View allAll Photos Tagged speculation
This old, restored and preserved Shell gas station sits along Front St. running through Issaquah Washington. There is speculation that the building may have been constructed as a residence in the late 1890’s. By 1902 records show the building was used as a warehouse and grocery store. By the 1940s the building had changed hands and became a feed store and gasoline station.
In 2003, the building was Landmarked and the Downtown Issaquah Association (DIA) with assistance from the City of Issaquah, private party donations and volunteers began the process of restoring the building to its 1944 appearance as the Hailstone Feed Store and Shell Gasoline Station.
It’s now most frequently used as a backdrop for social media posts.
Thence gathering plumes of perfect speculation,
To imp the wings of thy high-flying mind,
Mount up aloft through heavenly contemplation,
From this dark world, whose damps the soul so blind,
And, like the native brood of eagles' kind,
On that bright Sun of Glory fix thine eyes,
Clear'd from gross mists of frail infirmities.
From An Hymn Of Heavenly Beauty by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)
Best Viewed Large On Black - Sky Speculation, Kapiti Island, NZ [?]
• Available high res and unframed at tomraven.com
• Prints, Cards and Posters available at RavenRedBubble
With speculation that Amtrak 606 will soon lose its fizz I took another crack at it today at Baltimore County Fire Department Station 54 in Chase, MD.
I would have preferred this weather: www.flickr.com/photos/jimkleeman/16769120776/in/photolist...
Jusepe de Ribera
Spanish, 1591-1762
We think we are seeing a scholar, perhaps a reflection of our lives in the relatively sheltered world of the University. He is a serious thoughtful man about whom, in the absence of information, there has been much speculation by art historians. He has been variously identified as Virgil, Petrarch or Dante. The robe and laurel crown suggest he is ancient. He seems to be on the cups of an hypothesis.
-Jonathan Meakins
The stone rows of Ménec, one of the three major groups of stone rows at the megalithic sites of Carnac, Brittany, France
Some background information:
The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites near the south coast of Brittany in in the French department of Morbihan. They consist of stone alignments, dolmens (stone tombs), tumuli (burial mounds) and single menhirs (standing stones). More than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local granite and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany and form the largest such collection in the world. Most of the stones are within the Breton municipality of Carnac, but some to the east are within neighboring La Trinité-sur-Mer. The stones were erected at some stage during the Neolithic period, probably around 3300 BC, but some may date to as early as 4500 BC.
There are three major groups of stone rows – Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan, which altogether are known as the alignments of Carnac. Another much smaller group of stones, the Petit-Ménec alignments, can be found in the neigbouring village of La Trinité-sur-Mer. These four groups may have once formed a single group but have been split up as stones were removed for other purposes. The standing stones are made of weathered granite from local outcroppings that once extensively covered the area.
The Ménec alignments near the village of Le Ménec consist of eleven converging rows of menhirs stretching for 1,165 by 100 metres (3,822 by 328 feet). At either end the remains of stone circles can still be seen. The largest stones, around 4 metres (13 feet) high, are at the wider, western end. The stones then become as small as 0.6 metres (2 feet 0 inches) high along the length of the alignment before growing in height again toward the extreme eastern end.
The Kermario alignments consists of 1029 stones in ten columns, about 1,300 m (4,300 feet) in length. At their eastern end, where the stones are shorter, a stone circle was revealed by aerial photography. The Kerlescan alignments are a smaller group of 555 stones, further to the east of the other two sites. They are composed of 13 lines with a total length of about 800 metres (2,600 feet), ranging in height from 80 cm (2 feet 7 inch) to 4 m (13 feet). At the extreme west, where the stones are tallest, there is another stone circle which has 39 stones.
There are several dolmens scattered around the area. These dolmens are generally considered to have been tombs. However, the acidic soil of Brittany has eroded away the bones. They were constructed with several large stones supporting a capstone, then buried under a mound of earth. In many cases, the mound is no longer present, sometimes due to archeological excavation, and only the large stones remain, in various states of ruin.
