Closed and forgotten long ago when the super highway passed it by. Abandoned and neglected. Sun bleached, baked and peeling – rust overwhelms then destroys. Plants invade, cracks widen, water seeps in. Rot and mold – bugs and rodents. Soon to collapse – no restoration – forest takes over.
Camera: Samsung Galaxy S4
Thanks for your visit!
Chris
Altocumulus (Ac) clouds progressively invading the sky. Real meteorological definition. Not often seen this dramatically in Florida. The late winter sun was at just the right angle which made for some interesting lighting. Typically these clouds would be about 6,000 feet above the ground this time of year and they are found in what is called the middle etage (Mid 5) of the atmosphere. There were no cirrus clouds above which added to the drama of the lighting.
Now a bit of fun with the clouds…
Thanks for your visit! Comments are always welcome.
Camera: Samsung Galaxy S4
Chris ^.^
The Prairie School style of architecture was influenced by the popular Arts and Crafts style of design from the last part of the 1800s – born in the American Mid-West, it swept across the United States during the early 1900s and was in part made famous by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This fabulous building is at the corner of Broad and Duval Streets in Jacksonville, Florida. Construction began in late 1912 and finished in 1916.
The Masonic Temple as it still stands today. Catching the last rays of Florida sunshine on a winter’s day.
This five story reinforced concrete and brick building located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida has stood the test of time for just over 100 years.
My image doesn’t do the building justice as it only focuses on one small part that caught my eye in the glowing late afternoon sunlight. The abstract ornaments includes a row of Masonic symbols between the fourth and fifth stories and ornate terracotta and pressed metal designs elsewhere.
The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Of interest, it was home to the first African-American owned bank in Jacksonville, the Anderson Bank. The building was groundbreaking in the sense that while located in the deep south, it was one of the few buildings that African-American business owners had their professional offices – dentists, doctors and lawyers.
Image taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4.
Thanks for your visit! Comments are always welcomed. Chris ^.^
Amelia Island’s historic courthouse along Centre Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida. Completed in 1891. It still serves as a county government building and was fully restored in 2002.
We haven’t had the opportunity to focus our attention on the Pentamatic lately. Carol is still working and I’m the retired one. I keep the home business rolling in our studios and lately most of my free time has been spent “rescuing vintage film cameras” – cameras that most people would probably throw away rather than restoring them. We just can’t bring ourselves to do that. Now let me be clear, restoring old cameras is as close to the most crazy thing one can do with their spare time. The amount of hours spent stripping old paint, chasing away rust and corrosion, cleaning lenses and restoring leather cases never equals a smart return on the hours and dollars spent. But we love re-imagining a 60 year old camera into a useful machine again and at the same time make it a work of art.
Anyway, we hope to be able to showcase one of our TLR restorations soon here in on blog. In the meantime, I ran across a few forgotten images of one of our Pentamatics today and I thought I would share them. They haven’t been posted elsewhere – when I first downloaded them I wasn’t sure that I liked them so they sat and sat. Today (after a few tweaks) here they are.
Both images were taken on the same day in our ca. 1911 post office building here in town. The one hundred year old windowsill provided a nice setting for the modern lines of the 1960 Yashica. Strong light flooded the space via the very dirty windows which in turn diffused the light nicely. I reflected some light back at the Yashica via a white shirt I was wearing. The bottom image is the same camera placed on the floor about 10 feet away from the windows. I liked the color and grain of the wood (fir or southern yellow pine) and again the 100 year old wood provided a nice contrast to the Pentamatic.
The Pentamatic remains one of the most invisible of Yashica’s SLRs. I’m drawn to it because of its rather unique styling – a clean pentaprism design, front mounted shutter release button and of course its crazy big lenses.
Thanks for your visit and please feel free to share your comments with us.
Chris & Carol ^.^
Amelia Island sunrise. Calm Atlantic and nearly cloudless sky. Perfect
Atlantic waves headed for our Amelia Island shores. Mid day sun turns the clear water into foaming brilliance. Fujifilm XP100.
Wishing for the return of summer on this winter day. ^.^
U.S. Highway 17 was the way to enter Northeast coastal Florida in days past – long before I-95 was even imagined. If you came down from the North in the late 1940s, you entered Florida over a way too narrow bridge over the St. Marys River – the official boundary between Georgia and Florida. The two lane road was well traveled and one of the last cities you would pass through before the bridge was Kingsland, Georgia… just a few miles north of the river. The next city wasn’t until you reached Jacksonville, Florida – a long way south. You can’t really count the in-between hamlets of Yulee and Oceanway – they were home to flashing lights just to make you slow down a bit.
To be the first attraction – or motel – or restaurant – or bar – or whatever along this busy corridor meant something I imagine. Where would the tourists stop to take a picture or pause to, you know, rest? Highway 17 was the bomb – it was the way south. Then I-95 came and it was over in a hurry.
What’s left of the Florida firsts?
U.S. Highway 17 bridge over the St. Marys River. Looking north into Georgia – this would have been your first step on dry land that was Florida.
After your safe passage over this way too narrow bridge, you would be treated with your first photo op…
Everybody stops to get their picture taken in Florida! What better place then this sign… and with palm trees too! This is the sign along U.S. 17 a little south of the border.
Gotta have a plaque to dedicate the sign.
All that’s left of some of the ‘firsts‘…
‘Souvenirs’ and ‘Whiskey’.
Nothing left to buy here except more time I suppose.
More than a few tourists walked through this door… come in please.
Faded Florida.
Last one out.
A wonderful place to explore… that first half mile of faded Florida along Highway 17. Many more opportunities to be sure. It was the first motel in now forgotten Florida. The people are elsewhere but the photo ops remain.
Thanks for your visit. As always your comments are appreciated.
You can also visit me at https://www.flickr.com/photos/127540935@N08/
Chris
One last shot – a modern I-95 Florida welcome.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 