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Thursday, January 31, 2019

I Wanted This to be About the Bikes or Siblings, But it Turned Out to Be About The House

Three siblings enjoying their bikes. The oldest girl is my mother, with long hair, something I've never seen before. A few weeks ago, my cousin sent this to me picture, and while I kept looking at them, and their different style bikes, I wondered where was the picture taken. That thought became my project.

Fortunately, or so I thought, I had taken pictures of where they used to live in the 1930s. But the two pictures below of 90 Adams Street, New Britain, Connecticut didn't show a part of a striped awning as shown above. Were they at a neighbors house, a park or their own yard? I had no clue. Quite a bit of time was spent on googling the address and looking at various images, checking out the neighborhood and this address on Google Earth. I even found quite a write up about the house, (see at the end).

These two pictures were taken in late spring in 2012, for my blog: https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2012/04/90-adams-street-very-special-place.html

The above photo was taken by Google Earth.

After way too much thinking, and searching the internet, I put this project to rest. The following day, I remembered the large portfolio I had that my grandfather and his partner had published in 1932 showing the houses, buildings, college buildings, banks, hospital additions, and churches, etc. that they had designed. It was a bound book, but there was one single loose photograph stuck in the middle. Yes, right away I saw the striped awning and finally knew where my mother and her siblings stood with their bikes.

The information below states it was built in 1930 and since the shrubs are mature, and my uncle looked to be about four, I think both pictures were taken in 1932, but it wasn't included in the portfolio. None of the children were born there, but I came pretty close, since I was born in that city, and spent my first nine months of life here. The three siblings were never infants in that house. (My father was in the war, and my mother lived with her parents. My grandmother was the attending nurse when I was born, then at nine months, mom and I moved to California where my father was stationed.)

PUBLIC RECORD - Built in 1930, this 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom single family residential house at 90 Adams St, New Britain CT, 06052 is approximately 2,044 square feet. Movoto's Comparative Market Estimated Value is $333,172 with a value per Sqft of $118. 90 Adams St is located in the New Britain School District. The closest school is Lincoln School.



  • County Hartford County
  • Property Type Single Family Residential
  • Beds 5
  • Baths 2
  • Building Area 2,044 Sqft
  • Partial Baths 1
  • Rooms 8
  • Lot Size 9,583Sqft
  • Year Built 1930
  • Last Sale Price $105,000
  • Last Sale Date 08/24/1999
  • Style Colonial
  • Exterior Walls Rock, Stone
  • Roof Cover Slate
  • Heating None
  • Cooling Yes
  • Fire Place 1

Monday, January 14, 2019

Museum of Fine Arts, a Must to see in Boston, Massachusetts

Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
www.mfa.org


We visited the MFA soon after Christmas to see two new exhibits. One was closing soon, French Pastels, and the exhibit Ansel Adams In Our Times had just opened. Photos of some of my favorite paintings and photos are shown below.


Dancers Resting (above) and Dancers in Rose (below) both by Edgar Degas and were in the special exhibit French Pastels, Treasurers from the Past.




This exhibit is probably my 3rd or 4th that I've seen over the years. The first one was in 1978 in Yosemite, California.  One special one was in 1979 in Washington, DC, where I was able to get two autographs, and position him in place so I could take his photo. See blog to see autographs and my photo at: https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2014/02/happy-birthday-ansel-adams.html.

The exhibit had only been open for two weeks when we went, and it was too crowded. Practically every picture I took is a disaster because they have shadows of visitors or exit lights. I hope to go back on a non-vacation day and retake these. My husband and I love this museum, and since it was the 2nd visit in 11 months, we decided to become members, so the rest of 2019 visits are free.





Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937.

I especially love this photo because it is of my 4th cousin once removed, Georgia O'Keeffe and her guide. This photo was high up on a wall, so much so, I couldn't look straight at it, thus, no shadows.
A favorite photo, below I did a closeup, but of course you see shadows of people.



I loved this photo, but you can all see the reflections of the people looking at it.

Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer by Edgar Degas.
Interesting view 11 months earlier.

Hanging Head Dragonfly table lamp by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Peonies Blown in the Wind by John La Farge, Parakeets and Gold Fish Bowl by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Butterflies and Foliage by John La Farge.





Boston Common at Twilight by Childe Hassam, 1885.

The Drummer Boy, abt. 1862 by William Morris Hunt.


The Buffalo Trail, abt. 1867 (above) and Valley of the Yosemite, 1864 (below) both by Albert Bierstadt.


Paul Revere, 1768 by John Singleton Copley.

Washington at Dorchester Heights, 1806 by Gilbert Stuart.

Watson and the Shark, 1778 by John Singleton Copley. (The young boy was bitten by a shark, and lost his leg.)


 Monet Room.
 

Mary and Elizabeth Royall, by John Singleton Copley, 1758.

I wrote about their historic house, Royall House and Slave Quarters, in Medford, Massachusetts. https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-royall-house-and-slave-quarters-at.html


Maria Bockenolle (Wife of Johannes Elison), 1634 by Rembrandt van Rijn.

Winter Landscape near a Village, abt. 1610 by Hendrick Avercamp.


I have a lot of Dutch ancestry and was interested in all the masterpieces the museum has. I took plenty of photos, and hope to put them together in another post.

In the Loge, 1878 by Mary Stevenson Cassatt.

Houses at Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh and shown below if:
Dance at Bougival, 1883 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.


Museum Epiphany III, 2012 by Warren Prosperi.

The little girl is being told something about the statue. The statue is shown below behind my husband looking at the above photo.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882 by John Singer Sargent.


Second floor, rather interesting to see people flying above.



From Google, you can see the MFA on the lower left side.




Flyer from my 2005 visit to the MFA.