo target che non avevo mai ripreso in condizioni degne.
Spero piaccia anche a voi!
Dati di ripresa:
159x300s T-20°/-10° Gain 100 (13h25m Total Integration Time)
Cielo rurale Bortle 3 Località Pietralunga (PG)
Questi i due setup:
Skywatcher Newton 254/1200 @F4.5 1140mm
Tecnosky 0.95x Coma Corrector
Omegon veTEC571C Color
ZWO OAG + ASI290MM Mini
Ioptron CEM70
Skywatcher Newton 254/1200
Skywatcher Coma Corrector 1x
Toupteck 571c Color
ZWO OAG + ASI224MC
Skywatcher Eq6-R
Software di ripresa:
N.I.N.A., PHD2
Elaborazione (Francesco Radici):
Pixinsight, Photoshop
67015 is seen south of Abergavenny with the Blorenge dominating the background. 1V50 16:30 Manchester Piccadilly to Swansea.
Spain is stepping up security throughout its Mediterranean coastline, with armed patrols and drones being rolled out to protect the millions of holiday-makers who will flock to its beaches over the next month. More you can find on the Canarian Weekly page:
This is my version of Shades Corvid's Hanger. I tweaked it a bit and had fun with the color choices.
Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack Stats: 2Rh+d8 (flamers) 2B (shields) 1Gd8 (no ranged weapons) 2W. (Attachments are color coded.)
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds, England. The GWSR has restored and reopened around 14 miles of track, operating between Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway.
This photograph was taken using Ilford XP2 super 400 ISO film and was shot with a Canon EOS 3 camera and a EF 16-35mm USM IS lens. Developed by my self using Ilford DDX developer at 1-9 at 45 minuets and temperature of 21 C. The negative was scanned using my Canon EOS-R camera and with a EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
The mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is sexually dimorphic - the males are elaborately coloured, while the females have more subdued colors. It is a medium-sized duck, at 41–49 cm (16–19 in) long with a 65–75 cm (26–30 in) wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. 'Aix' is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and 'galericulata' is the Latin for a wig, derived from galerum, a cap or bonnet. Outside of its native range, the mandarin duck has a large introduced population in the British Isles and Western Europe, with additional smaller introductions in North America.
Taxonomy
The mandarin duck was described and illustrated in 1727 by the German explorer Engelbert Kaempfer in his The History of Japan. He wrote: "Of Ducks also there are several differing kinds, and as tame as the Geese. One kind particularly I cannot forbear mentioning, because of the surprizing beauty of its male, call'd Kinmodsui, which is so great, that being shew'd its picture in colours, I could hardly believe my own Eyes, till I saw the Bird it self, it being a very common one." In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the species in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Chinese teal". He based his hand-coloured etching on a live specimen kept by the merchant Matthew Decker on his estate at Richmond in Surrey. Decker was a director of the East India Company. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the mandarin duck with the ducks and geese in the genus Anas. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas galericulata and cited the earlier publications. The mandarin duck is now placed together with the wood duck in the genus Aix that was introduced in 1828 by the German ornithologist Friedrich Boie. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name is the Ancient Greek word for an unknown diving bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific epithet is from Latin galericulatum meaning a "peruke" or "wig".
Description
The mandarin duck is among the more diminutive types of waterfowl, with a shorter height and smaller overall body size than the dabbling ducks, and is slightly smaller than its American wood duck relatives. The adult male has a petite, red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The male's breast is purple with two vertical white bars, the flanks ruddy, and he has two orange feathers at the back (large feathers that stick up similar to boat sails). The female is similar to the female wood duck, with a grayish-lavender tone to her plumage, and a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye. The female is paler on the underside, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill.
Both the males and females have crests, but the purple crest is more pronounced on the male.
Drake in eclipse plumage
Like many other species of ducks, the male undergoes a moult after the mating season into eclipse plumage. When in eclipse plumage, the male looks similar to the female but can be distinguished by its bright yellow-orange or red beak, lack of any crest, and a less-pronounced eye-stripe.
Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in appearance to wood ducklings, and very similar to mallard ducklings. The ducklings can be distinguished from mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of mandarin ducklings (and wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill.[citation needed]
Bleaching is evident around the edges of the coral.
I had the pleasure having an eye-opening correspondence via email in the early part of my scuba diving days with the renowned expert on corals of the world, who published a three-volume set in 2000, "Corals of The World" by John Edward Norwood Veron or as cited in the scientific community, J.E.N or Charlie Veron.
He and his team are currently hard at work, updating the entire database of the Corals of the World.
This a website that anyone who is interested in the marine world Ecosystem may enjoy exploring.
This is a close up of the mountain in the area that the Incas worshipped and built temples around. I took this shot when we were in the 15,000-16,000 ft territory. This mountain itself is measured at about 18,500 feet.
Starlink is a satellite constellation being constructed by SpaceX[1][2] to provide satellite Internet access.[3][4] The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), working in combination with ground transceivers. SpaceX also plans to sell some of the satellites for military,[5] scientific, or exploratory purposes.[6]
Concerns have been raised about the long-term danger of space debris resulting from placing thousands of satellites in orbits above 1,000 km (620 mi)[7] and a possible impact on astronomy,[8] although the Starlink satellites orbit at 550 km (340 mi)[9] and SpaceX is reportedly attempting to solve the latter issue. On Starlink 2, one of the satellites has an experimental coating to make it less reflective, and thus impact ground-based astronomical observations less.[10]
The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in May 2018 to be about US$10 billion.[11] Product development began in 2015, with the first two prototype test-flight satellites launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation occurred on May 24, 2019 UTC when the first 60 operational satellites were launched.[1][12] The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington, houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing, and on-orbit control operations.
As of April 22, 2020 – with 417 satellites[13] of the constellation in orbit[14] – SpaceX is targeting service in the Northern U.S. and Canada by late 2020. SpaceX is launching 60 satellites at a time, aiming to deploy 1,584 of the 250 kg (550 lb) spacecraft to provide near-global service by late 2021 or 2022.[15] However, these are only internal projections and not set dates [text from Wikipedia]
From wikipedia: Byron, California is also home to the somewhat well-known and historical Byron Hot Springs, a now-abandoned resort which was a retreat that attracted many movie stars and famous athletes in the early 1900s. The first hotel was built in 1889 and was a three-story wood building, with a few cottages scattered nearby, as well as a laundry, gas plant and ice plant, all of which were destroyed by fire on July 25, 1901. A second hotel, also three stories, but made of stucco was constructed 1901-1902, but it burned on July 18, 1912. The third and final hotel, a four-story brick structure was built in 1913 and still stands.
In 1938 the resort closed, due to a series of lawsuits, probably brought about by the Great Depression, but was leased by the government in 1941 and became a military interrogation camp housing both German and Japanese prisoners of war, known as Camp Tracy, until 1945, when orders were sent to dismantle it.
In 1947 the Byron Hot Springs property was put up for sale and purchased by the Greek Orthodox Church for a sum of $105,000. It served as the Monastery St. Paul for several years. It then changed hands several times both as a resort, country club and private residence. It is currently privately owned by a developer who hopes to begin restoring the resort in early 2009, but the property is now in a state of disrepair.[3] Plans for the restoration of Byron Hot Springs are outlined at byronhotsprings.com. In 2005, a Victorian-era carriage house on the property was burned to the ground. The hotel itself sustained some fire damage, but still stands.
One of the Meerkat gang at Lee Valley Park Farms! Simples!
The meerkat or suricate (Suricata suricatta) is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is the only member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.
This is a crappy cell phone picture, but I thought you guys might be interested in this. My school got this for the school musical "Grease". I was told that they ended up getting it for $400.00. However, this is only the shell of the car on steel wheels. It had almost nothing on it, no badges, seats, console, or anything. All it had were headlights, and a steering wheel. I was also told that this thing will not be restored any time soon.
