Walking the Red Brick Road

A photographer's journal and life in rural America

Posts Tagged history

Our House is a very, very, very fine House

Apr 16

Posted by Roxie in American history, architecture, art, boston, courthouse, decor, history, interior, photography, photos, sculpture, travel | No Comments

Massachusetts House of Representatives

This is the Massachusetts State House‘s House Chamber. Note the Massachusetts House of Representative’s voting boards on the left and on the right.

House Democrats

Here are the Democrats. Leadership is on top, then the members follow in alphabetical order.

House Democrats, Independent and Republicans

Democrats continue on the other side. Rep. Jones, the one with the dashes before and after his name, is the lone Independent. The remaining names are Republicans. Massachusetts is definitely a blue state, which makes the election of Sen. Scott Brown a shock. The election happened only a few days before we arrived. I was hoping to score a Scott Brown sign, but the only election evidence I saw was a Martha Coakley headquarters storefront.

Albert Herter painted the five murals high on the wall, Milestones on the Road to Freedom. The leftmost one (not shown), the painting of John Winthrop leading the Pilgrims to their landing on Plymouth Rock, has been water damaged and was removed for preservation and restoration.

The room is paneled with lustrous Honduran mahogany.

House ormolu clock

At the back of the room is an ormolu clock. Ormolu clocks are also known as “Death Clocks” because the process used to make ormolu poisoned the clockmaker.

The Sacred Cod

The Sacred Cod is the State House’s most famous item. The cod fishery was early Massachusetts’ most significant form of income. A representation of a cod has hung in Massachusetts state houses since the early 1700s. One was lost in a 1747 fire and its replacement disappeared during the British occupation of Boston. The current one, a five-foot fish carved from a single block of pine, was donated in 1798. It hung unmolested until 1933, when the staff of Harvard Lampoon stole it by clipping its supporting wires. An anonymous tip led to its whereabouts. It was rehung much higher, out of the way of someone’s clippers.

Holy Mackerel

The Senate has its own fish, the Holy Mackerel, worked into its chandelier. The dome has 360 pieces of carved wood around it, one for each degree of a circle.

Massachusetts Senate Chamber

The Senate’s documents are tied with red ribbon. British legal documents have been tied with red ribbon since the 17th century. Massachusetts Senate only continued the practice. There’s the origin of the phrase “red tape”.

Senate Reading Room

The Senate’s original chamber is now its Reception Room. The carpet is a replica of an earlier carpet. The tour guide went out of her way to ensure we knew the cross pattern in the carpet had “no religious significance.” What a commentary on our culture! The ceiling is a barrel vault decorated with beautiful plasterwork.

The tour ended here and I had no more time to explore. The rest of the Freedom Trail awaited me.

Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.

Here’s the State House slide show:

Click on the link in the gallery to order.

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Stately

Apr 15

Posted by Roxie in American history, architecture, art, boston, courthouse, history, painting, photos, slide shows, stained glass, travel | No Comments

Memorial Hall dome, arch and John Eliot painting

Memorial Hall was built in the Massachusetts State House to honor those who fought in the Civil War. Henry Walker’s mural above is on the south wall and depicts Puritan minister John Eliot preaching to the Indians. Eliot published the first Bible printed in America after developing an alphabet for the Algonquin Indians. Would this piece of American history be memorialized today in a public space?

Tour guide and tour group in Memorial Hall

The mural above our tour guide, The Return of the Colors was painted by Edward Simmons. It depicts Massachusetts regiments returning their flags to the State House after the Civil War Dec. 22, 1865, in honor of Forefathers’ Day.

(Forefathers’ Day commemorates the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth Rock. Forefathers’ Day is actually celebrated on two different days because of confusion between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The correct calendar correction puts the day on Dec. 21, not Dec. 22.)

The flags have been formally returned after every conflict thereafter, although the last time was after the Vietnam War.

The hall has two more murals, Walker’s portrayal of the Pilgrims sighting land from the Mayflower and Simmons’ representation of the Battle of Concord.

Domed skylight with Great Seals

The hall is topped by this skylight featuring the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the center with the Great Seals of the other Thirteen Colonies surrounding it.