At the end of the 18th century, the alignments of Carnac were attributed to druidic gatherings. But just a few years later, it was claimed that they represent stars in the sky. A later theory from 1887 argued for a connection between the rows of stones and the directions of sunsets at the solstices. More recent studies assume an astronomical purpose or support the concept of a geometric megalithic yard. However, the most modern theory suggests that the stone rows belonged to some kind of defensive structure against preternatural menaces originating from the nearby sea. Anyway, a generally valid theory regarding the purpose of the alignments has not been agreed on yet.
Since 1996, the alignments of Carnac – or to be more precise – the Ménec alignments are part of the UNESCO tenative list, a list of worldwide architectural and cultural heritage sites, which are considered to become UNESCO world heritage sites sometime. If you plan a visit there, please be aware that Carnac can be overcrowded by tourists at certain hours of the day. There are also several touristic offers of clever tradespeople that cost money. However, you can still eplore the alignments on your own, although it’s no longer possible to stroll around between the stone rows as they are protected from regardless visitors by having been fenced in for quite some time.
Looking north from the road bridge over the railway. Some speculation about future changes to this once vibrant shopping thoroughfare Local media reports have mentioned part of it becoming a conservation area or a pedestrianised zone. Just ideas being thrown about at the moment. About 50 years too late really.
NO PRIVATE GROUPS
Si en algún momento te ves identificado apareciendo en alguna de mis fotos y no quieres por los motivos que sean que tu imagen este publicada en la red , por favor comunícamelo por email y quitare inmediatamente la foto de mi galería Mi unica finalidad es plasmar la realidad que nos rodea con el máximo respeto posible
Correo electrónico:albertohendrix56@yahoo.es
JENDRIX EN LA WEB
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in Spotify...Jendrix Garcia
Tour of Europe 04 2016
Day 6
Suddenly, this appears, great excitement!
Now I’ll probably bore you to death, because I got so many good ones of it!
The Great Belt Fixed Link (Danish: Storebæltsforbindelsen) runs between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen.
The "Great Belt Bridge" (Danish: Storebæltsbroen) commonly refers to the suspension bridge, although it may also be used to mean the box-girder bridge or the link in its entirety.
The suspension bridge, officially known as the East Bridge, has the world's third longest main span (1.6 km), and the longest outside of Asia.
It was designed by the Danish engineering firms COWI and Ramboll.
After more than five decades of speculation and debate, the decision to construct the link was made in 1986.
At an estimated cost of DKK 21.4 billion (1988 prices),the link is the largest construction project in Danish history.
Operation and maintenance are performed by A/S Storebælt under Sund & Bælt. Construction and maintenance are financed by tolls on vehicles and trains.
The link has reduced travel times significantly; previously taking about an hour by ferry, the Great Belt can now be crossed in about ten minutes.
More here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Belt_Fixed_Link
Thank you for your visits and comments, M, (*_*)
For more of my other work visit here: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
After many months of rumors, speculation and high level decision making, P&W sent SD70M-2 4302 north to NECR's portable paint shop in St. Albans for its new G&W colors. Wearing its second paint scheme in less than a year, 4302 leads NECR train 611 arriving at Barretts siding, just north of Palmer, MA on Wednesday afternoon June 14, 2017.
A night out and about with Moore Camera Club trying new things and learning new skills and causing speculation in the Mulberry Tree pub as to why all those people with cameras are outside!!
The flower offered of itself
And eloquently spoke
Of Gods
In languages of rainbows
Perfumes
And secret silence...
~Phillip Pulfrey, from "Love, Abstraction and other Speculations"
Kryssia (Kryssia_28) I hope you have a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY, dear friend!
Kryssia, espero que tenga un muy feliz cumpleaños hoy!
Thank you friends for all your visits, comments and faves. Each one of you is appreciated so much! You're the BEST!
