Historic Structures - Urban Exploration of Historic Properties

Fremont High School, Fremont Michigan

Fremont High School, Fremont Michigan

Constructed in 1926-27, Fremont High School, designed by Lansing architect Judson N. Churchill, was designed to address perennial overcrowding in Fremont's schools due to a growing population and the expansion of the high school curriculum in the early part of the twentieth century. The new high school also provided room for Newaygo County's normal school, a program that provided teachers for the county's rural one and two-room schools in the face of chronic teacher shortages throughout rural Michigan. The school today incorporates two major additions. In 1961, a gymnasium/natatorium complex, designed by prolific school architects the Warren S. Holmes Company, was constructed as a stand-alone building facing in the opposite direction from the main school. In 1988, an addition connected the

Colfax Freight Depot, Colfax California

Colfax Freight Depot, Colfax California

Freight shipping and distribution was an important activity along the Central Pacific and other railroads associated with the SP Lines. As a result, depots and freight houses became important and familiar structures along these railroads and to the citizens in towns served by the railroads throughout the Western states. With the passing of the railroad's less-than-carload (LCL) freight era, these freight houses have become an architectural legacy of the SP Lines' once-central role in the West's economic development. The Colfax Freight Depot is one of the few visible reminders of the importance of LCL freight in the nation. The Colfax Freight Depot was built by the Central Pacific Railroad Company using an SP-CP design and served as a shipping and receiving

Home of the Founder of the Town of Murdock MN to be Demolished

Home of the Founder of the Town of Murdock MN to be Demolished

The Sabin S. and Mary A. Murdock House, built in 1878 on Clara Avenue, was the home of the proprietor of Murdock, Minnesota, and represents the efforts of a single individual to conceive, found, and promote a rural Minnesota community. The Murdock House is important as the oldest building standing in Murdock and as the largest and most architecturally significant Victorian house in the town. Sabin S. Murdock, a man of Scottish and English descent who was the son of a physician, was born in New England in July of 1830. He married Mary Ann Peck in New York state in 1852. The couple had six children born between 1853 and 1876. Little is known about Murdock's early career, but in

Colfax Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot, Colfax California

Colfax Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot, Colfax California

The Colfax Passenger Depot was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and served as a transportation and shipping focal point of the City of Colfax from 1905 to 1945. During the early twentieth century, railroads provided nearly 98 percent of intercity passenger travel in the United States (Bender 1998). As a result, Southern Pacific depots became important and familiar focal points to citizens in towns served by the railroad throughout the Western states. With the passing of the railroad era, Southern Pacific depot buildings have became an architectural legacy of the Southern Pacific's once-central role in the west's economic development, as well as its main source of transportation. The Colfax passenger depot is one of the only visible reminders of

Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami Florida

Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami Florida

Coconut Grove began as a frontier town rivaling early Miami, located around five miles to its southwest. Its early residents were mainly Northeasterners drawn to the tropical climate and low population density. Since South Florida was so remote, with no form of easy access via rail line, Coconut Grove incubated a unique culture, characterized by some of its early residents, including a few notable artists. Ralph Middleton Munroe, a yacht designer who was one of the Grove's earliest residents, was also known for his photography. In addition, Kirk Munroe, a children's adventure book author and conservationist who was not in any way related to Ralph, was very active in establishing Coconut Grove's early community institutions. The arrival of Henry Flagler's Florida

Santa Fe Railroad Train Depot, Carlsbad California

Santa Fe Railroad Train Depot, Carlsbad California

The Carlsbad Depot, constructed in 1887, was the site of Carlsbad's first commercial and public building and served continuously from 1887-1960 as Carlsbad's sole railroad stop for incoming and outgoing passengers and goods. Further, the very settlement and growth of the City of Carlsbad was the result of railroad influence along the Southern California coast. As such, the Depot has played a vital role in Carlsbad's history. Though built as transportation centers for people and freight, train depots often served other functions within a community. When it opened in 1887, the railroad shared space with the telegraph and Wells Fargo Offices. For a brief period from 1915 to 1920, it also housed the only general store in the community. Compared to

Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, Earle Arkansas

Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, Earle Arkansas

Early travelers in eastern Arkansas discovered a vast expanse of lands, scoured by an errant Mississippi River in prehistoric times, which was poorly drained and suffered from frequent inundations and overflows. The lowlands of Crittenden County comprised part of what its inhabitants called the morass and later journalists labeled the windlands. Although the agricultural value of its rich soils was quickly recognized, the shallow, swampy lakes, such as Alligator Lake and Blackfish Bayou, deterred settlement, and the county remained sparsely populated into the late nineteenth century. From 1870 to 1901, several major railroad companies, urged by land grants and untouched natural resources, invaded Arkansas. In 1887-88, Jay Gould, frustrated in his efforts to purchase the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, constructed

