Tag Archives: historic

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sagging Building, York

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Sagging Building, York
“Sagging Building, York” — And old building with apparenlt serious structural issues, York, England.

York’s old town is known for “The Shambles,” an old area of narrow and sometimes-curving streets lined with very old shops and businesses. (The appearance in places is “Harry Potteresque,” something that shops are now promoting.) They seem to take pains to maintain the very old and slightly off-kilter appearance of the shops, but this particular building is a standout!

And, no, your screen is not melting. This building actually looks like this, leaning precariously to one side, with the walls of the lower floor appearing to be badly distorted and cracked. I did not enter the building, nor could I find a name for it (though the sign says that ghost tours meet there), but I can only hope that there is some interior reinforcement not visible from the street! (Someone suggested that the building is actually solid, and that it was designed to look this way. I have not been able to confirm that.)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Shambles

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The Shambles
“The Shambles” — People walk along a narrow street in the Shambles, York.

We broke up our train ride from Edinburgh and London with a short visit to York during our United Kingdom trip earlier this year. It was quite a varied trip, starting with shoreline towns to the west in Scotland, then walking the Great Glen Way to Inverness, visiting a few other urban areas of Scotland, and finally concluding in London. The train trip from Edinburgh to London is fairly long, so it seemed like a good idea to break it in two and spend a couple nights here.

“The Shambles” are (is?) a well-known feature of the old part of York. This is an area of narrow, curving streets and tiny businesses crowded together. We visited this section on a cloudy morning when we were looking for coffee and breakfast — needs that were satisfied by a scone shop near when I made the photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Holyrood Abbey Ceiling

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Holyrood Abbey Ceiling
“Holyrood Abbey Ceiling” — The ceiling vaults of the Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Edinburgh is a busy city, popular with tourists — and there is quite a lot to see there. A lot of the main attractions are found in the Old Town area along the Royal Mile that runs between the hilltop Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace, a residence of British royalty. The ruins of the Holyrood Abbey are on the grounds of the palace.

The Abbey dates to the 12th century, The suffix “rood” refers to the Holy Cross, There were several versions of the place, and this is the last, most architecturally advanced version. In addition to its religious significance, the site is also connected to Scottish history. The structure eventually fell into disuse and was neglected. An ill-advised attempt to restore and strengthen it ended up adding too much weight and portions collapsed, leaving the ruins that we see today.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur Lighthouse Station

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Point Sur Lighthouse Station
“Point Sur Lighthouse Station” — The historic Point Sur Lighthouse Station with Pacific Ocean fog in the background.

There are several striking hills, rocks, mounds like this along California’s coast, almost isolated from land yet tenuously connected by a low peninsula. I think of them as reminders of where the coast was long ago and of the continuous eroding away of the land. This one is Point Sur, between the Carmel area and the town of Big Sur. It houses the historic Point Sur Lighthouse Station — no longer active, but today a state park.

A drive down the Big Sur Coast on the Pacific Coast Highway makes it clear how rugged and isolated is this section of California’s coast. Even today it can feel remote, and the route is subject to frequent closures due to weather and slides. When the lighthouse was established over a century ago, there was no road here, and access was generally by ship. It was not until decades later that an early road to Big Sur was established.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.