This past Saturday I had the rare treat of being given a tour of the clock room and astronomical observatory of Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey.
As an alumnus of CHS, the massive clock tower has always been a source of some mystery. Lucky students have the chance to climb it, either for [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Diary'
A Climb Up Columbia’s Clock Tower
April 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Architecture, Diary
Tags:CHS·Maplewood·New Jersey·school
Hallowed Ground
September 3rd, 2007 · No Comments · Biographical, Diary
I finally visited Ernest Guilbert’s gravesite. I had made an attempt a while ago, but the office was closed. Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, NJ, is over 150 acres, so I wasn’t about to look the hard way.
I went directly to the office, a charming little Mansard Victorian building near the main gate. The clerk [...]
The Ghost of New Rochelle High School
July 5th, 2007 · 40 Comments · Architecture, Diary
My first exposure to New Rochelle High School was a series of photographs in a 1932 article on school architecture written by James Betelle. While I had been pretty familiar with the traditional English Gothic and Neo-Classical designs of his schools, this one stood out as unique; it had a style unlike any other. Towers, [...]
Tags:New Rochelle·New York·school
More Newark, More Schools
May 10th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Architecture, Diary
Last week I headed down to Newark to learn more about James Betelle’s tragically short-lived partner, Ernest F. Guilbert. I scored quickly by finding Guilbert’s obituary at the library, which painted a pretty good portrait of his life and career. With that done, I was off to chase down a number of schools I hadn’t [...]
Tags:Newark·residential·school·weequahic
Unfinished Stones
April 2nd, 2007 · 2 Comments · Biographical, Diary
After a 4-6 week wait, I finally received a copy of James Betelle’s will from the New Jersey State Archives (along with some court documents, which I will discuss at a later date).
I had already seen a few pages from a 1930 version, acquired from the American Institute of Architect’s archives. Written when Betelle was [...]