FP & Explore #11
I'm Shiga-plateau in Nagano-prefecture by long photography travel in autumn.
A picture is taken and it's beyond Shibu-pass in a border between prefectures (for an altitude, 2172m).
Just before Kusatsu Shirane-mountain from which even beauty of the colored leaves is learned about
yoshigaflat who feels NI is wide big was visited.
But, unfortunately, colored leaves, already, already, the end, wow.
please, I shifted to the winter scenery which waits for snow.
But the red sunset will be dusk, and strikes in the surface of a mountain.
When they began, entourage changed completely and defoliated completely.
The trees of a delicate birch are applied the center at all,
It's transformed into the view of the late fall when it's full of emotion like the picture I got.
It was done.
Eastern Sierra, CA.
Forecasted by: Escaype
Peace cannot be attained by false judgement and speculations. Promote LOVE instead of promoting your destructive opinion.
Located between N. Conti St. and N. Miro St. in New Orleans, La. 70119.
"The unique New Orleans hotel that is La Belle Esplanade was built in the 1883 as a Creole answer to the mansions on Saint Charles Avenue. The three houses at 2212, 2216, and 2222 Esplanade Avenue were all built by the successful cotton broker Julius Weiss. A native of Germany, Weiss arrived in New Orleans after spending a few years as an itinerant peddler in Mississippi and northern Louisiana. Weiss never lived in any of these houses, instead he built them on speculation as the area was undergoing an extensive redevelopment to satisfy the tastes of wealthy Creole merchants relocating from the French Quarter, and a growing wealthy Greek immigrant community.
The property lines of these three lots do not match the street grid, but instead follow the original plantation lines that were laid out perpendicular to the high point of Esplanade Ridge, which is Bayou Road. For this reason the rear of the properties are narrow pie slices wedged into the middle of the block, creating a unique configuration for the back gardens.
Unlike most homes built for speculation, Julian Weiss did not construct these inexpensively or exactly alike. Though they share architectural elements, each was designed to be a stand-alone, unique masterpiece. You have to look closely to see the similarities. 2212 is built along Swiss cottage lines. 2216 is a traditional Queen Anne two-family manor. 2222 is Italianate. The interiors of all three feature 14 foot ceilings, classic New Orleans porches to served as outdoor hallways, and transoms to allow for the free flow of air during humid New Orleans summers.
Esplanade Avenue was one of the city’s main thoroughfares, and a streetcar line ran down the middle of the neutral ground from 1861 to 1934. It was the first streetcar line to run through the “back of town,” testimony to the importance of commerce and the vitality in the surrounding neighborhoods.
During the 1960s this fashionable neighborhood began to experience hard times. The three homes in the middle of Esplanade Avenue’s 2200 block were divided into apartments and they fell victim to neglect, much like the other stately manors that line the avenue. In the 1970s, a preservationist spirit took hold in New Orleans, and the legacy of Esplanade Avenue’s architectural legacy was documented by the Historic New Orleans Commission.
In 1986, a local attorney and preservationist, James Derbes, purchased 2216 Esplanade Avenue, the location of La Belle Esplanade, with the intent of turning it into a bed and breakfast. Through an investment of sweat equity, Mr. Derbes restored this building to its original glory with an eye toward preserving all of its period details and charms. While working on 2216 Esplanade Ave., Mr. Derbes was presented with the opportunity of purchasing its neighbor at 2222, which had also experienced a period of neglect. Due to his foresight and efforts, both properties were restored and their rear gardens joined into a charming setting with the fountain that stands to this day.
Under Mr. Derbes’ direction, 2216 became the Esplanade Villa a popular and successful bed and breakfast that operated in conjunction with the Benachi House, which he also restored, across the street. During Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, when the failed federal levees flooded New Orleans, the house did not sustain water damage. Though New Orleans’ landscape appears to be flat, Esplanade Avenue runs atop Esplanade Ridge, one of the higher points in the city. For this very reason, Bayou Road, New Orleans’ oldest street, crosses Esplanade Avenue at the 2200 block.