The floors and pillars are beautiful Siena marble.

reception in Nurses Hall

The next stop on the tour would normally have been Nurses Hall, but someone was holding a reception there. Therefore, I missed the sculpture honoring Civil War nurses and Robert Reid’s murals of the events that launched the American Revolution.

ugly chairs and the Grand Staircase

This room is at the base of the Grand Staircase. After its handrails were cast, the mold was broken to ensure they remained unique. Everything else in the room is beautiful also, except for these chairs with the nasty stenciling on the backs. The contrast between the beautiful architectural details and these disfigured chairs is quite stark.

This is the Grand Staircase. Lectern at the base displays current Massachusetts Great Seal.

Original Great Seal of Massachusetts

This is the original Great Seal, obviously drawn up by some herald in London with no knowledge of climate in New England. Toplessness doesn’t work in New England winters.

center panel of State Seal Window

Much later, the state redesigned the seal to depict a much more realistic Native American, complete with appropriate clothing.

left panel of Great Seal Window

right panel, Great Seal Window

These are the family coats of arms of the Governors of the Province of Massachusetts. Thomas Gage, the last British Governor of Massachusetts, does not have his coat of arms on the window. Just over a year after Gage was installed as governor, the angry General Court, Massachusetts’ Legislature, no longer recognized his authority and decided to devise a new seal.

The center seal was their choice. The soldier carries an upraised sword to signify a nation at war. He clutches the Magna Carta to symbolize his violated rights as an English subject, which later became his rights as an American citizen.

coffered ceiling

coffered ceiling

This gorgeous coffered ceiling is above the next floor.

coffered ceiling and murals

The walls in this room are covered with beautiful murals by Edward Brodney. One is titled Columbia Knighting her World War Disabled and another titled World War Mothers. These are unusual in two respects: 1) Brodney could not afford to pay models, so he used his family and friends as the subjects; 2) women were not usually depicted in military scenes.

Massachusetts has no Governor’s Mansion and the State House lacked any space for large public gatherings. So the state converted a breezeway into a Great Hall by covering it with a glass skylight. However, the acoustics were awful. All those hard surfaces echoed dreadfully. In order to muffle the echoes, they invited each incorporated Massachusetts community to submit their flag. One problem: Many of the towns had no flag. Some had never designed one and some had never had one made. They were supposed to hang in order of incorporation, but some of the earliest towns were flagless ones. When all the communities submit a flag, they will at last be hung in order.

Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.

Here’s the State House slide show:

Click on the link in the gallery or go here to order.

Next up, the Massachusetts House and Senate Chambers.

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Under the golden dome

Mar 26

Posted by Roxie in American history, architecture, art, boston, courthouse, history, photography, photos, sculpture, slide shows, travel | No Comments

I walked the Freedom Trail on our second day in Boston.

Massachusetts State House from Boston Common

As soon as I exited the T’s station under Boston Common, I was drawn to this golden dome and Charles Bulfinch’s beautiful Federal style architecture. Massachusetts State House’s dome is covered with gold leaf, which was added in 1874. Gold is 23.5 carats, which seems an oddly-precise number. It has remained gold ever since, with one exception. The dome was painted gray during World War II to prevent enemy ships from using its gleam as a target.

Our tour guide commented how relieved the citizens were when their gold dome appeared again.

Distances to Boston are measured from the dome, not the city limits or central post office.

Massachusetts State House from Beacon Street

Tour guide said that the center entrance is only open on very special occasions:

1) When the outgoing governor departs;

2) When Massachusetts regiments return from war, they return their battle standards to the State House;

3) When a sitting President visits the State House while the legislature, called the General Court, is in session.

corner of Massachusetts State House

Ordinary mortals must use side entrances. This one is called the Hooker Entrance.

General Hooker's statue from behind

No, ladies of the evening are not plying their trade outside, although a connection does exist. Gen. Joseph Hooker, whose equestrian statue stands outside this entrance, was the third commander of the often ill-fated Army of the Potomac. Hooker’s headquarters were so wild that they were characterized as a combination “bar room and brothel“. “Hooker” was already slang for a prostitute before the Civil War. But, because of Hooker’s drinking and womanizing, Washington’s red-light district became known as “Hooker’s Division.” This increased the slang term’s popularity.

With his history, perhaps the hind-end view of Hooker from the State House is rather appropriate.

Tours originate in the Doric Hall. This is the only place that is not always handicap accessible. A chair lift is present, but often breaks down.

