2019 Oct 19, Finding Huntsville Walking Tour with Carol Cordori & loosing my keyless remote

I traveled to Huntsville for the Finding Huntsville Walking Tour with Carol Cordori. 

I parked in front of the Constitution Village, stopping at their public restroom after my long ride to Huntsville. 

Meet up with a group of people at Harrison Brothers who were interested in the History of Huntsville. 

We began our tour a little after 11 AM, with guide Carol Cordori, after we were all given a 12-page Finding Huntsville Field Guide.

Harrison Brothers Bank Vault, where records were kept 

Building 1: Commercial Architecture of Harrison Brothers 

Built-in the 19th century with large glass display windows that had a recessed front door, long rows of transom windows above the display windows, and bricks that projected beyond the walls.  

Building 2: First National Bank of Huntsville 

Built about 1837 1840 in the Greek Revival Style

Built with a pitch roof and triangle front supported by Columns made up of a base, a shaft, and a capital. 

Local builder George Steel drew up the plans for the bank.

Greek Revival "First National Bank of Huntsville"

Building 3: Madison County Courthouse was built in the International Style. 

Built with a flat roof, tall columns that support a large porch, and no attached decorations, it is often built with glass, steel, and concrete. Built 1966 by Northington, Smith, Krannert & Associates, “Space Built”

International Style Huntsville Courthouse (backside)

Building 4: Romanesque Revival Schiffman building built in 1845 and remodeled by George Thompson in 1895.

Owned by the Schiffman family for more than 100 years.

It was built of rush stone with carved leaves or flowers, bow windows, and a recessed front under an arch.

Building 5: Gothic Revival Style(used to teach Christianity) Church of Nativity was built in 1859 by Wills and Dudley. 

Trefoil represents the Trinity(God, Christ & Holy Spirit), and quatrefoil represents the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The Lancet arches, tracery, and engaged buttress point up toward Heaven. 

We were greeted by the Minister and given a tour of the temple.

Stained glass window notice at the top that the three-point clover represents the Trinity, and the bottom 4 points clover the Gospels of the Bible 

Gothic Style Church of Nativity
Notice the steeple and windows, all pointing toward heaven. 

Inside the Church of Nativity

We finished our tour on the sunken sidewalk in front of the old J. C. Penny building on the Square.

Welcome back, Sunken Sidewalk
In the mid-1800s, masons sculpted local clay into these bricks and created the sidewalks. What once served as a humble walkway for farmers, merchants, and pedestrians now links you to Huntsville's past and to all those who trod where you are standing.

I walked around Huntsville Square, taking pictures of the art.

Red Ball Art on Square

Small Bull  Art 

Space Art

I shopped at Harrison Brothers Mercantile.

I stopped once again at the Constitution Village Public restroom.

I took a few pictures of the beautiful blooming mums in Constitution Park.

Mums at Constitution Village

I walked to my car and tried to open the door, but it would not open. (Keyless Remote)

I had put my remote in my back pocket, but it was not there. 

I walked back to the restroom, thinking I may have dropped them on the floor or even in the toilet.

The keys were not there! Before I retrace my steps, I walked to the Constitution Village Museum Store.

I ask if anyone has found a keyless remote

I was dreading telling  hubby I had lost my keyless remote 

Someone had turned it in, God was looking out for me.

The young woman behind the counter began by telling me about her episode of lost keys.

Said she cranked her car (Keyless remote) but had to go back inside.  She forgot her key, got in her car, and left. She stopped for gas, filled her car, and went to crank it, but it would not crank, for she had no key. She had to call her husband and had to tell him to bring her the keyless remote. 

Sometimes Technology is not so great!

In today's world, we get lost in the daily hustle and Bussell.

Did some shopping at Kohles in Madison, I was looking for an Ugly doll for Ava Grace. 

Stopped at Wendy’s in Athens for a hot bowl of chili, a chocolate frosty, and Coke. 

