That night we were back in Houston. I had one more full day before flying back to Boston. We headed south to Galveston. Harold thought I might be interested in the beach. Instead I found more architecture! One day wasn't enough. I'll be back! |
During that morning we realized we were seeing lots of buildings with corner entrances. It became a game to find these buildings as we were driving though the small towns in Kansas. Interestingly enough, most of the ones we thought were worth notice were described in the book I had with me. Made the trip even more fun to know something about the buildings. |
This is my friend, Harold. He was one of the first people I met after I moved to Springfield, MA from Sacramento, CA way back before the dawn of time. We lost touch after I moved to Boston, but got connected again a few years ago. We were good friends, but often disagreed. During the last two and a half years our interest in architecture brought us together more often that not. That and a love of cruising around just for fun. Duck, Harold! Kamakazi birds! LOL!!! This picture was taken 4/97 at a motel in Arkansas City, KS. It was the first night of a ten day architecture odyssey. Harold lived in Houston at the time. I flew in, picked him up and we headed north. My primary goal was the Ames Monument in WY, the last H.H. Richardson project in the US that I hadn't visited. Along the way we sought out Richardsonian architecture in Kansas (and found a couple Wrightian buildings for Harold, as well as an actual F.L.W.). After WY we headed south to Denver, stopped in Golden (for the Coors tour - at 10AM!), Colorado Springs (see more of Harold-in-a-cave!), Taos & Roswell in NM, then to San Antonio (ostriches!), with stops between those stops! The last day of our trip was spent in Galveston. |
This is my friend, Harold. He was one of the first people I met after I moved to Springfield, MA from Sacramento, CA way back before the dawn of time. We lost touch after I moved to Boston, but got connected again a few years ago. We were good friends, but often disagreed. During the last two and a half years our interest in architecture brought us together more often that not. That and a love of cruising around just for fun. Duck, Harold! Kamakazi birds! LOL!!! This picture was taken 4/97 at a motel in Arkansas City, KS. It was the first night of a ten day architecture odyssey. Harold lived in Houston at the time. I flew in, picked him up and we headed north. My primary goal was the Ames Monument in WY, the last H.H. Richardson project in the US that I hadn't visited. Along the way we sought out Richardsonian architecture in Kansas (and found a couple Wrightian buildings for Harold, as well as an actual F.L.W.). After WY we headed south to Denver, stopped in Golden (for the Coors tour - at 10AM!), Colorado Springs (see more of Harold-in-a-cave!), Taos & Roswell in NM, then to San Antonio (ostriches!), with stops between those stops! The last day of our trip was spent in Galveston. |
The next morning we set off. I had a guide to Kansas architecture with lots of bookmarks in it. I had a couple stops to make in Arkansas City. On the way to the first building on my list Harold noticed the building above. It's the Christian Science Center. I don't know anything else about it, but the windows contain panes of milk glass. One of my favorite pictures from our trip. Later that morning we were in Wichita. |
Harold, at right, is standing in the courtyard of the Education Building at Wichita State University, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright & Taliesin Associates in 1959. Harold was a big fan of Wright. |
During that morning we realized we were seeing lots of buildings with corner entrances. It became a game to find these buildings as we were driving though the small towns in Kansas. Interestingly enough, most of the ones we thought were worth notice were described in the book I had with me. Made the trip even more fun to know something about the buildings. |
This page was last updated on: May 9, 2002
This is early in the morning on top of Lookout Mountain in Golden, CO. |
Later the same morning, after the Coors tour. |
Left: Waiting for the next tour of the Molly Brown House in Denver. Our guide turned out to be from Harold's old neighborhood in Hartford, CT. They went to the same high school, but missed each other by a couple of years. It really is a small world sometimes. |
Right: I think Harold's heart skipped a beat when he looked down this ramp. He wasn't real keen on visiting Cave of the Winds (Manitou Springs, CO) in the first place. I got assurances from the people there that Harold could maneuver through the cave without problem. It took some urging, but he agreed to take the tour. |
Left: Because the tour group was so large, Harold & I ended up getting a tour of our own with new tour guide, Jeremy. This is Jeremy's first solo tour. He's just about ready to graduate from high school when this picture was taken. He's never seen the ocean. I was reminded of how much I take the ocean for granted here in Boston. For so many years Boston has turned its back on the waterfront. That's been changing lately. Lots of new development along the water since the harbor's been cleaned up. I often think of Jeremy when I go past Dorchester Bay and wonder if he's made it to the ocean yet. |
