Maryland is sometimes called “America in Miniature,” because nearly every sort of geography found in America, except deserts, can also be found in Maryland, although not always on the same scale. There are many historic sites, and some very pleasant hiking opportunities. Come join me on some Maryland photo journeys not far from our Nation’s Capital, Washington, DC.
This building began life in 1908 dedicated as the Adas Israel Synagogue, which was then surrounded by the local Jewish community, which also included several other synagogues nearby.
The new building used the then innovative building technique of using reinforced concrete foundations and floors instead of iron columns and wooden floors. The innovation delayed construction due to the need to convince local building inspectors of the soundness of the now routine techniques. The Washington Post commented at the time that the new synagogue “ranks with the best church edifices in the city” from an architectural standpoint.
Due to growth in the congregation, Adas Israel moved in 1951 and sold the Sixth and I property to the Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church. This was the beginning of the new identity of the building as a church. It retained this new identity until 2002, when Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church moved to a more spacious building in Hyattsville, MD, and wished to sell the Sixth and I building. The realtor suggested it could serve as a night club. With motivation from the Jewish Historical Society, three Jewish realtors quickly combined their efforts to save the building.
One of my first studies in the area of religious art and architecture was of the Washington National Cathedral. Although the National Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, it is dedicated to a pan-spiritual view. Their vision is to seek to be a “catalyst for spiritual harmony in our nation, reconciliation among faiths, and compassion in the world.” With regard to “spiritual harmony in out nation,” they did indeed devote some effort to that, displaying the flags of the states, displaying statues of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and dedicating artwork to patriotic themes and American history and accomplishments.
The cathedral, consistent with its vision of “spiritual harmony” has led and participated in Moslim/Christian summits since 2010. In November of 2014, the Cathedral invited Moslims to an Islamic prayer service led by Ebrahim Rasool in the cathedral. Some woman rudely interrupted the service, but was immediately led away.
Click on one of these locations to see photos from that area.
I have always loved railroads, especially riding them. I also love to look at model railroads, with tiny trains busy running through tiny rail stations and tiny villages and landscapes. One of my early memories is being entranced by the giant locomotives at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, and being frustrated at not being allowed to climb on board this engineer’s heaven. At one period of time, I rode the B&O Railroad to work, which later became the MARC System. I took my son on rides on the commuter train, and we visited the Railroad Store at Union Station in Washington, DC.
As with other subjects in this website, I am currently restricting myself to the Washigton, DC area. This does not, however, limit me too much in this area, where there is a lot of railroad activity and railroad history. I am dividing Railroad World into four parts:
B&O Railroad Museum — I first discovered railroad museums at the B&O Railroad Museum, located in Baltimore, MD. The B&O Museum is quite well known, and it also has a Facebook page, and unlike my experience at the Smithsonian, kids (and I) are able to climb into the cabs of locomotives and scramble about inside cabooses. It was originally called the Baltimore and Ohio Transportation Museum when it opened in 1953, it has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures, including its collection of 19th century locomotives.
Gaithersburg Community Museum — Gaithersburg, Maryland has had a B&O Railroad Station since 1884, designed by the famous Ephraim Francis Baldwin, who designed so many of the neo-Victorian train stations in Maryland. This two building complex included a Station Building and a Freight Building, which were purchased by Gaithersburg and refurbished in the 1980s. The Freight House is now repurposed as the Gaithersburg Community Museum, dedicated to preserving and teaching about Gaithersburg history, including railroad history. Just outside the Freight House is rolling stock (railroad cars on tracks), which are maintained as part of the museum experience both for adults and their children.
Fairfax Station Railroad Museum — Another local railroad museum is in Virginia, called the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum. I have not had a chance to visit it yet, but it is on my to-do list. This museum was originally a railroad center of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad established in 1854, which played an important role during the Civil War.
Everyday Rides — I love riding trains, especially old-time steam locomotives. In the past, I occasionally had to commute to meetings in Philadelphia and New York City, and always rode the Amtrak train, because I could get a regular seat that was as good or better than first class on a plane. Also, if you would like to ride into Washington, DC, then you might be interested in riding the MARC commuter train down to Union Station, from which you can catch the Metro to most attractions. But, I’m not talking here about riding a train to get somewhere, but rather just for the experience of riding history.
Trolley Museum — One exciting opportunity is the National Capital Trolley Museum, where you can ride a variety of trolley cars around a wooded area. I actually remember the one that ran in the Washington, DC area, and riding it again is so nostalgic. The National Capital Trolley Museum is quite well know locally. Also, it has a Facebook page.
Old-time Rides — The B&O Museum also features an opportunity to ride the rails, called the Mile One Express. I have not yet ridden this train, but it sounds like fun.
There are also three other railroad rides somewhat further afield. They are:
the Walkersville Southern Railroad, which offers train rides, dinner trains and private charters out of Walkersville, MD, riding through the historic Monocacy Valley;
I am always intrigued by model railroads running through realistic scenery and railway stations. They can be bewitching to your imagination. One of the leading local railroad modelers is the Baltimore Society of Model Engineers, which formed in 1932, and which features some spectacular layouts. They feature monthly open houses to promote model railroading.