Arrived at about 3:45 PM at the East Lauderdale Quilt Show at Rogersville United Methodist Church.

They were giving out awards and getting ready to close. 

What a day! Walked in the drizzling rain, with the wind whipping around the buildings, while listening to our guide describe the art of five historic buildings in Huntsville.

The minister of the Church of Nativity took the group on a guided tour.

Had my picture taken with the group?

Lost my keyless remote in the Constitution Village Public Restroom. 

Did a little shopping in Madison, ate a late lunch in Athens, and saw a quilt display in Rogersville. I was home around 4:30 PM, a little before hubby arrived home from work. 

Visiting Yale University Newhaven, Connecticut

Yale Univerisity Battles Chapel 

Yale University in memory of Noah Porter

Branford and Saybrook Colleges (Memorial Quadrangle), 1921

James Gamble Rogers (1867-1947, B.A. 1889, M.A., Honorary, 1921) Gate by Samuel Yellin (1885-1940)

The list of buildings James Gamble Rogers designed for Yale between World War I and World War II is almost endless; it is certainly too long to include here. But none is finer than the Memorial Quadrangle, today housing students in Branford and Saybrook Colleges in a Gothic residential complex with six variously proportioned courts that provide a sense of intimacy and grandeur in the shadows of the 216-foot-tall Harkness Tower and behind Samuel Yellin’s masterful iron gate.

Yale University in memory of Leonard Daniels Class of 1907 born  1884 died 1908

Yale University Battles Chapel 

Lovett Room

Yale University Calhoun College 

Yale University

Lawrance Hall, 1885-86

Russell Sturgis, Jr. (1836-1909, M.A., Honorary, 1872)

Between 1869 and 1876, Russell Sturgis completed the troika of Durfee Hall, Battell Chapel, and Farnam Hall at the corner of College and Elm Streets. It was fitting, then, that Sturgis was again tapped for Lawrance Hall, completed in 1886 and adjacent to Farnam on College Street. The layout of Lawrance is almost indistinguishable from those of Durfee and Farnam, with their brick façades evoking the red-hued Old Brick Row buildings that they replaced. It is, however, the towers and turrets of Lawrance’sCollege Street front that are most memorable.

🏛Visiting Mystic Seaport Village Museum Mystic, Connecticut

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.

The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT, and include a recreated 19th-century coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship still in existence.

L.A. Dunton Ship
Built in 1921, she is the last ship afloat of her type, which was once the most common sail-powered fishing vessel sailing from New England ports. In service in New England waters until the 1930s and Newfoundland into the 1950s. 

Joseph Conrad Rigged Ship
Joseph Conrad is an iron-hulled sailing ship, originally launched as Georg Stage in 1882 and used to train sailors in Denmark. 

Brant Point Lighthouse
Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746, automated in 1965, and is still in operation.

Restoring the Charles P. Morgan Ship
Charles W. Morgan is an American whaling ship built in 1841 whose active service period was during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ships of this type were usually used to harvest the blubber of whales for whale oil, which was commonly used in lamps.

Figure Heads
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 20th centuries.

Thomas Oyster House
Thomas Oyster House is one of the few remaining buildings that could be classified as a typical small northern oyster house. The building was constructed about 1874 at City Point, New Haven, Connecticut, by Thomas Thomas. New Haven once was the largest oyster distribution center in New England; now there is only one oyster-opening shop left in this state, that of the Bloom Brothers in South Norwalk.

Mystic Bank
The office of a shipping merchant is represented on the second floor of the Mystic Bank. In the larger seaports, some merchants specialized in operating ships.

Thames Keel &Ship Building Exhibit
The 92-foot keel assembly from the whaleship Thames is set up on blocks in a shed within the Preservation Shipyard. The keel is the “backbone” and the starting point for the construction of a ship and so, displayed along the entire length of the keel, is an exhibit on the process of shipbuilding that takes visitors from the laying of the keel to her launching.

