Category: American history

Watergate update

IMG_3660.jpgIn 1972 the burglars of the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate rented two rooms at the Howard Johnson’s on Virginia Ave.,across from the Watergate.

The owner of the former Howard Johnson’s, George Washington University, has gutted the building, destroying any remnants of the burglars’ rooms.

HoJo’s will probably not be renamed after Richard M. Nixon.

Unexpected consequences that can occur with photo-editing.

Applying an old principle of black and white film photography that it is better to get the image right at the time of shooting, rather than depending on manipulating in the darkroom, I limit my editing of digital images.

For a photo of an early 19th structure along the C & O canal I could not get far enough back and I had to tilt the camera up, resulting in considerable converging of vertical lines.

I used software to straighten the lines resulting in, unfortunately, cropping of the building.

But much more disturbing was the distortion of the second story windows.

At least I was able to get undistorted images of the end and canal side of the building by crossing the canal.IMG_3410_DxOVP.jpg

 

Kemp Hall and the possible secession of Maryland from the Union

Kemp Hall and the possible secession of Maryland from the Union

On April 13,1861, U. S. Army Major Robert Anderson surrendered Ft. Sumter, Charleston,South Carolina, to the Confederacy.  On April 27th, the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates convened at Kemp Hall, corner of E. Church  and N. Market Streets, Frederick, to discuss whether Maryland should follow the southern states and secede from the Union.  The senators and delegates never voted on the issue.  Lincoln had his troops arrest the pro-Secessionists members of the Maryland General Assembly, preventing the august body from having the necessary quorum for taking a vote.

The building is a distinctive revival building of approximately 1860 with arched window heads and wide, bracketed cornice.  It is connected by a lower, setback hyphen with circular window to the third building, along Church.  This building is slightly lower than the hyphen building, which in turn is slightly lower than the main building.  Only the main building has arched windows.  The glass store front covers the N. Market St. facade and part of the Church St. facade, which has later brickwork.

The beauty of early 19th century architecture

Detail of the cornice of gatehouse designed by Charles BulIMG_4934.jpgfinch, third Architect of the Capitol, in approximately 1827, for the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. This gatehouse and another one by Bulfinch were moved to Constitution Ave, closer to the White House, in the late 19th century.

Bulfinch, considered one of the first professional architects in this country, took drawing courses as a Harvard undergraduate and then traveled through Europe observing architecture.