Doric capital in Doric Hall

The room is named for these Doric capitals.

Gov. John Andrew

The room has several statues in it, including ones of Lincoln, Washington, and Gov. John Albion Andrew, the state executive during the Civil War. Andrew sent the Massachusetts State Militia to defend Washington, D.C., in the early days of the Civil War.

bust Lincoln above Gettysburg Address plaque

Abraham Lincoln, the President whose capitol Andrew had rushed to protect, is represented in this bust above a tablet with the words of the Gettysburg Address.

closeup of George Washington's bust

George Washington is honored twice, once with a full-length statue and once with this bust.

Washington statue by Sir Francis Chantrey

This statue received mixed reviews. Washington’s pose in the clothes he actually would have worn is obscured by a Roman toga draped around him. This was called “absurdly incongruous” by at least one source. I have to agree: The combination looks ridiculous.

Massachusetts was pleased enough with Chantrey’s efforts to add a “Washington Temple”, for the sculpture onto their State House. Room is the current Doric Hall. No wonder it didn’t seem to match the rest of the building.

Next up, the rest of the State House.

Directions to State House and tour instructions are here. State House Tours are offered Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. They are free of charge but reservations are requested. Call 617-727-3676. State house is closed on weekends and holidays.

Here’s the State House slide show:

Click on the link in the gallery or go here to order.

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I.M. Pei’s pavilion

Mar 15

Posted by Roxie in American history, Presidents, architecture, boston, clouds, history, ocean, photos, rain, scenery, skyline, slide shows, travel, weather, wind | No Comments

I had a list of the top four places I wanted to visit in Boston:

1) John F. Kennedy Library and Museum

2) Adams National Historic Park

3) Freedom Trail

4) Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum

The Adams’ houses are closed during the winter, so I crossed that attraction off my list. Seeing only the visitors center left me cold. If the houses had been open, I would have seen Presidential sites for the first six Presidents. But this was not to be.

On our first day in Massachusetts, I headed for JFK’s Library. Since the library has free parking, I drove there, then hopped the transit system, or “T”, to Boston Common, where I picked up my Go Boston card at the welcome center. It was good at every attraction I desired to visit. Instead of standing in line to pay, I showed attraction staff my card and went right in. I hopped back on the T and returned to the library, which is now the furthest east I’ve ever been.

JFK Library and Museum building from its pier

When Jackie Kennedy was choosing a design for her late husband’s library, she chose I.M. Pei, then an unknown, as the architect. The tour starts with a showing of a film about JFK’s life, after which visitors are supposed to go downstairs to the museum exhibits, then end in the memorial pavilion. Somehow, I often don’t do things like other people do.

tour group in the pavilion

I must have exited a different door than the one leading to the exhibits because I ended up in the pavilion. Its only furnishings are some low benches. At 115 feet high, it dwarfs all humans entering. If the pavilion is intended to make visitors feel the weight of history and the brevity of life, it succeeds.

pavilion flag and ceiling

The flag, the room’s only decoration, is 45 feet by 26 feet. The space defines stark.

view of Atlantic Ocean from JFK Library's pavilion

The ocean only a few feet away saves the pavilion from unrelieved severity.

Boston skyline from JFK Library pavilion

JFK’s love of the ocean and of sailing was well known. Among other reasons, he said he loved it because of its changeability. The day I was there, the ocean and sky were nearly the same leaden color. The next day, the ocean was brilliant blue, although the skies continued to be overcast.

I could get addicted to seaside views.

For information on visiting JFK’s Library, go here.

This is my slide show from JFK Library:

Click on the link in the gallery or go directly to gallery here.

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Henry A. Wallace: A complicated legacy

Mar 3

Posted by Roxie in American history, agriculture, art, biography, book review, crops, history, iowa, literature, plants, sculpture, slide shows, travel | No Comments

Henry Agard Wallace

Henry Agard Wallace was born in Adair County, Iowa, Oct. 7, 1888, and the Interstate 80 rest area in that county honors him. Wallace had a fascinating career. He was editor of the family magazine Wallace’s Farmer, which advocated scientific farming, soil conservation and best practices. He experimented with corn and wheat hybrids, founding what later became Pioneer Hi-Bred, a major seed company.

