Bunker Down

From Dave Brigham:

While on a quick trip to Portland, Maine, at the end of the summer (see October 13, 2014, "Portlandia"), we spent a few hours on Peaks Island. Just a short ferry ride from Portland's Old Port, the island is a beautiful respite with wonderful old homes, a few shops and restaurants, an incredible beach filled with an amazing number of cairns, and much more.

Here are some of the cairns.

Along with our hosts, we spent quite a bit of time exploring the dozens and dozens of rock sculptures. We even built a few of our own.

From the beach, we headed to dinner using the golf carts that are ubiquitous on the island. As we passed one great house after another, each with fantastic views of the ocean, I was surprised to see an old military bunker in somebody's front yard.

I didn't get a very good shot, because I wasn't ready and because we were cruising along at a pretty good clip in the golf cart. There are other bunkers and installations around the island, as Peaks was fortified to some degree during World War II. Read this link to find out a bit more about the island's military past, and to see a few photos.

I'd love to explore this little gem in the future, as the island was also once known as the Coney Island of Maine.

Portlandia

From Dave Brigham:

Beth and I took the kids to Portland, Maine, recently via Amtrak's Downeaster train. It's a trip we'd been talking about for quite some time, and while we were only there overnight, we had a lot of fun. We didn't have a car, so we walked quite a bit around the Old Port, a great part of town filled with restaurants, bars, shops and cool buildings.

Here are some rotting pier pilings near the ferry terminal:

This is the former headquarters of the Grand Trunk Railroad (yes, I'll post a video below from Grand Funk Railroad). According to the web site for the Maine Irish Heritage Trail, this building was also once used by companies including H & A Allan Line Steamers, White Star-Dominion Line Steamers, International Mercantile Marine Co. and the Cunard Line.

I love this building, the former Workingmen's Club. According to the Maine Irish Heritage Trail web site, a club "was needed where the longshoremen and railroad workers (the vast majority were Irish) could gather to stay out of the cold and out of the saloons when not working. The Workingmen's Club's nature, it was said, was of temperance and total abstinence. It was built for the 'men of brawn, muscle and industry' who numbered a thousand in 1905, men employed by the Grand Trunk Railroad, the English steamers, and New York & Boston steamship lines."

I think it's great that this sign was kept when this building was rehabbed in 2000. According to Waymarking.com, the sign "was painted sometime after 1924, since a photo from that year shows a different style sign. (During the renovation) a request was made to the Historic Preservation Committee to create new window openings on this wall. The request was granted and the windows were placed to avoid a major impact to the sign."

Here's some Grand Funk Railroad:

Fodor's Doesn't List These NYC Sites

From Dave Brigham:

I'm due for a trip to New York City. In the last 10 years, I've been there half a dozen times or so, but it's been a few years since my last visit. In recent years, I've gone with my wife and kids, and managed to take a few Backside photos while I was there, such as this one:

And this one:

Also this:

Until my next trip, I'll have to be satisfied with checking out this cool feature from Atlas Obscura.

Season of the Witch Hazel

From Dave Brigham:

After a long, traffic-clogged ride on Route 9 down the spine of south central Connecticut, my family and I pulled into the parking lot for the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat. As we did, I noticed a water tower off to the right, in front of the most impeccably kept abandoned buildings I've ever seen.

Given the "Dickinson's Witch Hazel" sign on the tower, though, I'm not sure if the tank once held water, or the curative potion that was once manufactured in the town of Essex.

Witch hazel seems like it should have gone the way of Alexander's Liver & Kidney Tonic and Iowna Brain & Nerve Tonic (actual historical products!). Native Americans discovered how to boil witch hazel stems and use the resulting potion to treat inflammation and tumors hundreds of years ago. Eventually, American colonists got hip to the hazel, and began making and selling the stuff. They still do.

For a decent history of the stuff, read this article.

Make Mine Paint

From Dave Brigham:

In 1870, somebody discovered a yellow ochre deposit in Lexington, Massachusetts. Well, I'm sure other folks (read: Native Americans) knew about it before then, but in 1870 a person or persons stumbled across it and formed the Boston and Lexington Paint Company, which, from what I've read online, was a short-lived venture.

I stumbled across the paint mine, as the conservation area is known, on Google Maps. I didn't know what I was looking for when I hiked through it with my son earlier this summer. We didn't find the mine, although there are remnants of it, according to the town of Lexington web site.

We had a nice hike, saw a deer and searched high and low for whatever a yellow ochre deposit looks like. We came across this old foundation, but I have no idea what the history is behind it.

Holy Resurrection!

From Mick Melvin:

While traveling on Route 84 to visit my then fiancé (now wife), I spotted a cross high up on a hill going through Waterbury, CT. That was about eight years ago, and I have been fascinated by it ever since.

I asked my fiancé about it and she told me it was connected to a theme park. I was surprised to hear that Holy Land USA was once a thriving amusement park in the 1960’s and '70’s. The property is now run down and has been vandalized badly.

The park is comprised of a mini Bethlehem, a chapel and replicas of catacombs, villages, the Garden of Eden, and many other statues. Most of the attractions are destroyed or in serious disrepair (I drove past this place countless times as a kid, and always wondered what it looked like; wish I'd visited -- DB).

The park was a closed in 1984 and was to be renovated and expanded. The original owner, John Baptist Greco, passed away in 1986 and that never happened.

