Streets – RDZ Photography

Virtual Travel – Iowa

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

In previously postings I have shown examples of the tremendous population growth many of the states have experienced over the last 50-60 years. Iowa is the opposite of that. In the mid 1950s there were 2.7 million people in the state, up only 500,000 from 1900. In the next 70 years the population has only grown another 500,000 people.

It is the heart of the cornbelt, as exhibited in this graphically impressive 1954 map.

This scene could be from 1900, 1955 or 2020.

1957 – The graphics are still impressive with this view of factory and a highway.

Des Moines 1957

2020 streetview of the same intersection. Despite minimal population growth the city has changed dramatically.

1970 – Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. It was built and dedicated in 1962, not long before Hoover died in 1964.

1974 – Herbert Hoover’s 100th birthday.

Herbert Hoover is the only U.S. President that was born in Iowa. Hoover however is often ranked among the worst presidents in history, although everyone is up one now.

Hoover was born in the town of West Branch, Iowa in this small house. (photo from Wikipedia)

1971 – A collage of scenes around the state. The scene in the lower left is the Pella Tulip Festival.

The Pella Tulip Festival has taken place every year since 1935. Today the town plants 200,000 tulips in celebration.

1972 – Seasons in Iowa.

1973 – Joliet and Marquette. The early explorers in Iowa (and elsewhere).

1975 – State Symbols

1976, 1979 & 1983 – Generic (read – boring) covers

1986 – Another collage including riverboats.

The eastern border of Iowa is the Mississippi River. There are a number of towns and cities along the river that have transitioned from commerce to tourism.

There are also riverboat casinos in Dubuque, Bettendorf and Clinton. (Photo from Travel Iowa).

1988 – Another collage but in the form of a quilt.

Des Moines each year holds ‘Quilt Week’. (Photo from Pintrest)

1991 – The collages continue.

Among the photos this year is the Iowa State Capitol. Built between 1871 and 1886, the building is the only 5 domed capitol in America. (Photo from All American Scaffolding website)

1994 – Snake Alley in Burlington.

Iowa is well known for being mostly flat landscape. Along the Mississippi River however there are some bluffs, including the one in Burlington.

In 1894 they built a street up this bluff with multiple curves, giving it the name of ‘Snake Alley’ It rises 58′ (17.8m) in a distance of 275 feet for a 21% grade.

For perspective here is Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh, claimed to be one of the steepest streets in the world – rising at 37%. To Pittsburghers 21% is considered a level yard.

1995 – Pikes Peak State Park. What, I thought Pikes Peak was in Colorado?

While it does have a panoramic view, I think they are over advertising using that name.

1996 & 1998 – The collage returns, this time with a butterfly each time.

In 2015 there was a push for the Regal Fritillary (this butterfly) to become the official state butterfly, but nothing came of it. These maps pre-date that effort by nearly 10 years!

1999 – 100th Anniversary of the first man carrying glider in Iowa

As the map states in 1898 14 year old Carl Gates flew in this glider, pulled along by a horse. He later went on to attend the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, later building small airplanes.

The reverse side of the map has a tribute to transportation in Iowa over the years. From canoes to steamships to trains, Iowa has seen it all pass by.

The Lincoln Highway was one of the first transcontinental roads, passing through Iowa on it’s way from New York to San Francisco. There is a very famous bridge in Iowa that celebrates this road. (Photo from Iowa Girl on the Go blog)

2001 – Collage again, including a covered bridge. Those that read this blog know I rarely offer negative commentary but once on a flight from Atlanta to LAX I attempted to watch Bridges of Madison County. This movie was set, and filmed in Iowa in 1995, and the bridge featured on this map.

To me that movie was so bad I wanted to jump out of the plane somewhere over Iowa, but to each their own.

2002 – Collage (again) with crossings.

In an attempt to find this rail trestle above I came across the High Trestle Trail. This rails to trails opened in 2011, crossing it’s namesake span over the Des Moines River.

