Architectural Beauty tainted by evil

The Castle Apartments in Waterloo, Iowa are a beautiful piece of architecture having been built in the early 1910's. Sadly the unique structure was tainted when a young girl was murdered by her neighbor who then stashed her body in the attic space before being caught by police.

The buildings have been empty for years and are scheduled to be torn town at some point.

Veterans Memorial Hall in Waterloo, Iowa

Veterans Memorial Hall in Waterloo, Iowa during a late January snow storm.

Sorry, can't catch the train here.

This tiny train station no longer has passengers boarding trains and in fact no longer has tracks near it but is still serving the public as the Moscow, Michigan Township Hall. The tiny township is located on US Highway 12 between US Highway 127 and Interstate 69.

The Church and the Corn Field

A church stands along side a corn field in a quintessential Iowa image in a photo taken on a rural road outside of Waterloo, Iowa.

Character

The First United Methodist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. As the old saying goes...they don't build them like than anymore.

Mother Nature Takes Over

An abandoned fast food restaurant in Vinton, Iowa.

Still going strong...

The Carnegie Library in Charles City, Iowa has been repurposed as the Charles City Art Center.

Phallic Water Tower

The Phallic Water Tower in Ypsilanti, Michigan sits across the street from the south side of Eastern Michigan University. There is a legend that if a girl ever graduates from the school a virgin the tower will crumble.

Endangered Church at Sunset

Voted one of Iowa's most endangered buildings for 2017, the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Waterloo glistens in the light at sunset. The church has some series deferred maintenance issues and the pastor of the church is using is pension to keep the building up the best he can. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dunsmore House in Waterloo, Iowa

One of Waterloo, Iowa's most endangered buildings, the Dunsmore House is the oldest Limestone building in the city and possibly the third oldest building in the city (built in 1866).

City Hall in Pasadena, California

You have probably seen this building in a movie or tv show including Parks and Recreation. Historic Pasadena, California city hall.

Church at sunrise

St. John's Catholic Church in Independence, Iowa at sunrise.

Historic H.J. Fitzgerald Home Charles City Iowa

Beautiful classic revival house built in 1903.

Tillamook Naval Air Station Administration Building

Tillamook Naval Air Station Administration Building, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Besides photography I have several interest including Urban Design, Architecture, Historical Buildings, and history itself. I see a building like this I can just see possibilities for it.

This building is part of the Tillamook Naval Air Station that is best known for its giant blimp hangers from WWII that currently houses the soon to move Tillamook Air Museum. The Blimp hanger itself has a clouded future as it needs millions of dollars for upgrades.

This building served as the Administration building for the Station and you can just image the history within these walls. Hopefully its future is brighter than its more famous cousin but we shall see.

You might want to visit this and the museum before they are gone.

Chicago Union Station-What the public doesn't see...

Chicago Union Station tour, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

Back in April I spent a week in Chicago to attend the American Planning Association conference.

On the final day of the conference I was part of behind the scenes tour at Chicago Union Station.

One of the rooms that we went into were once the woman's restroom and lounge which is now used for storage and a prep are for caters and others that work the special events that are held at the station.

You could see the beauty that this room once had with the murals and the decorative ceiling. While the ceiling had been damaged in the late 50's/early 60's by the installation of a lowered ceiling, you can see still the beauty that was once there.

Hopefully someday this section of station will be restored.

Lovely home in Portland Heights

Home in Portland Heights,, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

This lovely home sits in the Portland Heights area of Portland. Many of the homes in this area are very lovely but I love the classic architecture of this particular home.

Auto Mart on State Street

Auto Mart on State Street, a photo by Dornoff Photography on Flickr.

I have passed this building for many years and always liked the unique design of the building.

While I dislike the business practices of these "buy here, pay here" lots, still can like the building.

Character

House in Olympus Cove
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Yesterday I had a couple of hours to kill so I decided to take a drive and see what I could find to photograph.

While driving around I found myself in the Olympus Cove area of Salt Lake City which lies to the east of Interstate 215 the eastside belt.

Olympus Cove is an interesting mixture of older homes that date anywhere from the 60's? to Mcmansions that have been going up in the area.

I spotted this house and had to take a picture of it. This home has so many interesting architectural details including the curved main level. Even back then there was plenty of boring tract homes being built but only a few really seem to have "character". You have to wonder in this age of "Wal-Mart" homes, will any of them live to say they have "character" in 40 or so years. I doubt it.

Marlin Hotel in Miami Beach

Marlin Hotel
Originally uploaded by Dornoff Photography

Remember in the film days, you would have that roll of film that you meant to get develop for some time but it just seemed to sit and sit way beyond the expiration date?

Well with digital photography we do not have to worry about expiration dates anymore but there still seems to be those photos that just sit and sit and then one day after much procrastination you finally decide to do something with them.

Well that is where this photo comes from. In November, 2007 I did a presentation at Railvolution which was being held in Miami Beach that year. I did my presentation on Saturday November 3rd and by noon I had the day to myself.

My hotel was outside downtown Miami so since I had taken the bus over to Miami Beach, I figured I might as well just take a nice walk around the area and get some pictures.

First of all I look way out of place because I did not bring a change of clothes with me and I was still in my suite (at least I was smart enough not to wear the coat!)

Here is one of the pictures I captured that day which is of the Marlin Hotel that sits on Ocean Blvd. As many of you probably know I love to take pictures of transportation but one of my other interest is architecture and Art Deco has to rate at the top so I was in heaven during my Miami Beach stay.

You can see more of my photos on my Facebook or Flickr pages (there is more on Facebook).