Buildings

Portland, Michigan, again. Although it's still in use, this bridge has been preserved more for its looks--and for the town's memories--than for its functionality.

Portland, Michigan.

A dozen or so years ago the Mulliken library was the victim of a stupid prank which resulted in a nasty fire. We'd already passed a millage to fund this building, but hadn't expected to need to replace the books as well. The other building in the photo is Creative Taxidermy.

One last view of Portland, Michigan's old downtown bridge across the Grand River.

Another of Dad's 1973 pictures of Leland's Fishtown . Camera: Argus C3

Portland, Michigan's Kent Street business district from across the Grand River. This is just down the river from the bridge I've been showing you; the white building on the right is in most of the bridge pictures . I love those stone foundations. And the colors. And the ice on the concrete....

Many of the buildings in Pleiku's hospital complex were connected by covered walkways, some of which were quite long. The gear on the hill was part of the airbase. The radar dish interfered with our radio reception; every recording I brought or sent home has annoying static every few seconds. Camera: Minolta SR-T 101. Photo taken at the 71st Evacuation Hospital, Pleiku, RVN; 1971.

More building backsides from Portland, Michigan's Kent Street business district. Less color, here, but some additional variety and some wonderful texture. And a bit more of the stonework, too, though it's difficult to see well. Y' gotta wonder what the backs of those two red buildings looked like before Amy's Place covered 'em up. That room hanging off the back appears to be Amy's kitchen, by the way. On the left edge of this photo you can see the Grand River Avenue bridge which carries most local traffic across the Grand. Far less picturesque than the old bridge .

I was trespassing. I admit it. Palmer, Michigan; the edge of an open pit iron mining operation run by Cleveland Cliffs. Sometime in the late 1980s. This plant processes taconite ore (rock) into pellets for shipping to steel plants "down the lakes." Nowadays you can take guided tours of the Tilden Mine, which is adjacent to this property. I've not yet done so, but I shall. Camera: Minolta Freedom 100. Scanned from a print.

Downtown Portland, Michigan, again. We've crossed Grand River Avenue; this wall keeps Duke's, which is on Grand River at the river, from falling into the water. Really delightful, albeit unruly, stonework.

The former Spotlight Theater in Fitzgerald Park, Grand Ledge, Michigan. And the park office, in the foreground. Talked about this place before ....

Springport's depot is, and apparently always was, nestled in the local grain dealer's complex. Here's the first of a couple photos of that complex as it looked in 1988, according to my little Minolta.

Behind Bridge Street in Grand Ledge. Seems like all the Grand River towns' Main Streets are named Bridge . Shot from the same location as this photo . And this one , more or less.

You may have noticed the wood piles in yesterday's Springport photograph . Those were on the property of Love's Sawmill; for the next few days we'll be exploring that facility as it looked in 1988. As is often the case, this sawmill's a little raggedy. Camera: Minolta Freedom 100

Dimondale, Michigan. Camera: Minolta SR-T 101 At play with a new/old camera.

A Kalamazoo Bicycle Club rider at Scotts Mill County Park; 1976. Camera: Minolta Zoom 100. (Possibly Richard's, with his OM-1--but I don't think so.)

The same equipment as yesterday's photograph , from another angle. And the surrounding environment. Love's Sawmill, Springport, Michigan; 1988. Photo taken with a Minolta Freedom 100. Small sawmill operations seem always to be pretty slapdash, but this one's different. I expected (but didn't find) large piles of sawdust on the grounds. Another surprise was that this downtown sawmill used an apparently-portable mill for the work. A third was that they didn't house that mill under a roof. As I said, different. My favorite picture in this set, by the way.

The supply room for Signal Support Detachment Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, 1971.