Cliff Drive Ruins Dos

In my first "ruins" post (http://hyperblogal.blogspot.com/2010/11/if-walls-could-talk.html) I showed images of structural remains at the foot of Gooseneck (below the Museum along Cliff Drive). This post shows ruins along Paseo just south of Gate 1 to Cliff Drive not far from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.. Above old brick foundation...
Above and below, stone walls.

Above and below inside the old walls. According to an old Sanborn map this building was a brick foundry....



Above, old doorway.
These photos were taken on a warm day in January 1998. Shot with an F4 on T-Max 400.... not my favorite film. For you old timers my favorite film was Panatomic-X... Slow as molasses... but beautiful, detailed images... perfect for studio work too. Kodak discontinued it in favor of T-Max 100 which was the beginning of the end for Kodak as far as I'm concerned.
Above is Hyper with daughter Kelly, then aged 9... for scale.... not far from these ruins are piles of very interesting and ornate rubble... Kelly sits atop a column remnant below...

Above Kelly and friend, Brad, a fellow bluff explorer.

Whatever this used to be it was rather grand.

Another set of remains above.

If Walls Could Talk

Below Cliff Drive you can still find remnants of structures that pre-date the creation of North Terrace Park now Kessler Park. A lot of large stone walls remain, foundations of other buildings, even the remains of streets. This is a small sample of what exists... after the bush honeysuckle drop their leaves I'll venture forth to get more photos.
Above, old foundation, below, who knows. I'm gonna go with Aztec.

This large wall seemingly has no purpose that I can see.... may have been intended for erosion control.... but, in lieu of knowing for sure, I'm going to, once again, go with Aztec.

What A Difference A Day Makes....

The 110-year-old Colonnade above familiar to all who grew up or now live in Northeast KC. It's getting some much needed TLC from neighborhood residents and KC Parks and Recreation. Below... a TINY part of the trash and brush cleared off the hill behind the structure.

Above... before the clearing... below.... after the clearing. 20 neighborhood folks helped along with a crew of 7 from Parks and Rec...

Below... the view now from Cliff Drive.

The view up (south). Below, some branches and brush remain to be picked up by Parks and Rec Monday. Chainsaws, pruning sheers, and elbow grease used in large amounts.
All the stumps of the invasive bush honeysuckle and scrub trees were coated with a chemical which moves down to the roots so we don't have to do this again....There's still more work to do. More brush clearing, graffiti removal and stair restoration... but a huge beginning has been made. We WILL reclaim our neighborhood.

Blue, Gold and Wispy White

On a mission to walk 2.5 miles everyday this week.... intend to lose weight or die in the attempt. Deep blue skies and fast moving clouds ruled the day. Bottom pix are of Corinthian Hall again... which has roses that seem to bloom forever. All Nikon D3 and 70-200mm zoom f5.6 to 22 ASA 400 shot at minus one third stop.









Don't know whether the above saucer was taking off or landing........

Last Vestiges of Summer

Finally got out of the house for something other than work today. Walked Cliff Drive. I'm afraid bare trees are imminent.


Above private residence, below Corinthian Hall which is currently being decorated with Scarecrows for the auction Friday night... 6-9:30pm on the Museum grounds. Sunday is Halloween in Old Northeast.... 5-8pm.


All shots taken with the Nikon D3 and 24-70 zoom. Aperture priority between f5.6 and f11 at ASA 200.