It was inevitable…eventually. But it’s still a shame. The bold, celestial blue panels of the Kaufman’s Building in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia are coming down. They looked great as recently as December 2024, when I covered the building as an architectural novelty. Truth be told, it’s really more of a façade novelty, because the original
Whether by foot or by wheel, the average American encounters a certain red octagon frequently enough that 99% of adults will know what I’m talking about with no additional context. It’s not just that only one commonly occurring icon comes to mind that fits this “red octagon” description—though that’s certainly the case—it the fact
Suburbia of 2026 might feel as middlebrow and car-dominated as it probably did in 1966, even if “suburbanization” was a novel phenomenon back then—a condition just emerging, of which social theorists were not yet fully aware. But the design of residential communities from sixty years ago reveals subtle if powerful differences, judging from the equivalents
As a metro area urbanizes, the old country homes built off of major highways become less appealing as residences and more appealing as commercial entities. This isn’t surprising; the quiet metamorphosis has taken place for decades. A subtle commercial conversion. People don’t want to live directly alongside throngs of fast-moving vehicles if they can help
The designers of the Wilkes Street Tunnel surely didn’t expect that its novelty would someday elevate it into a tourist attraction. For over a century, it was functional infrastructure. But in 2025, what more could anyone call it? After all, it contributed to the economy of Alexandria, Virginia as a segment within an early railway,
I try to avoid articles that are exclusively internationally driven, or even primarily international, as this one is. But it’s hard not to wonder why, after so many years of flying, the overwhelming majority of airports are such massive, closed-off vaults. Given that this is the final port of departure before passengers enter a hermetically
Over the years I have unintentionally amassed photos of quite a few of the states’ capitol buildings, including some of the more obscure, lightly populated ones in remote locations. Yes, I’ve been to Pierre, South Dakota; I’ve stood in front of the state house in Concord, New Hampshire (the humblest of buildings from my recollection).
The last ten days have involved a hiatus from this blog that’s lasted longer than just about any lapse since my Afghanistan days. I have been overseas—and still am—with even more limited Wi-Fi access than I expected, and I didn’t expect much. Therefore, the lapse hasn’t just involved posts, it has included comments, consolidation of
All the contextual evidence suggests that Hagerman, Idaho is a minor city of at least a few thousand people. Viewing a map or aerial, the street grid shows at least forty blocks. People in the metropolis of Boise (almost 100 miles to the northwest) seem to know about the place, at least from my passing
Many, many moons ago, during the breezy period right out of schooling when I lived in Southern Louisiana, I had to evacuate from a hurricane or two. (“Breezy” takes on a new meaning.) Though I was indeed a New Orleans resident during the most ill-fated of hurricanes in anyone’s recent memory—Katrina—I coincidentally was out of
It was inevitable…eventually. But it’s still a shame. The bold, celestial blue panels of the Kaufman’s Building in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia are coming down. They looked great as recently as December 2024,
Whether by foot or by wheel, the average American encounters a certain red octagon frequently enough that 99% of adults will know what I’m talking about with no additional context. It’s not
Suburbia of 2026 might feel as middlebrow and car-dominated as it probably did in 1966, even if “suburbanization” was a novel phenomenon back then—a condition just emerging, of which social theorists were not
As a metro area urbanizes, the old country homes built off of major highways become less appealing as residences and more appealing as commercial entities. This isn’t surprising; the quiet metamorphosis has taken
The designers of the Wilkes Street Tunnel surely didn’t expect that its novelty would someday elevate it into a tourist attraction. For over a century, it was functional infrastructure. But in 2025, what
I try to avoid articles that are exclusively internationally driven, or even primarily international, as this one is. But it’s hard not to wonder why, after so many years of flying, the overwhelming
Over the years I have unintentionally amassed photos of quite a few of the states’ capitol buildings, including some of the more obscure, lightly populated ones in remote locations. Yes, I’ve been to
The last ten days have involved a hiatus from this blog that’s lasted longer than just about any lapse since my Afghanistan days. I have been overseas—and still am—with even more limited Wi-Fi
All the contextual evidence suggests that Hagerman, Idaho is a minor city of at least a few thousand people. Viewing a map or aerial, the street grid shows at least forty blocks. People
Many, many moons ago, during the breezy period right out of schooling when I lived in Southern Louisiana, I had to evacuate from a hurricane or two. (“Breezy” takes on a new meaning.)