Sepia Saturday 219: 15 March 2014

Alan says:

We have Wendy Mathias to thank for our Sepia prompt once again this week and she points us in the direction of domes, ceilings, arches, and significant buildings. The dome in question is that of the Reading Room of the Library of Congress in Washington. There is a rather pleasing pattern to the image - which dates from the very beginning of the twentieth century - so you might want to add patterns to the list of possible interpretations. 

If you would like to participate, go here for more instructions.

Customs House Brisbane 1889 courtesy of  State Library of  Queensland

I always find it difficult to find a focus for these themes. I do tend to jump all over the place - hence my blog name - Family Tree Frog.

Possibly the most famous dome in Brisbane where I live is the one belonging to Customs House.  I've been to a wedding there once -  or was it just the reception? Anyway - it's all very swish and hasn't changed much from the photo above. Check out the street view on Google Maps.

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Our own wedding had a bit of a dome...it took place at St Ignatius at Toowong and is very lovely.

1st September 1990 Robert and Alex wedding

Whilst the above photo doesn't strictly fall within the 30 year time frame of what constitutes a sepia photo, I'm sure you'll forgive me for the purposes of the exercise.

Going through my grandmother's album, I found some photos from her journeys overseas of domes and ceilings and the like...

Dubrovnik Cathedral

I'm not sure that my grandmother took these photos.  I suspect she may have bought them at a tourist shop but I might be wrong.

They were taken in the early 70s I think when she started going overseas quite a few times.

The Gallery Monaco Palace

I thought the arches in this photo were rather lovely.

And then of course, there's Venice.

When I went overseas in my youth, I was always fascinated with the architecture in old Europe - so very different from my own country which was relatively young in terms of architecture.  I took photos of things that caught my eye....

From memory, this is the front door to the cathedral in Koln but I'm happy to be corrected.

Last weekend I went to Sydney to see the folks.  We did all sorts of fun things, like going to Luna Park and having a ride on a ferry down the Parramatta River.

Sydney is of course most famous for the biggest arch of them all.  This photo was taken from a restaurant called The Deck near Luna Park.

My folks are architects by profession and have a keen interest in the architectural heritage of cities.  As we moseyed around the harbour, I was told that some of the recent architectural heritage of Darling Harbour is being demolished. i.e. the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.  You can read more about it here.

I was also amazed to see the huge development along the foreshore for the

$6 billion Barangaroo Development.  It will incorporate a new financial district for the city, a casino, residential blocks and parklands.  East Darling Harbour used to be docks and shipyards.  Here's a picture of one of the wharves, featuring of course, some arches.

Wharves on Hickson Road c. 1920 State Records Authority of NSW

I think the photo below is taken on the north side of the bridge near where Luna Park is today...all those houses have gone of course and have been replaced by blocks of units and commercial buildings.

Barbara McLoughlin and friend c1950


The photos below with my mother and grandmother are taken in the Harbourside Shopping Centre at Darling Harbour.  And yes, there is yet another dome.  Taken in the early 80s we thought the centre was  a bit ground-breaking in it's day in terms of design and construction. 

You can see Centrepoint Tower in the distance there on the left - that tall stick next to the building.  I used to work in Centrepoint many moons ago as a waitress at Miss Brown's Tea and Coffee House - iced coffees, toasted chicken sandwiches, waffles - that sort of thing.

Last weekend I was very brave and did the Sky Walk.  Your reward for wearing a very unflattering blue suit is rather spectacular views of Sydney.  Our guide advised us that we were twice as high as the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

 

See that gold bit on top of the stick?  I was walking around the outside of that.

And now you'll forgive me if I show you some non-sepia but very contemporary photos of the State Library of NSW which I took last Sunday.  I was so glad I ignored all the advice that the room was closed.  Yes, it was closed but you could still go in and see it.  I thought I would never see it again.  My maternal grandfather loved this library.  I can understand why.  

Do you remember Tom?

Thomas McLoughlin

The inscription on the wall in the entrance reads:

In Books lies the Soul

Of the whole past time

The articulate audible

voice of the past

When the body

And material substance

Of it has altogether

Vanished like a dream

Google tells me this is a quote from Thomas Carlyle from The Hero as a Man of Letters.

Yet another title to add to the TBR (To Be Read) pile.

Want to see more domes, ceilings, arches or significant buildings?

Click here or tell me what you've seen lately or remember fondly.