Would you like to see what a music teacher does on a snow day when he has a lot on his mind and puts important things off to the last minute when he really shouldn’t because there’s a musical to direct this week? You would?! Oh goody! Follow me through my crazy labyrinth of net surfing today!
So whether I’m watching a television show or just out on the road, sometimes I find a home and get obsessed with the overall look of it. I then get sucked into Googling the structure or the style (if I know what it is). Most of the time the place ends up being from the same Victorian time period that I’d love to be able to visit in a time machine! It could be that I grew up in a historical civil war battle town with lots of Victorian and antebellum homes and buildings.
Lafayette County Courthouse in Lexington, MO, completed in 1849
I always decide that one day I’ll live in an old home just like what I saw… then I remind myself of how very OCD I tend to be. I’m not sure I could live in a home with decades or centuries of other people’s “funk”, and so I devise a plan of recreating a historically accurate wing of a future brand new home. I’m not entirely sure my beau would want to move into this strangely bi-century home, but I’ll continue to dream. Until now I haven’t really pictured the outside. Hmmm… maybe it looks like Meet Me in St. Louis on one side and modern suburbia on the other?
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Here’s an example of things that get me started:
It was featured on an episode of This Old House a few weeks ago, where they work on refurbishing an Italianate house. The Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine, was built in Victorian Villa style between 1858 and 1860. If you just Google the place, you’ll see some amazing interior photos.
Victoria Mansion, Portland, Maine
Interior of the Victoria Mansion, Portland, Maine
Or how about the Woodruff-Fontaine House, a French Victorian mansion that was built in 1870 in Memphis, Tennessee. I saw this one on a recent episode of Ghost Hunters.
Woodruff-Fontaine House, Memphis, Tennessee
Is it the mansard roof?
Sometimes I think I’m just drawn to a home with a beautiful (or creepy) mansard roof. “Mansard Roof”–that’s another fun one to Google! You can also check out this article,The Heyday of Mansard Roofsfrom the New York Times.
Speaking of mansard roofs! Here’s one that caught my attention a year ago on aroad tripwith my buddy Matt. The Bourbon Hotel in Bourbon, Missouri.
The Bourbon Hotel in Bourbon, Missouri
A famous big city version of a mansard roof belongs to the Grand Hotel in New York City, built in Second Empire Style in 1868.
The Grand Hotel (on the left) in New York City
We interrupt this exciting program on mansard roofs to bring you this important Public Service Announcement!
Public Service Announcement!I decided to head downstairs to take a break from my web-surfing field trip. I highly discourage you from missing the bottom four steps on the way down! Uuugh! After a check to make sure all of my appendages still worked, and as I picked ice melt out of my hair from landing next to the front door where we’ve been tracking winter in on our shoes, I decided dinner sounded good.
Program on mansard roofs still in progress…
So now I’m back. I’m fed. I’m sore… but a pain pill and a healthy dose of ibuprofen should take care of things.
Where were we? That’s right… the beautiful Grand Hotel! Looking that one up reminded me of another NYC landmark–The Dakota Building in Manhattan, which was featured, through external shots, in the movie Rosemary’s Baby (1968). The interior shots, though filmed on a sound stage, were apparently modeled after The Dakota as well. It was built between 1880 and 1884, and according to Wikipedia, “The building’s high gables and deep roofs with a profusion of dormers, terracotta spandrels and panels, niches, balconies, and balustrades give it a North German Renaissance character, an echo of a Hanseatic townhall. Nevertheless, its layout and floor plan betray a strong influence of French architectural trends in housing design that had become known in New York in the 1870s.”
Could the Psycho house possibly be the most famous mansard roof?? Here’s the painting “House by the Railroad” by Edward Hopper, which was apparently used as inspiration for the Psycho house.
“House by the Railroad” by Edward Hopper
What’s that? You’re tired? Oh alright. I suppose I’ve held you captive long enough. I’ll let you off the bus.
Yesterday I watched Session 9 (from my list ofmovies I plan on checking out this fall), a movie filmed on location at the Danvers State Hospital/Insane Asylum in Danvers, Massachusetts. I’m not sure where I was when this film was released in 2001, but I was a different kind of nerd then, and this film just wasn’t on my radar, I guess. I enjoyed it, though I have to tell you it put me in a funk for a few hours. It belongs in the psychological horror genre, but less emphasis should be placed on the horror and more on the PSYCHOLOGICAL! The plot of the film, according to the movie’sIMDb page: “Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.” But the cool thing is that the parts of the story that pertain to the hospital itself are loosely based on real history and events.
