Amistad

Replica of The Amistad, at Mystic Seaport. The ship is known for an 1839 slave revolt, dramatized in a 1997 film by Steven Spielberg.

In 1839, Portuguese slave hunters kidnapped a group of Mende people from Sierra Leone and transported them to Cuba, in violation of anti-slave trade treaties. The schooner La Amistad was used to ship them from Havana to a Caribbean plantation. During the voyage, the Africans revolted, killed the ship's captain and cook, and ordered the remaining crew to set sail for Africa. However, the sailors actually sailed the ship north, and it was eventually intercepted by the U.S. Navy off the coast of Long Island and brought to New London, CT. The Africans were charged with murder, and though these charges were eventually dismissed, the plantation owners went to court to retain their right to enslave the men. The Africans, backed by abolitionist groups, sued for their freedom. The case went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1841 ruled that they were free men, and that ". . . it was the ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice."

This ship was built between 1998 and 2000 by shipbuilders and artisans at Mystic Seaport, in Mystic, CT. They employed traditional tools and construction techniques, though some modern materials and technology, including two diesel engines, were incorporated. With the original ship lost to history and no extant blueprints, the ship is not an exact replica of La Amistad, but an extrapolation based on general knowledge of this type of ship and contemporary art drawings of 19th century schooners. Originally built and operated by an organization called Amistad America, it is now owned by the non-profit Discovering Amistad, which uses it as a floating classroom for educational and promotional programs.

Mystic River Bascule Bridge

 

The Mystic River Bascule Bridge, spanning the Mystic River in Connecticut. It was built in 1922. It opens hourly at 40 minutes past the hour. A bascule bridge is a type of drawbridge. This one employs two 230-ton concrete blocks to counterbalance the span.

Village Cigars

 

110 Seventh Ave. This triangular 373-square-foot space housed Village Cigars for over a century, having occupied the space as Union Cigars in 1922. Its unusual shape and distinctive color and signage made it one of the most distinctive storefronts in the West Village.

It is also well-known for that little triangle seen in front of the front door. In 1910, the city condemned over 300 buildings to be demolished to build the Seventh Ave. subway line. But the city surveyors missed a tiny, triangular piece of the plot at the corner of 7th Ave and Christopher St., a plot holding a five-story building owned by David Hess. The Hess Family refused to relinquish the land, taking the city to court and prevailing. The 27.5" x 27.5" x 25.5" triangle was the smallest piece of private property in New York City history. In 1922, the Hesses installed a mosaic reading "PROPERTY OF THE HESS ESTATE WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES."

Village Cigars was owned by Andy Singh for 26 years, but the business lost its tobacco license and could not settle on a new lease with the building owner. The owner says he plans to retain the look of the storefront, and the building has some protection as it is located within the Greenwich Village historic district, so it cannot be altered without approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

North Carolina Barn

 

This old barn is located on the Irvin Nature Preserve, part of the Triangle Land Conservancy in Chapel Hill NC. It's a mix of forest and farmland, and home to a cool outside school called Learning Outside. My wife is friends with one of the teachers there, and I drew this while visiting.

House Portraits

Two drawings of the houses of my mom's friends, done as Christmas presents for them. 

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens are on the grounds of Duke University in Durham, NC. It was the brainchild of Dr. Frederic M. Hanes, an original faculty member of Duke Medical School. A botanical enthusiast, Dr. Hanes passed a debris-filled ravine on the way to the school every day, and so persuaded Ms. Duke, who was the widow of one of the university's founders, to finance a public garden on the land. The gardens were built, but unfortunately heavy summer rains and floods ruined them. Sarah Duke had passed away, but Dr. Hanes was still around, so he convinced Sarah's daughter, Mary Duke Biddle, to bankroll a new garden on higher ground and name it in honor of her mother. The Sarah P. Duke Gardens were dedicated in April 1939. It was designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, an early pioneer in American landscape design. It's one of the remaining examples of her work. It has since expanded to 5 miles of trails and walkways across 55 acres.

176-178 St. Johns Place

 

This pair of Queen Anne-style row houses in Park Slope, Brooklyn, were built in 1886 for two doctors, Edward Bunker and William H. Thallon. Their profession is symbolized by the caduceus in the gable of No. 178, on the left. The buildings were designed by Rudolph L. Daus, a Mexican-born German  Catholic who trained in Berlin and Paris. They were among his first commission after setting up shop in Brooklyn in 1884. He designed multiple buildings in Brooklyn, and was known for his eclecticism, drawing on multiple styles and traditions. They were landmarked in 1973.

Biographical Info on Rudolph L. Daus