Robert Pence

How 'bout this beauty in my neighborhood in Fort Wayne? Engine House No. 5 was built in 1893 and served until 1959. It stood vacant for a while and then passed through the hands of at least two owners whose projects died a-borning. A couple of years ago Firefighters' Local 124 acquired it and transformed it into their union hall. The refurbishment has modernized the interior for convenience, comfort and modern technology but the exterior has been restored as it originally looked. They've paid amazing attention to detail in their work. One firefighter who does woodworking stripped, extensively repaired and refinished the massive doors.

I'll second that. I should clarify that the last time I got sh!tfaced was 25 years ago. Stay the course, Andrew!

That's one of the few urban issues we forumers might be able to address. You should let us know when you turn 21, so we can schedule a forum meet to remedy the situation. :drunk: :drunk: :drunk: :-D

Contentment all the way 'round. :-)

There are circular additions on both ends of the main building, and I'm sure they are later additions. Both house offices on the first floor, and courtrooms and associated facilities like judges' chambers on the second. The courtrooms are semi-circular, and there are spectator balconies above the courtrooms on the third floor. There's a lot of marble in that courthouse, and it's impeccably maintained. I just wish they could restore the bell tower to finish off the appearance. Cambria County isn't exactly flush with cash, though. People that I met were trying to do what they could to get by and make things better, and if they were frustrated, they sure didn't take it out on visitors. Being accustomed to Hoosier reserve, I had to make a conscious effort to respond in kind to the outgoing friendliness that I encountered. Ebensburg is more than 98% white. I don't know what kind of reception other races get there.

Nice job! A lot of old stations got phased out because the center of development shifted, and some were replaced because modern equipment simply wouldn't fit spaces and doors designed for horse-drawn steam pumpers. I'll agree with John S's comment. Most new stations don't display the quality of construction or attractive design that a lot of the old ones did.

Sweet-looking village. Was Utica a beneficiary of the gas boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Ohio and Indiana? That gave rise to a thriving glass industry throughout some parts of those states around the time that the plaque lists.

Thanks for that info, JRC. I was impressed by the number of handsome large buildings in Youngstown's CBD. I wish I had been there to see that place when things were prosperous.

Done that, too!

I gave up on Taco Hell several years ago after I ate a burrito while on a road trip. It's no fun being in the middle of nowhere, by yourself, a few hundred miles from home and getting puke-sick. On a cold, gray, rainy day.

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania - August 22, 2008 Seat of Cambria County I drove US422 from Youngstown to Ebensburg with a minor diversion along some Western Pennsylvania backroads. Ebensburg, county seat of Cambria County and part of the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area, was founded in 1796 by Rhees Lloyd. The 2000 census counted 3,091 people. This shot is pretty much a metaphor for my Pennsylvania experience. Everywhere I went, I encountered cheerful, welcoming people. Returning from a run The old Cambria County Prison's cornerstone was laid in 1870 and the building, built from locally-quarried sandstone, was completed in 1872. It is thought that the prison may have been built larger than needed at the time in order to thwart an effort by Johnstown to have the county seat moved there. The brick annex within the walls was constructed in 1911 and the building served its original purpose until 1997, when it was abandoned for a new facility. The building now serves as a repository for county records. Crown Jewel of Ebensburg, the Cambria County Courthouse was built 1880-1882 and most recently restored in 1995. Old illustrations show the building with a Second Empire tower above the entrance; presumably that tower held the bell that now sits in front of the entrance. The building is symmetrical, and the cylindrical structures on the ends, housing courtrooms with balcony galleries, appear to be later additions. I asked if I could photograph the very elegant interior, but was declined permission. Historical information and photos of this beautiful building on the internet are sparse. Thanks, Ebensburg, for making me smile!

Good stuff! It always amazes me when owners close a plant and just walk away, leaving thousands of dollars of serviceable equipment in place. In the photos I saw fire extinguishers and industrial-grade electric motors, among other stuff that could be reused, avoiding the resource consumption and emissions from making new ones.

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the info on the changes to Federal Street. I'd appreciate knowing about the architects who designed some of the significant downtown buildings. It's not a major pursuit of mine, but I find it interesting and others probably would, too. Sometimes I get surprised by the names that pop up in unexpected places.

Wonderful photos, all scenes that are new to me except the craptastic "mansion" under construction. I've seen that thing in a photo somewhere before.