I have only been to Iowa twice, and then very briefly, but this looks worth the trip (Photo from Wikipedia)

2003 – Again the Bridges of Madison County bridge!

2004 – Collage including a Railroad Museum.

Among the railroad museums in Iowa is the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Located in Council Bluffs, it details the history of this railroad. Located in a former library, the museum at times sponsors rides on this great train below to raise funds. (Photo Omaha newspaper)

2005 – Collage including the Black Hawk Bridge spanning the Mississippi between Iowa and Wisconsin.

An unusual cantilever through truss design, it was completed in 1931. There are plans to replace this bridge in the next 10 years or so. Personally I love these old bridges with their Erector Set gone wild look.

2008 – Collage including downhill skiing in Iowa.

The Mount Crescent Ski Resort in Honey Lake, Iowa has a vertical drop of 250′! (Photo from Onthesnow.com)

2009 – Collage including ‘Barn Quilts’. These decorations grace barns throughout the state.

Sac County has enough of these Barn Quilts they have a tour. The tour can be found at

Barnquilts.com – where this photo came from.

2010 – The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is a 3000′ long walkway across the Missouri River between downtown Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

2011& 2013 – Additional visits to the Capitol.

2012 – Small Town Iowa.

2014 – Great River Bridge at Burlington. As with many modern bridges this is cable stayed, however uniquely it is uneven – there are 13 pairs on one side and 14 on the other side.

2015 – One last collage including hot air balloons.

Each year the National Balloon Classic comes to Des Moines. For 9 days over 100 hot air balloons fill the skies over the city and surrounding countryside. (Photo from Radioiowa.com)

Buenos Aires – December 2019 – An Argentine Legend Decorates His Street

Architecture, Art

This is Marino Santa Maria. He is an artist that has decorated his street in Buenos Aires for many years, bringing an amazing amount of color and character to the neighborhood.

His talent has gone much further than his street though, he has decorated, among other things, some Buenos Aires subway stations.

Words are not required – the street is amazing!

Buenos Aires – August 2019 – Various Views of the City

Architecture, Art, History, Transportation

Some random views of the city.

Sunrise over the port.

A walk through the historic financial district.

The view of a school out from my 6th floor office window.

Where out of nowhere the window washer dropped down from above on this sketchy looking seat.

The Argentina relief on the Torre Monument.

The plaza in front of the Torre Monument.

Views from the top of the aforementioned monument.

Subway Art.

The Hall of Lost Steps at the Law School of The University of Buenos Aires.

The Floralisa Generica – a giant metal flower that opens and closes throughout the day.

Views from the 31st floor.

Sunrise on my last day in town for this trip. The more time I spend here the more I want to come back.

Buenos Aires – June 2019 – Views of the City

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation

It was a great 10 days in Buenos Aires. I am not certain what I was expecting but whatever it was, BA exceeded it!

The Nueve de Julio Avenue is the center of the city. Created in the 1930s by wiping out an entire city block wide, and nearly 3 miles long, it is an impressive sight.

The city exists because of the huge estuary of the Rio de La Plata, creating one of the world’s great ports.

The city is full of great architecture starting with the Retiro Train Station.

The Torre Monument is in the plaza in front of Retiro. The tower was completed in 1916 by the same architect who built Big Ben.

Just down the street is the Kavanagh Building, an Art Deco masterpiece.

One of the highlights of the city is the number of ‘Palacios’ remaining from the early 1900s. While there were once more than 100, less than 40 remain, but those that still stand are magnificent.

In addition to the Palacios there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of impressive buildings.

The city was the first city in South America to have a subway, starting over 100 years ago.

As with any city, not all are enjoying the good life. Buenos Aires has some ‘Villa’s, basically shantytowns for the very poor. The city says they have a plan to help improve the lives of the people living in the Villas, but only time will tell.

No visit to Buenos Aires is complete without a stop at the Obelisk.

For now it is time to fly, but not before joining the crowd to watch a soccer game while waiting on the plane. True Buenos Aires!

