Ready For Launch

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This boat at Quincy's Marina Bay will be set in the water as soon as the tide is high enough. This blah gray sky has persisted this past week around here. I will have a renewed appreciation for the return of color above the horizon. Happy "Skywatch Friday" everyone and click here for more colorful skies from around the world.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This handsome 1910 colonial house, with a gambrel roof line, is on the corner of Monroe Rd. and Fairmount Way on Hospital Hill. You get two views of today's post which could also be called "this old tree" day. The tree must be a couple hundred years old and growing moss on its bark like crazy during this rainy stretch. It dwarfs the house and is magnificent to see up close. (For authenticity, I left the rain drop spots on the first picture . . . truth be told I just noticed them while post processing.)

July Theme Day: "Empty"

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It's the first of the month and that means "Theme Day" in the City Daily Photo blog community. I chose to illustrate this month's theme (empty) by showing colorful but empty classroom furnishings in a local school. Most of Quincy's schools have emptied out for summer vacation which lasts about 10 weeks!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

A Grey Calm

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This tranquil scene is near the yacht clubs at Wollaston Beach.


Quincy Daily Photo received the Pixel Perfect Award today!
This prestigious award is given to a photo blogger who exhibits exceptional photographic skills in terms of artistic creativity, composition, sharpness and exposure. Thank you Jacob and Lois Anne from Ocala Daily Photo, I am truly honored. -Slim

Fog and Steel

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The Fore River bridge connects Quincy with the neighboring coastal town of Weymouth. The vertical lift bridge looks a bit eerie as the late afternoon sun penetrates a fog bank. Click here to view more "Monday monochromes".

. . . And Hope

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A fellow blogger from Tehran is missing and has not posted since June 17th. We hope that this blogger is safe and will be able to share that part of the world with us again soon. The city daily photo community has set aside today to show support for this missing blogger and others who have run into difficulties for taking photos of public events in public places. Click here to view more participants of this theme.

Both these images were captured at the rock garden aside the Faith Lutheran Church.

Shifting Sands

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Wollaston Beach is getting some maintenance work done in anticipation of the summer beach goers.

The Clearing

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The storm clouds are finally clearing over the Church of the Presidents in Quincy Center. This image was captured from the top of the "T" garage for "Skywatch Friday". Click here to see more skies from around the globe.
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Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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The porches are both so inviting on this handsome colonial home on Presidents Hill. The dark colored paint on the clapboards makes the turnings on the balusters really stand out. Now if only the rain and drizzle would stop long enough for those porch rockers to dry off . . .

Rose In Bloom

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The weather has been so dreary lately that I had to brighten the day with this pink beauty that I captured a few days ago. Make sure you stop and smell the roses.

Worker Series

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Meet Bryan Egan, who along with his brother Greg, owns and operates Egan's Sunoco on Adams Street. Bryan and Greg took over the family business when their father retired in 1982. They are a full service gas station, state inspection station and will fix and maintain your car. They have employed many young people over the years including their own children.

Bryan noted that there used to be 9 gas stations located along Adams Street between Lakin Square and Furnace Brook Parkway; now there are 3. One of the reasons Egan's Service Station survives is because of the friendly, honest, top quality service they render to customers like me who keeps a car for many years beyond its warranty. One of my family cars is 13 years old . . . what year car do you drive?

Concrete and Metal

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This pile of concrete rocks and wire is what remains of Quincy's Center For Technical Education. The pole lights in the background are turned on at night for the public tennis courts located behind the rubble. I think this image really lends itself to a monochrome image. Click here for more black and white from other Monochrome Maniacs.

Our Fathers

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This tranquil setting is the outdoor sanctuary at Faith Garden.

Today is the day our country set aside to celebrate and honor good and caring fathers. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. In Sonora's eyes, her father was a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. That is also the year that my father was born. This one's for you, dad.

Happy Father's Day, all!

Remnants

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This steel framework is one of the many remaining structures being dismantled at the former Quincy Shipyard site. At one time there were 32,000 workers working in this "yard". Neighboring residents knew the time of day by the shift whistles that blew day and night.

