The Gilded Age

Chateau-sur-Mer. 

Italianate, 1852 / Second Empire French, Richard Morris Hunt, 1873. William Shepard Wetmore, China trade, d.1862.

The C.H. Baldwin Residence. American Shingle Style, Potter and Robinson, 1878. Admiral Charles H. Baldwin, d.1888.

I just visited Newport and boy are the houses there amazing.  It's funny to eschew the capitalist obsession with wealth accumulation and yet still be enchanted by the palaces of kings and queens in England or the historic houses of America's tycoons. But it really is easy to enjoy the architectural splendors of earlier times.

Chateau-Nooga. Queen Anne Revival, George Browne Post, 1881. C.C. Baldwin, railroads, d. 1897.

"Vinland" Mansion. Romanesque Revival Style, Peabody & Stearns, 1882. Catherine Lorillard Wolfe, real estate and philanthropy, d.1887.

Isaac Bell House. American Shingle Style, McKim, Mead & White, 1883. Isaac Bell Jr., cotton broker, d. 1889

In Newport, the homes -- true mansions -- were built during the Gilded Age by those who earned their fortunes in banking, manufacturing, oil, railroads, steel, and other burgeoning industries.

Without exception, these great homes from America's Gilded Age are wonderful and unique windows into a time of unprecedented change and creativity in American culture. A time when the explosive growth in technology made some wealthy and promised a utopia where individuals could develop to their highest and best purpose. A time when, for many Americans, all of human history seemed to point to America and its destiny to bring Western culture to its ultimate expression. 1

De La Salle / The William Weld House.
Queen Anne-Romanesque, Dudley Newton, 1884. William Gordon Weld II, merchant and advocate for education, d.1896.

Knight Cottage "Mary Bruen House" American Shingle Style, William Ralph Emerson, 1883. Mary Bruen, widow of a Reverend, d.1886.

Osgood-Pell House. Romanesque Revival, Harding & Dinkelberg, 1887. William H. Osgood, zinc fortune, d.1896.

The Gilded Age produced tremendous economic inequality, in part, because taxes weren't levied on income. Today, we are very much in a "Second Gilded Age" -- one where income inequality exists, in part, because earnings from 'gambling' on the stock market are not taxed as income. 2

I certainly appreciate folks such as Bill and Linda Gates for their tremendous charity and commitment to philanthropy. And Warren Buffet, who sits at #2 right after the Gateses on the list of 400 richest Americans, has professed that “the proceeds from all Berkshire shares I still own at death are to be used for philanthropic purposes.”3  There are likely many others with a strong philanthropic focus but how many of these new billionaires will leave behind something to rival the design traditions of the late-19th century? How many will only embrace the effective altruism movement and not see value in arts and culture?

It's not that I want rich people running around building crappy McMansions, but there is something to be said for leaving things behind, physical things of aesthetic and cultural value, that can represent the hopes and aspirations, dreams and dreads, of an era. So let us then admire and be uplifted by the architectural marvels of the past of: Beaux Arts, Châteauesque, Classical Revival, Italian Renaissance, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, and Tudor Revival.

Ochre Court.  Châteauesque, Richard Morris Hunt, 1892.  Ogden Goelet, banking / real estate, d. 1897

Rough Point. English Manor Style, Peabody & Stearns, 1892. Frederick William Vanderbilt, railroads, d.1938.

The Breakers. Italian Renaissance Style, Richard Morris Hunt, 1895. Cornelius Vanderbilt II, railroads, d.1899

The Elms. Beaux-Arts style, Horace Trumbauer, 1901. Edward Julius Berwind, coal baron, d.1938.

1. http://www.flaglermuseum.us/history/gilded-age
2. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/may/08/thomas-piketty-new-gilded-age/
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/15gilded.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Universal Shapes and Forms

There are "universal shapes to which everyone is subconsciously conditioned and to which they can respond." ~ Henry Moore

The Scent of Spring

"Float" by tamsen ellen, 2007

"It is spring in the mountains.
I come alone seeking you.
The sound of chopping wood echoes
Between the silent peaks.
The streams are still icy.
There is snow on the trail.
At sunset I reach your grove
In the stony mountain pass.
You want nothing, although at night
You can see the aura of gold
And silver ore all around you.
You have learned to be gentle
As the mountain deer you have tamed.
The way back forgotten, hidden
Away, I become like you,
An empty boat, floating adrift."