He later succeeded his father, Henry Cantwell Wallace, as Secretary of Agriculture. H.C. Wallace had been Secretary in the Coolidge Administration. The only other Iowan to reach higher political office than H.A. Wallace, Herbert Hoover, also served in the Coolidge Cabinet, as Secretary of Commerce. H.C. Wallace and Hoover feuded over corn and hog reimbursements. The elder Wallace eventually died of toxemic poisoning while worn out from fighting Hoover. The younger Wallace blamed Hoover for his father’s death. “I felt, almost, as if Hoover had killed my father.”

When Wallace became Secretary of Agriculture in Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, he reversed many of the Hoover Administration’s farm policies and began paying farmers to reduce production, hoping to drive up prices. His policies greatly shaped the Department of Agriculture’s future because he also advocated food stamps and school lunch programs. He pushed soil conservation in response to the Dust Bowl.

poles showing topsoil loss in Iowa since 1850

This achievement is graphically presented at the Adair rest area. The poles show the decline of soil depth beginning in 1850 until 2000. The Dust Bowl was a painful object lesson on the ineffectiveness of current tilling practices, which encouraged erosion instead of curbing it.

FDR tabbed Wallace to be his running mate in the 1940 election, ramming through his selection over the reluctance of party leaders. The 1940 convention was so upset by Wallace’s nomination that he felt it best to not make an acceptance speech. Wallace’s vice-presidency was the forerunner to the modern vice-presidency. He was “another set of eyes and ears” for FDR. He chaired the Board of Economic Warfare until pushed aside by politics and also traveled worldwide on FDR’s behest.

Unfortunately, Wallace was naive.

FDR sent him on a trip to the Soviet Union and China. While in the USSR, he was shown “Potemkin villages”, false replicas of labor camps that were working people to death until Joseph Stalin’s tyranny. Some believe Wallace was actually a Soviet asset, working against his own government.

While Wallace was globe-trotting on behalf of his President, Roosevelt was busy dumping him from the 1944 election ticket in favor of Sen. Harry Truman of Missouri. As a sop to Wallace’s pride, Roosevelt moved him to Secretary of Commerce, ironically Hoover’s old post.

Eighty-two days into his fourth term, Roosevelt died.

Truman fired Wallace as his Secretary of Commerce in 1946 over a disagreement about Truman’s policies toward the Soviet Union. Wallace then ran for President on the Progressive Party ticket in 1948, a curious four-way contest between Truman, Republican Thomas E. Dewey and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond. Wallace whitewashed Soviet intentions, even attacking the Berlin Airlift that saved West Berlin from Soviet takeover.

The Korean War finally woke up Wallace to Communist intentions. He later wrote Why I Was Wrong in 1952, explaining that his former support of Stalin was based on limited information and that he now considered himself an anti-Communist. He supported Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, then Richard Nixon in 1960.

Wallace retired to his experimental farm in New York, then died in Danbury, Conn., in 1965.

Price Otto von Bismarck is supposed to have said, “The Lord takes care of babes, fools, and the United States.” Never has that proved more true than when Harry Truman became President instead of Henry Wallace.

However, Wallace left a great legacy in agriculture, so great that the world’s largest agricultural research facility in Beltsville, Md., is named for him: The Henry A. Wallace
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. In a very real sense, Harry Truman saved the world and Henry Wallace feeds it.

For more on Henry Wallace read his biography: American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace

My slide show of the Adair rest area:

To see pictures full screen or to purchase them, click on the “visit gallery” link here or in the slide show.

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Ocean to Ocean

Jul 2

Posted by Roxie in American history, automobile, history, scenery, travel | 1 Comment

Model T driving down the highway

Model T driving down the highway
A few days ago, Model T cars came through on their Centennial of the 1909 Ocean to Ocean Endurance Contest. We were one of the original stops in the 1909 race, which ran from New York’s City Hall to Seattle’s Drumheller Fountain, now on the University of Washington campus. The Model T entrants were stripped of nearly everything, including their windshields, to save weight. His local dealer network acted as guides while the other cars often got lost. The Model T crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified later because of an engine switch, which was against the rules. Second-place finisher, a Shawmut, was later declared the winner. Ford ignored this technicality and mounted a major marketing push.

Spin wins. Which company is still extant and which is now hardly remembered?

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