Fore River Rail

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The leading line is a shiny rail belonging to the Fore River Railway. This 2-mile freight line operates between Quincy Point and Braintree. It saw lots of action when this was a thriving shipbuilding area which peaked during World War II. Click here to see more rail car pictures. Some tank cars and old shipyard scaffolding can be seen in the background. Much of this 111 acre industrial site is being cleaned up and is not open to the public. I will share more images and history from this famous Quincy site in the weeks to come.

I am also posting this on the "Skywatch Friday" site as this blue sky was a rare treat in Quincy over the past few weeks. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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Today's handsome Greek Revival building was designed by Quincy's renowned architect, Solomon Willard, in 1826. Today's house is the Norfolk County Superior Courthouse in Dedham; the highest court in Quincy's County of Norfolk and is the location of the famous Sacco-Vanzetti murder trial in the 1920s. Today's "Old House" is a departure from my usual Thursday post because I am performing my civic duty here and thought you would enjoy the Quincy connection.

Have you ever served on a jury? It is interesting to see first hand how our justice system works.

Among the Rocks

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It's amazing what can grow in seemingly adverse conditions like this healthy looking succulent in a rock garden.

Mall Shadows

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This image was captured on planet earth at a local shopping mall. The skylights made for some "out of this world" shadows for this Monochrome Monday post. Click here for more black and white images from Monochrome Maniacs everywhere. Have a great week!

QFD

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The second Sunday in June is a day set aside in the United States to remember deceased firefighters. This is Quincy's Firefighter Memorial located in Quincy Cemetery, across from the Police Station. Firefighters are public servants in every sense of the word. The men and women who pursue this calling are compassionate and giving and put their lives on the line for us without notice. Thank you!

Readers' Paradise Revisited

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This is the owl and book relief gracing the Romanesque style archway into the Thomas Crane Public Library. It's fine free month; fines are going to be increased beginning July 1st. Follow the rules and it's still the best deal in town!

Twilight Shopping

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No crowds + no lines + no traffic = my favorite time to go grocery shopping. I like the way my favorite local supermarket, Roche Bros., looks at twilight with the different tones of light. Do you have a favorite time to shop for groceries?

You can see more Friday skies from around the world by clicking here. Enjoy!

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This 13 room newly constructed home on historic Adams Street is for sale for just under 1.5 million dollars. It doesn't exactly fit the "Old House" category but all the houses surrounding it do. No expense was spared on this luxurious Mediterranean style home whose original owners made their money in some dubious, criminal fashion. The home was seized as part of their assets and is now for sale. This brick beauty took many years and dollars to build with meticulous care paid to details. Any buyers?

A Bag of Posies

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The orange flowers in the orange shopping bag begged for a picture on my train ride back to Quincy a couple days ago.

1776

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The musical, 1776, was recently performed on the grass at the Adams National Historical Park. A player from the Randolph Theater Company is portraying John Adams seen here. 1776 relates the story of the contentious debate among our nation's founding fathers at the Second Continental Congress. This debate culminated in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Do you have any free "arts in the park" type events in your town during the summer months?

Monochrome Monday

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This is the aftermath of a torrential rainfall on an ornamental grass. It seemed to lend itself to a black and white image. Make sure to visit other Monday Monochromes here.

Garden sanctuary III

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Granite benches are spaced out along the garden path at Faith Garden. The benches are inscribed with scripture. This bench says: "Do not forget to do good and to share with others" . . . not a bad reminder. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

College Grad

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About 4,000 students attend Quincy College for their associates degree. Here is a recent Quincy College graduate having his picture taken outside the public library in Quincy Center.

Night lights

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Graduations are over and baseball season is in full swing under lights like these at Adams Field. We have been treated to some beautiful skies like this one a few evenings ago.

If you'd like to view some more sky pictures then click on Skywatch Friday and enjoy!