Oh and by the way, all those people in the background is my gym class because the generator powering it blew out.
PGB Photographer & Creative - © Philip Romeyn - Phillostar Gone Ballistic 2021 - Photo may not be edited from its original form. Commercial use is prohibited without contacting me.
At this stage in the project i pretty much am counting down the hours so this texture map is a pretty accurate reflection of my state of mind... plus i was too worn out to go out shootin' landscapes today... so this is what you're stuck with...
Latest in my 365 project -
As always all comments, advice & suggestions welcome.
Virgin Atlantic is now only down to the Airbus A340-600 fleet now considering they have disposed of the last remaining Airbus A340-300's earlier this year... However, the company continues to push ahead with withdrawals for the venerable quads as Boeing 787-9's take-over what was their circuitous network.
Currently, Virgin Atlantic operates a single daily flight between London Heathrow and Johannesburg utilising their Airbus A340-600's... However, starting from 25th October 2015, Virgin Atlantic will instead be using Boeing 787-9's on its Johannesburg flights as well as Dubai and Shanghai.
During the Airbus A340 glory days with Virgin Atlantic, they have in total operated 29 examples, however all 10 Airbus A340-300's have been withdrawn thanks in no part to their Airbus A330-300's. They also operated 19 Airbus A340-600's and was the launch customer of the type... The number in service stands at 11 and that number will continue to decline for the foreseeable future. All of their Airbus A340's were and still are based at Heathrow.
Victor Romeo Echo Delta is currently one of 11 Airbus A340-600's in service with Virgin Atlantic, delivered new to the company in October 2006 on lease from BBAM and she is powered by 4 Rolls-Royce Trent 556-61 engines. She is currently named after the 1969 comedy film starring Monica Vitti, Maurice Ronet and Robert Hossein, The Scarlet Lady.
Airbus A340-642 G-VRED 'Scarlet Lady' on final approach into Runway 27L at London Heathrow (LHR) on VS602 from Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo (JNB).
He is one of the tea chefs from Sate Tine Kya (As You Wish) tea house in Yangon. Sate Tine Kya is the biggest tea franchise in Burma, mostly in Yangon and other towns around the biggest city of Burma. Tea master is very critical in tea business and the taste of various tea cups depends on his shill and experience. Sweet, Sweet and bitter, Bitter, and all kinds of taste come from his preparation. The tea master is paid the biggest in tea houses and he is in control of most tea people in the business. This guy come from other township and he bring a lot of his home friends to work with him there.
Here is my close friend, Stephen, glaring at me intently during lunch today. I swear I had never felt so lost or enticed at the same time in my life! I looked into his eyes - which are exceptionally beautiful and hawk-like - and thats all I saw - and could concentrate on. In a quick motion I picked up my camera, and snapped the shot before he could react to me taking his picture (talk about Spiderman reflexes, huh?)
The background will actually surprise you. Its a window in a deli where we were having lunch. The photo here is completely unedited other than adding my name, slightly changing the contrast and cropping it to a 16:9 ratio.
This is my first real foray into photographing people and indoors. Neither skill I've mastered to the competency of that what I shoot outdoors and in motion...
He is absolutely beautiful! As a person, and a friend. :)
Western South Dakota is home to incredible sights like the Badlands and the Needles of the Black Hills, but nothing “sticks out” quite like Mount Rushmore National Memorial. This giant monument celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2016. In honor of this milestone, here are 75 facts about the sculpture that has captured the imaginations of so many.
1. The idea of creating a sculpture in the Black Hills was dreamed up in 1923 by South Dakota historian Doane Robinson. He wanted to find a way to attract tourists to the state.
2. It worked. Mount Rushmore is now visited by nearly 3 million people annually.
3. Robinson initially wanted to sculpt the likenesses of Western heroes like Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud, explorers Lewis and Clark, and Buffalo Bill Cody into the nearby stone pinnacles known as the Needles.
4. Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum was enlisted to help with the project. At the time, he was working on the massive carving at Stone Mountain in Georgia, but by his own account said the model was flawed and the monument wouldn’t stand the test of time. He was looking for a way out when South Dakota called.
5. Borglum, a good friend of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, dreamed of something bigger than the Needles. He wanted something that would draw people from around the world. He wanted to carve a mountain.
6. Besides, the Needles site was deemed too narrow for sculpting, and the mountain had better exposure to the sun.
7. Borglum and his son, Lincoln, thought the monument should have a national focus and decided that four presidents should be carved.
8. The presidents were chosen for their significant contribution to the founding, expansion, preservation and unification of the country.
9. George Washington (1789-1797) was chosen because he was our nation’s founding father.
10. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was chosen to represent expansion, because he was the president who signed the Louisiana Purchase and authored the Declaration of Independence.
11. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was chosen because he represented conservation and the industrial blossoming of the nation.
12. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was chosen because he led the country through the Civil War and believed in preserving the nation at any cost.
13. The mountain that Borglum chose to carve was known to the Lakota as the “Six Grandfathers.”
14. It had also been known as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain and Keystone Cliffs, depending who you asked.
15. The mountain’s official name came from a New York lawyer who was surveying gold claims in the area in 1885.
16. Charles E. Rushmore asked his guide, William Challis, “What’s the name of that mountain?” Challis is said to have replied, “It’s never had one…till now…we’ll call the damn thing Rushmore.”
17. In 1930, the United States Board on Geographic Names officially recognized it as Mount Rushmore.
18. The carving of Mount Rushmore began in 1927 and finished in 1941.
19. The actual carving was done by a team of over 400 men.
20. Remarkably, no one died during construction.
21. The men who worked on the mountain were miners who had come to the Black Hills looking for gold.
22. Although they weren’t artists, they did know how to use dynamite and jackhammers.
23. The Borglums did hire one artist, Korczak Ziolkowski, to work as an assistant on the mountain. But after 19 days and a heated argument with Lincoln Borglum, Ziolkowski left the project. He would later begin another mountain carving nearby, Crazy Horse Memorial, which today is the world’s largest mountain sculpture in progress.
24. Mount Rushmore once had an amateur baseball team.
25. Because Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum were so competitive, they would often hire young men for their baseball skills rather than their carving and drilling skills.
26. In 1939, the Rushmore Memorial team took second place at the South Dakota amateur baseball tournament.
27. The image of the sculpture was mapped onto the mountain using an intricate “pointing machine” designed by Borglum.
28. It was based on a 1:12 scale model of the final sculpture.
29. 90% of the mountain was carved with dynamite, and more than 450,000 tons of rock was removed.
30. Afterwards, fine carving was done to create a surface about as smooth as a concrete sidewalk.
31. The drillers and finishers were lowered down the 500-foot face of the mountain in bosun chairs held by 3/8-inch-thick steel cables.
32. Workers at the top of the mountain would hand crank a winch to raise and lower the drillers.
33. If they went too fast, the person in the bosun chair would be dragged up the mountain on their face.
34. Young boys (known as call boys) were hired to sit on the side of the mountain to shout messages back and forth to the operators to speed up or slow down.
35. Each president’s face is 60 feet high.
36. The faces appear in the order: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln.
37. Jefferson was originally intended to be on Washington’s right.
38. After nearly two years of work on Jefferson, the rock was found to be unsuitable and the partially completed face was “erased” from the mountainside using dynamite.
39. Washington’s face was completed in 1934.
40. Jefferson’s in 1936.
41. Lincoln was finished in 1937.
42. In 1937, a bill was introduced to Congress to add the image of women’s rights leader Susan B. Anthony to the mountain.
43. Congress then passed a bill requiring only the heads that had already been started be completed.
44. In 1938, Gutzon Borglum secretly began blasting a Hall of Records in the mountain behind the heads.
45. The Hall of Records was meant to be a vault containing the history of the nation and vital documents like the Constitution.