Soon after Katrina, Esplanade Villa stopped functioning as a New Orleans bed and breakfast, and reverted to apartments. In 2012, Mr. Derbes was gracious enough to part with the building which he worked so hard to restore. La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast is operated by La Belle Esplanade, LLC with the mission to make the real New Orleans, the way New Orleanians experience their city, available to visitors." -labelleesplanade.com
An odd little building in the graveyard at Saul Church. One theory proposed that it was a medieval port-hole shrine containing the remains of St Patrick, St Brigid & St Columba. This was ruled out by a 2014 excavation by Queen's University which found that it was built in the late 16th or early 17th century. Its purpose remains open to speculation.
The Art of Banksy Exhibition in London.
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation.
Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls and bridges throughout the world.
Banksy's work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.
Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy no longer sells photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but his public "installations" are regularly resold, often even by removing the wall they were painted on.
A small number of Banksy's works are officially, non-publicly, sold through an agency created by Banksy named Pest Control.
Information Source:
There`s a lot of speculation that first group will lose the TPE contract so is this a sign of the future, Drs`s Chiltern liveried 68010 "Oxford Flyer" approaches Gascoigne wood sidings on a light engine move from Crewe Gresty bridge (0Z13) 08/02/2023.
The same Kite as the previous one I posted, taken about a minute apart. In that time it must've dived down and picked up what looks like half a baguette. It's difficult to be sure from this shot, but others in the sequence would seem to suggest it has a liking for a cheese and pickle sandwich, although that is wild speculation on my part. It was a stroke of luck that the sun caught the baguette and lit it up like a block of gold.
Well after much anticipation and speculation it would appear we do have little ones this year, which is a relief after the disappointment of last years failure :-)
A seductive young white-throated sparrow flashes a little bare leg, getting the attention of the paparazzi and creating wide spread speculation as to if she is wearing anything at all under those feathers.
(Highest Explore #6, thanks!)
PCA 149 - 6-word Story
Mar 20-Apr 3, 2011 (2 weeks)
Image Tag: pca149
Assignment: It is said that Ernest Hemingway was once asked to write a complete story in six words. There is speculation that maybe this was to settle a bar bet or perhaps as a challenge to other writers. In either case, this challenge is the basis for the assignment.
Many critics state that a good photograph has to tell a story in order to connect to the viewer. For this assignment I’d like you to compose a visual interpretation of a six-word story. Although I encourage you to write your own story, feel free to use the many six word stories available that could be the basis for your image.
There is definitely a chicken/egg aspect to this assignment depending on how you approach your creativity. Which comes first, the image or the story? A compelling photo composed through your creative eye may have enough depth to provide the seed for several six-word stories. On the other hand, a clever six-word story could be creatively interpreted by several different photographic concepts. There is no right or wrong way to approach the assignment.
By the way, Hemingway’s story is: "For sale: baby shoes, never used."
WIT: I love this train graveyard. I've been here before. I could spend all day here, but I only stopped for a few minutes this time. This little trolly is my favorite, so broken and battered, but still worth photographing. I think this was part of a private collection that was originially going to be a museum, then the owner died and now these trains and trollys have been left to rust on the roadside. Quite a sad end to its life. I'm sure many people road on this trolly, had conversations, ate their meals and maybe even made business deals.
Excerpt from luminatofestival.com:
For the second time Luminato Festival will install Canadian artist Michel de Broin’s One Thousand Speculations, a 7.9 metre in diameter ball made up of 1,000 mirrors — the world’s largest mirror ball. Originally commissioned by Luminato for the 2013 Festival, this time it will not be suspended from a crane over David Pecaut Square but will hang inside the Hearn Generating Station. It is a meeting of superlatives. Turned on, it will transform the space into a futuristic spectacle, letting us dream about what could be. For Michel, the piece renders and recreates the starry sky. We will bring the starry sky inside the Hearn, reminding us that our sense of wonder is endless through inspiration. It will make us see the space of the Hearn in an ever-changing way and highlight detail after detail as the 1,000 rays slowly scan the space in circular motion.
