Sunday, February 26, 2012

Weekend exploring

We had a special time yesterday and today.  It was an excursion to a place that I haven't visited, except for passing through.  The old Navy Yard was closed in 1996, but there are so many interesting places still there on the 500 acres.  I suppose that you would say it exemplifies the military industrial complex in which millions of dollars were spent from the early 1900's until closure of the base.

The officers houses were especially beautiful.  Sadly, many have fallen into disrepair since the base closed.  Most are listed as historic houses and renovations are underway on some. The area where these houses are located is like a park with beautiful lawns and huge oak trees.  These were from a time when money apparently was no object, and the Navy took full advantage of that.





It's sad that the chapel has fallen into disrepair.  Hopefully, there will be renovations done on it before it is beyond saving. 




And then there are some of the spooky industrial buildings on the base.  Here is the Power House that I found particularly interesting.  These buildings were constructed of the best available materials at the time.  I get the feeling that no expense was spared. 

Improvements have been made in certain areas, including a Riverfront Park which winds along the waterfront and is buffered by acres of green space.  Not many years ago, this base was off limits to the public.  Now, it's nice to see a park and trails that people can enjoy.  After all, tax dollars paid for the facility. 




We walked around the park and then had dinner at a Caribbean/Jamaican restaurant which had a nice ambience: Jazz was playing, lots of art on the walls and a great view of the river and the fountain. 


It was a nice weekend spent exploring a part of the city that we knew little about.  The bars, strip clubs and joints outside the base largely closed down once the military left. The area still has a bad reputation for drugs and prostitution.  If the concept of revitalizing this area into a "green" city can be realized, a lot of historic buildings would be preserved.  It seems the ideal place for a research park, too.  

Anyway,  I wanted to share some photos of what we saw.  This place is fertile for taking hundreds of photos. I like photographing old houses.  I'm sure that I'll be back to go on another photo safari in the near future.  

15 comments:

  1. Amazing architecture -- I hope the greening and renovation plans work out, such a pity to lose that beauty.

    Love how you share your life with us Syd.

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  2. Quite enjoyed this outing. thank you


    Warm Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

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  3. I live near an old deserted navy base. The area is being folded back into the city with trails and removal of toxic materials spread through the area. Hope they dont sell the land it is prime for development.

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  4. That really looks like a small power plant. The one I worked in the boilers alone were 9 stories tall, but then it didn't need to produce all that much. I think you are right though, with all the base closings the military pretty much just leaves , they should be put to a constructive use. Like that one at least has some public space. Most I know of are just allowed to rot back to nothing.

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  5. You may know I'm an Army brat, we lived on bases around the world. At least half of them are closed. My father was an enlisted man, so we usually lived in apartments, but the officers had lavish house as pictured above. When we lived in Ft Leavenworth, Ks, the prisoners there maintained all officer housing (painting, yard work, etc). The higher the officer rank, the more prisoners he had working in the yard!

    Great pics, enjoyed this trip with you.

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  6. I am glad the US didn't spare expense when we were trying to win WWII. And I am glad the men who put their lives on the line came home to some kind of privilege.

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  7. MC, I think that most of the families who came home didn't live in these quarters. I am not a military brat so this was new to me. But I do believe that WWII was the last war that was really about something to do with the greater good in this country.

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  8. those old homes are stunning. can you imagine living in one? so big, you'd never find your partner, and you could roller skate. LOL

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  9. I love being a tourist in my own area. It's a cool thing to do and you learn a lot. Beautiful photos, Syd.

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  10. I enjoyed your adventure. Thanks so much for all of your kind comments on my blog this weekend :)

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  11. nice...thanks for taking us along on this journey...would be a pretty cool place to poke around...

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  12. Beautiful, looks like you had a great time! I love photography myself! You took some amazing pictures!!!

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  13. Thanks for letting us in on your exploration! These homes and buildings are amazing, I hope they can be preserved.

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  14. Great photos! I love adventures like that in our own backyards! I find the history of these old buildings fascinating. The stories they could tell!

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