-- Tu Fu (eighth century Chinese poet)

Underneath Brooklyn

"Wherever the entrances are, they are kept secret. There are men who know the mysteries of the old subway. But no one is willing to lead the way within it." ~

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sunday July 23, 1911

Well, one man knows all the secrets and is willing to lead you down a manhole cover, through a dirt passage, and into the cavernous space of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. Bob Diamond. Bob discovered the entrance to the tunnel in 1979, after being told by numerous "experts" of civil engineering, city history, and LIRR managers that it absolutely didn't exist. Of course it wasn't supposed to exist. But that's a longer story...


In 1844 the LIRR put train tracks down the center of Atlantic Avenue to connect goods arriving by steamship at the Red Hook ferry terminal to a railway system that was to extend to Boston. But at that time trains didn't have breaks and the manual system for slowing a train down meant you needed great distances to stop a train. When the train kept hitting people, a public outcry ensued to move the train underground. Of course, a train had never been put underground in the US. The Brooklyn Common Council met and decreed, "The right of the public is not confined to its mere surface. The land itself may be dug and fashioned so as to be made the most subservient to their accommodation." Brooklyn Daily Eagle March 7 1844 Geez....what we take for granted today!


So in came the sand hogs and masons to construct what became a 21 ft wide, 17 ft high barrel vault tunnel out of Manhattan bedrock and brick layed with Portland cement to extend from Court Street to Hicks Street. And steam driven locomotives of the LIRR moved underground in 1845 in the first instance of an NYC subway.


As early as 1847, usage of the tunnel had dropped considerably. "From mid 1845 through early 1847, the LIRR fell victim to Wall Street stock manipulations with it's attendant fare wars, unforeseen competition from its “partner” the N&W [another railroad company] acting with its former board member Vanderbilt, some possibly bad decisions by its board of directors, and last but not least, the seizure of it's one remaining steamboat [used in parts of their routes]." Bob Diamond

In 1859, the tunnel was ordered to be filled-in. However the contractor hired Electus Litchfield, who took the $130,000 and instead only filled-in the ends of the tunnel, closed the air holes to the street, and had a document signed that the whole job was done (with none the wiser). Guess sometimes a half-assed work ethic pays off.


And that's when the tunnel became legend. The tunnel was thought to be gone, but stories abounded about pirates, bootleggers, dead bodies, gangs, and spies. Of course, the best story is that John Wilkes Booth buried his diary identifying who hired him to assassinate President Lincoln behind a wall in a black tin box. Bob Diamond heard about this story on the radio, and so began his search for the legendary tunnel.


Bob's stories are remarkable, amusing, and full of surprising twists and turns. His knowledge of railroad development, New York politics, and social history is astounding. For 120 years, people have remained skeptical about the existence of the tunnel, even right up to the minutes before it's discovery. With the manhole open, and a gas company employee arising from it shaking his head, declaring there only to be a pile of dirt below, Bob had to say, "can I take a look?" His tenaciousness paid off. Once descended into the ground, he found a small hole in the dirt that he crawled through, where he discovered another dirt wall. With the assurance of certainty of the tunnel's existence, he began to dig....and dig....and came to the sealed off opening to the tunnel. Eureka.

I'm looking forward to the forthcoming documentary called "What's Behind the Wall." Archeologists are currently excavating the remaining closed off section of the tunnel. There are also hopes to revitalize plans dropped in 2000 "to rescue this tunnel and reconnect it to the waterfront" with historic trolly cars. This is a marvelous piece of New York's history that needs to be preserved and brought to light. Help the cause....go on the tour! More pictures here.

for MLK day

Words from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address worth remembering.

"bamboo 2" by tamsen ellen

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the poeple, shall not perish from the earth.

