Museums & Historic Sites
Weird Fiction: Never That Far Away
My wife recently was nominated for an award for her article in Atlas Obscura. Last week, we attended the awards ceremony at the Society of Illustrators. While checking in our coats, I noticed a familiar face on the wall: Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
Lyndhurst: An American Masterpiece
For our tenth anniversary, my wife and I spent the day in the country, or what city dwellers would have considered to be the country near the turn of the last century (i.e. the Progressive Era). We planned a day trip to the Hudson River to visit Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival masterpiece. A quaint and…
A Sense of Rootedness: Reflections on History and Preservation
In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis commented upon the “need to protect those common areas, visual landmarks, and urban landscapes which increase our sense of belonging, of rootedness, of “feeling at home” within a city.” By preserving such spaces and visiting them, we as individuals and as a people might feel a connection…
Ruins Among Us: (Post) Industrial Space
A few weeks ago, my friend and I spent a Sunday morning documenting a gargantuan industrial property situated on the borderlands between Essex and Hudson Counties, New Jersey. We snapped hundreds of photographs, jotted down notes, and exchanged innumerable observations. Recently, we transformed our creative material into an article submitted to a very niche and…
Great Public Spaces: a Few Ideas, Part II
The last several posts have addressed the pressing need for quality public spaces in the rapidly developing and transforming Jersey City. In the past decade, a group of volunteers have rescued a historic nineteenth-century cemetery from abandonment and neglect. This group hopes that the cemetery can be a splendid place for the people of Jersey…
Old Homes, Historic Homes: Why are We Drawn to Them?
My previous post discussed the Ballantine House in Newark, New Jersey and touched upon the fascination and attraction of such spaces. Why do people decide to spend their leisure time or vacations visiting historic neighborhoods and sites, especially houses and homes? Aren’t they just moldy, musty aging places full of shadows of (largely) dead rich…
Ballantine House, Newark, New Jersey
A week and some days ago, I spent an afternoon in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Anyone familiar with Newark knows that the city has seen far better days and that its “rebirth” has been inaccurately forecast on numerous occasions. Newark holds a nefarious—and not necessarily unearned—reputation for crime and corruption throughout and beyond the Garden…
Breaking News: History Found in New Jersey!
This Easter, my wife and I shared dinner with my in-laws at the Stage House Tavern in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Incidentally, the meal and ambiance were excellent. If you’re a resident of the area or simply passing through, enjoy a few drinks or a meal at the Tavern. I doubt that you’ll leave disappointed.…
Washington Irving’s Sunnyside
My main summer goal is taking more advantage of the cultural and recreational offerings in Jersey City and the New York City region. After writing my post on Washington Irving’s relationship with Jersey City, I decided to visit Irving’s estate, Sunnyside, a National Historic Landmark in Irvington, New York.
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