For most of the movie, like a true paranerd, I couldn’t stop obsessing about the building, wondering what they added, what they didn’t, etc. I also couldn’t get my mind off of the fact that the place doesn’t exist anymore (more on that later.) If you’re brave, continue reading the somewhat bi-polar thoughts that came out of my fingers after the movie and after researching Danvers State Hospital all day.
Danvers State Hospital/Insane Asylum
Construction on the site began in 1874 and opened to patients in 1878. Like most asylums and hospitals of this type and age, it has a complicated, sad, unbelievable, and depending on the decade, even a criminal history. Most of the infamous and inhumane treatments and methods were practiced here at one time or another, including shock therapy and lobotomies.
By the 1960s, a combination of controversy and budget cuts caused Danvers to begin shutting down sections of the hospital. For the most part, by 1985 the whole campus was closed and abandoned.
In the DVD’s special features, Brad Anderson (writer/director) and Stephen Gevedon (writer) explain that they had Danvers in mind before they even started writing the script. They also mentioned that they racked their brains trying to figure out exactly how they were going to tell the story in this building, meaning why in the world would anyone be in an abandoned asylum? This is a great example of life just before, or at least in the infancy of what I’ve always referred to as the great paranormal craze. How quickly we paranerds forget what life was like before Jay and Grant and the T.A.P.S. team. It is difficult for me to comprehend this, but Ghosthunters didn’t premier on SyFy until 2004. Clearly, if this script were being written today, asbestos would still be an issue, but they would have used a paranormal investigation team, armed with plenty of night vision and oxygen masks, to tell the story.
**RANT WARNING** Now I know, I know… I’ve mentioned this before, but every paranormal investigator in the world likes to claim that Ghosthunters on SyFy had no influence on what they do in the field. I’m here to tell you that 99% of them are lying. It is accurate to say that paranormal investigation was not invented by Jay and Grant. It is accurate to say that a few of you may have been in the field before 2004 (like 2 of you, perhaps). However, it is also correct to say that approximately eleventy-thousand new paranormal teams and paranormal television shows have popped up since Jay and Grant popped on the scene. Whether or not the craze is truly a great thing is a topic for debate. I’ve got to be honest, though. I owe them a lot for really changing my life and my interests, and I’m giving them props where props are due. **RANT OVER**
Now cut to December of 2005, four years after Session 9 was released. Despite a brave fight bylocal groups and community memberstrying to preserve the enormous acreage of the Danvers hospital campus and its unique history, demolition began. In its place is now an Avalon apartment community. Can you believe it?!
I can’t help but think that perhaps if they would have been able to hold off for just another year or two, enough interest would have grown to somehow save this strange, embarrassing, yet fascinating and physically beautiful landmark. Now days all it takes is a visit from SyFy or the Travel Channel to put a place back on the map, turning it into a paranormal tourist spot. Many similar locations have been saved, at least for now, by funds that are raised by leading tours or by paranormal groups paying to investigate. SeeWaverly Hills Sanatoriumas an example. I have mixed feelings on all of this, however, and I know it hits some ethical nerves of some of my readers. In my opinion, the great paranormal craze has its side effects, one of them being tons of paranormal groups trampling through historical buildings, tearing things up, and riling up spirits. These groups will leave their trash, their “trigger objects”, and their energy behind. (I have to include myself in “these groups”, by the way. I told you this was somewhat bi-polar.) And then 30 years later, will we be investigating an old asylum or a historic former paranormal training facility? What about the investigators who will have died during that time period? Those paranerds LOVE these places and the memories they made there. Are they now hanging out there for eternity too? Ha! I know I’m being silly, but it all just gets weird for me. But… at least this way a historic location has a fighting chance, right?
Hollowed out facade of the central part of the main Danvers building.
