Monday, November 24, 2008

My World #6

This is the sixth posting for the My World meme . It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar,Sandy, Wren, Louise and myself. Last week there were 116 people showing their worlds to us. Won't you join in, I want to see where you live and thrive. Here is part of 'My World'.

I'm going to share two old building in Kent, Ohio on Route 43N. The first is an old six story Franklin Silk Mill built in the 1830's which has been converted from a a mill into businesses and apartments. This was the first water operated silk mill in Ohio and sits directly on the banks of the Cuyahoga River (Ki-a-hoe-ga w/short a's) . This is also directly across the street from the Kent Public Library we visited last week. There was the addition of a garage on the side which is highly decorated in plaster as you will see.
It is very easy to see the difference between the original construction and the present construction.
This is the side view of the garage area.
Here is that decorated part of the garage I had mentioned.


I went around back and took a view of the side. You can see how low the building is to the street.
Please note the large block construction on the base and the brick top. There is a retaining wall along the street and part of it is cut out from natural stone.
If you look down over the hill you see the place in the Cuyahoga River where the Silk Mill received its power.
The second building I want to show you was the original office building for the Franklin Silk Mill built in the late 1830's which is just up the street from the mill. It is now a Franklin Township Hall. James A. Garfield was nominated for State Senate in 1859 in the building. He became the 20Th President of the USA in 1881 and was assassinated after 4 months in office and died two months later at the age of 49 just short of his 50Th birthday. He was the second President assassinated, Abe Lincoln being the first.

It has a neat design with the double chimneys and the copula with the brass top. This is on the opposite side of the street and faces Brady's Leap Park on the Cuyahoga River.

Kent does have some history from when Ohio was a wild land. Ohio became a state in 1803.
Why don't you link in or go visit the rest of the world as shown by my friends.

72 comments:

kjpweb said...

Nice glimpse into your world!
Old and new combined! Cheers, Klaus

Unknown said...

You show very nice and interesting parts of your world. Always a pleasure to read. I like that decorated side of the garage. How come they did that, just for decoration?

Leora said...

I really like the plaster decoration. And the second building evokes a certain quality of America's past. Hard to imagine Ohio as the Wild West.

Warren Baker said...

Those buildings look severe, and austere FG, quite forboding in fact! Good job you put one of the river in, such a contrast, my blood pressure went back down to normal!!

Texas Travelers said...

Great post, photos and lots of history. I loved it.

Troy

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the glimpse of your world! I love the decorations on the building. I wonder what it is made of:)

Cheers,
Yen

Anonymous said...

Thanks for share so beautiful World.
I´m visiting Ohio with you now...!

abb said...

What an interesting piece of "art" on the side of that building! Thanks, I enjoyed my visit.

Sylvia K said...

Really intersting history and great photos! Lovely decorations on the garage! Always interesting to read your comments! Thank you!

indicaspecies said...

That's an interesting post on the Franklin Silk Mill and Township Hall. I like this meme that gives an opportunity to learn from each other at a click of a mouse!

Anonymous said...

Interesting information. Love to know the history of a structure.

The decor on the side of the blg is very nice.

Leslie: said...

Gosh, I really enjoyed this! Awesome photos! :D

Anonymous said...

I like the way they decorated the addition and interesting how the original mill was converted into businesses and apartments. I love seeing old building reused instead of torn down. The original mill office building is great. I love old buildings like that with a lot of history and thanks for sharing the information with us.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting historical post! I like the plaster decorations as well and the lovely view of the Cuyahoga R.

Jane Hards Photography said...

he wall art decoration is very stiking. It's quite unusual.

Jane Hards Photography said...

he wall art decoration is very stiking. It's quite unusual.

Louise said...

Kent has some terrific buildings. I've never seen a silk mill before. (My daughter just commented that she liked your music!)

imac said...

Very interesting post Fishing Guy.
Love the old and new.

Anonymous said...

What great old buildings. Old buildings have so much character. That garage does rather stick out but I sure like the art work on the side of it.

Mary said...

You do have a lot of history there. That decorated garage is rather unique! I think I like it :-) Garfield's house looks nice...I'd like to see inside. I love old houses. We have a wonderful historic one here, but I don't know if they allow photos. Will have to check on that!

Jeanne said...

That building is decorated very cool. The town we used to live in had silk mills back in the day. Many of the buildings are in use much as yours and the resemblence is amazing. The area was part of the underground railroad and looked for other alternatives to the cotton grown in the south.

david mcmahon said...

That's fascinating - and a great wall/ facade.

Anonymous said...

Interesting information about your town and Ohio.
The building is beautifully decorated!

shaker said...

Very interesting and impressive !

Neal said...

Very enjoyable! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Nice view of your world. That's an unusual building and garage. I had no idea there was a silk industry in Ohio.

The Birdlady said...

What a wonderful building!

dot said...

Interesting place. I love the decorated wall.
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

mannanan said...

Thank you again for another interesting post made all the more for me as you mentioned my surname, Brady.I wonder if there are long lost relatives of mine living in your neck of the woods.

SandyCarlson said...