My friend Howard is active in the Sykesville modeling club, known as the Sykesville and Patapsco Railway. Howard has a current project of creating a model of a Civil War era iron furnace, which helped to denude the lands all around Sykesville at the time. Also, Howard’s son Sol is active in a modelers blog-site known as the Newport Central: An adventure in Urban N Scale.
Among my favorite games to play are the “Ticket to Ride” series by Alan R. Moon, in which each player tries to build the biggest and best rail system while blocking opponents’ routes. You can get an American version, several European versions, Asian versions, etc.. Below is a picture of Ticket to Ride in action … you can almost feel the palpable tension and excitement as railroad empires come alive.
Here, my friends Howard and Susan, who are Ticket to Ride railroad moguls, plot their strategies to dominate Asian rails.
I am a religious person, and am devoted to my own religious perspective on the world. I do, however, also appreciate and admire the art and architectural inspirations of other spiritual traditions, which create space for connecting with spirituality greater than oneself.
Exploring the world of religious art and architecture is a current project of mine, but not yet fully developed. It’s only just taking shape in my mind, and will grow with time. I’m not trying to make a full study of this very broad subject, but rather limiting myself to the easy to reach examples I find in the Washington, DC area. Note that I do NOT make theological judgments of what I see, but focus on the inspirational and admirable views.
Below is a listing of my individual studies of religious art & architecture
I have been thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island numerous times both in the summer and in the fall, which are very different experiences. The summer is nice, especially if you like to visit the beach. My favorite, though, is the fall, when most of the tourists are gone, the fast food joints are closed, and everything is much quieter. Even the beach is a different experience. Perfect for getting closer to nature. This photo journey in Chincoteague and Assateague Islands takes place in the fall.
Chincoteague and Assateague are part of a chain of so called “barrier islands” running up and down the east cost of America, which protect the mainland from Atlantic Ocean storms. They are inherently unstable piles of sand that are constantly shifting and creating shoals that are treacherous to ships close to shore. Consequently, they are dotted by lighthouses to warn such ships.
Assateague Island is the outer island where the lighthouse is located, and is annually battered by Atlantic storms. Assateague is not permanently inhabited, except by wild ponies, other wildlife, and salt resistant plants, such as Loblolly Pine. The northern end is in Maryland, and is protected as the Assateague Island National Seashore, where many outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping are available. The southern end of Assateague is in Virginia, and it is protected as the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. A person can get close to nature all over Assateague Island. Both the northern end and the southern end of Assateague Island feature visitor centers; the southern section features the Tom’s Cove Visitor Center.
Chincoteague in contrast, is protected from storms by Assateague, and is quite stable because of that protection. Consequently, people live there in a small rural community. Many of the people there hunt, fish, and most are actively involved in the tourist business. Tourism is the major industry in Chincoteague, and is promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce, which provides visitor information, including available activities. Also from the Chamber of Commerce is information on accommodations in Chincoteague. On my last visit, I was happy to have stayed in what I called my cottage, even though it was actually more of a garden apartment that was right on Assateague Channel and enjoyed access to a pier.
The main east-west road through Chincoteague is Maddox Boulevard. It runs from the bridge to Chincoteague to the bridge to Assateague, and then continues, as Beach Access Road, east through Assateague. Just before reaching the beach, the Beach Access Road travels through some marshy areas, causing me to refer to it there as the “Marsh Road.” On Assateague, many of the wildlife views can be accessed from the Beach Access Road. On Chincoteague much of the tourist related business and hotels are located on Maddox, and most of the residents of Chincoteague, as well as many B&Bs reside on roads north and south of Maddox.
As noted earlier, Assateague Island is home to a working lighthouse, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard as an aid to navigation. It is also open to the public, to climb up to the cupola throughout the summer and through to Thanksgiving. This lighthouse is beautiful and iconic to view from afar, and provides beautiful landscape views from the top. I also enjoyed viewing bald eagles from the top.
One of the most famous things here are the wild ponies, which live on Assateague and which are owned by the local fire department. They were made famous by a movie based on a children’s book by Marguerite Henry entitled Misty of Chincoteague. Every summer, Chincoteague “cowboys” round up all the ponies and the ponies swim across channel from Assateague to Chincoteague in a pony roundup, where foals are auctioned off in order to raise money and to prevent the herd from getting unsustainably large. If you are interested in this summer spectacle, you can get information from the Chamber of Commerce on the pony swim.
Naturally, you may be interested in visiting the Pony Centre, which is just off Maddox. They offer riding lessons as well as pony rides for the kids. Especially if you have children, you may also be interested in visiting the Veteran’s Memorial Park, which features a playground, lovely view of Assateague Channel, and not much else, which is actually the main idea. If you come during tourist season, it could be an ideal low pressure area for you to unwind in. It seemed to me to be a peaceful hangout.
When you get hungry with all these activities, you may want to visit Maria’s Family Restaurant, which is located directly on Maddox, it offers an all you can eat buffet, and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My family liked it.