Mystic River Scale Motel 

Visiting Mystic Seaport

Stonington Crew
John Flaherty, president of Friends of Stonington Crew, the nonprofit fundraising support for the team, which receives minimal funding from the school department, thanked everyone in attendance, as well as Mystic Seaport for again hosting the team on its docks. He said the team would not be able to compete at the level it does without the support of its donors.

Roann Florence Western Rig Dragger
Roann is one of the last surviving examples of the fishing vessels that replaced sailing schooners like the Museum’s L.A. Dunton. The eastern rig draggers originated in the 1920s; indeed, Thomas McManus, who designed the Dunton, was influential in their development.

🚋🚋🚋🚋2016 November 12, Saturday, Pathway to Prayer Trolley Tour

I ran back to the van for my jacket and camera and at 11 AM I jumped aboard the open-air trolley for a tour of Pathways to Prayer by Lee Freeman.
A tour of downtown Florence's houses of Worship.
I sat in the section with no windows so I could take pictures.
We stopped at St Mark's's MB church built around 1859, the second oldest black church in Florence.
Looked like they were having a yard sale in the parking lot.

St Marks MB Church 

St Joseph Catholic Church

Bethel CP Church

We travel down the road to Bethel CP Church built around 1897 also a black church.
Our next stop was St Joseph Catholic Church built around 1878, their priest was Benedict Manges.
This church overlooks the very large Florence Cemetery. My neighbor's kids went to school at St Joseph's.
Our next stop was at the First Baptist Church on Wood Avenue next door to the Florence Library. This church purchased the old Florence Library and uses it for classrooms. Their parking lot is full during events at Wilson Park and First Fridays downtown.

 First Baptist Church

Also on Wood Avenue, we visited Wood Avenue Chruch of Christ once called Popular Street Christian Church, built around 1886. It is located across the road from the Florence Library and faces the Florence Library.

Wood Avenue Church of Christ 

We rode passed many old historic homes on Wood Avenue.

Our next stop was 201 East Hawthorne St at the Temple B'Nai Israel built in 1906 by Reformed Jewish families.

Temple B'Nai Israel 

Our next stop was Calvary Fellowship of the Church of the Shoals located at 424 E Tombigbee St it is a non-denominational Church.

Calvary Fellowship of the Church of the Shoals

The First Presbyterian Church is located on Mobile Street across the street from the US Post Office, Ledgens, and Shoals Theater. It was built around 1818 the oldest church in Florence. Its pastor was Rev Gideon Blackburn

First presbyterian church 

We rode past Regions Bank which was built as a replica of the Forks of Cypress

Regions Bank Greek Revival building with a two-story colonnade composed of 24 columns. 

Across the street was the First Methodist Church built around 1822 it is the second oldest church. Founded by John Coz and John Kerr.

First Methodist Church

Trinity Episcopal Church third oldest church built around 1824 by Rev William Spencer Wall.
In front of their church was a sign that read: We are P.A.W.S. RESCUE ADOPT FOSTER
Our mission: Creating a more humane and caring environment for animals in Northwest Alabama. Partnering with local animal control & law enforcement for community assistance to help homeless, unwanted, and abused pets.

Trinity Episcopal Church

Tennessee Valley Community Church and Center was our last stop

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👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳2016 April 23, Saturday Cornbread Festival South Pittsburg Tennessee

We traveled hwy 72 to Athens and took I-65 to I-565 through Huntsville. We took hwy 72 E, and we passed through several small towns: Brownsboro, Paint Rock, Woodville, Scottsboro, Hollywood, Fackler, Stevenson & Bridge Port Alabama.

Driving to South Pittsburg

We crossed the state line into Tennessee to South Pittsburg.
We arrived around 10:00AM and there was already a crowd of people. We waited in line with many other vehicles to get a parking spot.
We started walking to the downtown area where the Cornbread Festival was located. 
I spied a school bus that was being used to shuttle people downtown.
We loaded onto the school bus and got off the bus at the second drop-off. 