Those old buildings sure are put to good use. Thanks for the tour. Your posts remind me of the way Tom Wigley used to walk us around his part of England. I always felt like I knew the place a little. Thanks for expanding my horizons west.

Mojo said...

I love to see old buildings given a new mission in life. So many of them are simply demolished and replaced because the cost to refit them is prohibitive. I think this may be the only country in the world where that practice is the norm. Thanks for the tour of your world!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

FG, I love seeing 'Your World" in Kent, Ohio. So much history!!! LOVE it!

Unknown said...

Love those designs on the building and that Silk Mill is an impressive structure.

marcia@joyismygoal said...

oh what a wonderful pictorial history those pictures just speak to me

alicesg said...

Nice building design. Your part of the world is lovely.

Carletta said...

It's nice to see they took a couple of historic buildings and saved them while keeping their integrity.
The decorated side seems a little over the top though for the building although it is very nice.
Nice visiting your world.

Unknown said...

That's a pretty informative post on "then and now" of your world.

Guy D said...

Wow those are some fantastic shots of your world. Thanks once again for showing, I'm anxious to see what you've got for us next week.

Cheers!
Regina In Pictures

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Our world is a hard one.
Not only for US Presidents !

MumbaiiteAnu said...

Interesting historical post and lovely pictures. I enjoyed reading it and loved the decoration on the building.
I will soon show pictures of Elephanta Caves, a World Heritage Site on MDS.

Anonymous said...

Greetings from my glimmering world in this moment!
you gave us such a full pack of views about your world, thank you!
We have over 30 centimeters snow and the sun just dropped up and got everything shining outside.
Nice to you!

Jack and Joann said...

Always great photos with lots of neat info. Now I'm going to switch subjects. FG, I went to Old Man Lincoln's blog and his daughter wrote all in caps that he was taken to the hospital with trouble breathing.

I think there is a glass ceiling with blog friends as I think there should be. You don't want to intrude on the family but you do wonder if there is something you can do besides keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Dirkjogt said...

Great pictures of your world, thanks for sharing!

Suffeli kuvailee said...

beautiful place and photos!
have a nice week!

me ann my camera said...

I love older buildings and this one especially with the beautiful 'relief' designs on its side.

??? said...

Thanks for the tour, awesome buildings.

Paul Godin said...

Looks like an area that has a lot of history. Thanks for sharing.

Laura ~Peach~ said...

facinating history ... love the music too :)

Unknown said...

Thanks You for sharing the information,the history and photos.
Thanks also for commenting on my world.
Have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

I love the photos and the history. I would love to see Kent in person, but appreciate your photo tour.

Indrani said...

Truly fantastic shots!
You are doing a great job by hosting this meme.My sincere thanks to you. :)

Shelley said...

I like the history you provide with your great photos!

D Herrod said...

Cool Like the decorations on the building.

Anonymous said...

those are cool looking buildings. I like the first old one best

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a look into your world again. I enjoy my visits.

Anonymous said...

Another interesting and informative post... I'd always prefer to see an old building renovated and made useful again.

Connie T. said...

The art on the garage is really neat. Nice pictures. Thanks for showing them. I liked them and the story.

Anonymous said...

So who came up with the My World meme? I'm intrigued.

Lilli & Nevada said...

This is very interesting, it seems that these developers are very creative in turning mills into either apartments or malls, that is what they did here in Bend, they turned an old mill into a very nice looking mall strips.
I love the last shot of the house with the double chimney

A Colorful World said...

Oh, how wonderful that the Silk Mill is so well-preserved! Is it a Museum now? I am fascinated that silk production was in Ohio! Thank you so much for sharing this! Also, the building is just wonderful! And so is the house...I love historic sites!
Marie

Ivar Østtun said...

Thank you for letting me take part in your world. Great!

antigoni said...

The river looks fantastic. Awesome photos.

Anonymous said...

Those are pretty cool shots. I'm always interested in older buildings.

Bevson said...

I love history and your post gives me not only a glimpse into Ohio history but culture. I had no idea that Ohio had a silk mill. I don't remember learning that in HGO.

Barb said...

How wonderful that these old buildings have been preserved! I love old architecture!

The Good Life in Virginia said...

a good read about the silk factory and history...always enjoy learning about what was in places. thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a post...i plan on fishing next spring...and even thinking of taking up kayaking on the lake...we shall see if that becomes a reality :)
have a good t-day

Coy Hill said...

History is always so interesting. Thanks for sharing a little piece of it along with the images of the old buildings.

Anonymous said...

The old silk mill is an interesting building. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

The decorations bring a lot of life to that building. If only more places could have a personal touch added to them.

Carrie and Troy Keiser said...

Cool buildings and interesting history too! Thanksfor also visiting my world.

Susan said...

Hi, Thanks for your comment on My World. Sorry I am late getting back to you.
So much history in your area. Thanks for the wonderful tour.
We have been known to occasionally get some snow this early in winter. Lucky for us we usually avoid getting much of the white stuff. Here in the Vancouver area we are often refered to as canadas Lotus Land because of our mild temps!

Anonymous said...

I love old buildings-I'm always wishing they could talk and tell me what they've seen over the years. Neat post.