Field Notes: Greeley Square – New York City, New York
Celebrated editor and political leader Horace Greeley (1811-1872) launched the New York Tribune in 1841. From its pages, he had an enormous influence on American popular opinion. Greeley's famous advice, "Go West, young man, go West," inspired generations of Americans to seek their fortunes on the new frontier. He advocated...
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Madison Square Park and Union Square Park – New York City, New York
Jemmy's Dog Run, a prominent off-leash canine play area located within Madison Square Park in the Flatiron and NoMad neighborhoods of Manhattan. The dog park is directly named after Founding Father and 4th U.S. President, James "Jemmy" Madison, who is also the namesake for the main park itself. "Jemmy" was...
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Downtown – Newark, Delaware
Newark Academy traces its roots to a school founded by Rev. Dr. Francis Alison at New London, Pennsylvania in 1741. The school moved in 1652 to Cecil County, Maryland, and finally in 1767 to Newark, Delaware. Chartered by Thomas and Richard Penn in 1769, the school was closed from 1777...
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Market Common – Clarendon, Virginia
Market Common in Clarendon has a combination of a brewpub and roastery. This gives them an opportunity to have product available throughout the day from coffee, to lunch, to hand crafted brews, and gourmet dinner. Beer barrels are creatively adapted and reused to make the benches for tables inside and...
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Field Notes: Six Flags – Upper Marlboro, Maryland
In 1985 the coaster was purchased and moved from Wild World in Massachusetts to Maryland. The helix at the end of the ride was rebuilt to replace on that had burned in Massachusetts. Maximum height was 98 feet, length 4000 feet, and maximum speed 60 mph. The track was re-profiled...
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Parma Cathedral – Parma, Italy
The wide sandstone facade was completed in 1178. There are three loggia floors and three portals. The Gothic belfry was added later. The interior has a Latin cross plan with the nave and transept divided by pilasters. The illusionistic cupola fresco of the Assumption is by Antonio da Correggio. Back...
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Colonne di San Lorenzo – Milan, Italy
This colonnade once connected San Lorenzo Maggiore to the Via Ticinesis, the old Roman road to Pavia. Originally this was part of a quadriporticus that stood before the basilica, entered from the street through a colonnaded portico. Sixteen 8.5-meter Corinithian columns come from a nearby building, possibly a pagan temple,...
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Giotto Tower – Florence, Italy (2018)
This interior perspective is from looking straight up the hollow shaft of Giotto's Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto), located in the Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. Designed primarily by master artist Giotto di Bondone starting in 1334, this freestanding square campanile represents a supreme masterpiece of Italian Gothic architecture....
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Giotto Tower – Florence, Italy
Work began on the new bell tower to the side of the facade of the church in the 14th century. Giotto was named overseer of the work. The tower is 84.7 meters tall and approximately 15 meters in breadth. The strong vertical thrust is combined with the principle of sound...
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Medici Chapels – Florence, Italy
The Medici Chapels contain tombs for members of Florence's ruling family. One enters through the crypt and then walks up steps to the Chapel of Princes (La Cappella dei Principi). From there it is possible to follow a hall and more steps to the New Sacristy (Sacrestia Nuova) that was...
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Camposanto – Pisa, Italy
The burial ground lies over the ruins of the old baptistery of the church of Santa Reparata, the church that once stood where the cathedral now stands. Around 1278 tombs that surrounded the cathedral were brought here. Built from 1278-1465, the defining features are the cloistered interior courtyard, some ancient...
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Leaning Tower – Pisa, Italy
This UNESCO World Heritage site 'Piazza del Duomo di Pisa' represent a single design concept of a dialogue between heaven and earth. They also are a style developed in maritime Pisa resulting from the encounter of different people, cultures, and languages. View of the tower from just outside the city...
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Santa Maria del Fiore – Florence, Italy
The foundation stone for Santa Maria del Fiore was laid in 1296. Work ebbed and flowed. Francesco Talenti took over about 1343 and instituted the basic plan. The nave had a ribbed groin vault resting on the nave arcade, providing an emphasis on width instead of height. By 1436 the...
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Downtown – Lexington, Virginia
Nelsonville "Bullseye" sidewalk paver. Produced by the legendary Nelsonville Brick Company in Athens County, Ohio, these highly sought-after collectible bricks were widely distributed throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The block is pressed with intricate concentric circles and parallel traction ridges, then heavily salt-glazed and vitrified to create...
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Downtown – Greensboro, North Carolina
As we approached Greensboro for the first time in 2018, public art on this retaining wall indicated that Greensboro embraced creativity and made it part of the community identity. Lebauer Park is a focal point of the community. Linear in orientation, it provides connectivity between the downtown and the children's...
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Downtown – Charlotte, North Carolina (2018)
We visited Charlotte to participate in the Livable Communities national conference hosted by AARP. Arriving late in the day on November 11, 2018, we had a chance to see the city proper by night. Then we got out to visit a diner outside of downtown. With the events of the...
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