A Walk along the Old Croton Aqueduct – The Keepers House, Dobbs Ferry

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“During the active days of the Aqueduct, overseers in charge of patrolling and maintaining specific sections of this infrastructure vital to New York City were provided with houses on or near the section of the tunnel for which they were responsible. The only one of these houses that survives in its original location is the classic, brick Italianate-designed structure on the trail at Walnut Street in Dobbs Ferry. The Keeper’s House was built in 1857, and was the home of James Bremner, the principal superintendent of the Aqueduct, north of New York City. The house is a contributing feature of the aqueduct trail, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

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Last inhabited in 1962, the Keeper’s House was kept on life support through FOCA’s volunteer efforts and emergency repairs by NYS Parks. Its rehabilitation, which began in 2001, was a collaboration that included the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation and Stephen Tilly, Architect. The shared goal was to apply preservationists’ resourcefulness to return grace and usefulness to a neglected shell. Working diligently to address the project’s unique challenges and striving to meet the highest preservation standards, the team completed the restoration in 2016. Surviving portions of original trim and moldings were refurbished to tell the restoration story. No attempt was made to replicate many missing architectural elements, to reveal the impact of years of use (and neglect) while still displaying the vintage details that affirm the Croton Aqueduct Department’s regard for the superintendent and pride in their history-making enterprise. The successful restoration project was honored at the 2016 New York State Preservation Awards and was the recipient of a 2016 Greater Hudson Heritage Network Award for Excellence”. (Friends of the Old Croton Acqueduct-FOCA).

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This interesting building is directly across the street from The Keepers House. I have no idea if it has any historical significance – probably not. I just liked the way it looked.

Taken with a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji XF 35mm f1.4 R

Finding Beauty: The Life Work of George Tice

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Interesting short (22 minute) interview with George Tice: “… (1938-) an American photographer, best known for his meticulously crafted black and white prints in silver gelatin and platinum, as well as his books, which depict a broad range of American life, landscape, and urban environment, mostly photographed in his native New Jersey, where he has lived all his life, except for his service in the U. S. Navy, a brief period in California, a fellowship in the United Kingdom, and summer workshops in Maine, where he taught at the Maine Photographic Workshops, now the Maine Media Workshops” (Wikipedia).

Mind the gap

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Taken at Scarborough station, Briarcliff Manor, NY as I waited for a Metro North train to take me into New York City.

On the way back I apparently didn’t ‘Mind the gap’ well enough. As I stepped off the train my foot caught on the edge of the platform and over I went. Thankfully apart from a scrape on my forehead no damage was done. I was actually worried about my camera more than myself, but it escaped with with a couple of small scratches on the underside of the lens hood. I can live with that, and anyway lens hoods aren’t expensive to replace.

Taken with a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II