Connecticut Hall 2009

     Saturday, August 8, 2009: Last year, I could say that I've been to Harvard, and this year, I could say the same for Yale. Of course, to tell the truth, I only visited both places. On the date above, I arrived in New Haven, Connecticut, headed toward the oldest building on campus, the 1752 Connecticut Hall, and took pictures of it. Next, I spent the rest of the day in two nearby museums: the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center of British Art, 1080 Chapel St. at High St. (203-436-3429). The first of these mid-sized art museums showed different mediums of art from around the world: paintings, drawings, and sculptures as well as furniture, coins, and other items dating from ancient times to the present, on five levels. Afterward, the second museum contained the largest collection of British art outside of the United Kingdom. Here, I noticed paintings, sculptures, and other mediums going back to the 16th century and up to the current times, on two levels. The themes for the artworks ranged from portraits, landscapes, and seascapes as well as sporting themes, still life, and other subjects. This made for an interesting day overall.

Marble House 2009

     Saturday, July 18, 2009: I've been to both Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence. In reality, after I walked through the main campus of Brown University, I entered the ground floor of Manning Hall, the location of a branch of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. (The main museum is in Bristol, RI.) Inside, students of the university set up different temporary exhibit themes covering certain aspects of Human societies. When I was there, I saw Believing Africa. By way of pictures, texts, and exhibit items, I learned about how the people of sub-Saharan Africa combine their beliefs in world religions, such as Christianity and Islam, with their indigenous beliefs and of how these beliefs affected their lives. Afterward, I walked over to the Museum of Art-RISD, 224 Benefit St. (401-454-6500). On four floors, I observed many works of art, from ancient Egypt to the present, from around the world, via paintings, drawings, and sculpture as well as decorative arts, period rooms, and photos. As art museums go, this was a mid-sized museum compared to the bigger art museums in New York City; Philadelphia; and Washington, DC, but I spent over three hours here. When I was there, one of the temporary exhibit areas presented the works of architect and designer Marcel Breuer. Thus, via pictures, furniture, and scale-models of buildings, I looked at the places and items that Breuer designed. The Breuer-designed building that I'm most familiar with was the Whitney Museum of Art in NYC.

The Breakers 2009

     Friday, July 17, 2009: By way of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) bus #60, I traveled from Providence to Newport. Once I arrived at Newport, I rode the #67 Yellow Line trolley/bus from the Visitors Center to the Breakers, 44 Ochre Point Ave. (401-847-1000). If you see nothing else in Newport, or the entire state of RI, you should see this mansion or "cottage," as the Gilded-Age Elite called these places. The Vanderbilt family once owned this 1895 European-Renaissance-styled mansion of 70 rooms. This was one of those places where I first didn't know whether to look up, down, or sideways! Here, I saw interiors of French and Italian stone, marble, and alabaster as well as elaborate wood trims, gilding on the walls and ceilings, and paintings on the ceilings. Much of the furniture and items displayed French and Italian designs, and they looked just as elaborate as the interiors of the walls and ceilings, especially the great hall and dining room. The rooms on the upper floors were just as elegant in a French-18th-century design, but in a more subdued way, including the morning room and bedrooms. Finally, I entered the workrooms and kitchen where the staff of around 40 servants worked to maintain this place. Next, I thought that the Marble House, once owned by other members of the Vanderbilt family, would be anti-climatic after seeing the Breakers, but I was wrong. Although, it wasn't as large as the Breakers, inside, this 1892 mansion was just as elaborate and elegant. These Vanderbilts wanted a mansion built to resemble the Petit Trianon on the grounds of Versailles, and they got it. This place showed 18th-century French designs mainly copied from Versailles, especially in the ballroom and dining room. One room, however, the Gothic Room, looked almost like a medieval church; all it needed was an altar. Nevertheless, this room exhibited Gothic arches, stained-glass windows, and medieval furniture. In both mansions, I felt elegant as I ascended the grand staircases to the next level--even if I wasn't dressed elegantly, and both places offered some great views of the Atlantic Ocean.

State Museum of PA 2009

     Thursday, June 25, 2009: This was the first time I've ever been to the Pennsylvania state capital and the State Museum of PA, 300 North St., Harrisburg (717-787-4980). Except for Gettysburg National Battlefield, this museum is the most visited in PA between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. I felt pleasantly surprised as I toured the different floors, starting at the top floor. This museum covered the history of PA from the time of the formation of the Earth to the present via texts, pictures, and exhibit items as well as dioramas, tableaus, and multi-media presentations. Thus, I learned about PA's natural resources in animals, plants, and minerals as well as its Human history from the time of the local Native Americans to the current diverse ethnic groups of people. The State Museum of PA has been a definite must-see place.

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Steel Pier

Waterfront Shops

Central Pier

The Quarter

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 AMC Empire 25

Society Hill Playhouse

Fallsington, PA 2009

   Thursday, June 18, 2009: Although I had to reserve in advance for a tour of this historical town that dated back to the 17th century and founded by Quakers, it was worth it. The headquarters for Historical Fallsington, 4 Yardley Ave., Fallsington, Pennsylvania (215-295-6567), was the former Gillingham store in a 1910 building. After I browsed through this gift and souvenir store, my tour guide walked me through the town square and told me the history of this town. Then, she led me into three of the buildings included on this tour: a log house from the 1750s, a 1798 tavern, and a house from 1809. The organization that runs Historical Fallsington restored each of those buildings and their interiors to the proper period. Therefore, I learned about life in a 1750s log house, a 1798 tavern, and an 1809 house. Finally, I was free to walk along the nearby streets and look at the exteriors of several buildings that dated from the 1700s and 1800s. (Most of these buildings are private residents, businesses, or schools and are not open to the public.) The first Friends Meeting House from 1690, where William Penn worshipped, was gone, but three others remain. The Religious Society of Friends still used the latest Meeting House, from 1841, for worship.