46. Congress found out about the project and demanded Borglum use the federal funding for the faces, not the Hall of Records.
47. Gutzon reluctantly stopped working on the hall in 1939, but vowed to complete it.
48. That same year, the last face — of Theodore Roosevelt — was completed.
49. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum died in March of 1941, leaving the completion of the monument to his son Lincoln.
50. The carving was originally meant to include the bodies of the presidents down to their waists.
51. A massive panel with 8-foot-tall gilded letters commemorating famous territorial acquisitions of the U.S. was also originally intended.
52. Funding ran out and the monument was declared complete on October 31, 1941.
53. Overall, the project cost $989,992.32 and took 14 years to finish.
54. It’s estimated only 6 years included actual carving, while 8.5 years were consumed with delays due to weather and lack of funds.
55. Charles E. Rushmore donated $5,000 toward the sculpting of the mountain that bore his name.
56. In 1998, Borglum’s vision for the Hall of Records was realized when porcelain tablets containing images and text from the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and biographies of the presidents and Borglum himself were sealed in a vault inside the unfinished hall.
57. The Hall of Records played a role in the plot of the 2007 movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets, starring Nicolas Cage.
58. Visitor facilities have been added over the years, including a visitor center, the Lincoln Borglum Museum and the Presidential Trail.
59. The Lincoln Borglum Museum features multimedia exhibits that let you use an old-style explosives plunger to recreate dynamite blasting the face of the mountain.
60. You can also visit the Sculptor’s Studio, where Gutzon Borglum worked on scale models of Mount Rushmore.
61. The Grand View Terrace — one of the best places from which to see Mount Rushmore — is located just above the museum.
62. The Grand View Terrace is at the end of the Avenue of Flags; it has flags from all 50 states, one district, three territories and two commonwealths of the United States of America.
63. The Presidential Trail is a 0.5-mile walking trail that offers up-close and different views of each face.
64. If you start the trail from the Sculptor’s Studio, you’ll have to climb 422 stairs. Enter the trail from the Grand View Terrace and you’ll have an easier time of it.
63. Rushmore’s resident mountain goats are descendants of a herd that was gifted to Custer State Park by Canada in 1924.
64. They evidently escaped (naughty goats!).
67. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, Ben Black Elk, a famous Lakota holy man, personally greeted visitors to Mount Rushmore.
68. Every night, Mount Rushmore gets illuminated for two hours.
69. Since illumination can impact the natural environment (think lost moths, among other things), a new high-tech LED lighting system was installed in 2015 to minimize the negative effects of lighting Mount Rushmore.
70. Some believe you can see an elephant, or at least the stone face of an elephant, if you look to the right of Lincoln. Others believe if you look at a picture of the mountain rotated 90 degrees, you can see another face.
71. Mount Rushmore is granite, which erodes roughly 1 inch every 10,000 years.
72. Since each of the noses is about 240 inches long, they might last up to 2.4 million years before they completely wear away.
73. After about 500,000 years, the faces will likely have lost some of their definition. But at this rate the basic shape of the presidents’ heads might last up to 7 million years.
74. Numerous things are being done to preserve Mount Rushmore. This has included installing 8,000 feet of camouflaged copper wire in 1998 to help monitor 144 hairline cracks. The copper wire was replaced with fiber optic cable in 2009.
75. So far preservation efforts have been successful, with Mount Rushmore celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2016 — all four noses, chins and foreheads (as well as all 8 eyes, nostrils, lips and ears) intact!
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60-foot-tall (18 m) heads of four United States Presidents recommended by Borglum: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively. The memorial park covers 1,278 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and the actual mountain has an elevation of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.
The sculptor and tribal representatives settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Doane Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes, such as Lewis and Clark, their expedition guide Sacagawea, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud,[9] Buffalo Bill Cody, and Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Borglum believed that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.
Peter Norbeck, U.S. senator from South Dakota, sponsored the project and secured federal funding. Construction began in 1927; the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. After Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.
Sometimes referred to as the "Shrine of Democracy", Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.
Mount Rushmore was conceived with the intention of creating a site to lure tourists, representing "not only the wild grandeur of its local geography but also the triumph of western civilization over that geography through its anthropomorphic representation." Though for the latest occupants of the land at the time, the Lakota Sioux, as well as other tribes, the monument in their view "came to epitomize the loss of their sacred lands and the injustices they've suffered under the U.S. government." Under the Treaty of 1868, the U.S. government promised the territory, including the entirety of the Black Hills, to the Sioux "so long as the buffalo may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase." After the discovery of gold on the land, American settlers migrated to the area in the 1870s. The federal government then forced the Sioux to relinquish the Black Hills portion of their reservation.
The four presidential faces were said to be carved into the granite with the intention of symbolizing "an accomplishment born, planned, and created in the minds and by the hands of Americans for Americans".
Mount Rushmore is known to the Lakota Sioux as "The Six Grandfathers" (Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe) or "Cougar Mountain" (Igmútȟaŋka Pahá); but American settlers knew it variously as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain and Keystone Cliffs. As Six Grandfathers, the mountain was on the route that Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual journey that culminated at Black Elk Peak. Following a series of military campaigns from 1876 to 1878, the United States asserted control over the area, a claim that is still disputed on the basis of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Beginning with a prospecting expedition in 1885 with David Swanzey (husband of Carrie Ingalls), and Bill Challis, wealthy investor Charles E. Rushmore began visiting the area regularly on prospecting and hunting trips. He repeatedly joked with colleagues about naming the mountain after himself. The United States Board of Geographic Names officially recognized the name "Mount Rushmore" in June 1930.
Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure the carving could be accomplished. The original plan was to make the carvings in granite pillars known as the Needles. However, Borglum realized that the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun.
Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."
Borglum had been involved in sculpting the Stone Mountain Memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia, but was in disagreement with the officials there.
U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck and Congressman William Williamson of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land, which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Carl Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President Calvin Coolidge to an August 1927 dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. Congress passed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, signed by Coolidge, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.
Carving started in 1927 and ended in 1941 with no fatalities.
Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure the carving could be accomplished. The original plan was to make the carvings in granite pillars known as the Needles. However, Borglum realized that the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun.
Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."
Borglum had been involved in sculpting the Stone Mountain Memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia, but was in disagreement with the officials there.
U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck and Congressman William Williamson of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land, which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Carl Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President Calvin Coolidge to an August 1927 dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. Congress passed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, signed by Coolidge, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.
The chief carver of the mountain was Luigi Del Bianco, an artisan and stonemason in Port Chester, New York. Del Bianco emigrated to the U.S. from Friuli in Italy and was chosen to work on this project because of his understanding of sculptural language and ability to imbue emotion in the carved portraits.
In 1933, the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction. Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving its infrastructure. For example, he had the tram upgraded so it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore for the ease of workers. By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and the face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated on September 17, 1937. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add the head of civil-rights leader Susan B. Anthony, but a rider was passed on an appropriations bill requiring federal funds be used to finish only those heads that had already been started at that time. In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.
The Sculptor's Studio – a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting – was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from the Alaska purchase to the Panama Canal Zone. In total, the entire project cost US$989,992.32 (equivalent to $18.2 million in 2021).
Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver, died in November 2019 at age 98.
South Dakota is a landlocked U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and has historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the 17th largest by area, but the 5th least populous, and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 213,900, is South Dakota's most populous city. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota (to the north), Minnesota (to the east), Iowa (to the southeast), Nebraska (to the south), Wyoming (to the west), and Montana (to the northwest).
Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first.
Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri River, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, is in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome.
While several Democrats have represented South Dakota for multiple terms in both chambers of Congress, the state government is largely controlled by the Republican Party, whose nominees have carried South Dakota in each of the last 14 presidential elections. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in other areas to both attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still strongly influence the state's culture.