New Orleans – May 2019 – St Charles Streetcar Line

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation

The St Charles Street Streetcar line is the oldest continuously used street railway route in the world. Streetcars first started rolling down this way almost 200 years ago, in 1833.

The current cars were built by a company called Perley Thomas in the 1920s.

As the route leaves downtown it passes through the Garden District neighborhood, with a number of small shops and cafes.

Some of the homes have been converted into B & Bs.

Further out you pass educational facilities such as Tulane and Loyola.

The Audubon Zoo is along this route as well.

The homes of the Garden District are a highlight. Many are quite large, and all are beautifully maintained.

As you make your way past Riverbend and onto Carrollton Avenue the homes become somewhat smaller, but still nicely maintained.

It takes about an hour and a half to ride the entire distance out and back on the St Charles Streetcar, but it is well worth the time, and the very low fares.

Columbus – January 2019 – Time Travelling Up High Street

Architecture, Art, History, Transportation

When we lived close to Pittsburgh I would sometimes take old photos and recreate them with the current view. Being a city that has developed significantly since the 1950s, Columbus doesn’t have the quantity of old buildings to match up with current photos, it still offers enough to make for an interesting Sunday afternoon.

Most of the old photographs are from the Library of Congress website, and are in the Detroit Photographic Company section of the online photos (easily the best collection of vintage photos anywhere).

For this effort we made our way up High Street from the south end of downtown to the north end, where the former railroad station was once located.

We start with the grand old Southern Hotel. Still there, and still in the hotel business, it hasn’t changed much from the street view since 1910. A few horse and wagons parked instead of cars, and obviously no traffic lights!

We continued north on High Street, stopping at State Street to take a view back south towards where we just came.

Interestingly none of the 1910 buildings seem to still exist, and those that replaced them have also aged long enough to be re purposed into other functions. Most noteworthy is the large building on the far right on the new photo – it was for many years the downtown flagship Lazarus Department Store, which closed in 2003.

Turning around and looking north on High Street – the State Capitol Building on the right (just out of view). I would estimate this photo to be from between 1910-1915, with the presence of a few automobiles.

Note the two 12-15 floor high buildings on the right. The shorter one was the tallest in the city when completed in 1901, with the slightly taller one surpassing it in 1906. One interesting bit of trivia, one of the original leaders of the NFL was a Columbus native, and as the president of the league their headquarters was in the building on the right from 1927 until 1939.

Along the street in the distance you see mass transit – a street car in the 1910 photo, and a bus in the new one.

A second view of Broad and High Street. The older photo was obviously taken from the 2nd or 3rd floor, which I can’t recreate exactly since the buildings are all closed to the public.

It is amazing that since Broad & High is often considered the center of Ohio, being the two main streets in the city directly across from the Capitol that the small buildings on the northeast corner survive to this day, albeit with significant remodeling.

This view also gives a closer view of the transportation choices of the times.

One last view of Broad & High. The line of streetcars in 1910 and buses now.

Another block north brings us to Gay Street. Note the buildings on the northeast corner are all still in existence – although the concept of a Target store was still 50 years away.

Long Street – The Atlas Building has always been a presence at this corner. Not much about the exterior has changed, a couple of neighbors are missing though. Note that Long Street was a two way street in 1910, with the streetcar tracks down the middle.

High Street at Spring Street – Absolutely nothing remains, most has been replaced in the last 40 years.

Even on a Sunday it was easy to get a bus in every photo, as they seemed to pass by about every 5 minutes. The old photos also had a streetcar in nearly every one.

Our final stop on High Street – Union Station. This location on High Street was the location of the main railway station for Columbus from 1851 until the last train left in 1977. The wonderful building was demolished by 1979.

The station was replaced with a convention center, and later the arcade (shopping mall – not video games) was replaced with shops and restaurants built over the freeway in a style that recalls the architecture of the original.

The convention center and hotel sits exactly where the main concourse was located.

It still remains a public gathering space, only for a different purpose.

With that our time travelling up High Street came to an end. Look for more in future visits to other cities (Chicago, Cleveland) or even more in Columbus.