Picture in my town
-
@mik said in Picture in my town:
I've seen the one downtown, but not that one.
The one downtown is the water tower. Designed by architect William LeBaron Jenny in the 1870s. In 1913, it burned, destroying the upper part of the tower, the wooden tank and the pump house.
It was rebuilt in the 1920s, keeping much of the original style, and in 2005 a project was undertaken to restore it to its original appearance.
Its appearance as built.
This is what it looks like today, and this photo is from the corner of where my condo is.
The tower, the original pic in this thread...
"The Hoffmann Tower is named after the brewer George Hofmann Jr., who commissioned the tower’s construction in 1908. It was erected on the banks of the Des Plaines River and became the centerpiece of a riverfront recreation area complete with boat launches and picnic groves. Upon its completion, Hofmann Tower was the tallest building in Illinois west of downtown Chicago.
In addition to the tower, Hofmann installed a concrete dam that was supposed to serve a dual purpose. The first was to create water deep enough for the boats, and the other was to create electricity to light the street lamps throughout the park.
After an influx of sewage in the Des Plaines River, attendance faded and the tower was eventually closed. It sat quietly for decades, slowly falling into disrepair. The first floor windows were bricked up, while the rest were removed. The wooden staircases that once took visitors to the roof were gradually destroyed by rain and snow. The building also became a haven for pigeons and other wildlife.
Concerned citizens made an effort to restore the tower to its former glory during the 1970s. It was eventually added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today, the tower itself is closed, but the surrounding area has been developed into a well-manicured river walk.
With all that being said, no one knows for sure why Hofmann built the tower. Some people believe it was a tribute to his wife who passed in 1902. Others say he was inspired by the bridge towers of Germany, his family’s homeland. A common assumption is that he simply constructed the tower as a tourist attraction.
Whatever the reason, the tower has been a source of civic pride for the working class town of Lyons. An image of the tower appears on the town’s seal and welcome signs throughout Lyons are shaped in the tower’s resemblance."
-
@mik said in Picture in my town:
I've seen the one downtown, but not that one.
The one downtown is the water tower. Designed by architect William LeBaron Jenny in the 1870s. In 1913, it burned, destroying the upper part of the tower, the wooden tank and the pump house.
It was rebuilt in the 1920s, keeping much of the original style, and in 2005 a project was undertaken to restore it to its original appearance.
Its appearance as built.
This is what it looks like today, and this photo is from the corner of where my condo is.
The tower, the original pic in this thread...
"The Hoffmann Tower is named after the brewer George Hofmann Jr., who commissioned the tower’s construction in 1908. It was erected on the banks of the Des Plaines River and became the centerpiece of a riverfront recreation area complete with boat launches and picnic groves. Upon its completion, Hofmann Tower was the tallest building in Illinois west of downtown Chicago.
In addition to the tower, Hofmann installed a concrete dam that was supposed to serve a dual purpose. The first was to create water deep enough for the boats, and the other was to create electricity to light the street lamps throughout the park.
After an influx of sewage in the Des Plaines River, attendance faded and the tower was eventually closed. It sat quietly for decades, slowly falling into disrepair. The first floor windows were bricked up, while the rest were removed. The wooden staircases that once took visitors to the roof were gradually destroyed by rain and snow. The building also became a haven for pigeons and other wildlife.
Concerned citizens made an effort to restore the tower to its former glory during the 1970s. It was eventually added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today, the tower itself is closed, but the surrounding area has been developed into a well-manicured river walk.
With all that being said, no one knows for sure why Hofmann built the tower. Some people believe it was a tribute to his wife who passed in 1902. Others say he was inspired by the bridge towers of Germany, his family’s homeland. A common assumption is that he simply constructed the tower as a tourist attraction.
Whatever the reason, the tower has been a source of civic pride for the working class town of Lyons. An image of the tower appears on the town’s seal and welcome signs throughout Lyons are shaped in the tower’s resemblance."
@george-k said in Picture in my town:
With all that being said, no one knows for sure why Hofmann built the tower. Some people believe it was a tribute to his wife who passed in 1902. Others say he was inspired by the bridge towers of Germany, his family’s homeland. A common assumption is that he simply constructed the tower as a tourist attraction.
I'm not sure whether you use the term in the US but in England, we call this kind of construction a 'folly'.
-
@george-k said in Picture in my town:
With all that being said, no one knows for sure why Hofmann built the tower. Some people believe it was a tribute to his wife who passed in 1902. Others say he was inspired by the bridge towers of Germany, his family’s homeland. A common assumption is that he simply constructed the tower as a tourist attraction.
I'm not sure whether you use the term in the US but in England, we call this kind of construction a 'folly'.
@doctor-phibes said in Picture in my town:
I'm not sure whether you use the term in the US but in England, we call this kind of construction a 'folly'.
Kinda like building a coast guard station in West Virginia.
We Americans call that "pork".
-
@Mik said in Picture in my town:
Morning walk? Lovely.
Nah. Just some pics someone posted on FB. These are different days, of course. The second picture shows the bridge from which the first picture was taken.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
-
@Mik said in Picture in my town:
Morning walk? Lovely.
Nah. Just some pics someone posted on FB. These are different days, of course. The second picture shows the bridge from which the first picture was taken.
@George-K Beautiful pictures!
-
@George-K said in Picture in my town:
It was really foggy here last night.
Nice one! Very nice indeed!
-
-
@George-K said in Picture in my town:
Holy shit that's a great one.
Did you trainspot to get that one?
-
@George-K said in Picture in my town:
Holy shit that's a great one.
Did you trainspot to get that one?
@Aqua-Letifer not my picture!
Some guy in my town's FB group posted that.
I live on the BNSF "raceway." There are literally dozens and dozens of trains that pass through here every day. For example, the Metra (which you see in this photo) runs from Aurora to Chicago. There are 44 trains that make that trip, and the same number back west. That's 88 trains.
Add to that a dozen Amtrak trains (California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Carl Sandburg ) for another 6.
We're up to 94 trains a day, and I haven't counted freights headed in and out of the Cicero yards.
I would guess there's about 150 trains a day coming through town.
