One of my favorite activities of the Christmas season is driving around the area and gazing in wonder at the holiday decorations and colorful displays. I’m inspired by how ordinary facades and front yards are magically transformed into theatrical stages, the temporary settings for someone’s imaginative and light festooned play. Porch railings dazzle with white…
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The Glens Falls Bank opened in 1851, making it the first bank in Warren County. In 1864, the fire that destroyed 112 buildings in Glens Falls also destroyed the bank. They rebuilt following the fire and re-opened as the Glens Falls National Bank in 1867. Only a few years later, this bank would be home…
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“Architecture is the biggest unwritten document of history.” — Daniel Libeskind It doesn’t take much effort to love architecture when you consider it to be beautiful. It makes both the motivation to learn more about a building’s history, as well as the desire to save it should it be neglected, much easier. But what if…
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Most of us are probably familiar with the old saying “your home is your castle”. During the late Victorian period, many architects wanted to make your home look like one as well…at least sort of. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the architectural style known as Queen Anne swept America. Although named after Queen…
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“…each time I tried a pair of shoes on I got to step on a fluoroscope machine and see my feet and toes inside of the shoes.” – John F. Abess M.D. (on why he enjoyed shopping at Van the Shoe Man, from A Good Place to Live) Shopping for shoes is not something children…
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Recently, I posted an image on our Instagram account @chapmanmuseum of the Kiley’s sign on the northwest corner of Elm and South St. Several people recognized and commented on it. Judging from the likes and messages, this wall painting has a fan club. The funny thing about signs is that they can transcend their role…
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