So let’s get back to the demo and that mean old Avalon company and the apartment community, which I believe was completed in 2007. Interestingly, of the massive hospital campus, which consisted of an enormous main building (shaped like a bat) and several outer buildings (click HERE for an aerial photo), the facade of a small central portion of the main building was saved (see photo to the right). Though this portion was hollowed out, leaving only the front face of the building, I have to say, what they attached to it looks pretty cool to me. There are several other buildings and typical apartment units now on site, but apparently some of them are in the ominous “new” asylum building. Check the Avalon siteHEREfor cool interior photos. (On a related note, check out the formerMichigan Insane Asylum, which is now residential condos, office, and retail space.) Part of me thinks it is completely annoying and greedy for a company to come in and do this and then fake us out with a phony tiny portion of a Danvers building. But that’s silly, right? Why should a place stay abandoned, damp, and dark, with endless walls of peeling 1960s hospital green paint? Another part of me thinks it’s a really cool way to preserve at least a portion of Danvers, in a way that only a big company with big money can do. Another part of me thinks ARE THESE RESIDENTS CRAZY?! WHO WOULD MOVE IN THERE?!
………………………..and then the last remaining part of me wants to move in there.
The new Avalon community building attached to the facade.
Clearly I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’d REALLY love to hear from residents of this new Avalon community. What are the chances of this post finding someone who lives in the new faux Danvers building? Contact me!
Greetings! Here is Part 2 of my pictorial tour of Alton, Illinois. Be sure to check out Part 1 for more sites and photos, as well as information on our day trip to Alton.
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a trip I took with a buddy of mine to The Milton Schoolhouse in Alton, Illinois. Visiting that schoolhouse was just a small part of that very memorable visit to Alton three years ago. Since this blog did not exist then, and since I’ve enjoyed my own tour down memory lane, please enjoy some photos from several of the sites on our trip from October 2010. I did my best to include accurate and up-to-date information about each location. CLICK HERE for Part 2!
Mineral Springs Hotel
This hotel, now a mall, was completed in 1914 and contained a very popular mineral pool in the lower level.
The Hotel Stratford
The original purpose of this building, completed in 1819, is apparently unknown, but in 1909 became the Hotel Stratford. At one time it was known for lavish events involving high society, and Hollywood even used it in the filming of The Big Brass Ring from 1999. It apparently still housed guests up until 2011, though only on one level, as the rest of the building is apparently falling into disrepair. See this newspaper article for a better shot of the front of the building.
Enos Sanatorium
I was obsessed with this building and took tons of photographs. I particularly fell in love with the side of the building with the bumped out windows (seen in the second photo below). It was built in 1857 as a mansion, and was specifically designed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1911 it was turned into a Tuberculosis Sanatorium, and three years later the roof was literally raised and the fourth floor was added. The cupola, used to signal slaves coming from across the river, is apparently still original to the building, though the fourth floor beneath it is newer. It now serves residents as an apartment building and is rumored to be very haunted. I’d love for one of these residents to let me in for some photos and an EVP session. Pretty please?!
Grand Theater
This movie theater opened for the first time in 1920, but has been vacant and unchanged since 1977.
Kendall’s Cracker Factory
I didn’t know much about the building at the time, but fell in love with its style. As you can see, even though from through the front windows the interior was looking pretty rough, there are plenty of beautiful artifacts still standing, like the decorative glass windows in a few of the photos below. For a history of this building, check out this newspaper article.
And no, that’s not a ghostly mist. This was taken through a window.
Again, not a ghostly mist.
Alton Cemetery
This cemetery is huge and beautiful. I wish I would have taken more photos.
Related Posts:
The Milton Schoolhouse, Alton, IL (Big Séance)
Do Spirits Reside at Papa Jack’s Pizza in Lexington, Missouri? (Big Séance)
Papa Jack’s Pizza: Final Investigation Report (Big Séance)
I realize that probably a very small amount of my readers are from my hometown of Lexington, Missouri, but I would still like to reflect on an amazing new book by the late Roger E. Slusher and the Lexington Historical Association. Images of America: Lexington kept me from going to bed at a decent hour two nights in a row… and it started the second I picked it up off my doorstep. I stared at the pictures. I compared the pictures. I pulled up current locations on Google Maps. And I did a lot of imagining.
Growing up in Lexington, as a child you quickly learn about the Civil War battle that took place there. For me, I was always specifically interested in the history of the buildings, what was where, what used to be, etc. I wonder what my now small and quiet hometown was like when it was the third largest city in the state, hustling and bustling with four colleges at one point, theaters and opera houses, an entire block full of saloons, headquarters for the Pony Express, factories, coal mines… the list goes on. I’ve seen a lot of the local photo collections that people have put together over the years, but I hadn’t seen so many of the photos in this book. Many of the photos are aerial or taken from the City Hall dome, and they are breathtaking. (I only wish they would have chosen one of the beautiful street photos for the cover.) When you think of the historic Main Street and Franklin, you think about the old buildings that still exist being the original structures. Then I find out that many of these beautiful and historical buildings were not the first to be on those lots. And there were blocks and blocks of buildings, neighborhoods, farms, and homes that just aren’t there anymore. If I went back in a time machine to the mid to late 1800s, I’m quite sure I would not be able to find my way around.
