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Sunday 20 July 2014

Picture This #260 - Once Upon A Time

Congratulations to Belita for her banner photo. I also commend her for the choice for this week's theme. Once upon a time is the usual start of a romance or fairy tale but it is a wide open category.

Here are my selections.

I may have shared this photo previously. It's a doorway into one of the apartments in Wupatki National Monument. This multiple dwelling was built by Anasazi and Sinagua Indians during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was abandoned in the early 13th century.

The next image is Lock 12. It is the only preserved lock in the Farmington Canal. It was constructed in the 1830s and went from New Haven, CT to Northampton, MA.

The last photo is the summer cottage built by the Vanderbilts in the beginning of the 20th century. Newport, Rhode Island was the summer playground of the wealthy. All of these mansions are owned by the Newport Preservation Society and are opened for tours.



13 comments:

  1. Marvelous pictures, Robert!! I love your first one, amazing building and great how you have captured it with the shadow on the doorway. Great picture of the old locks, used by boats which were (as I was taught) dragged by mules. And wouldn't I just love to have a "summer cottage" like that. Majestic. The top one is my favorite, so ancient and inviting. (I was at a site once where they allowed us, supervised, to climb in. I have never forgotten.) Bandolier I think, outside of Santa Fe.

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  2. Thanks, Benni. We weren't allowed to climb in the dwelling. The locks are in the neighboring town, Cheshire. There's a marker there that tells how many hours it took a barge to reach that lock from the coast. It took almost the whole day. The canal was abandoned when the railroad started. This mansion is named the Breakers. It's probably the most opulent of all the mansions.

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  3. great shots all Roberto especially the last lol summer cottage lovely

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    1. Thanks, Heidi. The wealthy called them cottages. They brought all of their domestic help from their permanent homes in New York City.

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  4. Hi Robert!! Very good shots for this week's theme. I really like that first shot. By coincidence I used a photo of Wupatki in another group this week. Fascinating shot of the canal lock. Canal restoration and preservation is quite a big thing here in the UK. Such a shame it's the only preserved lock. If that is what the Vanderbilts considered a 'summer cottage'...heaven knows what they would consider a big place!! LOL.

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    1. Thank you, Mitch. The canal paths are now open for the public to use for biking, jogging, roller blading, and walking. The trail is linked through several towns beginning in New Haven and continues through Cheshire. The towns in the north are developing it as a trail as well.
      The Vanderbilts had their permanent homes in New York City.
      I think the doorway shot in Wupatki is my best. I did take several shots of the dwelling but they weren't to my satisfaction.

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  5. Hi Robert! Three excellent shots for the theme that I'm glad to read you liked it. Even if you have already shared the top photo before, I like to look at it once again. Nice capture of that section of the Canal.... the half closed gates make it an interesting shot. A large part of the wealthy people, whatever their nationality can be, they always know well how to make the most of their money....

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    1. Thank you, Belita for your comments on my photos. I wanted to capture the half closed gates on the lock. I chose the photo of the Breakers to show how life was lived in the summers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Newport. These industrialists lived like the monarchs of Europe. It's wonderful that a perservation society knew the importance of maintaining these homes because they were a part of the island's history.

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  6. Wonderful photos, Robert! I love the shot of Lock 12!

    That's some cottage in that last shot!

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  7. Wonderful captures Robert, beautiful work ;)

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  8. Sorry Robert I am a bit behind with viewing the entries from last week. Three very good entries. I especially like the capture with the lock gates-

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