Weird Wednesday

   This Shell gas station was built in the shape of a giant shell in 1930. It is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in the day when people were just starting to get out in their cars and do road trips. The "heyday" of crazy buildings and roads like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. Very few examples of this "literal architecture" have survived.

Back Roads on a Cloudy Day

   Went out for a solo drive on the back roads of Middle Tennessee last Saturday. I do more scouting for places I want to come back and photograph when I'm out solo for a few hours than I do actual stopping. I am usually too afraid to get out alone or can't find a safe place to pull over. Still got a few interesting pictures.

National Register of Historic Places

   The National Register of Historic Places was created in the United States in 1966 after the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. The NRHP is the official list of buildings, structures, sites and districts that have been regarded as deserving of preservation. There are more than a million places in the register, with roughly 30,000 added each year. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee protection, and many properties are lost each year due to demolition and neglect.

History of the Galveston Seawall

   On this day in 1902, construction began on the Galveston Seawall. It had been two years since the Great Storm of 1900 had hit the bustling seaport of Galveston, Texas. The massive hurricane hit a town unaware and killed as many as 8000 people(or many more, they had no way to know for sure). It is still not just the deadliest hurricane, but the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the United States.