Lexingtonians know that there is something special about their town, but this book helps you to realize just how important those remaining gems of buildings and locations are. Lexington has unfortunately lost a few of these gems this year. I suppose these things are just bound to happen with the passing of time, but I wonder if residents felt the same loss when they lost buildings a hundred or more years ago? It also kind of makes you wonder if 100 years from now people will be fighting to save the historic Pizza Hut, the last remaining Sonic Drive-In in the nation, or the beautiful and historic Woodland Creek district. Or like many cities in the early 1900s, will we not recognize the future value of our neighborhoods and just bulldoze them down to build new?
Fascinating book! If you’re in town, you can pick one up at The River Reader today!
Yesterday I went on a mini road trip with my buddy Matt. We left O’Fallon, Missouri and headed for St. James, Missouri to spend some time with a dear friend. Since I am not from the St. Louis area, I can always count on Matt, who is a history buff, to introduce me to fascinating historical information. In this case, I learned that I knew very little about the historic Route 66. I figured Matt (who is always the navigator and tour guide) would lead me on some great site seeing adventures. We’re definitely two different kinds of nerds, but a big chunk of our nerdiness overlaps a bit. If it weren’t for the horrible sleety/icy weather, this post would probably have been quite a bit larger. (But since I forgot my “play clothes”, that’s probably a good thing.) The trip made me want to take the entire Route 66 tour someday (well… almost).
The Bourbon Hotel (Bourbon, Missouri)
If you know me, you know that I think this building is beautiful and fascinating. It has so much character, and I’m here to tell you that when you’re on the porch walking by the windows, you can just feel that someone is keeping an eye on you! It was sleeting and raining on us in these shots, with a dash of lightning and thunder.
The Bourbon Hotel dates back to the 1890s and actually faces railroad tracks.
The back of the Bourbon Hotel. (This is the Route 66 view.)
Check out that amazing Mansard Roof! (Totally just learned that term, by the way.)
I dare you to walk past those front windows. (Matt off in the distance.)
This place has a fascinating and strange history. Clearly, this landmark is in pretty bad shape. From what I hear, it has really gotten worse in just the last couple of years.
From this great shot, taken by Matt, you can really see just how close to the road this place really was.
It’s at this point (right in front of the cabins) that old Route 66 disappears for a while…
Love the outhouse.
For more information on John’s Modern Cabins, clickHERE.
For more information on Ghosts and Hauntings on Route 66 in Missouri, I encourage you to check out the following book:
The famous Brown Lady of Raynham Hall (Norfolk) captured in this photo from 1936.
There’s just something romantic about a staircase. Well… isn’t there? Maybe I should be more specific. Yes, there are many Hollywood-like stories of hauntings involving stairs. You know, that one where the woman in white (why is it always a woman in white?) falls to her death in the home her and her husband built. And, of course, there’s the “Brown Lady” photo that many are instantly familiar with. But for me, it’s a ghostly, historic type of romance that I’m talking about… and I’m sort of obsessed with all forms of these staircases, especially during a paranormal investigation. In many historical buildings, for example, a staircase may have been the one and only entrance to an area or even to an entire building, in some cases. Let’s use one of these fictional buildings as an example. But first, here’s a quick story. (This is where my students will get excited… when I break the boring routine to tell a random story!) When I was a kid and lucky enough to perform on the stage of Starlight Theatre, a regional theatre in Kansas City, I couldn’t help but obsess over the fact that I was walking on the same stage where I had seen Debbie Gibson (no judgment, please) perform just months before. And really, at the time I had no clue of how many major stars had performed there in the theatre’s history. (End of random story.) If you know a famous person was once in this particular building (the one you’re imagining), you can be sure that they came through this very specific and sometimes small space. But this doesn’t have to be about famous people. If this building was a public place, such as a theatre or a school, than hundreds, thousands, or maybe even millions of souls have passed through.
