Category: Photography
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Save me
In this stylized photo (B&W with a fade to color), we get a fuller view of the Rawleigh’s abandoned manufacturing building in downtown Freeport. The company still exists and has an online presence at https://www.wtrawleigh.com/. They have a slogan, “A Friend of the Family Since 1889.” According to their website, the company is now based…
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Bricks & Glass
Warnings on the exterior doors tell of asbestos and health hazards. Through these shattered windows. you can see a tree growing, metal tanks used for production, and lots of broken glass everywhere. Bricks & Glass, March 6, 2024. Freeport, Illinois.
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Freeport glass company
Downtown Freeport is a bit like stepping back into the 1980s, as the infrastructure from the 50s, 60s and 70s is still very apparent. I couldn’t help but notice the irony of the Freeport Glass Company’s building sitting opposite a large, abandoned factory—and its abundant shattered windows—that will be the photo focus for the next…
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Exit
Today, we’re leaving the hotel, and tomorrow we’ll explore downtown Freeport. Even though it was the middle of the day, this hotel weirded me out. Mattresses were discarded in the dumpster, most of the lower-level windows were boarded up, and the back door was propped open. I wasn’t (and still am not) brave enough to…
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Atrium
The Atrium Restaurant and Lounge offered a variety of per person event options, such as a $28pp “Cocktail Party – Cold” menu that featured Eggplant Caponata, Endive Spears stuffed with Dungeness crab salad, mushroom caps, spiced and seared rare ahi tuna on a cucumber wheel, imported and domestic cheeses, and Norwegian salmon tartare on crostini.…
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Banquet
Today marks the first image in a series focused on Freeport, Illinois. Entering the city along U.S. 20 takes you past a condemned and abandoned motel and banquet center. Unfortunately, it served as a sight of things to come … Banquet. Freeport, Illinois. March 6, 2024
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Noir Log Cabin
Final photo from Galena, Illinois. The bright red neon sign of Log Cabin Fine Foods bathes the street in scarlet. Converting the image to black and white tells a better tale of a calm night on the town.
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Christmas in Galena
Small towns like Galena have a certain je ne said quoi that must be experienced to be described, especially at night after a rain.
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Grant’s home
U.S. General Grant called this place home for a brief period after the Civil War. This historic site offers a nice tour and is worth a visit if you happen to find yourself in Galena, Illinois..
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Abandoned Americana, No. 21
Another vantage of the burnt-out dwelling.
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Abandoned Americana, No. 20
This shell of a farmhouse outside Galena, Illinois, shows the strength of stonework across the passing years.
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Rolling Farmland
The rolling country of northwestern Illinois offers beautiful scenes of Americana, including this one just after a light snowfall.
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Winter Farmscape
Sunrise’s fading blush in the sky provides a warmth to this winter “farmscape.”
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Elegant Fan Palm
The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago is a wonder place to visit, especially when the weather turns cold and dreary. Seen here is a beautiful fan palm, which is much more impressive in person than through a screen.
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Outside the ‘Slaughter Pen’
Fierce fighting and a heroic effort by Union troops in the woods at the left side of this photo saved the day—and the battle—for the Union army.
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Through the Barricade
Barricades have been reconstructed throughout the park and are surprisingly tall.
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Merry christmas
Happy Christmas, everyone. Keeping on the Civil War theme, and interrupting the current series from Stones River Battlefield, is this photo of General Grant’s post-war home in Galena, Illinois. We visited during the holiday season, and the home was decked out in appropriate decorations for the post-war period.
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Markers
This marker for soldier Martin Carrell, Union #5769 of the Ohio Regiment, is small yet impressive. There’s elegance in the simplicity of such a marker, and it’s powerful to see them perfectly arranged and realize how horrific the battle was.
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‘Stone River’ Memorial
Known now as “Stones River,” the eagle-topped monument pictured here says “Stone River.” It’s a beautiful cemetery, and reading about the history—and racism—of this battlefield is illuminating.
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Stones River National Battlefield Series
Over the next few days, I’ll post a handful of photos from my summer trip to Murfreesboro, Tenn., where I toured a Civil War battlefield. This National Park Service facility has a guided audio tour that will describe the events that took place before you, and the visitors center has a small museum that’s worth…