Binghamton,NY

[Doug T.]

Hi All!

I've been doing some research for a pet project of mine, and came across this photo of my Hometown on the Library of Congress web site.
This was taken ca. 1905, and shows the view from the center of the city looking north from the county courthouse steps

The view hasn't changed much, but we don't have trolley cars any more
The four story bldg. in the middle, on the corner, was designed by Isaac Perry, and has a steel covering.
The Memorial commemorates those from the county who served in the Civil War.
I just think it's an interesting photo and thought I'd share it.

Doug

[daveh]

Definitely a fairly slow exposure, unless some were in the habit of running fast. The photographer obviously went to some trouble to get the verticals vertical. Doug, old photos are always on interest. When do we get the modern photo to compare it with?


Incidentally when was the memorial erected? it 1905 it was fifteen years closer to the event than we are to WWII.

[Doug T.]

Hi Dave!

The photo was taken on a glass plate.
I'm not sure when the Memorial was built, but I'll find out.

I'm going to the County Library today, so I'll get a shot of what it looks like now.
They're doing construction on the street in front of the Court House, a roundabout or something like that.

I've also found a photo of State Street, another "major" Artery that is built on an old canal that was filled in.
The town I live in, Port Crane, was a Port and repair facility for the canal boats
It was called the Chenango Canal, and ran from Binghamton to Utica,NY. from the 1830's to 70's.
I'm trying to do a photo documentation of what's left of the canal.
Locks, Bridges, Towpaths , and so on.

It's fun, interesting, and keeps me busy.

Doug

[daveh]

I'm trying to do a photo documentation of what's left of the canal.
Locks, Bridges, Towpaths , and so on.

Wonderful! I'm all for it. I'm always regret not photographing some of the local landmarks that have now disappeared.

[Doug T.]

Boy! Was I ever off the mark!!
I haven't visited downtown Binghamton in a long time.
I went to take a couple of shots from the same perspective as the old one and....................

I'd forgotten they had planted a bunch of trees.
So I moved in a little closer and.....................

So, besides having everything torn up, the buildings are all BOARDED up, and they seem to have moved every nut & fruitcake within a 50 mile radius into town.
No wonder we've been voted one of the most depressing cities in America

Doug

Oh yes, and there's no dedication date on the monument.

[mickeyobe]

I am no expert on photo technique but that photo looks to me to be technically perfect.

A number of years ago some misguided Toronto politician wanted to get rid of our beloved Red Rockets that is our streetcars as we call trollies. That is as close as Toronto has come to a revolution. They are still running, both the streetcars and the off track politicians.

Mickey

[mickeyobe]

Me again.

Surely there is a movement to preserve and restore those cherished old buildings. Somebody must care.
They are an important part of the history and fabric of a city and can never be replaced - ever.

Mickey

[Doug T.]

My Grandfather was a streetcar conductor here.
Believe it or not, the tracks are still there, buried under the road surface!

Doug

[daveh]

Surely there is a movement to preserve and restore those cherished old buildings. Somebody must care.
They are an important part of the history and fabric of a city and can never be replaced - ever.

Mickey, I'm very much with you on this. I know we can't preserve everything, but there are certain buildings which can and should be. some I'm not so sure of - they probably would have lasted anyway. The photo below is of miners' cottages in Senghenydd, Glamorgan, South Wales, known as "The Huts"



I hope no one minds me reproducing the photo here. It comes from the website at www.senghenydd.net/.

My late ex-father -in-law lived in one of those Huts when he was young. He was a miner, and lost an eye for his troubles (though I never found when or how). He was luckier than the eldest brother, William, who died in the 1913 pit disaster which claimed more than 400 lives. William was 15: the age range was from 14 to 61.

I think in this case the buildings couldn't be preserved, but the memory of what happened lives on. Indeed, it must live on.

[mickeyobe]

Dave,

"I think in this case the buildings couldn't be preserved, but the memory of what happened lives on. Indeed, it must live on."

I fully agree Dave and something tangible helps bring those memories to life.

My late son, Paul, was an acknowledged expert at such restorations and received many awards for his meticulous works in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and other cities.

If you find you have lots of time on your hands you might check

pauloberman.ca

for what good restoration can mean to a city.

Mickey

[daveh]

Mickey,

I looked at some of Paul's work a while back. Those buildings were well worth preserving and they stand as a lasting legacy to him and the original architects.

Liverpool has a good record. After London it has, apparently, the largest number of listed buildings in Britain. I presume other countries have similar systems where certain buildings have to be maintained in their original form. It's a blessing and yet can be a pain in the neck for some people who own and/or live in those buildings. I don't know how many places of architectural merit were lost to the bombing of the early 1940s but I think what is likely is that more were lost in the 1960s building boom. Some of those 1960s and 1970s structures have already been demolished. IN essence the buildings were worse than many of those they replaced.

The Albert Dock was nearly lost but someone (I would guess) in the 1970s realised its value and that has proved so in all senses of the word: its architecture, the arts (housing the Tate Modern), history (museums of Liverpool, shipping and the Beatles), tourism (the above and bars, restaurants and shops), boats (the marina), housing (many units have been converted into apartments) and then its pure value in terms of hard cash. It might so easily have been demolished and replaced with buildings of little or no merit. We have a lot to thank The architects for. The world would be a poorer place without them.

Dave.

[grenouille]

If its of Historical value to future generations and does pose any danger to the public, it should definitely be preserved because its a living legacy by all those who came before us.

Where I came from, this was not so, when the locals took over from the British, the leader (he is still around and about 90 years old and still calling the shots) went on a destruction spree, knocking down all the old buildings and and filling the mangrove swamps and beaches to increase the size of our little island, this has affected the wild life considerable and heritage of the people who built this island.

When I left the island he was already opening the floodgates, with over a million chinese from China swarming to the island. When I left, ten years ago, the population was just over 3M, now it stands at 6M, a way of life in which our forefathers have built with the local Malays the original natives, the eurasians, desendents of mixed marriages and the descendents of the Indians who came with the British has been totally destroyed.

Over 150 years the different races have welded together to form one people, we were happy islanders, accepting each others way of life and religion, we even have a peculiar way of speaking English called Singlish, English with plenty of local native words added. The Chinese who have been there for more than 5 generations speak only Malay and their dialect and not Mandarin, even their cusine is close to that of the Malay cusine.

To the leader, the Chinese from China are called Foreign Talents imported to improve the well being of the island, sadly this is not the case, we are getting the cast-off from China. We have nothing in common with the Chinese from China. This is one of the reason why thousands of us who could have migrated to all over the world when this man took over from the British, the local natives are now a dying breed.

His son has now taken over the leadership of the country and its an open secret, his grandson is waiting on the wings to take over evantually. To the world he is a great leader transforming a British colony to one of the richest country in the world but to all of us we know better, he has destroyed an island in the sun and a happy way of life.

He has a contigent of Nepal troops to protect him and his family, he does not his own people.

Hye

[julio1fer]

The world is so small. I visited there in 1985, I believe. The buildings look familiar, I may have walked down those arched passages (?).

I stayed only for one or two days in a nice Art Deco hotel. Cherry Coke had just been launched, IIRC. My only tasting of small city America.