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This residence at 270 Adams Street is very difficult to get a good picture of because of the overgrown trees near the foundation. It is Quincy's best example of high style Italianate architecture, but unfortunately has been neglected for many years. The square Italianate tower, arched windows with various adornments, and the brackets are all features of this period around 1870. The original owners, the Baxter family sold it to the well-known King family. Theophilus King was a well respected banker at the Granite Trust Bank in Quincy Center.

This property looks vacant. I hope someone with deep pockets comes along to save this beauty . . . don't you just love the details on the porch and front doorway?

Bright Future

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The future looks bright and hopeful when listening to this eloquent young speaker, Joseph P. Flanagan, at Quincy High School's graduation last night. Joseph, president of his class, and national honor society member, graduated with distinction. He thanked his teachers, classmates and parents for his happy 18 years. I wish Joseph and all his classmates continued success.

Granite Ruins

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Quincy has its own ruins documented here. This is the site of the Lyon's Turning Mill, the largest granite turning mill in America, founded in 1894, where monolithic columns (one piece of rock) were turned for many famous buildings including the Custom Houses in Boston. I like the column remnant in the foreground.

There is a preservation move to turn the remnants of this into a museum about the granite industry in Quincy. Click here for more information about the museum effort. These ruins are fenced in on the edge of the Blue Hills and Granite Links Golf Course and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

June Theme Day: Feet

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It's June 1st which means it's "theme day" once again in the City Daily Photo Blog Community. June's theme is "feet". It's also Monochrome Monday so I have had fun combining both.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Garden Sanctuary II

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This is the second post from the most beautiful rock garden I've seen in Quincy: Faith Garden. We'll make our way up to the granite bench next Sunday. This garden has shady areas as well as sunny areas in which to enjoy the rock scape. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Best Sellers

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President Obama and the "Twilight" book series are some of the best selling books in Quincy at this time. I bought the first "Twilight" book to see what the great attraction is all about. What books are selling well in your part of the world? What are you reading, beside blogs ;)?

Sky Light

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Some of my favorite sky pictures have been captured in parking lots like this one. To see skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch Friday site here. Enjoy!

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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You may remember seeing this fine Queen Anne style house, known as the "Jewell House," located on Grandview Avenue on Wollaston Hill. I posted it in black and white here as a Monochrome Monday post. Which do you like better?

The second photo was taken last night at an excellent talk about historic Quincy houses that was given by Reference Librarian, Mary Clark at one of my favorite haunts, the Thomas Crane Library. Mary is showing the audience a volume from the Quincy Historical and Architectural Survey that was completed in 1986. The online version has been an invaluable resource for my Thursday "This Old House" series. You can view it here. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mary incorporated many of the house images from my Thursday series into her talk. I wanted this blog to offer something worthwhile to my community and it was nice to get proof that it has.

Welcome new visitors to Quincy Daily Photo . . . enjoy!

Your Serve . . .

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Quincy High School tennis coaches continue to practice with interested players post season. It's great to have such dedicated coaches. The tennis courts are located beside the new high school construction project.

Urban Forestry

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The Park Department's Forestry Division is responsible for the maintenance and care of the approximately 20,000 trees that line our city's streets and the countless trees in our parks and open spaces. The Forestry Division receives approximately 1,300 requests for tree-care each year.

The Forestry Division will remove municipal trees only if they pose a threat to public safety. Other tree duties include trimming, raising and pruning of our trees. This is one of the vehicles used to maintain our urban forest.

Flowers and Innocence

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Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday and a day for remembering those who have died in our nation's service.

Garden Sanctuary

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I discovered Quincy's most beautiful garden sanctuary yesterday and will share "Faith Garden" with you for the next few Sundays. This rock garden is on the grounds of Faith Lutheran Church that I previously posted here. Click the image to get the best detail of this very special place.

Enjoy!

In Session

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This is the City Council Chamber, inside City Hall, where formal government sessions happen in Quincy. This is a very recent session of the school committee in which the superintendent is making a budget presentation to the public. Eight people comprise our school committee; one is always the mayor, one is always the superintendent of schools and 6 people are elected by the voting public.

