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...instead he made it look like a fake stone and concrete Disneyland ticket booth.
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Appears I've stirred up some fuss and feathers with my casually thown out link.
Ah.... But frankly, there are times in life when a Disneyland ticket booth may be the best thing you've got going. Lal - you and davem are fortunate to have the real thing not too far from your doorstep.....genuine thatch, and wattle and daub....certainly better than what this builder has done. Some of us are not so lucky. Certainly, folk in Pennsylvania do not have access to such wonders. (You can find some great Amish barns still standing yonder--the "real thing" by local standards, but if your heart beats to another drum you've got problems.) And from my time living in that neck of the woods and knowing the work of local historical/restoration groups, my guess is that the 18th century wall was already disintegrating into a pile of barely usable rubble or was about to be obliterated by another builder. Local restoration is my thing. Right now I'm in one group that's battling to save one of the oldest theaters in the southwest, and another that's trying to uncover and restore cottages of the earliest freedmen who settled in Houston following the civil war. Unfortunately, neither group is having great success. A lone wall would probably find the going even tougher.
Kitschy this domicile may be, but it's got to be better than the same old, same old stuff that lines the streets of my own blah urban neighborhood. No wattle and daub in sight. No forays into modernism either. Very dull and conforming. For the past few days, our family's been dealing with some tough, tough decisons about a family member who can no longer live on her own. I could frankly use an hour or two sitting in that library and letting my brain unbend. It's got to be better than my cluttered kitchen table!
Nogrod -- As to the pricetag attached....of course you're right. My dad was a labor organizer; my grandfather a miner. I have definite sympathies in that direction. But neither of us can truly change the ways of the world or people's ultimate priorities. So I will keep poking about on the internet and searching out such architectural oddities. Whoever built that thing at least had to have one spark alive in his/her heart, not to be content with the "usual".
And now....another link. A soothing link with music, which will hopefully be an improvement over my last offering. Ted Nasmith has recently come out with a CD of Tolkien inspired music. Here's a sample of the thing concerning Queen Beruthiel:
ADC There's also info on this in Nasmith's website. Just scroll down to
The Hidden Door CD,
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Boo,
The first time I saw you on the site, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your name! I am a great admirer of Scout and Boo.
As to how ancient we are on this site and in this forum....well, I suppose that varies from one person to the next. I was a teenager in the early to mid-sixties when I first read Tolkien. I've been reading and collecting ever since in between the normal joys and headaches of life. I'm not sure if that qualifies me for an obituary in your eyes!