Suck it in, Harold! |
Left: The next day we were at the Taos Pueblo, in NM. Next stop, Roswell. |
It's a beautiful drive from Taos to Roswell, thru Sante Fe and then miles of open desert. Rarely saw a car for miles at a time. We didn't have a reservation in Roswell, since this was April and not high tourist season. Turned out NATO was playing war that week in and around Roswell. Got the last room at the 3rd or 4th place we stopped at. Next morning stood in line to get into the UFO museum. I did what?!? Lots more people than I expected. Well, Harold got a neat t-shirt there, anyway. |
Left: It wasn't enough to drag Harold through just one cave. This is at Carlsbad Caverns. Unfortunately, we got there too late to take the whole tour. We had to take the elevator down to the big room. I think Harold has had enough of caves for this lifetime! |
After Carlsbad we headed east and into TX. The next day we were in New Braunfels, near San Antonio. I was on the prowl for German food and found it here. After a great lunch we headed into the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. Basically, you drive up to a window, pay a fee, get animal food pellets, then drive through the property looking at and feeding animals. |
Now, I'm going to tell you a secret. Something I didn't know about Harold until this trip. Did you notice the reference to the kamikaze birds? All along our route birds would swoop in front of us, so close that we knew one would eventually become one with the car. Harold was always a little nervous when this happened. Turned out when he was a child an owl flew into the family car's front grill during a night drive. His mother's reaction upset Harold, to say the least. Consequently, whenever a bird gets close Harold tends to flinch. OK. See the ostrich above? Harold was not happy at all to see several of them waiting for us as we entered the wildlife area. Especially when they came right up to the car! Harold made me move on. It was fun driving through and feeding the animals. As you can see, some of them were quite "friendly." I decided to drive through again. This time there was some traffic ahead of us and we came to a stop. Ostriches were being fed a few cars ahead of us. While Harold's attention was focused up front, I noticed an ostrich off to his right taking a look at us. I lowered Harold's window without him noticing. The ostrich started trotting toward us when it noticed the window going down. I still laugh when I remember Harold's reaction! Remember the T.Rex in Jurassic Park when it peered into the jeep? That's what it was like with the ostrich. Harold couldn't get the window up fast enough! Then the ostrich lowered its head and turned one way and the other, peering into the car. ROFL!!! Sorry, Harold! It's just too funny a story not to tell! A classic! Below: The O.Rex approaches the vehicle. |
That night we were back in Houston. I had one more full day before flying back to Boston. We headed south to Galveston. Harold thought I might be interested in the beach. Instead I found more architecture! One day wasn't enough. I'll be back! |
By the first of the next year, Harold was back in MA. In the fall of 1998 we did a two day Hudson Valley trip. This is my picture of Harold taking a picture of Lyndhurst, in Tarrytown, NY. Lyndhurst was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis for William Paulding in 1838. First completed in 1842, the house has expanded over the years. In 1864 George Merritt bought what was then known as Knoll. The house was nearly doubled in size following plans by Davis. Merritt called the house Lyndenhurst. In 1880 Jay Gould bought the property and changed the name once again, this time to Lyndhurst. |
Harold died the night before Thanksgiving 1999. He'd had a couple of strokes, the most recent the previous summer. He was overweight, had high blood pressure, and was also a diabetic. Like many men his age he didn't want to think about his own mortality. And so didn't always follow his doctor's advice. We gave him hell about it. But he was an extremely independent person. Didn't want anyone fussing over him. And he was more private that many knew. It's only now that I realize that I didn't know as much about him as I thought. He apparently didn't have any close family. Just today we learned that he had relatives living nearby. He didn't leave a will, even though he knew he should have one. His personal phone book, though battered and tattered, contains only a few addresses and numbers. Harold always went out of his way to make new friends. That they didn't always reciprocate his attention didn't bother him much. He knew there would always be something new around the next corner, a new acquaintance, a new building, hopefully a new friend. A new on line friend of mine (from Uruguay) who only knew Harold through this page said to me: I guess he'll be shaking hands with FLW by now - and dodging all those feathered creatures! Thanks, Pablo. I know Harold would be ROFL if he read that. I will miss you Harold. I'm sorry that I never told you often enough how much I appreciated your friendship. |
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