The history of South Dakota describes the history of the U.S. state of South Dakota over the course of several millennia, from its first inhabitants to the recent issues facing the state.
Human beings have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. Early hunters are believed to have first entered North America at least 17,000 years ago via the Bering land bridge, which existed during the last ice age and connected Siberia with Alaska. Early settlers in what would become South Dakota were nomadic hunter-gatherers, using primitive Stone Age technology to hunt large prehistoric mammals in the area such as mammoths, sloths, and camels. The Paleolithic culture of these people disappeared around 5000 BC, after the extinction of most of their prey species.
Between AD 500 and 800, much of eastern South Dakota was inhabited by a people known as the 'Mound Builders'. The Mound Builders were hunters who lived in temporary villages and were named for the low earthen burial mounds they constructed, many of which still exist. Their settlement seems to have been concentrated around the watershed of the Big Sioux River and Big Stone Lake, although other sites have been excavated throughout eastern South Dakota. Either assimilation or warfare led to the demise of the Mound Builders by the year 800. Between 1250 and 1400 an agricultural people, likely the ancestors of the modern Mandan of North Dakota, arrived from the east and settled in the central part of the state. In 1325, what has become known as the Crow Creek Massacre occurred near Chamberlain. An archeological excavation of the site has discovered 486 bodies buried in a mass grave within a type of fortification; many of the skeletal remains show evidence of scalping and decapitation.
The Arikara, also known as the Ree, began arriving from the south in the 16th century. They spoke a Caddoan language similar to that of the Pawnee, and probably originated in what is now Kansas and Nebraska. Although they would at times travel to hunt or trade, the Arikara were far less nomadic than many of their neighbors, and lived for the most part in permanent villages. These villages usually consisted of a stockade enclosing a number of circular earthen lodges built on bluffs looking over the rivers. Each village had a semi-autonomous political structure, with the Arikara's various subtribes being connected in a loose alliance. In addition to hunting and growing crops such as corn, beans, pumpkin and other squash, the Arikara were also skilled traders, and would often serve as intermediaries between tribes to the north and south It was probably through their trading connections that Spanish horses first reached the region around 1760. The Arikara reached the height of their power in the 17th century, and may have included as many as 32 villages. Due both to disease as well as pressure from other tribes, the number of Arikara villages would decline to only two by the late 18th century, and the Arikara eventually merged entirely with the Mandan to the north.
The sister tribe of the Arikaras, the Pawnee, may have also had a small amount of land in the state. Both were Caddoan and were among the only known tribes in the continental U.S. to have committed human sacrifice, via a religious ritual that occurred once a year. It is said that the U.S. government worked hard to halt this practice before their homelands came to be heavily settled, for fear that the general public might react harshly or refuse to move there.
The Lakota Oral histories tell of them driving the Algonquian ancestors of the Cheyenne from the Black Hills regions, south of the Platte River, in the 18th century. Before that, the Cheyenne say that they were, in fact, two tribes, which they call the Tsitsistas & Sutaio After their defeat, much of their territory was contained to southeast Wyoming & western Nebraska. While they had been able to hold off the Sioux for quite some time, they were heavily damaged by a smallpox outbreak. They are also responsible for introducing the horse to the Lakota.
The Ioway, or Iowa people, also inhabited the region where the modern states of South Dakota, Minnesota & Iowa meet, north of the Missouri River. They also had a sister nation, known as the Otoe who lived south of them. They were Chiwere speaking, a very old variation of Siouan language said to have originated amongst the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk of Wisconsin. They also would have had a fairly similar culture to that of the Dhegihan Sioux tribes of Nebraska & Kansas.
By the 17th century, the Sioux, who would later come to dominate much of the state, had settled in what is today central and northern Minnesota. The Sioux spoke a language of the Siouan language family, and were divided into two culture groups – the Dakota & Nakota. By the early 18th century the Sioux would begin to move south and then west into the plains. This migration was due to several factors, including greater food availability to the west, as well as the fact that the rival Ojibwe & other related Algonquians had obtained rifles from the French at a time when the Sioux were still using the bow and arrow. Other tribes were also displaced during some sort of poorly understood conflict that occurred between Siouan & Algonquian peoples in the early 18th century.
In moving west into the prairies, the lifestyle of the Sioux would be greatly altered, coming to resemble that of a nomadic northern plains tribe much more so than a largely settled eastern woodlands one. Characteristics of this transformation include a greater dependence on the bison for food, a heavier reliance on the horse for transportation, and the adoption of the tipi for habitation, a dwelling more suited to the frequent movements of a nomadic people than their earlier semi-permanent lodges.
Once on the plains, a schism caused the two subgroups of the Sioux to divide into three separate nations—the Lakota, who migrated south, the Asiniboine who migrated back east to Minnesota & the remaining Sioux. It appears to be around this time that the Dakota people became more prominent over the Nakota & the entirety of the people came to call themselves as such.
The Lakota, who crossed the Missouri around 1760 and reached the Black Hills by 1776, would come to settle largely in western South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, and southwestern North Dakota. The Yankton primarily settled in southeastern South Dakota, the Yanktonnais settled in northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota, and the Santee settled primarily in central and southern Minnesota. Due in large part to the Sioux migrations, a number of tribes would be driven from the area. The tribes in and around the Black Hills, most notably the Cheyenne, would be pushed to the west, the Arikara would move further north along the Missouri, and the Omaha would be driven out of southeastern South Dakota and into northeastern Nebraska.
Later, the Lakota & Assiniboine returned to the fold, forming a single confederacy known as the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven council fire. This was divided into four cultural groups—the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota & Nagoda-- & seven distinct tribes, each with their own chief—the Nakota Mdewakan (Note—Older attempts at Lakota language show a mistake in writing the sound 'bl' as 'md', such as summer, Bloketu, misprinted as mdoketu. Therefore, this word should be Blewakan.) & Wahpeton, the Dakota Santee & Sisseton, the Nagoda Yankton & Yanktonai & the Lakota Teton. In this form, they were able to secure from the U.S. government a homeland, commonly referred to as Mni-Sota Makoce, or the Lakotah Republic. However, conflicts increased between Sioux & American citizens in the decades leading up the Civil War & a poorly funded & organized Bureau of Indian Affairs had difficulty keeping peace between groups. This eventually resulted in the United States blaming the Sioux for the atrocities & rendering the treaty which recognized the nation of Lakotah null and void. The U.S., however, later recognized their fault in a Supreme Court case in the 1980s after several decades of failed lawsuits by the Sioux, yet little has been done to smooth the issue over to the best interests of both sides.
France was the first European nation to hold any real claim over what would become South Dakota. Its claims covered most of the modern state. However, at most a few French scouting parties may have entered eastern South Dakota. In 1679 Daniel G. Duluth sent explorers west from Lake Mille Lacs, and they may have reached Big Stone Lake and the Coteau des Prairies. Pierre Le Sueur's traders entered the Big Sioux River Valley on multiple occasions. Evidence for these journeys is from a 1701 map by William De L'Isle that shows a trail to below the falls of the Big Sioux River from the Mississippi River.
After 1713, France looked west to sustain its fur trade. The first Europeans to enter South Dakota from the north, the Verendrye brothers, began their expedition in 1743. The expedition started at Fort La Reine on Lake Manitoba, and was attempting to locate an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. They buried a lead plate inscribed near Ft. Pierre; it was rediscovered by schoolchildren in 1913.