The economic crisis is impacting the schools here. The budget proposed at this meeting would eliminate 5 middle school library and foreign language programs in those schools. Many teachers will be receiving their lay-off notices soon. It would also do away with the school system's printing shop. Apparently President Obama's stimulus package isn't quite enough to keep these educational necessities in place. We'll see. Quincy has 19 schools and a student enrollment of 9,000 students.

What's happening to the schools in your part of the world?

Worker Series

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This is Jerry, the night butcher at Roche Bros. Supermarket. This image is part of a series I'm doing on working people in Quincy. The man below is the daytime meat person. They'll both be pretty busy using their sharp knives this weekend because it's a holiday weekend and a traditional one for cookouts. What's your favorite grilled food?

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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This gambrel style cape on Dixwell Streeet, is shown here in all it's spring glory. This is an unusual style house for the Hospital Hill section of Quincy. I like the natural stained shingles and the 12 over 12 windows; though I wouldn't want to clean them. The pole lantern with the onion dome light is a nice touch along with the brick walkway leading to the front door . . . very New England.

City Topiary

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The donut shape of this maple tree near Beach Street, struck me as odd. The tree was most likely pruned so it wouldn't interfere with the electrical and communication wires. Tree branches can be a huge problem around wires; I know because we lost our telephone service once due to tree branch growing right into a wire and almost severing it.

I wish all the wires could be relocated underground . . . now there's a good public works project that could employ lots of people.

Presidents Place

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Presidents Place in Quincy Center houses the visitors center for Quincy. People used to line up around this block for the annual "back-to-school sale at a favorite discount salvage store called the Bargain Center or "bahgy."

Bigelow Chapel 2

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I've posted a little different angle of the Bigelow Chapel,today. If you read yesterday's post you will know that this amazing Gothic Revival structure was made with Quincy granite and is located in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. I like this monochrome view with the man sitting on the bench to the right for scale.

If you like black and white images, make sure to visit Monochrome Monday here.

Bigelow Chapel

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This Gothic Revival Chapel from the 1840s is located at Mt. Auburn Cemetery and was designed by Dr. Jacob Bigelow working with Quincy architect, Gridley Bryant. This chapel is constructed of Quincy granite and is used for memorial services and soon will be used for wedding receptions. Visit Clulessinboston to see the exquisite stained glass windows from inside and meet the director of services and functions in this chapel.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone!

Granite Gatehouse

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This is the Egyptian Revival Gateway to Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. What is the Quincy connection you ask? You may have guessed that this Gatehouse was made of Quincy Granite for a mere sum of $9,500 in 1842. The designer, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, designed this Gateway to be imposing, enduring, sacred, and sublime. I don't know that this picture does it justice but it is all those things.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery began the "rural" cemetery movement out of which grew America's public parks. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is recognized as one of the country's most significant cultural landscapes that was founded in 1831 and modeled after Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

If you have an interest in trees, birds, sculpture, monuments, granite carving, walking or visiting the final resting place of many famous residents like Charles Bulfinch, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Winslow Homer, Buckminster Fuller, Amy Lowell, Fannie Farmer, or art patron, Isabella Stewart Gardner, to name only a few, this is a "must visit".

Numerous monuments and gravestones were made with Quincy granite here. Come back tomorrow to see the incredible Gothic Revival style chapel that Quincy architect Gridley Bryant designed along with Dr. Jacob Bigelow. Also visit my compardre's blog, Clulessinboston for his take on this special place.

Blue Skies

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The Church of the Presidents in Quincy Center is bathed in sunlight on this cloudless spring day.

If you enlarge this you will see that the girl's hair coordinates with her sweatshirt . . . a fashion statement for sure.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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This late 19th century home on warren Avenue, has recently had some exterior work done to update the property. Architectural historians will probably disagree, but I think the update was tastefully done. The update plays up the mansardic features of this house.