We kind of took the long way back from our trip to Bryce Canyon. We passed through the central Utah town of Manti which is home to an LDS Temple. In fact the temple dominates the little town and in the distance looks like a castle on a hill. This was the third temple opened by the church and it has been around a long time. When it was placed in Manti there was probably speculation that this region would grow a lot faster than it has.
For more of my creative projects, visit my short stories website: 500ironicstories.com
I had headed to the Glenmore Reservoir today on speculation, hoping to see interesting waterfowl. I wasn't disappointed.
Spoke with the director of CT Audubon and there is speculation that this bird is actually a Hybrid x Tricolored Heron Hybrid!
This was the last remaining of the litter. It's speculation that coyotes seen in the vicinity the evening before may have taken the others in the litter. Often the mother will move the kits to another den so I'm hoping this was the case.
excellent but equally good was Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill (which had a bit of humor- this one was pretty dang angsty)
I got this capture a rainy night last summer, at the window of my balcony. It is actually exciting to play with the multiple levels of focus and perspectives that are created inside bright spots of bokeh. Recommended to experiment with. Just remember to aim diagonally with a steep angle towards the glass.
My warmest wishes to all of you for everything good in this new year!
Copyright © Ioannis Lelakis.
All rights reserved.
Here is a less-stormy view of the rock at Point Lobos, California made about 20 minutes after #3. No HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/460662340...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @20
1/4-second exposure @F16
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9 + 0.75 (5 1/2 stops total)
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 200
Joby Gorillapod (flexible tripod so I could lay down and not fall off the cliff!)
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
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The Story
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After shooting for about 30 minutes, the sun began to set so I got back here as the clouds began to evaporate. Fortunately they hung around long enough to add a warm glow to the sky. So I bumped up the ISO to 200 to keep the 1/4-sec exposure and angled the dark part of the filters over the brightest part of the sky. I took about 25 photos in total on this evening including 5 around this time. The trick to getting this water color is to wait until the water calms down, which makes it a deep grenish-blue because the bubbles have risen to the top and evaporated. Then shoot just when the first nice wave curls around the rock. If you do not wait, the water will be churned up and too bright to photograph!
(Here is the rest of the description from #3.)
Point Lobos, at the north end of Big Sur just south of Carmel, California (100 miles - 160km south of San Francisco) could keep a photographer busy for months or even years. It is a peninsula that has been sculptured by large Pacific waves over millions of years and the results are stunning. This is one of the western-most points of rock and is probably 50 feet tall at high tide. Sometimes waves wash over the entire rock and they did during a big set just after this photo was made. This is a wider view with more light striking the cliff face and sea than my previous attempt which is in the 2010 Nature Conservancy calendar for November.
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/275016883...
The biggest hazard is getting low enough to have the tops of the rock rise above the horizon. Then you must literally hang off the cliff to get an open view around the right foreground rock. So the Gorillapod allowed me to lay on the rock and not fall in! Also, I had to wait for a seagull to land on the top of each rock, though I made some with no seagull just in case. In a big print, the seagull really helps.
The map shows exactly where this is. It is an easy <1 mile hike from a small parking lot.
See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
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Resources:
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Google Earth
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
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Castle Hill is a scheduled ancient monument in Almondbury overlooking Huddersfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. The hilltop has been settled for at least 4,000 years. The scheduled monument comprises the remains of a late-Bronze Age or early Iron Age univallate hillfort with a single raised bank, a later Iron Age multivallate hillfort, a 12th-century motte and bailey castle and the site of a deserted medieval village. The grade II listed Victoria Tower on the summit of Castle Hill is by far the most conspicuous landmark in Huddersfield. The hill has been a place of recreation for hundreds of years and the easily discernible remains of past occupation have made it a subject for legend, speculation and scientific study.
