Field Notes

The blue light pole banner features a circular logo for Connecting Clarkston, a local community initiative. It promotes their podcast, newsletter, and app, which share news about the Clarkston area. The initiative is aimed at connecting residents, business owners, and community events in Clarkston, Michigan. The historic ivy-covered Main Street MI...

Hometown Bank Plaza is a scenic community gathering park located at 203 N Water St. This central plaza was constructed and donated as a gift to the people of Kent by Hometown Bank. It was built in 1998 to celebrate and commemorate the financial institution's 100th anniversary of community banking...

Luna Locks - New Jersey Fairy Hair Headquarters, is located at 3 Broadway. High-quality, long-lasting fairy hair (silken, sparkling hair tinsel extensions) tied onto individual strands of hair. Private one-on-one appointments, birthday parties, corporate gatherings, and mobile festival events. The Main Street Plaza commercial building is located at 5 East...

In 1778, Lambertville was the colonial river crossing village known as Coryell's Ferry. During the Revolution the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania and camped here from June 2022, 1778, on their way to the battle at Monmouth. St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church has an impressive...

This handsome station and plaza are a common sight for commuters. One needs to walk a few blocks away to see some exciting things happening. These way-finding signs offer an important amenity, especially for first time visitors. Given their significant size, a missed opportunity is to have something on the...

This cast concrete block building on the edge of town makes use of this distinctive building material. Upon entering town this skinny vernacular cottage caught our attention for the detailed spindle work. The town of Occoquan originated in 1758 when John Ballentine built his home Rockledge. Grist mills, a foundry,...

Knox Street in Dallas, Texas repeats the same design on either side of the light pole. At one level it makes the brand colors, logo, and social channels more prominent. At another level it is a missed opportunity to have a more design driven treatment with different content, colors, or...

Cleveland Plaza is a level of architectural intervention unusual for an older building. The canopy on steel and reinforced concrete armature gives a neat hat atop this structure. I was fortunate to get a peek into St. Michaels church down the block. The stained glass, while narrow and compact, had...

Ron Jon Surf Shop is the undisputed anchor for Cocoa Beach. There are a number of other businesses - both bars and restaurants - that contribute to a festive atmosphere downtown. Area142 is an outdoor performing arts venue with a private bar space for more contained activities. The "Downtown Cocoa...

The First National Bank commissioned William Lewis Plack to design this building. Plack was inspired by the Renaissance-revival style made popular at the 1882-1893 Chicago World’s Fair. More specifically, according the architect James T. Wollon, Jr., the building is an adaptation of an 18th-century English gatehouse or garden temple and...