Barbara Jean Apartments ~ 1927

The back-door entrance to at least two of the apartments.

                         The sign on the front of the building appears to be original and would indicate

there are four apartments, although the building seems

rather large for four units.  If indeed there are only four,

in the late 1920s these were probably very large, luxurious living places.

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Farmers Market ~ Roadrunner Park

One must be careful what one places on the ground at the farmers market!
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Neglect

From the archives:  Timpson, Texas, August 2009

I See Peach Cobbler in My Future

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Church Doors

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Fox Theater ~ Timpson, Texas

From the archives:  August 2009

Texas Hay Meadow

From the archives:  This is a picture taken in August 2009 of the hay meadow in front of my mom's house.

Encanto-Palmcroft Historic District

The Encanto-Palmcroft Historic District contains a mix of stately mansions and comfortable middle-class homes in an area bounded on the north by the beautiful 200-acre Encanto Park.  The neighborhood was developed in the late 1920s primarily due to the availability of transportation.

New residential districts were tied to the transportation systems of their day and were laid out and developed in a steady progression north from downtown. The Kenilworth streetcar line, which ran to Encanto Boulevard, was built by the subscription of adjoining property owners. By 1926, the price of a Model T Ford had dropped to an all time low of $260, resulting in a population made mobile by the automobile.

To view the district's most recognizable property, return to the main blog HERE.

Phoenix Post Office

Details of the columns and facade of the Phoenix Post Office, a building which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The interior of the post office is much the same today as it was in 1935.  Clockwise from the upper left:
the highly polished saltillo floors appear to be original as are the tall wooden writing tables; brass is abundant in the post office, including the door handles and the "Pull" sign; the original numbered mailboxes are still in use; the "stamped letters" is the original brass embossed plaque.

The first floor also includes several pieces of original Western art depicting the settlement of Arizona.  Most of the upstairs and a few of the lobby offices today contain offices for the Arizona State University downtown campus.

To return to the main blog and an exterior photo of the U.S. Post Office built in 1935, CLICK HERE.

North Central Avenue Streetscape

A three-and-a-half-mile stretch of Central Avenue in Phoenix has been designated a historic place by the National Register of Historic Places.


On one side of the street is Murphy’s Bridle Path, established in 1895, and the other side is a drainage ditch which carries irrigation water which Phoenix is so highly dependent upon.

For more information on the history of the streetscape and Murphy’s Bridle Path, please return to my main blog HERE.

Azaleas

Azaleas do not grow naturally in Phoenix.  Way too hot and not enough water.  But aren't we lucky that we can buy them relatively cheaply as potted plants in some of our grocery floral departments.

For more photographs of beautiful flowers, visit Today's Flowers.

Experimenting with Inversion

Ornamental cabbage with colors inverted and Orton-ish effect applied.

Dandelion with inverted colors and sepia effect applied.

Rebecca at The Dusty Cellar Shoots gives detailed instructions
on how to accomplish these effects.

Three Strawberries

Color Inversion ~ Dandelion

And there you have it!

To Return to the Main Blog, CLICK HERE.

The Houses of Portland Street Historic District

The houses of the Portland Street Historic District are beautiful examples of bungalow and craftsman architecture, many including the porte cochere, the drive-through for carriages which became popular in urban architecture after the turn of the century.  A very prestigious section of our city to call home, the great majority of the residences here have been refurbished to their former grandeur.


Below is what I call the Crown Jewel of Portland Street.  I'm curious why it has never been listed on the National Register or the Phoenix Historic Property Register, but I'm confident it will be one day.

To return to the main blog which features the vintage auto pictured in the first photograph, CLICK HERE.

The Carnegie Library

The back side of the library has a circular wing, almost a rotunda.

This is the west side of the library.  The unique architecture of the building makes it look totally different from all four sides, with the only integrating feature being the orange brick.

A front view of the library and a short history is found on my MAIN BLOG HERE.

Phoenix Public Library

This shot is at the opposite end of the library looking north at the downtown Phoenix skyline. It was a little difficult to take in between louvers which angle the sun's rays away from the interior.

The building is connected by a five-floor glass-and-steel elevator and stairwell known as the "Crystal Canyon" which is the focal point of the structure. A reflecting pool lies at the base of the elevator on the first floor.

This sculpture outside the entrance to the library is described by a plaque which states in part: These pragmatically poetic weathered steel formwork elements were set here as simple “totems” of tribute and thanks to all of the people on the design and construction teams of the Phoenix Central Library. It was from within these four molds that all of the 204 precast concrete columns that hold up the library were cast. In the future they stand ready to serve in the building’s expansion!

Pretty cool, huh?

(Oh, how I wanted to make a political comment here but I refuse to do that - this is a photo blog!)

To return to the main page, CLICK HERE.

Neighboring Churches

The First Baptist Church in downtown Phoenix was the third facility for the Baptists.  This beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival building was completed in 1929.  The four-story church included a rooftop garden, a seven-story bell tower, 27 Bible school rooms, a 1,500-seat auditorium, and a 125-seat choir loft.  It also had a small radio broadcasting studio.  The congregation attempted to sell the building during the Great Depression shortly after its construction when it had trouble making the mortgage payments but with the help of the Mormon Church, they were able to keep the building and it remained occupied until 1960.  Today this once-grand church stands vacant and without a roof.  It was partially destroyed by a fire in 1984 that is believed to have been set by homeless transients who were camping inside.  Vacant and delapidated, the church was almost demo'd in 1992.  A nonprofit group purchased it with the idea of transforming it into affordable housing but never was able to raise sufficient money.  Concerned for the future of this historic building, the Arizona Preservation Foundation in 2004 listed it as one of Arizona's most endangered historic properties.

Like the Baptists, this facility was the third church building for the Presbyterians in Phoenix.  The church community wanted their new building to be "substantial, whose beauty could endure for at least a century to come."  That seems likely since the facility was constructed in 1927 and services are still held there today.  It is presently called the Historic First Church by its congregation.  A huge facility, it spans one entire city block (although city blocks in Phoenix in the 1920s would probably be considered to be smaller than today's conception) and sits just west of its neighbor, the now foundering First Baptist Church.  Having completed the construction right before the Great Depression, the church was almost lost in the mid-1930s.  But after the economy improved, the members regrouped and worked hard and were able to pay off the mortage in 1945 (the year I was born!).

To return to the main blog where the churches are photographed side by side, CLICK HERE.

Derby Day Manicure

The grandstand and grounds of Turf Paradise getting all spiffed up for Derby Day.