In 1762, France granted Spain all French territory west of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The agreement, which was signed in secret, was motivated by a French desire to convince Spain to come to terms with Britain and accept defeat in the Seven Years' War. In an attempt to secure Spanish claims in the region against possible encroachment from other European powers, Spain adopted a policy for the upper Missouri which emphasized the development of closer trade relations with local tribes as well as greater exploration of the region, a primary focus of which would be a search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Although traders such as Jacques D'Eglise and Juan Munier had been active in the region for several years, these men had been operating independently, and a determined effort to reach the Pacific and solidify Spanish control of the region had never been undertaken. In 1793, a group commonly known as the Missouri Company was formed in St. Louis, with the twin goals of trading and exploring on the upper Missouri. The company sponsored several attempts to reach the Pacific Ocean, none of which made it further than the mouth of the Yellowstone. In 1794, Jean Truteau (also spelled Trudeau) built a cabin near the present-day location of Fort Randall, and in 1795 the Mackay-Evans Expedition traveled up the Missouri as far as present-day North Dakota, where they expelled several British traders who had been active in the area. In 1801, a post known as Fort aux Cedres was constructed by Registre Loisel of St. Louis, on Cedar Island on the Missouri about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the present location of Pierre. This trading post was the major regional post until its destruction by fire in 1810.[30] In 1800, Spain gave Louisiana back to France in the Treaty of San Ildefonso.
In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for $11,000,000. The territory included most of the western half of the Mississippi watershed and covered nearly all of present-day South Dakota, except for a small portion in the northeast corner of the state. The region was still largely unexplored and unsettled, and President Thomas Jefferson organized a group commonly referred to as the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly acquired region over a period of more than two years. The expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, was tasked with following the route of the Missouri to its source, continuing on to the Pacific Ocean, establishing diplomatic relations with the various tribes in the area, and taking cartographic, geologic, and botanical surveys of the area. The expedition left St. Louis on May 14, 1804, with 45 men and 15 tons of supplies in three boats (one keelboat and two pirogues). The party progressed slowly against the Missouri's current, reaching what is today South Dakota on August 22. Near present-day Vermillion, the party hiked to the Spirit Mound after hearing local legends of the place being inhabited by "little spirits" (or "devils"). Shortly after this, a peaceful meeting took place with the Yankton Sioux, while an encounter with the Lakota Sioux further north was not as uneventful. The Lakota mistook the party as traders, at one point stealing a horse. Weapons were brandished on both sides after it appeared as though the Lakota were going to further delay or even halt the expedition, but they eventually stood down and allowed the party to continue up the river and out of their territory. In north central South Dakota, the expedition acted as mediators between the warring Arikara and Mandan. After leaving the state on October 14, the party wintered with the Mandan in North Dakota before successfully reaching the Pacific Ocean and returning by the same route, safely reaching St. Louis in 1806. On the return trip, the expedition spent only 15 days in South Dakota, traveling more swiftly with the Missouri's current.
Pittsburgh lawyer Henry Marie Brackenridge was South Dakota's first recorded tourist. In 1811 he was hosted by fur trader Manuel Lisa.
In 1817, an American fur trading post was set up at present-day Fort Pierre, beginning continuous American settlement of the area. During the 1830s, fur trading was the dominant economic activity for the few white people who lived in the area. More than one hundred fur-trading posts were in present-day South Dakota in the first half of the 19th century, and Fort Pierre was the center of activity.[citation needed] General William Henry Ashley, Andrew Henry, and Jedediah Smith of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and Manuel Lisa and Joshua Pilcher of the St. Louis Fur Company, trapped in that region. Pierre Chouteau Jr. brought the steamship Yellowstone to Fort Tecumseh on the Missouri River in 1831. In 1832 the fort was replaced by Fort Pierre Chouteau Jr.: today's town of Fort Pierre. Pierre bought the Western Department of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and renamed it Pratte, Chouteau and Company, and then Pierre Chouteau and Company. It operated in present-day South Dakota from 1834 to 1858. Most trappers and traders left the area after European demand for furs dwindled around 1840.
Main articles: Kansas–Nebraska Act, Nebraska Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Dakota Territory
In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre but abandoned it the following year in favor of Fort Randall to the south. Settlement by Americans and Europeans was by this time increasing rapidly, and in 1858 the Yankton Sioux signed the 1858 "Treaty of Washington", ceding most of present-day eastern South Dakota to the United States.
Land speculators founded two of eastern South Dakota's largest present-day cities: Sioux Falls in 1856 and Yankton in 1859. The Big Sioux River falls was the spot of an 1856 settlement established by a Dubuque, Iowa, company; that town was quickly removed by native residents. But in the following year, May 1857, the town was resettled and named Sioux Falls. That June, St. Paul, Minnesota's Dakota Land Company came to an adjacent 320 acres (130 ha), calling it Sioux Falls City. In June 1857, Flandreau and Medary, South Dakota, were established by the Dakota Land Company. Along with Yankton in 1859, Bon Homme, Elk Point, and Vermillion were among the new communities along the Missouri River or border with Minnesota. Settlers therein numbered about 5,000 in 1860. In 1861, Dakota Territory was established by the United States government (this initially included North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Montana and Wyoming). Settlers from Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, Czechoslovakia[citation needed] and Russia,[citation needed] as well as elsewhere in Europe and from the eastern U.S. states increased from a trickle to a flood, especially after the completion of an eastern railway link to the territorial capital of Yankton in 1872, and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 during a military expedition led by George A. Custer.
The Dakota Territory had significant regional tensions between the northern part and the southern part from the beginning, the southern part always being more populated – in the 1880 United States census, the population of the southern part (98,268) was more than two and a half times of the northern part (36,909), and southern Dakotans saw the northern part as bit of disreputable, "controlled by the wild folks, cattle ranchers, fur traders” and too frequently the site of conflict with the indigenous population. Also, the new railroads built connected the northern and southern parts to different hubs – northern part was closer tied to Minneapolis–Saint Paul area; and southern part to Sioux City and from there to Omaha. The last straw was territorial governor Nehemiah G. Ordway moving the territorial capital from Yankton to Bismarck in modern-day North Dakota. As the Southern part had the necessary population for statehood (60,000), they held a separate convention in September 1883 and drafted a constitution. Various bills to divide the Dakota Territory in half ended up stalling, until in 1887, when the Territorial Legislature submitted the question of division to a popular vote at the November general elections, where it was approved by 37,784 votes over 32,913. A bill for statehood for North Dakota and South Dakota (as well as Montana and Washington) titled the Enabling Act of 1889 was passed on February 22, 1889, during the Administration of Grover Cleveland, dividing Dakota along the seventh standard parallel. It was left to his successor, Benjamin Harrison, to sign proclamations formally admitting North and South Dakota to the Union on November 2, 1889. Harrison directed his Secretary of State James G. Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first and the actual order went unrecorded.
With statehood South Dakota was now in a position to make decisions on the major issues it confronted: prohibition, women's suffrage, the location of the state capital, the opening of the Sioux lands for settlement, and the cyclical issues of drought (severe in 1889) and low wheat prices (1893–1896). In early 1889 a prohibition bill passed the new state legislature, only to be vetoed by Governor Louis Church. Fierce opposition came from the wet German community, with financing from beer and liquor interests. The Yankee women organized to demand suffrage, as well as prohibition. Neither party supported their cause, and the wet element counter-organized to block women's suffrage. Popular interest reached a peak in the debates over locating the state capital. Prestige, real estate values and government jobs were at stake, as well as the question of access in such a large geographical region with limited railroads. Huron was the temporary site, centrally located Pierre was the best organized contender, and three other towns were in the running. Real estate speculators had money to toss around. Pierre, population 3200, made the most generous case to the voters—its promoters truly believed it would be the next Denver and be the railway hub of the Dakotas. The North Western railroad came through but not the others it expected. In 1938 Pierre counted 4000 people and three small hotels.
