Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Dome

This week, Cee is looking for four-letter words starting with D for her Fun Foto Challenge.  While I have plenty of duck, deer and door images, I decided, after sifting through the photo files, to go with dome.  These may not, in the grand scheme of things, be quite as elaborate as some of the world-famous domes I could mention, except for the first one and I’m not even sure if that could technically be considered a dome, but I work with what I’ve got.

The Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.

The dome of the State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Missouri.

The dome of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.

The State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin.

The dome of the State Capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter D – 4 letters words that start with D

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – City of Chicago

This week’s Alphabet With A Twist, part of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, is any C word with 4 or more letters.  Rather than finding a bunch of random things that begin with the letter C, I thought I would post a bunch of random things under the single heading City of Chicago.

 

When my daughter and I first emigrated to the USA back in the early 70’s I missed my home, family, friends and country.  I was born and raised in London and even after we moved out to the suburbs I would still spend a lot of my time in town so when we came to Chicago I clung to the city like a drowning man clings to a straw. It was the only thing with which I could identify.  Admittedly there wasn’t the history but there were large buildings (very large buildings,) shops, a river and the people.

Just as I had spent many hours walking around the City of London, so I’ve trekked many miles through the City of Chicago over the past forty or more years, only these days with a camera.  It has become a home, of sorts, never completely replacing dear old London but a place where I feel as close to home as I ever will, now.

These images are just some of my favorite shots; the pictures that show what Chicago means to me now that I have had a chance to get to know it. The buildings, the river and the people.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: C – The C word needs to be at least 4 letters in length

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Bronze

Cee’s Alphabet Challenge, the subject for this week’s Fun Foto Challenge, asks us to show a color beginning with B.  My choice for this one was bronze if for no other reason than that I have a ton of images of bronze artwork that were captured at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I thought this would be a good opportunity to share them.  Despite the fact that all these sculptures are made of bronze, they are slightly different in hue and texture and the subjects themselves certainly give one food for thought.

Two Bears by Marshall Fredericks.

Mad Mom by Tom Otterness.

Sleepwalker by Kiki Smith.

Light of the Moon by Igor Mitoraj.

Espaliered Girl by Laura Ford.

Disc in the Form of a Desert Rose by Arnaldo Pomodoro.

Listening to History by Bill Woodrow.

#25, one of a pair of figures by Hanneke Beaumont.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Colors that start with the Letter B

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Tombstones and Cemeteries

Ever since the days, back in the late 40’s, when my father used to take me on Sunday morning walks around the local cemeteries, these places have always been of great interest to me.  Many of my ancestors are resting in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington, London.  Highgate Cemetery in London was another place where Dad would point out the monuments of the many famous people who are buried there. Sadly I’m too far away to visit these cemeteries now but, whenever I have the opportunity to visit an old burial ground when we are out exploring, I like to look around.

A tombstone, shattered by a falling tree, in St Michael’s Cemetery in Wisconsin.

A rather unusual sight in Memory Gardens Cemetery, Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Elgin has a beautiful cemetery with many interesting tombstones and resting places.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Tombstones or Cemeteries

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Fire Houses – Now and Then

It’s always reassuring to know that you have a well-equipped, fully functional, up-to-date fire house nearby.  The fire house in downtown Mount Prospect is at the ready and waiting to serve at a moment’s notice. I had reason to be grateful for that, one winter when I slipped and fell on some ice.  The prompt attention that I received from the paramedics who were dispatched from there was excellent.  Over the years, and at more than one location here in Illinois, we have had occasion to dial 911 and have always received help within minutes.

Nowadays, emergency assistance is usually only a phone call away, but back in the days when Franklin Hose Company No 3 was in existence things might not have been quite that easy. The fire house was built in 1887 and was located at the corner of Main and Irwin in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  It was operated by volunteers and was disbanded in 1891.  The building was moved to its present home at Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Fire Trucks, Fire Houses, Fire Hydrant

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Bathrooms

Well, this was a challenge and no mistake!  I’m not usually in the habit of taking pictures of bathrooms except when visiting houses of historical interest and it would appear that way back in the day, bathrooms weren’t necessarily high on the agenda.  Still, I’m not one to shirk a challenge and, trawling through the old photo files, I finally came up with a few images that I thought might qualify for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

Out of all the 42 bathrooms at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, it’s incredible to me that this was only one that I seemed to have photographed. Was I not paying attention?

Glensheen Mansion in Duluth was a little more productive on the bathroom front.  One thing about these old houses, they had some decent sized tubs!

The bathroom at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills was a little more elaborate.  I guess in future I’ll have to be a bit more aware of my surroundings, although I’m not sure that whipping the camera out the next time I’m in a public convenience wouldn’t get me arrested.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Bathrooms or Outhouses

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Motors

This week, Cee asks us to gear up and bring on the motors for her Fun Foto Challenge.  These images were all captured at Bluesmobile Cruise Night in Mount Prospect, Illinois. For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things with Motors for House or Garage