Here’s a rare picture of famous inventor and author Leonard Van Wint, he lives self-exiled in an undisclosed location. Not much is known about his past, the only information about him comes from his publications. Numerous books have been published about his discoveries in engineering, aviation and renewable energies, but his public appearances are extremely rare. Rumors say he lives in luxury on his private island with a beautiful lake.
A lot of speculations have been circulating about his past and his mysterious eye patch, some says he’s hiding his true identity behind a fake mustache.
We will investigate further…
Made for the Wandering Skies contest - A fig and a vig category
www.flickr.com/groups/14866304@N22/discuss/72157721917452...
Here's the video tutorial:
Spotting for Mr Jokertrekker this evening (and vice versa) alerted me to DXB 5022 and straight-chuter DXC 5425 on 926 away relatively early from Dunedin.
After crossing 925 at Bushey, they're seen heading along the coast at the ridiculously early time of 8:35pm. In Oamaru by 9:15? Unheard of.
And yes, while half an hour earlier the skies were clear for 925, those annoying hill-hugging clouds are already accumulating and softening the specular glints.
28 Dec 2017, Shag Point-Katiki, SIMT, NZ
In folklore, often used to predict the coming Winter weather. The longer the orange colored band, the milder the Winter! Whether there is any merit to this is a matter for speculation. However, we who have been brought up on this bit of folklore, subscribe to its veracity! If this critter is correct, we will have a slightly milder Winter.
Often the subject of intense speculation and heady anticipation in railfan circles, business trains are among the rarest sights on the rails. Despite this, I've still somehow managed to snag pictures of two over the years, both by complete accident.
Driving to Whistler for an unrelated trip in August 2019, my radio picked up CN 3224 south announcing its approach to Mile 25. Never one to pass up a train, I set up at Brunswick Beach (~Mile 20). Imagine my surprise to see the classy dark green and yellow of the CN business train! Hell yea.
The final image of the triptych.
Thank you for your interest. Please do not post spam, irrelevant poetry or prose, or links to your works in the comment section. I will find my own way to your images. All my images are my own original work, under my copyright, with all rights reserved. This means the owner's permission must be sought and obtained, before using any image for ANY purpose.
Copyright infringement is theft.
Florida Beauties -- According to the Pacific Horticulture Society, most speculation centers on India as the source of the earliest ancestors of today’s hibiscus. Nonetheless, it was in China that hibiscus were first cultivated extensively; many selections were discovered growing around temples and palaces there by European explorers and traders who brought hibiscus back to Europe.
The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, known as the Grand Hotel in later years, is one of a small number of skyscrapers built in the 1920s that still stand today and is a prime example of how optimistic people were during the Florida land boom. Built in 1926, it found financing through a stock-sale campaign in the local business community, costing $500,000 after it was completed(which equates to about $6 million today.)
The building architecture, masonry vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival, is also a good example of the time is was built. It was designed by two well-known architects at the time, Fred Bishop who designed the Byrd Theatre in Virginia, and D.J. Phipps, whose designed both the Wyoming County Courthouse and Jail and the Colonial Hotel in Virginia.
The hotel was constructed using the “three-part vertical block” method, which became the dominant pattern in tall buildings during the 1920s. Three-part buildings are composed of a base, shaft and a cap, all noticeably visible.
The hotel opened as the “Walesbilt” in January 1927, shortly after the land boom had started to collapse and two years before the Great Depression began. It’s also best to note that the hotel opened around the same time the Floridan Hotel in Tampa opened, another hotel built during the Florida land boom.