The national government continued to handle Indian affairs. The Army's 1874 Custer expedition took place despite the fact that the western half of present-day South Dakota had been granted to the Sioux by the Treaty of Fort Laramie as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. The Sioux declined to grant mining rights or land in the Black Hills, and the Great Sioux War of 1876 broke out after the U.S. failed to stop white miners and settlers from entering the region. The Sioux were eventually defeated and settled on reservations within South Dakota and North Dakota.
In 1889 Harrison sent general George Crook with a commission to persuade the Sioux to sell half their reservation land to the government. It was believed that the state would not be viable unless more land was made available to settlers. Crook used a number of dubious methods to secure agreement and obtain the land.
On December 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It was the last major armed conflict between the United States and the Sioux Nation, the massacre resulted in the deaths of 300 Sioux, many of them women and children. In addition 25 U.S. soldiers were also killed in the episode.
Railroads played a central role in South Dakota transportation from the late 19th century until the 1930s, when they were surpassed by highways. The Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & North Western were the state's largest railroads, and the Milwaukee's east–west transcontinental line traversed the northern tier of the state. About 4,420 miles (7,110 km) of railroad track were built in South Dakota during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though only 1,839 miles (2,960 km) were active in 2007.
The railroads sold land to prospective farmers at very low rates, expecting to make a profit by shipping farm products out and home goods in. They also set up small towns that would serve as shipping points and commercial centers, and attract businessmen and more farmers. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) in 1905, under the leadership of vice president and general manager L. F. Day, added lines from Watertown to LeBeau and from Conde through Aberdeen to Leola. It developed town sites along the new lines and by 1910, the new lines served 35 small communities.
Not all of the new towns survived. The M&StL situated LeBeau along the Missouri River on the eastern edge of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The new town was a hub for the cattle and grain industries. Livestock valued at one million dollars were shipped out in 1908, and the rail company planned a bridge across the Missouri River. Allotment of the Cheyenne River Reservation in 1909 promised further growth. By the early 1920s, however, troubles multiplied, with the murder of a local rancher, a fire that destroyed the business district, and drought that ruined ranchers and farmers alike. LeBeau became a ghost town.
Most of the traffic was freight, but the main lines also offered passenger service. After the European immigrants settled, there never were many people moving about inside the state. Profits were slim. Automobiles and busses were much more popular, but there was an increase during World War II when gasoline was scarce. All passenger service was ended in the state by 1969.
In the rural areas farmers and ranchers depended on local general stores that had a limited stock and slow turnover; they made enough profit to stay in operation by selling at high prices. Prices were not marked on each item; instead the customer negotiated a price. Men did most of the shopping, since the main criterion was credit rather than quality of goods. Indeed, most customers shopped on credit, paying off the bill when crops or cattle were later sold; the owner's ability to judge credit worthiness was vital to his success.
In the cities consumers had much more choice, and bought their dry goods and supplies at locally owned department stores. They had a much wider selection of goods than in the country general stores and price tags that gave the actual selling price. The department stores provided a very limited credit, and set up attractive displays and, after 1900, window displays as well. Their clerks—usually men before the 1940s—were experienced salesmen whose knowledge of the products appealed to the better educated middle-class housewives who did most of the shopping. The keys to success were a large variety of high-quality brand-name merchandise, high turnover, reasonable prices, and frequent special sales. The larger stores sent their buyers to Denver, Minneapolis, and Chicago once or twice a year to evaluate the newest trends in merchandising and stock up on the latest fashions. By the 1920s and 1930s, large mail-order houses such as Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward provided serious competition, making the department stores rely even more on salesmanship and close integration with the community.
Many entrepreneurs built stores, shops, and offices along Main Street. The most handsome ones used pre-formed, sheet iron facades, especially those manufactured by the Mesker Brothers of St. Louis. These neoclassical, stylized facades added sophistication to brick or wood-frame buildings throughout the state.
During the 1930s, several economic and climatic conditions combined with disastrous results for South Dakota. A lack of rainfall, extremely high temperatures and over-cultivation of farmland produced what was known as the Dust Bowl in South Dakota and several other plains states. Fertile topsoil was blown away in massive dust storms, and several harvests were completely ruined. The experiences of the Dust Bowl, coupled with local bank foreclosures and the general economic effects of the Great Depression resulted in many South Dakotans leaving the state. The population of South Dakota declined by more than seven percent between 1930 and 1940.
Prosperity returned with the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, when demand for the state's agricultural and industrial products grew as the nation mobilized for war. Over 68,000 South Dakotans served in the armed forces during the war, of which over 2,200 were killed.
In 1944, the Pick-Sloan Plan was passed as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944 by the U.S. Congress, resulting in the construction of six large dams on the Missouri River, four of which are at least partially located in South Dakota.[83] Flood control, hydroelectricity and recreational opportunities such as boating and fishing are provided by the dams and their reservoirs.
On the night of June 9–10, 1972, heavy rainfall in the eastern Black Hills caused the Canyon Lake Dam on Rapid Creek to fail. The failure of the dam, combined with heavy runoff from the storm, turned the usually small creek into a massive torrent that washed through central Rapid City. The flood resulted in 238 deaths and destroyed 1,335 homes and around 5,000 automobiles.[84] Damage from the flood totaled $160 million (the equivalent of $664 million today).
On April 19, 1993, Governor George S. Mickelson was killed in a plane crash in Iowa while returning from a business meeting in Cincinnati. Several other state officials were also killed in the crash. Mickelson, who was in the middle of his second term as governor, was succeeded by Walter Dale Miller.
In recent decades, South Dakota has transformed from a state dominated by agriculture to one with a more diversified economy. The tourism industry has grown considerably since the completion of the interstate system in the 1960s, with the Black Hills being especially impacted. The financial service industry began to grow in the state as well, with Citibank moving its credit card operations from New York to Sioux Falls in 1981, a move that has since been followed by several other financial companies. In 2007, the site of the recently closed Homestake gold mine near Lead was chosen as the location of a new underground research facility. Despite a growing state population and recent economic development, many rural areas have been struggling over the past 50 years with locally declining populations and the emigration of educated young adults to larger South Dakota cities, such as Rapid City or Sioux Falls, or to other states. The Cattleman's Blizzard of October 2013 killed tens of thousands of livestock in western South Dakota, and was one of the worst blizzards in the state's history.
Liverpool is home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe. It's also home to the largest Chinese Arch outside of China. The Imperial Arch stands at 13.5 metres and 44 feet tall! It spans Nelson Street and is one of Liverpool's most spectacular sites.
Dettifoss is a waterfall in Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland, and is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe. It is situated on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, which flows from the Vatnajökull glacier and collects water from a large area in Northeast Iceland. The falls are 100 metres wide and have a drop of 45 metres down to the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. It is the largest waterfall in Europe in terms of volume discharge, having an average water flow of 193 m3/s. [from Wikipedia]
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The Golden Pavilion (金閣 kinkaku) is a three-story building on the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha (Buddha's Ashes). The building was an important model for Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion Temple), and Shōkoku-ji, which are also located in Kyoto.When these buildings were constructed, Ashikaga Yoshimasa employed the styles used at Kinkaku-ji and even borrowed the names of its second and third floors.
