Church Street Church

It was a dark and gloomy day - except for the shaft of sunlight illuminating Isaiah Rogers wooden Gothic First Parish Church of 1833. The modern street light tries to upstage the formidable steeple, but can in the end merely tip its hat.

Octagon in 60 Seconds

Orson S Fowler, phrenologist and promoter of the octagonal lifestyle, was an alumnus of Amherst College. The President was quite taken by this idea, and insisted that the new Natural History Museum and Observatory conform to this radical new geometry. The architect, Henry Sykes, provided  Italianate  clothing on the two octagons, which resemble Laurel and Hardy in their respective proportions.

Olde Towne Albuquerque

Often seen as the sad sister of Santa Fe's old town, Albuquerque's Old Town (1706) has many charms and relatively few rich assholes ambling about. My office was located just off the square, and I had amble opportunity to quietly take in the character of this very New Mexican place.

Speaking of new, Old Town wasn't a part of 'new' Albuquerque until the 1940's.