In 1972, the hotel was purchased by Anderson Sun State and renamed the “Groveland Motor Inn”. The firm completely renovated the hotel and used it to host visitors to the area who were interested in Green Swamp, land sectioned off for land development. At the time there was heavy speculation in the land because of it’s close proximity to Walt Disney World and were selling for around $5,000 an acre at the time. That ended after a state cabinet designation of the swamp as an area of critical state concern, placing the land off-limits to any large land developments. The firm filed for foreclosure and the hotel was auctioned off in 1974. Despite RCI Electric purchasing the hotel, it remained empty for many years afterwards.
n 1978, the hotel was signed over to the Agape Players, a nationally known religious music and drama group, who would assume the mortgage and would pay the costs to make improvements to meet city fire and safety standards. The hotel was renamed the “Royal Walesbilt” and after extensive improvements were made, it became the headquarters for the Agape Players; using it as a teaching facility and the base from which the group launched their tours. In addition, they operated a restaurant, an ice cream parlor on the lobby floor and a “Christian hotel” on the upper floors, catering mostly to groups. The Agape Players disbanded in 1985 and put the property up for sale
Victor Khubani, a property investor from New York acquired the property and renamed the hotel “Grand”. The hotel closed briefly in December 1988, due to a variety of code violations and causing the owner to later pay $14,000 in fines. On August 31, 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, possibly for tax exemption reasons. In October 1991, The State Fire Marshall’s Office gave the owner one year to install a new sprinkler system and in May 1993, the code enforcement board gave Khubani until March to complete the work.
In March 1994, the hotel closed due to multiple code violations and was to remain closed until a new fire sprinkler system was installed. To reopen, the fire escapes and elevator, which did not function, would have to be repaired as well. In 1995, the hotel was auctioned off to a redevelopment firm, which dismantled part of the interior for reconstruction, which was never completed.
Since then, the hotel has deteriorated, becoming an eyesore to many of the residents of Lake Wales and nicknamed “The Green Monster” for the greenish color it has acquired from over the years. In 1995, it was even jokingly mentioned to become a sacrifice to “the bomb”, an economic boom that occurred in parts of Florida where movie production companies would pay cities to blow up buildings for their movies. In 2007, the city foreclosed on the structure for more than $700,000 in unpaid code fines, with hopes in finding someone to restore it.
Development firm, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC announced plans to restore the hotel, signing into an agreement with the city of Lake Wales in February 2010. By the agreement, the city would retain ownership of the building until a defined amount of work had been accomplished. The work must be completed within 16 months and the amount of money invested must succeed at least $1.5 million. The building would then be handed off the Dixie Walesbilt LLC, where they may continue with private funding or other methods to for debt funding.
Ray Brown, President of Dixie Walesbilt LLC, planned to invest $6 million into the renovation, with original plans to put retail stores on the ground floor and using the upper floors for as many as 40 condominiums.
On June 2, 2011, the city of Lake Wales agreed to deed the building off to Ray Brown in a 4-1 vote, after meeting the requirements of the redevelopment agreement. Though Brown submitted a list of costs to the city totaling $1.66 million, Mayor Mike Carter wasn’t satisfied with the results so far, pointing out that Brown failed to repair the windows and repaint the building. Previous owners had put tar on the building and then painted over it, so much of Brown’s investment went to stripping the tar off the exterior walls.
To repaint the building, Brown would also have to resurface the hotel with hydrated lime to replicate the original skin as well as the window frames would need to be constructed of Douglas fir, red cedar and gulf cypress. According to Brown, previous owners who renovated the building rarely removed the building original elements. They carpeted over intricate tile flooring, stuck tar paper above skylights and placed modern drinking fountains in front of the originals. He estimated about 98 percent of the building is still in it’s original form.
Restoration of the building’s exterior began in January 2015 and included surface repair, pressure washing, paint removal, chemical treatment, and a comprehensive resurfacing of the exterior.
While the original plans were for turning the building into condominiums, that has since changed and current plans call for operating the building as a boutique hotel. The hotel will feature geothermal cooling as opposed to traditional air conditioning, a permanent art gallery as well as theme gallery showings throughout the year, and the best WiFi/internet in the city. The project is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.cityoflakewales.com/505/Dixie-Walesbilt-Hotel
www.abandonedfl.com/dixie-walesbilt-hotel/
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