Driving & Dining

From Pete Zarria:

(Tomahawk, Wisconsin: Dog & Suds)

Well Reserved

From Dave Brigham:

Out and about in Arlington, Mass., recently, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this beautiful building on a hill with a view of Boston.

Known as the Arlington Reservoir or the Park Circle Water Tower, it was built between 1921 and 1924, and is an exact copy of the rotunda of the Samothrace temple complex in Greece, according to Wikipedia.

It's pretty damn impressive.

Unwelcome

From Kristen Smith:

(Fitchburg, Mass.)

The sign to the right says "Any person who enters the premises of this facility hereby acknowledges and consents without limitation to be monitored live through the use of Infra-red SATELLITE VIDEO TECHNOLOGY managed continuously by our Security Alarm Data Division."

Wow. Pretty good for a former furniture factory. I have no idea what these Nockege people did, but they sure thought it was pretty important.

Girlschool

From James M. Surprenant:

(Bennett School for Girls, Millbrook, NY)

For those who don't get why I gave this the title I did, here's why:

Better Than Great

From Pete Zarria:

Superior Warehouse Co., Duluth, Minn.

Nuclear Dump Playground: UPDATE

From Dave Brigham:

For decades, there was a site in Watertown, Mass., that seemed like it would never get cleaned up. While much of the former Watertown Arsenal complex was converted to offices, restaurants and even theater space, the place where workers dumped radioactive material generated at the arsenal took quite a bit more effort to clean up.

When I wrote about this site in May 2010 (see May 19, 2010, "Nuclear Dump Playground?"), there was a plan afoot to restore the spot back to wetlands and to install a walking trail through it.

I was dubious about that plan, but I'm glad to say I was wrong. The buildings have been knocked down, and the project is moving forward.

Read this article for more information on the site and its future.

Here are some before and after pictures.

Before.

After.

Before.

After.

No Mod Cons

From Pete Zarria:

John's Modern Cabins, Newburg, Missouri. Bypassed by Route 66, the place is returning to the earth slowly.