Kansas City-Southern Depot, Mena Arkansas

Kansas City-Southern Depot, Mena Arkansas

The Mena Depot is both the extant structure most closely associated with the Kansas City-Southern Railroad, the interstate rail line that virtually gave birth to the city of Mena, and is one of the most elaborate and intact passenger railroad depots that remain both on the Kansas City Southern railroad and in the entire state. Restored by the citizens of Mena, it stands as a remarkably elaborate rendition of the Mediterranean style that influenced the designs of the passenger depots of several railroad lines during this period, but seldom to this degree of architectural quality and detail. Any understanding of the history of the city of Mena must begin with the character and ambitions of the man who founded the railroad

Memphis, Paris, and Gulf Depot, Mineral Springs Arkansas

Memphis, Paris, and Gulf Depot, Mineral Springs Arkansas

The Mineral Springs Depot is a simple depot that is associated with one of Arkansas's more ambitious short-line railroads, and which represents the entire railroading history of Mineral Springs, Arkansas. At the turn of the century, the vast forest lands of southwest Arkansas began attracting large-scale timber industries. For these timber concerns to effectively exploit the lumber supply of the region, an efficient transportation system had to be developed. As a result, several short-line railroad operations sprang into being, often in conjunction with the lumber companies, which would provide the railroads with their main source of income. In 1906, a charter was granted for the construction of a 25-mile, standard-gauge railroad between Nashville, Arkansas in the north and Ashdown, Arkansas in

Redman House, Watsonville California

Redman House, Watsonville California

James Redman was a prosperous Watsonville farmer who desired a fine, high style residence to display his wealth to his peers in Watsonville, and he trusted that William Weeks would deliver a functional yet architecturally stunning residence within his budget. Weeks' advertisements at the turn of the century stressed the most design for the money: Don't build before you see my latest home designs strictly up-to-date costing $150 per room and upwards; guaranteed estimates furnished. I can give you the best work for the least money. James Redman was the son of Kendrick Francis Redman, one of the original Santa Cruz County Pioneers who worked as a farmer in Watsonville after his arrival there in 1865. K.F. Redman profited from his

Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, Helena Arkansas

Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, Helena Arkansas

Constructed in 1915, the Missouri-Pacific Depot in Helena is one of Arkansas's finest examples of the architecture which characterized that company's construction in the early days of the twentieth century. Of Craftsman design with Classical Revival influences, the depot was built on the site of an old Arkansas Midland Railway Company depot, and is the city's best representative of the railroad industry, which once rivaled river traffic to make Helena one of Arkansas's transportation centers. The city of Helena (population 9,000) has always been known as Arkansas' only port on the Mississippi River. Located fifty miles south of Memphis, the town grew before the Civil War as a shipping outlet for the products of the rich alluvial farms of the Arkansas'

Frisco Railroad Depot, Fayetteville Arkansas

Frisco Railroad Depot, Fayetteville Arkansas

The first passenger train arrived at Fayetteville on July 4^th, 1882. Its arrival marked an end to the geographical isolation of the Ozark region of Northwest Arkansas. The city of Fayetteville, the largest and most affluent population center in the region and location of the University of Arkansas since 1871, had outbid other towns for the railroad by raising $8,000 for promotion and another $2,500 for the construction of a depot. The first depot burned down in 1897, and the present structure was built soon after on the same site. The depot was totally remodeled and enlarged in 1925, as a result of pressure on the Frisco Line from the Fayetteville City Council. At the height of its use, the station

Pearson-Boyer Plantation, Sparta Georgia

Pearson-Boyer Plantation, Sparta Georgia

The history of the Pearson-Boyer Plantation begins with the arrival of the original owner/builder to the land and the county in the early 19^th century. Stephen Edward Pearson, Sr. (1774-1854) arrived in Hancock County, Georgia, between 1795 and 1805. The county had only recently (1793) been created from lands originally in Greene County. The arrival date is supported by early records and deeds. The development of land holdings in the Buffalo Creek area (referred to as the watery fork of Buffalo) came after the development of the northern half of present-day Hancock County. These early settlers of Buffalo Creek bought and sold properties until they acquired contiguous tracts to form their plantations. By 1850, Stephen Pearson, Sr., possessed 800 acres of

Lebanon Plantation and House, Savannah Georgia

Lebanon Plantation and House, Savannah Georgia

Lebanon Plantation has been a continuously operating plantation/farm complex for nearly 3 centuries and was the site of the development of the Savannah Satsuma orange. It is a plantation known to have been operational since the 1750s, but was also the site of a Federal troop headquarters during the Civil War, reflecting after the war in its own destruction and rebirth, and the South's revival. The land that comprises the core of Lebanon is a 500-acre tract which was granted to James Deveaux in 1756 and was allegedly named for the many cedar trees on the property. An additional 500 acres were granted to Phillip Delegal in 1758 and eventually became a part of the plantation. Both tracts changed hands several

Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Depot, St. Joe Arkansas

Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Depot, St. Joe Arkansas

The Searcy County community of St. Joe, incorporated in 1902 as a direct consequence of the arrival of the fledgling St. Louis and North Arkansas Railroad, can trace its origins as such to around 1870, the first documented instance of European settlement (local folklore claims a settlement date of 1860, but this cannot be documented). By 1871, St. Joe, located on one of the principle overland routes through the Ozark Mountains to southwestern Missouri, could boast of at least one store and a few other small businesses. Geologists visiting the area after the Civil War to search for both valuable minerals and natural springs soon discovered the rich zinc deposits surrounding St. Joe. Though some mining interests came to St. Joe

Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, McGehee Arkansas

Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, McGehee Arkansas

McGehee, named for the family of Colonel Abner McGehee (a famous local character around the turn of the century), owes virtually its entire existence as a discernible community to the decision by the Missouri-Pacific Railroad to locate its regional railroad shops here in 1905. Even the physical plan of the downtown reflects this, as the entire original commercial district was laid out along the railroad tracks running north-south through the town. Though other industrial and manufacturing concerns established themselves in McGehee thereafter, the Missouri-Pacific Railroad continued to be the largest local employer through the 1930s. The Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot in McGehee was constructed c. 1910 as part of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad's ambitious campaign to expand their network of rail lines all

Former Church Building in Augusta GA Fighting Demolition

Former Church Building in Augusta GA Fighting Demolition

The First Baptist Church of Augusta is one of many monumental buildings on Greene Street, a landscaped parkway through the historic downtown area. Designed by Atlanta-based architect Willis Franklin Denny, the building is the major Augusta example of Beaux-Arts Classicism, an architectural style which dominated monumental American architecture in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. A major feature of the building is its collection of stained glass windows, two of which bear the inscription Tiffany Studios, New York. The site has been the location of Augusta's First Baptist Church since 1820 and in 1845 was the birthplace of the Southern Baptist Convention. The origin of the church goes back even further to March 15^th, 1817, when 18 Augusta citizens organized

Hot Springs Railroad Roundhouse, Malvern Arkansas

Hot Springs Railroad Roundhouse, Malvern Arkansas

The Hot Springs Railroad Roundhouse is the last remaining railroad roundhouse in Arkansas. The roundhouse was used by the Hot Springs Railroad for servicing the railroad's locomotives from its construction in 1887 until 1904. Construction of the Hot Springs Railroad began in Malvern in April 1875 as the brainchild of Diamond Jo Reynolds, and trains began operating into Hot Springs one year later. Diamond Jo Reynolds, besides being the developer of the Hot Springs Railroad, was also the founder of the famed Diamond Jo Steamboat Line, and one of the most colorful rivermen on the Mississippi River. He was born in New York in 1819, but moved to Chicago by the 1850s. Characterized by his contemporaries as a born trader, Jo

Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, Malvern Arkansas

Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot, Malvern Arkansas

The city of Malvern was little more than a small town until the arrival of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad in 1873 made it the transfer point for travelers going by coach to Hot Springs, twenty miles to the northwest; the arrival of the Diamond Jo Railroad to Hot Springs in 1875 only increased the traffic and activity in and around the town. Soon thereafter, the abundant local forests made Malvern a transportation center for the region's burgeoning timber industry, and several mills located nearby. By the turn of the century, Malvern also boasted one of the state's largest brick and tile manufacturing facilities, shipping an assortment of clay products by rail throughout the south and Midwest. The Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot

Walter H. French Junior High School, Lansing Michigan

Walter H. French Junior High School, Lansing Michigan

The Walter French Junior High School, with its polychromatic and ornamental Arts-and-Crafts-influenced design that features Tudor-inspired detailing, is one of the three largest and most architecturally significant public school buildings built before World War II standing in Lansing, the others being Eastern and Sexton High Schools. The building was designed by Lansing-based architect Judson N. Churchill, who had a general practice but who appears to have specialized in school architecture during the early twentieth century. The school is the largest of his known buildings, which included several in Lansing and others located across the southern part of Michigan. The Walter French Junior High School also made important contributions to the field of education in Lansing with the development of a progressive

Book Title The Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders

The Atlas of Abandoned Places: A Journey Through The World's Forgotten Wonders

Book Title Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences (Jonglez photo books)

Book Title Abandoned Train Stations (Abandoned Places)

Abandoned Train Stations (Abandoned Places)

Book Title Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks

Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks

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