The pavilion successfully incorporates three distinct styles of architecture which are shinden, samurai, and zen, specifically on each floor. Each floor of the Kinkaku uses a different architectural style.The first floor, called The Chamber of Dharma Waters, is rendered in shinden-zukuri style, reminiscent of the residential style of the 11th century Heian imperial aristocracy.It is evocative of the Shinden palace style. It is designed as an open space with adjacent verandas and uses natural, unpainted wood and white plaster.This helps to bring more emphasis on the surrounding landscape. What also can impact the what types of views can be seen from within the pavilion are the walls and fenestration. Most of the walls are made of shutters that can be manipulated by a person to allow a certain amount of light and air into the pavilion. As well as creating a new view by controlling the distance the shutter is raised to. The second floor, called The Tower of Sound Waves,is built in the style of warrior aristocrats, or buke-zukuri. There is a feeling of impermanence that is given off by the second floor suggested by the sliding wood doors and latticed windows. The second floor also consists of a Buddha Hall and a shrine dedicated to the goddess of mercy, Kannon. The third floor is built in traditional Chinese chán (Jap. zen) style, also known as zenshū-butsuden-zukuri. The building is topped with a bronze phoenix ornament.The zen typology depicts a more religious stand point for the pavilion, that was popular during the Muromachi period.The roof is in the shape of a pyramid and is thatched and has shingles.The building is topped with a bronze phoenix ornament.Noticeable from the outside is the amount of gold plated added to the upper stories of the pavilion. There is the implication of the upper stories being covered in gold leaf is because of what is housed on the inside, being the shrines.The outside is a reflection of the inside. The elements of nature, death, religion, are formed together to create this connection between the pavilion and outside forces
This image is a deep field of galaxies captured while Hubble was making observations of massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (not shown). As the Abell cluster was being photographed with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys stayed trained on this nearby section of sky to create a bonus, parallel deep field image. Afterward, the instrument positions flipped, with the Wide Field Camera 3 observing the parallel field and the Advanced Camera for surveys observing the cluster. These combined observations provided a wealth of information for astronomers.
In this field, Hubble resolved roughly 10,000 galaxies in visible light, most of which are randomly scattered galaxies. The blue galaxies are distant star-forming galaxies seen from up to 8 billion years ago; the handful of larger, red galaxies reside in the outskirts of the Abell 2744 cluster.
This parallel field was captured as part of Hubble's Frontier Fields project, which used the combined power of "gravitational lenses" and Hubble's ability to create long-exposure deep field images to see galaxies that would normally be far beyond the reach of telescopes.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI)
For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2014/news-2014-01.html
This is Vanessa, she has amazing taste in clothes and always looks impeccable. One of my favourite things she always wears is her lovely smile. We first met a year or so ago at LFF and caught up again at this Decembers BNO 🌸
This jumping spider is the species I see most often "in the wild" - meaning not on the walls of my house. White face with orange notes around the eyes, red body with white hairs, white spot on top of the head, and five pairs of white markings on top of the abdomen. I'm thinking this might be a female Eris militaris, but I'd love some confirmation/infirmation from an expert... This one was probably the largest specimen I've seen so far, and I estimate that it measured around 9-12mm in body length.
Photographed near the pond at Parc-nature du Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard, near Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Pentax D-FA 100mm F/2.8 Macro plus Raynox DCR-250 with off-camera diffused Yongnuo YN-560 III flash.
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This is the cake topper for a Christening Cake. My biggest challenge so far! I'm so thrilled it came out how I envisioned it. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to do it, and had already thought of plan B; a flat art horse. I made this out of gumpaste and started with a rice crispies torso covered in gumpaste. Totally free hand. The only non edible part if the styrofoam I used for the base, which I covered in fondant and the stick holding the horse. Thanks for looking!
Is the kind of magpie , little crow that lives in Greece.It came suddenly while I was taking pictures of flowers and my shutter speed was slow, so I took only one photo because the next second the bird flew away .
Today is 15 April 2019 - such unfortunate news from Paris, France. Historic Notre Dame Cathedral has been heavily damaged by a devastating fire today. Such an icon for that city/country, and so beautiful.
I am finding it so difficult to tell which Terns are Royal Terns and which are Caspian Terns! I know I saw both species, and I think I have a photo of each kind.
Tonight, I have added another 9 photos, again from Day 3 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. This was our second full day there, a day on a tiny boat, called Lady Lori, watching Whooping Cranes and other species. Having posted so many images from basically our first full day, I rather think I will have to be somewhat more 'disciplined" in my choices, or I will never finish : ) Mind you, I had a quick look through Day 3 photos last night, and discovered that a good many of them, especially of the Whooping Cranes, are very blurry - one disadvantage of taking photos from a little boat that is bobbing up and down. Thankfully, enough of them seem to be sufficiently sharp.
The previous morning, Day 2 of our holiday, 20 March 2019, after our drive to The Big Tree and then along the Lamar Beach Road area, we went to the Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary. This is a small, 6.25 acre nature sanctuary that exists in Rockport itself. Such a peaceful place to wander, watching for plants and butterflies as well as birds. There is a small pond, where we watched a young White Ibis, a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret all feeding together. Lovely to see their reflections in the water, too. A couple of nights ago, I was Googling and came across an article from 19 March 2019, telling about a group of students who chose to spend their Spring Break week helping to tidy the Sanctuary. Good for them!
After spending some time at this Sanctuary, we went to the Aransas First Cove Harbor Wetlands Sanctuary, followed by eventually finding the Newbury Park Hummingbird Garden. This was definitely not what we were expecting - just a small area of grass and trees with picnic tables. However, we did see a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly and a small, purple Winecup flower. Afterwards, a repeat drive along Cape Velero Drive and area turned up some nice birds, too.
Day 3 was a very different kind of day, spent on board a small boat with just my four friends (and the captain/guide) on board. This private tour was arranged in Calgary beforehand. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone!
Aransas Bay Birding Charters:
texasbirdingphotos.net/cgi-bin/p/awtp-home.cgi?d=aransas-...
It was a very early start to the day, before sunrise, as we had a lot of water to cross in order to reach the area where the Whooping Cranes were. When we first arrived at the location, the Cranes were either asleep or just beginning their morning preening session, before becoming active. Too dark to get any decent shots of them in the dark, though I did post one yesterday morning. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous! I couldn't make up my mind which one or two photos to post yesterday, so I ended up adding a number of them.
After a while, the Whooping Cranes starting slowly walking and eventually took flight. A bit later in the day, we came across three of them, in the sunshine, busily feeding. This little family consisted of Mom, Dad and junior (their colt). Junior was hungry and eventually, Dad found a crab, which the colt was determined to snatch and eat. Dad was wearing a numbered leg band on one leg; on the other leg was a tracking device. A delightful family group, that was so fascinating to watch from the boat. My photos taken of these three are nicer that the ones I've just posted.
As well as seeing these amazing, endangered Cranes, Lori found all sorts of other bird species for us, including a pair of Oystercatchers (female was on a nest), Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Belted Kingfisher, Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Royal Terns, Caspian Terns, Ruddy Turnstone, Skimmers, and Cormorants, to name just some of them. One area, which was a rookery, had been badly destroyed by Hurricane Harvey, Wooden nesting platforms have been built to replace most of the original nests, and it was great to see Herons nesting on them.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that we saw a family of three Dolphins, too.
Communication is very important. Obviously without it we're isolated individuals without an outlet to be heard or to comprehend what we hear. Communication exists regardless of how we intent it to be received. Verbal or visual, we all communicate. Just some of us are more clear about it.
I have a problem with words. Not necessarily with what words to use, but more with the frequency and amount of words to use. I go out of my way to be understood — probably to the annoyance and frustration of everyone around me. There's nothing worse than leaving the scarcity of your communication "open" to interpretation. This is how marriages fail. Friendships disintegrate. And the premise of every "Three's Company" episode for seven years. The problem isn't that I communicate too much, but that others anticipate that you will automatically have the same understanding of what they mean as they do. Sadly, this is hardly ever the case.
Language and communication are hard enough from region to region within the United States. Sack/Bag. Pop/Soda. It varies from family to family, business to business, school to school. Man to woman. We all have a vernacular (I know, I'm already breaking the rules of my own argument! If you don't know what it means, I can't assume that you do, you can find the definition here) that we fully adopt into our everyday palett of words; and expect everyone else to know their meaning.