Cornbread Festival 

We paid the five-dollar admission to enter the festival. We proceeded to the area where we purchased tickets to take the Historic bus tour at 11:00AM which cost seven dollars each.

We were given brochures with the time stamped on them for our tickets.
The 10:00 AM bus had just left the historic City Hall.

We walked through the American Legion Hall (under restoration)
that house the quilt show.

One of the quilts on display

Next, we view some of the old cars that were on display.

Car Show

We went to the theater to listen to Blues Music for about ten minutes and to use the restrooms. 

Inside the Prince Theater

We walked past some of the vendors and walked back to the City Hall building to wait for the bus.
When the tour bus returned our guide got off the bus and said that she was going to give a talk before everyone loaded onto the bus.
Our guide began by telling the history of  City Hall, Marion Lodge, and American Legion Hall buildings
City Hall was built in 1887 the former First National Bank had terra cotta trim with decorative brick.

City Hall was built in 1887 

The building across the street now empty was the former Marion Lodge E& AM No 515.

Marion Lodge E& AM No 515

American Legion Hall housed the quilt show.
Everyone loaded on the air-conditioned bus, but there were not enough seats for everyone standing in line.
Everyone was asked to check their ticket to make sure that it had 11:00AM stamped on it. 
There were about six tourists that had a later date stamped on their tickets and they were asked to get off the bus and come back at the time that was stamped on their tickets.

South Pittsburg Tennessee Historic Tour ticket

We then began our tour through the crowded narrow streets of South Pittsburg. We had a great driver, he managed to back up and turn around without hitting a single car and there were lots of marks along the sides of the road.

We saw on the third street at Holly The Christ Church Episcopal completed in 1884.
At 217 Magnolia we saw the home originally built by Joseph Lodge in 1878.
At 310 Magnolia the home of Avery and Kate McCuiston, they owned the Bargain Store on Cedar Avenue. 
At fourth at Magnolia was saw a house built by the Old English company about 1877.
At 401 Oak House was built by City Company in 1890.
At 316 Oak House was built for the Headquarters of the Old English company and was used as guest quarters, not a home. 
At 504 Oak we saw a house owned by ST Haskew, sold and used as a boarding house.
At 518 Laurel we saw the house that James Scott a Texan who ran a dry goods store.
At 500 Laurel we saw the AA Cook home he sold to MM Allison in 1898 who was mayor and judge.
At 401 Laurel we saw the house built for Dr. TW Johnston a physician for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railway Company.
At 414 Holly we saw a house built for Luther B Sartan.
At 518 Holly a house purchased in 1887 by Thomas Richardson a druggist.
At 610 Holly we saw the home built in 1909 by Walter Denham.
At eight at Elm, we saw the Chapel on the Hill built by Angus Macrae, a native of Scotland.
The tour bus dropped everyone that wanted to tour the Lodge Factory at the sixth street at the railroad. 

People going into the Lodge Factory

The Lodge Pans display the Lodge was founded in 1896 by Joseph Lodge, the original plant was located on the north side of town. The foundry operates two molding machines and produces over 20,000 pieces of cast iron a day.

Touring the plant

After we finished touring the plant we walked back to the festival, stopping to look at the tractors on display. 
Vendors were cooking all kinds of food.
Vendors were selling all kinds of wear.
There were rides of all kinds.

Carnival Rides 

We were getting hungry so we looked for a local restaurant stopping at Harvey's Pirate Restaurant for a hamburger and fries. 

Harvey's Pirate Restaurant 

We went to the cars that were on display there were three times more cars than earlier. 
We walked through looking at some of the vendors. I bought four postcards and we bought a bee catcher. 
We stopped at the Lodge Store and began our walk back to the van.

The Lodge Store

A nice young man offered to take us to our car in his golf cart. 
People were still coming into the downtown area and they had to park along the highway.
It had been a long day, we were getting hot and tired and still had a two-hour drive home.