tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post6923854674000410220..comments2024-03-28T17:55:31.180-04:00Comments on The Gossips of Rivertown: An Unidentified Object on Parade HillCarole Osterinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-86555533828665592952013-09-02T09:03:20.798-04:002013-09-02T09:03:20.798-04:00I save the image to my computer and view it using ...I save the image to my computer and view it using Picasa (a free application downloaded from Google). I allows me to magnify the image, but the quality of the original scan or photo limits the quality of the enlargement. These images are pretty good to start with, so some of the smaller details are still sharp when magnified.Michael O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195595581971780000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-22907880315714618872013-09-01T18:17:50.737-04:002013-09-01T18:17:50.737-04:00That N & S is clear on the third and most vert...That N & S is clear on the third and most vertical image that Gossips provided. Great catch Michael! I'm amazed at the wooden benches. The park must have been in a transitional phase.Chad Wecklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15721057452000779552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-76858501176521872492013-09-01T18:08:28.791-04:002013-09-01T18:08:28.791-04:00None of the above.
He was the one who placed it ...None of the above. <br /><br />He was the one who placed it there.<br /><br />(Sorry MO'H, I couldn't resist!)unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-42066428849354568862013-09-01T17:51:27.599-04:002013-09-01T17:51:27.599-04:00"By George, I think he's got it!"
Ho..."By George, I think he's got it!"<br />How did you discern this? By electronically enlarging in something like Photoshop, or just using a better magnifying glass?Clown Townhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082709830262937971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-91048049674629384912013-09-01T16:47:49.775-04:002013-09-01T16:47:49.775-04:00Michael--That's so interesting. In the 1898 ar...Michael--That's so interesting. In the 1898 article I make reference to, it is reported that the Common Council has been quoted a price for a flag pole with a weather vane and without one. Carole Osterinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-76555051440586827722013-09-01T16:47:27.291-04:002013-09-01T16:47:27.291-04:00I suggest this tower is a public weather station, ...I suggest this tower is a public weather station, designed to be viewed from a distance to allow residents to know the wind direction and speed at the riverfront at a glance.<br />The tower has a weather vane on the very top, with the (very large) letters "S", "W" and "N" visible. Below the vane is a horizontal axis wheel with tags or vanes. The wind would have spun the wheel and the tags would have made the wind speed visible to the observers.Michael O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195595581971780000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-39794188945161094142013-09-01T16:34:35.642-04:002013-09-01T16:34:35.642-04:00I see a weather vane on the very top of the tower ...I see a weather vane on the very top of the tower (notice the S and N) and a horizontal axis wheel (looks about 4 feet diameter), which may have been a wind speed indicator.Michael O'Harahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195595581971780000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-18866297147430601132013-09-01T15:03:04.219-04:002013-09-01T15:03:04.219-04:00Using some reasonable magnification from a profess...Using some reasonable magnification from a professional-grade glass, the structure supporting the vertical piece is open to the ground, and seems to have a fence around it...so I'd veto the teahouse notion. Are there aerial or bird's-eye map views which might explain more?Clown Townhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082709830262937971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-33575122699992501592013-09-01T15:02:16.343-04:002013-09-01T15:02:16.343-04:00I reckon not, Vincent. That was destroyed before t...I reckon not, Vincent. That was destroyed before the invention of photography.unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-82299241877912562602013-09-01T14:27:26.839-04:002013-09-01T14:27:26.839-04:00According to Byrne Fone, a flag was flown at the s...According to Byrne Fone, a flag was flown at the site up until 1835, the same year the park was officially named "Parade Hill." <br /><br />Viewing the image stereoscopically (as intended) brings it to life in 3 dimensions. First enlarge the image on your screen, then lean back and gently cross your eyes until left and right overlap.<br /><br />Notice that the benches were originally in a more openly social position, across from the precipice and wide open to passersby. I'd imagine that this was a result of the beautification effort that took place in the park in the early 1830s, around the time of Tocqueville's first visit to America. (The democratic positioning of the benches would not have been lost on Tocqueville).<br /><br />Today the benches are on the other side of the path, immediately facing the rail. But if landscape viewing is ridiculously obscured for sitters, at least we're spared the social interactions of a disintegrating society!<br /><br />I'm being facetious of course. Whoever sited the benches across the path from their original positions was an aesthetic imbecile and a planner with no sense of history and the shallowest of social aptitudes. Who else would we put in charge of such things?!<br />unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-42455005395838055692013-09-01T14:21:22.980-04:002013-09-01T14:21:22.980-04:00Would that be the octagonal tea house with observa...Would that be the octagonal tea house with observation deck and pole sticking up from the middle?Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05548912912359709568noreply@blogger.com