Dover Delaware 2009

     Friday, August 21, 2009: Inside a restored 1792 building, I saw a four-minute DVD presentation about the brief history of this place: The (Old) Delaware State House Museum, 25 The Green, Dover (302-739-4266). From the late 1700s to 1933, the lawmakers used this building to govern the First State. (Delaware was the first state to sign the US Constitution in 1787.) Then in 1933, the state government moved to nearby Legislative Hall, and the Old State House became a museum. On a half-hour tour, the guides explained both the histories of Delaware and of events that took place in the Old State House as I noticed the restored 18th-century interior and furnishings. Next, I visited the Biggs Museum of American Art, upstairs from the Delaware Visitor Center. On two floors, I looked at both fine and decorative arts, made in the USA, dating from the 1700s into the 21st century. Each room covered a different period in time, and each room displayed paintings and sculptures as well as furniture and other objects from that particular time. Two special rooms exhibited Delaware-made art and objects made of silver. I was very impressed, however, with how this area of Dover looked, and even newer buildings showed plenty of red brick construction to blend in better with the nearby 18th-century buildings.

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.