A birthday brings thoughts about the unconventional

conceptual image of a pre-fab house in a field

I’m always glancing at Zillow and looking at different real estate options … one desire I have is to live near the ocean, but as I look, the prices and quality of housing options are always discouraging. There was recently a home with potential in Neptune City, NJ, which was within walking distance of both … Read more

Architecture in Minneapolis: The Armory Building

The Minneapolis Armory Building

I was in Minneapolis for the Christmas holiday, and took a venture downtown to look around. I didn’t have a particular destination, I was just walking around as it had been a long time since I had been downtown despite several recent visits to Minnesota to visit family. At any rate, I walked by this … Read more

The Chapel of Maria Santissima Di Montevergine

Chapel of Maria Santissima di Montevergine in Haverstraw, NY

This blog post is a continuation of my previous post titled “A road trip with no end destination in mind,” in which I hopped in my car and headed north along 9W and the Hudson River, looking for new places to explore. I left the story at the point where I was in Haverstraw, NY, … Read more

Drawn to empty spaces with the ideas of an art gallery

storefront art gallery McKinney Arts

I’ve had a habit – for maybe 30 years now, dating back to when I lived in NYC – of seeing an empty storefront or building and wondering to myself: would that make for a good art gallery space? Considering I had a storefront gallery on East 11th Street in the late 1990s (see more … Read more

First National Bank Building in Cooperstown

Detail of Victorian Romanesque architecture in Cooperstown

As I was walking down Main Street in Cooperstown on my Memorial Day weekend visit, I noticed these gorgeous details on a building there. It’s marked as the First National Bank Building, but is currently being used as the home for a number of smaller and different businesses, including the Heroes of Baseball Wax Museum … Read more

History and art after a weekend in Cooperstown

The Oliver Corey House in Cooperstown

I enjoyed a visit to Cooperstown over the Memorial Day weekend, and stayed in a B&B called The Menagerie at the Corey House (now closed, unfortunately). For the sake of disclosure, it was owned by long-time friends of mine, but I wanted to write a bit about my own curiosity for a better understanding of … Read more