I very much believe that when we leave the physical world, we leave energy behind. Even if we never return after crossing over, even if when we die we turn to dust and that’s it, a person’s energy may remain in a place that was meaningful to them. But maybe there doesn’t have to be an emotional attachment to a space. I go up and down the stairs in my home ten or more times every day. I could go up and down with my eyes closed due to the fact that I know that part of my house so well. If I was able to somehow track the amount of time I spent, or the energy I left in any part of my home, wouldn’t the stairs be off the charts compared to, let’s say… that weird corner of the living room in between the end table and the front window, or that lovely dining room where no one ever sits?
Being a paranormal investigator has forced me to come up with theories on a few things. And during investigations I often find myself heading for the staircase with a camera and a tripod, and sometimes a digital audio recorder as well. I’ll stand at the bottom and just imagine people, in whatever time period, coming down the stairs as if it were a normal day in their life. I could be wrong, but sometimes I just feel that if we’re going to capture amazing evidence, there’s a good chance it’s going to be there. Imagine a firehouse, well over a century old, and the only staircase to what would have been the second floor living quarters of the volunteer firemen that stayed there. This was in a time before you slid down a pole. Now imagine the hurried and dramatic moments that must have occurred in that fascinating, yet very practical space!
Show and tell time!
Here are some of the staircases that have fascinated me in recent years. Some are from investigations and some are not.
A staircase from MOSS’s most recent investigation of a 144 year old building in Lexington, Missouri. These 19 steps begin on a second floor landing and lead to a third floor apartment. Both of these floors are above a pizza place and for the most part have not been touched or occupied since approximately 1982.
I was absolutely fascinated by this staircase! This is the main entrance to the historical and vacant Carthage Opera House in Carthage, Missouri, built in the 1870s.
A DVR screen shot from our investigation of an undisclosed museum in St. Charles, Missouri.
The staircase from an old farmhouse, now the Heritage Museum in St. Peters, Missouri.
Unfortunately, you’ll just have to let your mind wonder on this one.
This has been my favorite location to take pictures lately… The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, built in 1927, was originally a movie theatre. Stay tuned for a post devoted solely to this beautiful space. It’ll be coming soon!
I couldn’t possibly publish this post without including the famous staircase from The Stanley Hotel.
And just for fun… the glass staircase from our visit to the Apple Store (still under construction at the time… or maybe they were remodeling) in New York City across from Central Park. Are there ghosts here? Who knows?!
It is a cemetery that could keep you busy for days… weeks even. And it’s the largest and possibly the most beautiful cemetery I’ve ever seen. Opening in 1849, Bellefontaine (pronounced “bell fountain” by most St. Louisans) consists of 314 acres of park-like beauty with mausoleums as far as the eye can see. Too many to count. Even with a driving tour map it’s easy to get lost. But trust me, it’s worth it. Among other movers and shakers from the region, you’ll find the resting places of Adolphus Busch (beer giant), William Clark, Sara Teasdale, and the infamousLemp family.You can find more beautiful photos on Bellefontaine’s Facebook page. There are also several resources on their beautiful website. When Joe and I visited we were greeted by really friendly staff, and they went out of their way to make our visit a nice one.
Enjoy these photos from our visit…
“The Girl In the Glass Box” Herman Luyties 1871-1921
The family mausoleum of the infamous Lemps.
The family mausoleum of the infamous Lemps.
Back window. Family mausoleum of the infamous Lemps.
I’ve been trying out some new video editing software. Technology takes me longer than most people normally, but it took me a LONG time to work out the kinks in this video. Believe it or not, adding text or a title is the roughest part in this program, so I’ve kept it basic. Not exactly how I wanted it, but I’m declaring it done for now. 🙂
This is a haunting trip through the abandoned farmhousethat MOSS investigated earlier this year. I’ve blogged about some of our experiences there. More than anything, it has been a really cool and interesting place to visit. If you’re interested in the final investigation report you can clickHERE.
Oh and by the way… one of the interesting things about this video is the short musical clips throughout. They are from 1901, the year the home was built, and we used them as triggersfor an experiment during our investigation.
You’ve heard me blab about it for weeks. My paranormal investigation team, Missouri Spirit Seekers (MOSS), investigated an abandoned farmhouse in Silex, Missouri. It was built in 1901 and has been abandoned officially since 1983. There was a death recorded on the property in 1947.
I’ve worked really hard on this one and I think we learned a lot. Now the investigation report, complete with audio, video, and evidence, is posted on our site.
Feel free to question or comment.
Now… moving onto my Fort Chaffee Prison evidence! 🙂
Yesterday I watched Session 9 (from my list of