The property was left to the Filippini Sisters, a religious order of nuns. The sisters tried to revitalize the park, but have since sold the property to Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary and car dealer Fred "Fritz" Blasius. They plan to revitalize the property. The first thing they did was install a new illuminated 50-foot cross, replacing the original 56-foot cross.

I didn't get many great shots because of the huge "No Trespassing" sign, but I plan on revisiting this site to get some better shots. (Here's a recent article about the renovation, and cool photos of what the place looks like now -- DB).

One additional fun fact (this is for you, Dave), is that the Flaming Lips recorded a video for the song, "Unconsciously Screamin’," in 1990 at the site.

(I DO love that fun fact! Here's the video -- DB)

What's In a Named Building (Part 4)?

From Dave Brigham:

My son loves trains, as I've mentioned on this blog before. He used to be all about the Boston subway, but recently he's discovered commuter and Amtrak trains. So, whereas we used to take trips under the Hub, nowadays on weekends we venture outside the city so he can make videos and I can take pictures in the neighborhood.

Recently we trekked out to Framingham, Mass., where I spied this cool named building.

Built in 1905, the Bullard Building houses stores, restaurants and offices, and sits right across from the train station.

More recently, we went to North Andover to spot some trains. In between sightings of an incredibly long freight train and a commuter train, we shot over to Lawrence, a great old mill town.

I was overwhelmed with the vastness of the mill buildings, some restored, some in process, and many awaiting their fate. I didn't have a lot of time, but shot a few named buildings, as well as other structures, which I featured two weeks ago (see May 31, 2014, "Lawrence of Massachusetts").

I had no idea when I shot the Pemberton Mill building that its predecessor had a violent and tragic past.

The original building, constructed in 1853, collapsed just seven years later, killing as many as 145 workers, mostly young women. The cause was found to be faulty iron pillars, which most likely gave way due to extra equipment the owners had brought in. Here's the New York Times article from that day.

The building that stands today was built shortly after the tragedy.

The George E. Kunhardt Corp. manufactured woolen and worsted goods for men. The company's namesake passed away in 1932; the company went bankrupt during the Great Depression. The building now houses offices and a function hall.

Built in 1909, the Ayers Mills building now houses a New Balance outlet store.

Here are the previous three installments of my named buildings series:

Number 3

Number 2

Number 1

I'll post other named building stuff as time goes on.

Lawrence of Massachusetts

From Dave Brigham:

Scenes from Lawrence, Mass.

(Founded in 1944 to serve the industrial paper and food service markets, J.J. Levis Paper Co. merged several years ago with Crusader Paper.)

(This building is being renovated; the reflection shows a project across the Merrimack River called Monarch Lofts that is being turned from old mills into loft apartments.)

(Fun with color at an old mill building. This place most recently housed a Habitat for Humanity Restore, which sells discount building materials, furniture and appliances.)

Another Link in the Chain

From Dave Brigham:

Nice spot for a restaurant, don'tcha think?

Designed by prominent American architect H.H. Richardson (Boston's Trinity Church, Chicago's Marshall Field store), this old train station in Framingham, Mass., has been empty for a while. Over the years there have been many restaurants there, but they've had a hard time making it in a huge building with little parking.

But local restaurateurs Don and Daryl Levy are in the process of turning it into the third spot in their "Deluxe" chain. The Levys have owned Watertown's Deluxe Town Diner for years; a few years ago they opened the Deluxe Station Diner in Newton Center's beautiful old train station, which was designed in the Richardson style by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.

Slated to open this month, the Deluxe Depot Diner will serve all-day breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner. I've been to both the Watertown and Newton diners, and can say they're pretty good spots. So I look forward to hitting this spot in the near future.

I hope that by the time I get there, they've cleared this stuff off the back stairs.

What's In a Named Building (Part 3)?

From Dave Brigham:

In December, I posted the first part of my Named Buildings series (see December 26, 2013, "What's In a Named Building? (Part 1)"). In March, I put up part two (see March 13, 2014, "What's In a Named Building? (Part 2)"). That post featured several buildings on the south side of Beacon Street in Brookline, Mass.

This installment features buildings from the north side of that street.

I was unable to find out anything about this building.

Or this building.

Or this one.

Or this one. Bummer.

Stoneholm is my favorite building in Greater Boston. Built in 1907, it features 32 units with "soaring ceilings, rich crown molding and magnificent European crystal chandeliers," according to the building manager's web site. Despite its style and elegance (and price tag), I like to picture silent film stars living here in faded opulence, alongside down-at-the-heel bluebloods.

Again, no info.

Urbex Dream Turns to Nightmare

From Dave Brigham:

Brooklyn native Bob Diamond realized every urban explorer's dream when he rediscovered the Atlantic Avenue tunnel in his hometown in 1980. Built in 1844 as part of the Long Island Railroad, the tunnel was sealed shut in 1861. The tunnel was allegedly used in the 1920's to grow mushrooms, and opened in the 1940's so the FBI could hunt for Nazis. But after that, people forgot about it, and efforts to locate the tunnel were fruitless.

Through hard work, determination and smarts, Diamond found the tunnel. He led tours there for 28 years. Then his license to guide people through the tunnel was revoked.

That's the short version. Read Diamond's story here. If you'd prefer, you can watch the 9-minute video that's embedded in the story. I suggest doing both.