Friday, March 09, 2007

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt ~Architecture

This week's theme is Architecture. Since I have quite a few pictures of buildings, I decided to share these two. The first one is a very old house. You can see how the outside wall has warped. This second photo is of our local palace~Swannonoa. Major James Dooley, an executive with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company, completed construction of the $2 million Swannanoa in 1912. Dooley, who owned the Maymont estate in Richmond, built this 52-room marble palace as a token of love for his wife, Sally May. More than 300 artisans were hired to create the palace as a replica of the Villa de Medici in Rome. They used the highest quality materials available. Visitors today can still see the depth of James and Sally May's relationship is places like the 4,000 piece Tiffany stained-glass window and a domed ceiling bearing the likeness of Mrs. Dooley. The name Swannanoa comes from Mrs. Dooley's fondness for swans, which she liked because they choose their mates for a lifetime. Although it mentions visitors, it does not appear in any conditions to have visitors~too much chance for lawsuit from personal injury. Although I don't know which building is older, they both are in somewhat disarray. Sorry the picture doesn't capture the entire structure but there were too many trees in the front yard to get any kind of view from a distance.

37 comments:

-tnchick- said...

that second place would make an AWESOME haunted house on halloween!!

wow, the bricks are warped on the first photo.

both are great!

Gattina said...

A beautiful house this lady got there. I only hope she had enough window cleaners, lol !

Michelle said...

the white building doesnt seem to be quite as bad shape as the red brick! Im surprised the red one is still standing! My photo is up!

Unknown said...

I'd love to live in the second one, but both are great photos.

Thanks for visiting me and I hope you have a fantastic week.

:-)

Lisa said...

Great photos. Happy weekend.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures. It's amazing to see the warp in that first picture.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Anonymous said...

These are really really great. I especially love the old warped building. So great.

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comments.

Have a wonderful weekend!

maiylah said...

too bad it wasn't maintained well ... am sure the place held wonderful memories.
enjoy the weekend! :)

marianne said...

great job of capturing the detail in the old brick house; the palace is a striking photo!

Anonymous said...

Too bad that the mention is not in shape for visitors :(...What a beautiful home though. Thank you so much for sharing, Beckie.

Have a blessed Saturday.

PowersTwinB said...

In 1912 that 2 million bucks went a long way towards that palace! great photos!

srp said...

I can't believe they haven't found someone who wanted to restore this. When we lived in Mississippi there was the Waverly Plantation house that stood empty for fifty years before it was bought and restored. Now it is open every day from "dawn 'til dusk". It survived all those years of neglect because it was in an out of the way place off of a gravel road. Oh, yes... it is haunted by a little girl who takes a nap on the upstairs bed every afternoon, leaving an imprint on the bedspread.

Anonymous said...

I hope that first building is unoccupied. It looks like it's ready to fall down!

Linda said...

I think that is so sweet about choosing the name of the palace for the swans and the reason why. How romantic! My kind of story!

Tanya said...

Lovely pictures. Have a great weekend!

I played too. http://photogfrog.livejournal.com/

jennyr said...

very cool bldg. & i like something built w/ bricks...very nice choice!

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Nice choices for the theme. It's too bad the Swannonoa hasn't been kept in better condition. It looks like a lovely place to visit!

Lazy Daisy said...

Some how I knew you wouldn't have a problem finding a picture today. Good choice!

Sarah said...

Great photos of some interesting buildings.

Melli said...

Lord, that man LOVED that woman! WOW! It's a beautiful building - but the story makes it better! Great job Beckie!

Anonymous said...

You have a palace in your hometown? Wow, I envious. Beautiful photos! And thanks for visiting my site!

ChupieandJ'smama (Janeen) said...

Great photos. I love the last one. It looks like something I've seen on "America's Castles". I love that show. I adore those huge old mansions. The stories they could tell.

M said...

Terrific photos - we'll build one of each with our anchor blocks!

heidi @ ggip said...

Great pictures! Thanks for visitng my post!

Anonymous said...

Really neat. The white one is all marble?! Wow. It must have been glorious in its day. Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Anonymous said...

I like both pictures.
Love the composition of the first especially.
The old building against that wonderfully blue sky - beautiful.
Thanks for visiting my SPH,
Frances

Nicki said...

Both pictures are lovely but I love the wall - it's amazing :)

lissa said...

Hello, Beckie this is Lissa from my blog at http://aquarius2626.blogspot.com/. You left a comment on my Blog Header design post. I would love to design a header for your photo blog. Your other blogs are nicely done. So let me know what kind of header you would like or if you have any ideas or images you might want me to use.

I also email you so, either leave a comment on my blog or email me.

-lissa.

Nice photos!

Teena in Toronto said...

I love old buildings ... just think of the stories they can tell!

Mine's up too :)

Anonymous said...

I really like the second photo. It looks like something out of an old movie. Have a good weekend Becky.

Eagles Wings said...

Great photos, the second one caught my attention because of the chesapeak & Ohio railroad company...I love trains and history about them. Too bad some railroad enthusiasts in the area couldn't restore it and turn it into a museum for the C&O railroad!
Blessings!

Andree said...

That first one looks like it is waiting to fall down! And the mansion is so lovely. I think it is so sad that it was built for love and then becomes lost in time for lack of money or heirs. Maybe there are private tours and you can go if you sign a paper!

PastormacsAnn said...

That second one looks cool from the outside - too bad you can't get inside to have a real look around. Great choice for The Hunt.

Valtool said...

I too chose brick as my theme, and in a town established first with a LONG railroad from Miami. If you ever get to St. Augustine, FL Flagler College is in what used to be the Flagler hotel, very similar to your second shot and also built by a railroad tycoon.

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