photography

We had fun at The Lume: Van Gogh experience at Newfields Indy

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There was more than the digital presentations at the Van Gogh experience at The Lume. An activity room was set up with a few things to do. One was an interesting device that took a picture of your face, then offered you your choice of different Van Gogh styles.

Sher on left, Maj on right, both ala Vincent van Gogh styles

Sher and I both tried this “activity”. Hopefully they will soon email the digital copies to us, as was promised when we picked our style.  Our pictures were displayed prominently on the wall for a time.

A couple of squirrels

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It is a very cold day, highs only in the mid teens. These two squirrels were “frozen” in place for several minutes on the trunk of this maple tree. There were no predators visible from our back door, however these guys seemed to be in the classic “Don’t move or that thing will catch and eat us!”

A turn of the century sanitarium for addiction treatments

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This stately brick home was built in the 1860’s in what was then the outskirts of Shelbyville, Indiana. In 1906 the son of a local judge opened this home as a hospital for the treatment of those with addictions.

The Hord Sanitarium building as it is today

View in 1906 Postcard from The Indiana Album

Back of postcard from The Indiana Album

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Luther Hord operated The Hord Sanitarium Park from 1906 until well into the 1940’s. The Hord Sanitarium was known throughout the Midwest as one of the premier hospitals for the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. Currently it appears that the multistory house is being used as apartments.

Burning tree now behind traffic cones and tape

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                        Remember the burning tree we posted about nearly a week ago?                                           Here is the link to that post.

No smoke was visible when the photo was taken

Apparently the Fire Department or the Street Department or somebody decided that this smoldering tree should at least be roped off to keep the public away and safe. They first wanted to just let it burn and “it would eventually fall into the river”.

Great bourbon starts with the good water at Lawrenceburg

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Driving along US 50 through Lawrenceburg, Indiana, it is hard to miss the large complex of tall red brick buildings and multiple silver tanks that are part of the former Seagrams Distillery plant that straddles the Lawrenceburg and Greendale city boundaries. The current owner/operator of the facility is now MGP Ingredients, based out of Kansas.

This building has six floors (two of which are underground) of aging racks for the 550 pound barrels of whiskey

The Cincinnati Magazine published a fascinating and detailed story about the history of the Seagrams Distillery, its current owners, and the ins and outs of the distillery business around the country. Read that article here. 

This paragraph is from the Cincinnati Magazine article.  “According to (Master Distiller Greg) Metze, it all starts with the water. MGP Ingredients sits on an aquifer, just a short walk from the Ohio River (most of the facility is actually in Greendale). That 56-degree water—low in sulfur and iron, high in calcium, and limestone-filtered—lets MGP make a lot of whiskey, and also have a continuous source for cooling the equipment. That’s why there were so many distilleries in Lawrenceburg in the 1800s. MGP’s began life as the Rossville Union Distillery in 1847; after Prohibition, in 1933, it was purchased by the legendary Canadian company Seagram. Right next door was Squibb, which opened in 1846 (though another distillery, Dunn and Ludlow, was on that patch of land in 1807) and became part of the Delaware company Schenley in 1933.”

The tower houses multi-story continuous column stills

We drove by the facility last weekend during our day trip in the area. It is huge, and what we found was that unfortunately it does not offer public tours of this historic distillery. At one time the Seagrams plant employed over 2800 at the distillery and bottling plant. It is truly an iconic business with a rich and colorful history.

The Carroll Lee Cropper Memorial Bridge

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Interstate 275 is the beltway that runs around Cincinnati, Ohio. A portion of this beltway crosses the Ohio River 20 miles west of downtown as it runs between Indiana and Kentucky. In 1968 construction began on a four lane continuous steel arch-shaped truss bridge. It was completed in 1977.

Approaching the bridge, Kentucky ahead

The bridge is 1,759 feet long, with its largest span being 758 feet. The official name is the Carroll Lee Cropper Memorial Bridge. Carroll Lee Cropper was a judge in Boone County, Kentucky,  where the bridge lands on the Kentucky side of the river. Cropper was judge for 20 years starting in 1942.

Looking downriver from the bridge, you can see the pier at the Lawrenceburg landing in the water. The pier is the header picture at the top of this post.

We crossed this bridge twice on our day trip last weekend. It is quite impressive, and stands out when you are on the riverfront in Lawrenceburg looking up river toward the bridge. This is also the bridge that ultimately was responsible for the end of service of a small local ferry.

Lawrenceburg Indiana Bicentennial Monument

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Lawrenceburg Indiana is on the Ohio River across from Kentucky. The pictured riverside monument was erected for the city’s 2002 bicentennial celebration. Two 12 foot diameter clocks face both the river and the land. A 30 bell carillon plays every hour with the peal of bells honoring the struggles of the “everyday man.” Stylized smokestack-styled columns frame the monument symbolizing Lawrenceburg’s long river heritage.

 

Honoring all branches of the service

Honoring first responders

The monument features bronze statues of soldiers and sailors of all branches of the service. On the opposite flank is a bronze statue honoring the police and firefighter first  responders in the act of rescuing a child and passing him to an EMT. The center of the monument is open to the riverfront, however there are flood gates that may be closed, as the monument is also part of the flood control levee protecting the city.

Old Kentucky tobacco barn

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We spotted this old tobacco barn from the I-275 interstate in Kentucky. These barns are used to hang tobacco plants after they are cut at their base. Burley tobacco plants can grow to a height of six feet. The barn’s missing siding boards and roof vents enable the large leaves to dry before they are baled and sold. Beyond the barn is the Ohio River.

A busy day by the river

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Downtown Lawrenceburg

Even though it was a very cold and breezy day on Saturday, we still enjoyed a very nice day trip along a stretch of the Ohio River. It was one of those no itinerary trips. We just drove around and took in the sights.

Standing in front of a large wood chair in Aurora

We took the I-275 interstate bridge over the Ohio River into Kentucky and drove through the Creation Museum grounds. Returning to Indiana we stopped at Lawrenceburg, followed the River Road and went as far as Aurora.  All in all we had a wonderful and exciting day as we took in the sights of southeast Indiana.

A power plant on its last years

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The Miami Fort Power Station is located on the banks of the Ohio River in Hamilton County, Ohio immediately east of the tripoint of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. This power plant is a dual-fuel power generating facility, consisting of a major coal-fired electrical power plant that is supplemented with a small oil-fired facility.

Photo from Lawrenceburg Indiana riverfront, I-275 bridge and Miami Fort plant ln the distance

With its origin dating back to the first coal fired unit in 1949, the most recent coal unit was commissioned in 1978. Oil fired units were commissioned in 1971. The facility was originally owned by Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company (CG&E) which became Duke Energy. Currently Dynegy is the owner.

View of the power plant from the northbound lanes of the I-275 bridge

The huge plant is impossible to miss when you are traveling on I-275 crossing the Ohio River. It is east of the bridge and the columns of smoke at times are dominant in the skies. As of this writing two coal-fired units have been decommissioned. It has been announced that by the end of the year 2027 or sooner the Miami Fort Power Station will be retired.