xzmattzx's Urban Photo Blog

[xzmattzx]

Since my Daily Delaware Photo thread has been a big success, I have decided to make a second thread. This thread will be for my pictures of all of my travels, not just my pictures of the state of Delaware.

I will be using a different format for this thread. In my "Daily Delaware Photo" thread, I posted one picture a day, every day. In this thread, I will be posting periodically, to make it easier on myself and not force myself to find a new, good picture every day. Because I will be using a blog-like format in this thread, it will make more sense to post multiple pictures in each post; that way I can tell a story behind a building, city, or collection of places shown in the pictures.

I hope everyone enjoys my picture collection from around North America as much as they have liked my Delaware pictures.

[xzmattzx]

I will start off my photo blog with some picture of the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Capitol was built from 1793 to 1811, and underwent a few expansions. The large dome was added in the 1850's, and the two larger wings were added at this time as well. The North wing, on the left, houses the Senate, and the South wing, on the right, houses the House of Representatives. On the top of the dome is the Statue of Freedom.

[RaulTampa]

You're off to a great start Matt. I'm a loyal follower of your Daily Delaware Photo so i'm already sure the Urban Photo Blog is going to be great as well. Looking forward to see what you've got for us in 2008!

[Tymel]

Woah, I am definetly going to follow this thread.

[xzmattzx]

For some Delaware flavor, here are pictures of the state capitol and the courthouses of all three counties.

Legislative Hall, Dover (state capitol)



New Castle County Courthouse, Wilmington



Kent County Courthouse, Dover



Sussex County Courthouse, Georgetown




As a bonus, here are pictures of the two former state capitol buildings.

Old Courthouse, New Castle



Old State House, Dover

[Tymel]

Delaware only has 3 counties? I dont think I could ever ever live in a state that small.

Heck the city that I go to all the time is larger than 3 counties.

[xzmattzx]

Yes, just three counties, but I like it that way here. It means that there is less bureaucracy, and things tend to get done or rejected quicker. There doesn't seem to be a lot of hassling about issues, in general.

[Exrexnotex]

Delaware has 3 counties , huh , I didn't know that. Love the pics of the Capitol Building in the snow.

[Audiomuse]

Nice colonial architecture in Dover!

[xzmattzx]

My grandparents have a cottage on Lake Erie near the town of Port Colborne, Ontario. The cottage is about 10 miles west of Buffalo, NY. Here are a few pictures to show the area where I go every Summer to relax and see my relatives.

[Tymel]

Nice, Nice but not really urban

I never really been to a lake, just the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea

[xzmattzx]

Here are a couple random wide-angle pictures of river traffic on the Mississippi from Riverfront Park in New Orleans. I am compiling and uploading my pictures of New Orleans from my recent trip down there, so keep an eye out for the threads.

[xzmattzx]

My grandparents live in the Buffalo, NY, area. I go up to see them every Summer, including going to their cottage on Lake Erie. (You can see pictures of Lake Erie above.) Since I am up in the Buffalo area a lot, I have quite a few pictures of the city. Here are some random pictures from a few years ago.


Statler Building



Buffalo City Hall







Niagara Square



Anchor Bar





Parkside Candy

[xzmattzx]

I will be putting up a few entries showing off the First Ward, a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, that was historically the city's industrial and commercial hub. The Erie Canal terminated at the Buffalo River, which winds its way through the First Ward. Because of this, the estuary became a major grain transfer center, which propelled Buffalo into one of the nation's major cities in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

The Cobblestone District is a section of the First Ward where some streets are paved with cobblestones. The Cobblestone District is planned as a loft and condo area, as well as an entertainment area for after events at HSBC Arena.

[Brisbaner21]

Buffalo seems like a smaller Detroit, but maybe a little worse off.

[gappa]

I actually quite like Buffalo and wished I could have stayed longer than the few hours that I did. Some very nice turn of the century architecture. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Brisbaner21

Buffalo seems like a smaller Detroit, but maybe a little worse off.

Buffalo is similar to Detroit in that both are typical Rust Belt cities that relied heavily on manufacturing and were not prepared when manufacturing became less labor-intensive. Detroit is worse off economically than Buffalo, because the auto industry is also hurting; Detroit is probably in the worst shape economically in the entire U.S. Buffalo is in very bad shape politically, though. In addition to high property taxes and other taxes, unions have a chokehold on a lot of things, much more so than in any given American city. These things strongly discourage businesses to grow or even for people to start new businesses, so the business climate in Buffalo is still worse than many other places in the country. It's a shame, because I like the city, but there seems to be that "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" mentality amongst politicians in New York, and the losers in the whole thing are the taxpayers (i.e. residents).

Originally Posted by gappa

I actually quite like Buffalo and wished I could have stayed longer than the few hours that I did. Some very nice turn of the century architecture. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Buffalo does have more than it's fair share of great architecture. You can see how important the city used to be 75 or 100 years ago from the grand structures still standing.

[xzmattzx]

Staying in the First Ward, we now look at Kelly Island. Kelly Island is a sliver of land between the Buffalo River and the City Ship Canal. Like the rest of the First Ward neighborhood, industrial businesses flourished in the past here.

[xzmattzx]

Here are a few more pictures from Buffalo's First Ward. For more pictures and commentary, click HERE.

[xzmattzx]

Inspired by Taller Better's "Look Up" pictures on page 17 of his "Hot Off Of The Press" thread of Toronto, I am posting some pictures of the details of the tops of various buildings and structures.

I was in Washington, DC, earlier this week, and toured the neighborhoods of Downtown, Chinatown, and Capitol Hill. Here are a few pictures of some of the details on some buildings. No commentary yet, I will have that ready when I make the threads on the respective neighborhoods.


First Division Memorial



Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building



Southern Building



Hotel Washington



Washington Monument







John A. Wilson Building



Warner Theatre



U.S. Capitol