He's right, no one would have noticed the deaths at Gettysburg had it not been for his words that transformed a place and time into a "monumental" idea. "Ideas are more than battles" ~ Charles Sumner

Point Reyes California

Point Reyes New Years Day 2009, tamsen ellen

Strange fences grow on Point Reyes Peninsula which is fastened like a haunted fingerprint to the California coast. Odd perspectives are constantly drifting out of sight or becoming too intimate in this place where white medieval Portuguese dairies suddenly appear cradled by cypress trees and then disappear as if they had never really been there at all.

from "Empty Houses" series, tamsen ellen

Hawks circle in the sky like the lost springs of old railroad watches looking for correct protein wandering somewhere below to swoop down upon and devour chronologically. It is not often that I journey to Point Reyes because frankly, my mind is seldom in that place, but when I do go there I always enjoy myself. That is, if enjoy is the right word, driving down a road lined with fences that look like cemeteries lost in half-vague and half-mercuric spiritual density.

from Sand Castles, Richard Brautigan

A Childhood Note to No One in Particular

"Morning Dew" by tamsen ellen

"As I walk down the street I hear the chirp of a bird. He's probably building his nest and working hard at it. People work hard too, but it is depressing to think that many people walk down the street, while the bird is chirping and no one hears that bird. They are too busy in their own heads to hear that one chirp or the rustle of a leaf. Maybe if one person who cared heard that bird that person could get it through to other people to listen the those lovely things God gave us."

written age 13-14

Sunday

"Clearing" by Tamsen Ellen

"Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life. All it needs from you is that you take care not to trample on it."

Marilynne Robinson ~ Gilead

Park(ing) Day

I bet y'all didn't know that this past Friday was national Park(ing) Day. Walking up Sixth Avenue, lo and behold, I encountered green grass and flowers!! What a delight! I'd remembered this event from last year and so quickly was able to assess what was going on. This is no eco-hippie sit-in. No people, NYC offered up 5o prime parking spots to let ordinary citizens (or rather architects and motivated artists) turn them into mini parks for the day.

But don't miss Park(ing) Day REDUX, taking place on October 18th. "This capstone exhibit will feature a rebuild of selected parking spots on a closed street in front of EYEBEAM Art and Technology Center on 21st Street, a mixer with the city's most imaginative public space interventionists, and photos."

http://parkingdaynyc.org/
and
Trust for Public Land

Ever Present - Never Twice the Same

The air has changed here in New York. It indeed feels like fall. Many plants will die, as they are covered in snow and frost throughout the winter, but will come back next spring, with a renewed, yet unique, life force.

While I've always been drawn to Pantheism, a philosophy that posits that divinity is present in every living thing, I recently learned the word Aisthesis. For ancient Greeks it meant that knowledge could be derived through physical sensory perception. "It is a taking in of the world, a taking in of soulful communications that arise from living the phenomena in that world." (Stephen Buhner) Psychologist James Hillman says it literally means "to breathe in."

Biognosis is another new word I learned. It means "to gain knowledge from life." But it is also the application of that knowledge of systems found in nature "to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology." That is just so interesting to me!! It's also called bionics or Biomimetics. For example, the invention of Velcro was from the observation of the hooked seeds of the burdock plant which caught in the coat of George de Mestral's dog when they were out on a walk.

We tend to be far removed from nature in our urban lives, it is worth being reminded that:

"Only to him who stands where the barley stands and listens well will it speak, and tell, for his sake, what man is" - Masanobu Fukuoka

***

ever present - never twice the same
It was wonderful to come across this adage carved in stone and laid inconspicuously into the dirt floor of a wooded trail in Wave Hill. What's Wave Hill? That's what I wanted to know...

Well, it's a spectacular twenty-eight acre public garden in the Bronx, with magnificent views of the Hudson River and the Palisades.
It features greenhouses, woodlands, and numerous themed gardens, including the aquatic garden below.

Now, I'm no botanist, but the wonder and enchantment! Here's a plant where the leaves turn fire red, emulating a flower.

And the infamous lotus, seat of the buddah, shown here in the end-stage of its temporal life.

and other delights....


The bees were extremely busy, and were mostly uncooperative when it came to having their picture taken....save this guy.

*yoga *cook *eat

Yesterday was a special Om yoga event. A large group of us went to the Union Square Farmer's Market with Margi Young and Maria Rosa Menocal to learn about local vendors, buy seasonal food, cook easy (yet versatile) dishes, and enjoy each other's company. As Maria said, the class was to be about, "ways of developing a practice where nourishment is rooted in an intimate and personal relationship with our food, one where the acts of buying it and making it are part of the process. Being present in the selection and preparation of food can be a deeply enriching part of our daily lives, and part of developing a consciousness about our relationship to the rest of the universe." It was a glorious day! I took notes so that we could remember all the fabulous tips Maria gave us, and how we shared a meal with each other, prepared a little something for others, many of us strangers.

