Another Look At Stonework At The Lake Valley Ghost Town

Last fall I ventured by the virtually abandoned ghost town

 of Lake Valley, New Mexico, where I got some photos

of the building above which was the saloon, general store,

 and gas station.

(I first did this post on April 23, 2010 

and I want to highlight some of my older posts that I did in the first year or so of this blog 

that may have been overlooked by current readers.)

Ruins Of San Juan Parangaricutira Church Revisited

A couple of years ago as we traveled through the Mexican state of Michoacan

 we were advised by fellow travelers to visit the Paricutin Volcano. 

I am glad we did.

(Please note this is a post I originally did 12/30/10 

and I want to highlight some of my older posts that I did in the first year or so of this blog 

that may have been overlooked by current readers, hope you enjoy it.)

Old Adobe Buildings In San Ignacio, Baja California Sur

This is the last post on San Ignacio, B.C.S. 

and this time we will look at old adobe houses, mostly in ruins.

The previous post shows some adobes still being used:

Architectural Tour Of San Ignacio, Baja California Sur.

Sadly, I saw no current building with adobe, 

having been supplanted first by fired clay bricks 

and now almost all new construction is cement block. 

As I mentioned in the last post, 

if one had the choice of spending a hot summer in a cool adobe

 or a hot cement block house, 

it seems the choice would be obvious. Hmmm?

In the above well built wall, 

the coursing shows the bricks are laid crosswise for a wider wall.

Anthony Shadid's House Of Stone In Marjayoun, Lebanon

I recently became aware of a set of videos to accompany the new book House of Stone

by the recently departed Anthony Shadid,

which follows his remodeling of the family home in Marjayoun, Lebanon.

To see the whole set click on House of Stone Video Chapters 1-10.

The separate chapters are:

Chapter 1- 3:56 min.- Returning Home,

Chapter 2- 3:41 min.- Excavation,

Chapter 3- 4:05- Revealing Scars,

Chapter 4- 4:07min.- The Tiles,

Chapter 5- 4:49 min.- Renewal,

Chapter 6- 3:52- The Symphony,

Chapter 7- 4:35 min.- A New Identity,

Chapter 8- 3:15min- The Garden,

Chapter 9- 4:31 min.- Surrender and Reinvent,

Chapter 10- 5:29 min.- The End.

(In the above list I cannot find Chapter 3 as a separate video

 but it does show up in the Chapters 1-10 link.)

Anthony Shadid, an American by birth, 

was a Middle East journalist who died tragically last month,

of of an acute asthma attack while on assignment.

These videos provide a fascinating look at the remodeling process

that he goes through in bringing back the family home

 after years of abandonment.

I have not read the book but it looks good.

Enjoy.

La Iglesia Santa Barbara De Santa Rosalia In B.C.S.

One of the more interesting buildings in Baja California Sur,

if not a bit out of place,

is the Iglesia Santa Barbara in Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur.

Architect Focuses On Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Homes

I recently saw the article Architect focuses on Ohkay Owingeh homes

 in the Santa Fe Real Estate Guide, 

a monthly publication of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

The article was authored by the real estate guide's editor Paul Weideman,

who has done a terrific job with the monthly publication,

as well as write articles on architecture.

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo is well over 600 years old 

and lies on the banks of the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico.

What caught my attention was that instead of using grant moneys

 to build new, conventionally built, single family homes,

 as has been done in the past with HUD money, 

the emphasis here is on rehabilitation of existing old adobe homes,

as was noted by the architect Jaime Blosser, 

who has done a groundbreaking job on this project.

As The AIA Santa Fe chapter noted in giving the project an Honor Award

“The brilliance of this plan is that it preserves a national historic treasure, 

not by freezing it in time, 

but by encouraging it to thrive as a natural evolving community.”  

Wow, the concept of letting historical structures

 "thrive as a natural evolving community" (note the word evolving),

must have the historical preservation community up in arms.

You may detect a hint of derision

 towards the preservation police in my comments.

Please read the whole article 

by clicking the first link at the top of this page.

Alcazaba Of Malaga, Spain

While we are missing in action in Baja California Sur

 I want to let you know about some blog posts that I want to acknowledge.

 Jeffrey Bale's World Of Gardens 

is putting out some of the best work in his field in the blogosphere.

Currently he is covering his trip to Spain with tours

 of some amazing historical, artistic, and gardening sites.

His latest post is Alcazaba Of Malaga, (photo above),

is nothing short of amazing. 

Of all the Blogs I Follow section at the bottom of my right side bar

I think Jeffrey is putting out some of the best work 

in terms of in depth design ideas

 and more importantly his willingness to share technique.

He only posts every couple of weeks but boy, 

the content that he puts out.

Please take a moment to check it out.

Henrietta Furnace In Shenandoah County, Virginia

Just down the road from Jerome, Virginia 

lies the Henrietta Furnace for making iron.

These furnaces dot the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley

 and have long intrigued me for their imposing stonework.

Adobes In Ruins In Alamos, Sonora

We happened to notice this old adobe ruins 

along one of our walking routes in Alamos.

Ruins Of The Hillsboro, N.M. Courthouse And Jail

This is the 2nd post on Hillsboro, New Mexico,

the first being: House Styles In Hillsboro, N.M.

This time we will look at the ruins of the old courthouse and jail.

Old Adobes

In the past month or so we have passed by three old adobe houses.

Ruins Of The Governors Mansion

Most every day that we walk into town from our trailer park

 we pass this old ruin and would wonder what is this?

What happened here?

House Of Rain

     Over the holidays, as we were visiting a friend, I picked up the book House Of Rain by Craig Childs and proceeded to read the whole book. An avid reader I don't normally read books but this one grabbed me. Craig tracks the path of the Anasazi across what we now call the American  Southwest and into modern Mexico.

     The reason I bring this up in this blog is that he talks a lot about the physical structures that the Anasazi built, the materials they used, the differences by location and time, and how they changed over the course of their existence. These are, of course, a large part of the record that is left from this extensive culture.

     Craig has many interesting ideas about these people, their history, and what may have happened to them that were new to me. I was not particularly knowledgeable about this field of study but I have much more to think about now as we tour this fascinating part of the world. Check it out.

Stone Ruins At San Juan de Rayas Mine

I am continually intrigued by ruins, there is so much to learn.

What worked, what failed.

And it bares the bones of buildings where we can see the details.

Ruins Of San Juan Parangaricutira Church

A couple of years ago as we traveled through the Mexican state of Michoacan

 we were advised by fellow travelers to visit the Paricutin Volcano. 

I am glad we did.

The Ruins Of Paquime

In the northwestern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua

 is the Pre-Columbian ruins of Paquime.

How Buildings Learn By Stewart Brand

     In a post I did on 2/23/10, The Old Home Place In Ruins I mentioned the book by Stewart Brand called How Buildings Learn - What happens after they're built. There is a companion six part BBC tv series that goes with the book that is available on his web site.

Stonework At The Lake Valley Ghost Town

Last fall I ventured by the virtually abandoned ghost town

 of Lake Valley, New Mexico, where I got some photos
of the building above which was the saloon, general store,
 and gas station.

Besh Ba Gowah

Last month we were in Globe, Arizona to meet some friends

 on their way back north from Mexico and we all decided

 to see the ruins of a Native American pueblo, Besh Ba Gowah,

 that is now part of a Globe city park.

The Old Home Place in Ruins

We were walking around Alamos recently when 

we ran into some ruins of an old building.

(To see a rewrite of this post go to Adobes In Ruins In Alamos, Sonora.)