Right now I'm stuck in the middle of 40 years of poor communication. Of implied meaning. Inferred intent. The end outcome is bitterness. Dishonor. Hurt. Confusion. Anger. When one said "That's ok" they meant "I don't like this but I'll suffer through it because I don't want to get into an argument about it". Ultimately we can't avoid conflict and we can't assume understanding. It's to the determent of everyone to take short cuts with words — and can end quite literally in a disaster.
Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.
The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.
One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.
Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.
The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".
This is an older capture of Fynn which was taken in December when we also had snow like we do today. But at the moment I can't let Fynn go outside because he is too sick. After three days in a veterinary clinic I took him home yesterday afternoon. He was very happy to be home and to see his brother Luan again. The inflammation in his mouth and throat looks better and he seems to be able to swallow without any problem but I still have to give him his food with a syringe to make sure that he eats enough. Most of the time he seems to have less problems to breath through the nose although the nose is still far from being free and he produces a loud respiratory noise. One side of his nose is swollen and sore and therefore difficult to clean. In spite of his persisting health problems, Fynn was quite playful yesterday but he tires easily and needs a lot of sleep. I hope that he will not suffer any severe relapse now that he is home and doesn't receive any more infusions. We desperately need some more progress. The vets keep telling me that the prognosis is uncertain and that he has a long way to go. I will have to take him to the clinic again tomorrow afternoon for a checkup, hoping that he will not have to stay there again.
This is my second afternoon of sunset experiments and of the 60 shots I took, number 44 was the most lucky. The sun was there, all yellow orange but probably made reddish by the medium fast speed of 0.01s and f8.0 settings ( a eureka moment for a newbie like me). The ball that was the sun was dropping fast and I was lucky that the surfers chanced to pass by. I was about 150 meters away and the zoom of my camera is limited (max 21mm) but I knew that before downloading the pics, this one is what i will post tonight.
the famous Kuta beach, Bali, Indonesia
more pics and journeys in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/
Het is vroeg in de morgen van 18 juli 2024 als in het station van Essen op spoor 2 de NMBS 1905 met zijn stam M6 rijtuigen klaar staat voor vertrek naar Charleroi Süd. Rechts staat AM 75 treinstel 836 klaar om ingezet te worden als stoptrein naar Antwerpen. Het zou mooi zijn als de verbinding naar Charleroi zou worden doorgetrokken naar Roosendaal met modern en comfortabel materieel, de huidige AM75 treinstellen moet je anno 2024 niet meer willen....
Grade I listed historic main building.
"The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.
The museum contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. The early works of French glassmaker Émile Gallé were commissioned by Joséphine, wife of the founder John Bowes. A great attraction is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
The Bowes Museum was purpose-built as a public art gallery for John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier, Countess of Montalbo, who both died before it opened in 1892. Bowes was the son of John Bowes, the 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, although he did not inherit the title as he was deemed illegitimate under Scottish law.
It was designed with the collaboration of two architects, the French architect Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson of Newcastle. The building is richly modelled, with large windows, engaged columns, projecting bays, and mansard roofs typical of the French Second Empire, set within landscaped gardens. An account in 1901 described it as "... some 500 feet in length by 50 feet high, and is designed in the French style of the First Empire. Its contents are priceless, consisting of unique Napoleon relics, splendid picture galleries, a collection of old china, not to be matched anywhere else in the world, jewels of incredible beauty and value; and, indeed, a wonderful and rare collection of art objects of every kind."
Among those with less favourable opinions was Nikolaus Pevsner, who considered it to be "... big, bold and incongruous, looking exactly like the town hall of a major provincial town in France. In scale it is just as gloriously inappropriate for the town to which it belongs (and to which it gives some international fame) as in style".
The building was begun in 1869 and was reputed to have cost £100,000 (equivalent to £9.3 million in 2019). Bowes and his wife left an endowment of £125,000 (£11.6 million in 2019) and a total of 800 paintings. Their collection of European fine and decorative arts amounted to 15,000 pieces.
A major redevelopment of the Bowes Museum began in 2005. To date, improvements have been made to visitor facilities (shop, cafe and toilets); galleries (new Fashion & Textile gallery, Silver gallery and English Interiors gallery); and study/learning facilities. The three art galleries, on the second floor of the museum, were updated at the same time.
The museum hosts an internationally significant programme of exhibitions, recently featuring works by Monet, Raphael, Turner, Sisley, Gallé, William Morris, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
The BBC announced in 2013 that a Portrait of Olivia Boteler Porter was a previously unknown Anthony van Dyck painting. It had been found in the Bowes Museum storeroom by art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor who had observed it on-line at the Your Paintings web site. The painting itself was covered in layers of varnish and dirt, and had not been renovated. It was originally thought to be a copy, and valued at between £3,000 to £5,000. Christopher Brown, director of the Ashmolean Museum, confirmed it was a van Dyck after it had been restored.
Barnard Castle (locally [ˈbɑːnəd ˈkæsəl], BAH-nəd KASS-əl) is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it was built. It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and a popular tourist destination. The Bowes Museum has the best collection of European fine and decorative arts in the North of England, housed in a magnificent 19th-century French-style chateau. Its most famous exhibit is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, and its artworks include paintings by Goya and El Greco.
Barnard Castle sits on the north bank of the River Tees, opposite Startforth and 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east.
Barnard Castle's largest single employer is GlaxoSmithKline, which has a manufacturing facility on the town outskirts.
Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.
The earthwork fortifications of the castle were rebuilt in stone by his successor, Bernard de Balliol I during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name. The castle passed down through the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member) and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.
The remains of the castle are a Grade I listed building, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II* listed. Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, "West Australian", was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown, in 1853.
Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier founded the Bowes Museum, which is of national status. Housed in its own ornate building, the museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
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66107 is backed up before lunchtime and ready for departure at Salford's Hope Street cement complex with DBS 6H60 1524 Hope Street to Peak Forest.
Two Northern class 156 units pass on the adjacent stretch of line between Salford Central & Salford Crescent. The Trafford Centre is visible on the horizon and shows the south westerly aspect of the shot.
Holcomb is about halfway between Rockford and Rochelle in Northern Illinois. At one time it was a busier place with the Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Milwaukee Road and Chicago Great Western trains going through town with grain elevators and a train station. The Milwaukee Road had trackage rights over the CB&Q.
The CGW line through Holcomb was abandoned by the C&NW ages ago while the former CB&Q line shown in the picture is not officially abandoned yet but it is out of service from Davis Junction to Flagg Center since the diamond was removed at DJ that allowed it to cross the CPKC Chicago Subdivison.
Illinois Railway retained this line south of DJ as business dried up for car storage and to swap out engines for FRA inspections and repairs via the BNSF at Flagg Center. The last known customer in Holcomb was an operation that loaded logs onto freight cars provided by IR.
In 2024 IR built a new inspection pit in downtown Rockford at the old CB&Q yard making it unnecessary to go all the way past DJ. IR filed to abandoned the line south of DJ in 2019 but did not act on it at the time.
This image is from my collection and was uploaded as part of a curated archive I created in 2017. The purpose of this archive is to make the photos easier to access, and to share with those with similar interests.
Please be aware that many of these images were scanned as early as twenty-five years ago. There can be blanks in the description & credit lines, however I always try to complete as much detail as possible. Generally speaking, items that are lacking in detail means I do no longer have the original, just the scan itself. I encourage you to fill in any of the blanks (via the comment field), including the credit if you know.
All images have been collected over the past 40+ years of shooting Kodachrome and digital images, slide purchases and many years of exchanging. I was fortunate enough to trade with some of the best airliner photographers around the world.
REGISTRATION : N507DC
MFR TYPE & SERIES : Douglas DC-8-51
MSN : 45855
OPERATOR : Holidair Canada
AIRPORT (WHEN KNOWN) : Miami MIA
DATE (WHEN KNOWN) :
PHOTOGRAPHER (WHEN KNOWN) :
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