So....in order of the vendors we visited...

Ronnybrook Farm – Amcramdale, NY. For all dairy. Often a long line. The crème fraiche and butter we ate was from here. At market Wed and Sat, year round. (Also sold through Fresh Direct as a featured local vendor)

Quattro’s Game Farm – Pleasant Valley, NY. At market Wed and Sat, year round.

Stokes Farm -- Old Tappan, NJ. Mostly for herbs but also tomatoes. One of the founding vendors at this greeenmarket. At market since 1976, Wed, Fri and Sat, March through December. Here's video of farmer Ron.

Fantasy Fruit Farm – Afton, NY. for berries,very seasonal. At market Mon, Wed, and Sat.

Berried Treasure – Cooks Falls, NY. Some consider the strawberries here the best at the market. Marie called Franca an “extraordinary farmer” Usually at market Wed and Fri.

Keith’s Farm – Greenville, NY. One of the most famous vendors here. Has written a book about his farm. Known for garlic, but has 15 acres with organic veggies and herbs. At market Wednesday and Saturday only / June through December.


Terhune Orchard – Salt Point, NY – Apples all year. At market 29 years.

Eckerton Hill Farm – Lenhartsville, PA. Carries many specialty items, such as baby bell peppers, lemon cucumbers, jelly melon cucumber. Many of the city’s top chefs shop here, so get here early! At market 13 years. (Also sold through Fresh Direct as a featured local vendor)

Flying Pig Farm – Shushan, NY. Not just any pork vendor, these pig farmers raise heritage breeds and have photos of their loved ones at their stand and on their website. At market Saturdays only. Watch a video of these adorable piggies.

Oak Grove Plantation – Franklin Township, NJ. “Ted” started the farm in 1977, and started at market in 1980. Carries heirloom tomatoes, but specializes in every kind of pepper: habaneros, poblanos, tomatillos, jalepeno, sweet peppers, etc. Has unusual items like ground husk cherry tomatoes (like pineapple). Our green corn for the soup was bought here.

Hoeffner Farm – Montgomery, NY. Mostly vegetables. At market 32 years.

The Cheerful Cherry – Hector, NY. The table was full of sour cherries, and a sign said they were the last of the season.

Paffenroth Gardens – Warwick, NY. 18 years at market Wed and Sat; open all year long with carrots, leeks potatoes.

Gorzynski Ornery Farm – Cochecton Center, NY. John is the friendly farmer ready to share his knowledge of vegetables. In business since 1979, this farm produces over 500 varieties of vegetables. They adhere to organic standards that exceed the government’s criteria, but chose not to go through the bureaucratic certification process by the USDA. When we were there, on display were a large variety of greens. John grows for flavor not for looks or durability. At market April to Dec on Saturdays.

Violet Hill – Livingston Manor, NY. They raise pastured poultry (chicken, duck, turkey, geese, and guinea birds), and grass fed meats (beef, pork, goat, lamb, and rabbit), but currently sell only lamb, pork (Maria suggests trying the fennel sausage) and eggs. They have araucana eggs (the ones we made our tortillas from) At market five years, Sat, year round.

Bulich Mushrooms – Catskill, NY. An important vendor to remember in winter. At market 23 years, year round.

Hawthorne Valley Farm – Ghent, NY. Bio-dynamic farm, selling cheese, baked goods, meats, and produce. Wed and Sat, year round.

3-Corner Field Farm – Shushan, NY. Raises grass-fed lamb and uses every part. Sells meat, cheese, wool, and soap. Marie always buys her lamb here. The ricotta we ate was from this vendor. At market six years. Watch a video from the farm.

Yuno’s Farm –Bordentown, NY. Maria claims they have the best produce!! It is where she got the peppers for our soup. They are at market Monday and Friday only.

***

Well, shamefully I did not take pictures of the cooking process, the green corn soup (with poblanos and tomatillos), the potato /mushroom/truffle oil tortilla, or our wonderful group. (I was busy being present in the moment!) But here are a couple pictures of some of the finished salads: a rice salad, and a "fruits-and-nuts" chicken salad. And of course the amazing view of Madison Square Park and the Empire State Building.