A little late for Labor Day, but here goes, anyway. Youngstown, Ohio August 21, 2008 Youngstown was an overnight stop en route to Pennsylvania. I stayed at the Super 8 near the interstate on the west side, and drove Mahoning Avenue to downtown. I feel like it would be pretty easy to spend three days or more photographing Youngstown. I never made it to Mill Creek Park, or any of the industrial sites that KJP referenced in his earlier posts. I had heard of the Tod engine, the massive steam engine from one of the rolling mills, and had even seen photos of its being dismantled for removal from its original location, but didn't realize it was built by a Youngstown company or located there, or that the restored engine had its place in its own park, soon to have a building built to shelter it. The motel was just fine for the price I paid, and Youngstown people for the most part seemed pretty nice. These photos were taken on a Thursday afternoon during business hours. Oh, Really? The 1905 B&O Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Amtrak's Three Rivers last stopped here March 8, 2005 Mahoning County Courthouse For several years part of Federal Street was a pedestrian mall. That met with no more success than most such ventures in midwestern cities. Despite the dearth of commercial or retail activity, downtown Youngstown is clean and mostly well-maintained, with little evidence of tagging or other vandalism. The few people whom I did meet were friendly. The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, designed by Michael Graves, features displays, some very imposing, describing the industries that built Youngstown -- Coal mining, iron and steel making and surprisingly, silk production. The Butler Institute of American Art was designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1919 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The institute charges no admission fees and receives no federal, state or local tax money, and is supported entirely by corporate and individual donations. Youngstown State University is an accredited university. As of 2005 its enrollment was approximately 13,000 students, of whom approximately 11,000 were undergraduates. Stambaugh Auditorium was designed by Helmle and Corbett Architects of New York City and built of Indiana Limestone. It was dedicated in 1926. Youngstown Thermal Corporation provides steam and chilled water for heating and cooling , through a network of pipes beneath the city streets. The 1948 Pennsylvania Railroad Station also served as a bus station, but I don't know if that was concurrent with its service as a passenger rail station, or later. Now it's a fireworks store, and the platforms are fenced off with chain-link topped with razor wire. Ukrainian Catholic Church Jolly once, maybe. Now, not so much. American industry was not ruined by organized labor. It was done in by management ineptitude, policies that emphasized short-term cash flow without considering their effects on long-term viability, and the ill-founded belief in a mythical "services economy" based upon the manipulation of money. Edit: July 07, 2010 - Fixed broken links

I had hoped to make it to Harrisburg and a bunch of other places, but the trip sort of fell apart (or maybe I did) at Lancaster, about halfway through. I need to make another trip or three with less ambitious, more realistic itineraries, at cooler times of year. May and October are the best times to visit Pennsylvania, as I recall; May for orchards in bloom, and October for fall foliage. Summer is for heat and some of the most splendid thunderstorms I've ever seen. Winter is for skiers. For me its "Ohmygodno!"

I don't see the picture :( Sorry. I was messing around with my site directories when I should have been sleeping, and I broke a bunch of links. They're fixed now, but the fixes don't carry through into quotes. Here's the fixed image: I'll probably have the whole Ebensburg set up in a few days. Gorgeous town, a huge surprise for Cambria County. The deputy at the courthouse security desk wasn't sure if photography was permitted, so he gave the safe answer ("no"). I can't fault him for that, but the building is every bit as magnificent inside as it is outside.

Great photo set. I was only in Erie once, in the early 1960s. It had a fairly thriving retail downtown then. One of the things I remember about the city is that the traffic signals at residential intersections were painted dark green, hung over the center of the intersection on wires, and had only two aspects. In one direction they were red over green, and in the other they were green over red. That way, they only required two lamps to create all possible display configurations. Erie Engine Mfg. Co. ... made Erie steam engines. Go figure. Skinner Engine Works (can't remember details of the building), also in Erie, built industrial steam engines like this one powering a sawmill in northern Indiana : They also built large engines for steamships and power plants. In the 1960s I saw two 900-horsepower Skinner Unaflow inline triple-expansion steam engines powering one of the car ferries that ran across Delaware Bay between Lewes and Cape May. It was a big boat, capable of carrying 120 cars and trucks and 1200 passengers. I saw the outside of the factory buildings in a nighttime driving tour in 1961, and only remember that they were long multistory brick industrial buildings typical of their era and function.

Oh, My! That brings back memories! The last time I got really sh!tfaced it was on those. They go down so easy, sneak up on you, and when they hit, they hit hard. That was a loooong time ago.

Drinking? Photoshopping? Oh! .... sorry. I should have knocked. :oops:

They're coming to check you out because most often when a person comes around, he's bringing grain to supplement their grazing. The sad irony is that those are beef cattle, blissfully unaware that in the not-too-distant future they will experience a role reversal, from being fed to being eaten.

Goats are one of the main reasons I go to that fair. They have more goats than the ones in most of the surrounding counties, and goats are entertaining creatures. They're tremendously curious and sociable and they usually actively seek your attention when you walk past the pens. This year the weather was hotter than usual, though, and most of the animals were subdued. By turns we raised dairy cattle, beef cattle, hogs and sheep in addition to chickens and some other odds and ends of fowl. Mom had a few goats for a while, but they kept getting out and stripping the shrubs and flower gardens that were her pride and joy. If I were to farm and have livestock, I'd probably have goats or at least try them for a while.

Beautiful.

It's what "those people" call a "party" but it really isn't by "our" definition. Andrew0816 described it very aptly; a bunch of bored people standing around drinking cheap beer and listening to bad music. In the rare event that there's food, it'll be a couple bags of chips, or if somebody really went overboard there might be a box of party mix. It's mostly a whippersnapper's phenomenon, though. As they grow up, some of them get acquainted to some of us and get invited to some of our parties, and take home some of the entertaining ideas that they pick up. By the time they reach their thirties, some of them have learned how to entertain and have fun.

I went to a breeder party maybe 30-40 years ago, stayed 15 minutes and vowed never to do that again. Normally I'd be one of the folks that you see logged on at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, but last night I was resting up from a day at the neighborhood art fair and printing and packaging replacements for the prints I sold, to be ready for today's fair. I did really well this year, definitely worth the effort. I had even more fun than I would have had on the forums, I think. Talking with people face-to-face can be a surprisingly gratifying experience. Maybe I should get a life. Where do I find one, and how much do they cost?