Long ago, in a faraway land...
I was digging around for pics to use on Mom's Mother's Day card last week and stumbled across a scan I'd made of one of my very, very favorite family photos:
This pic is of my Grandma Verona (the little girl,) her mother (in my icon,) grandparents, and aunt in the late 1910's (my Grandmother was born in 1911 and I'm guessing at her age here.) They are walking north on South Michigan Avenue, a block down from the Art Institute (the zero block) and nearest buildings are the Gage set, then the Chicago Athletic Association.
The best pic I could find on the internet of this block today was this one:
Which is taken with a fisheye lens (distorted) and from directly across the street, not at the angle my photo is taken from. The block is directly across from the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park and has changed little.
A modern-day shot which more closely resembles the angle/scope of mine is from the Art Institute:
My family is walking one block further down from where this is taken.
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I never get tired of this photo - it evokes such intense feelings for me...
Personal: I have so many memories of spending time down in this very neighborhood at the museum and shopping - Both as a child and an adult. I've walked this block a hundred times.
Historical: I'm drawn into the time - having a personal connection to the subjects makes it SO REAL to me.
Urban: I never get tired of the architecture and history of this city. I wish my photo were clearer - I'd love to see the detail of the buildings better to see a then-and-now.
Photographically: The composition and candidness of this photo makes me melt - It's utterly gorgeous. It was taken by my Great Grandfather, August (the "poet" in my icon) who enjoyed photography as a hobby and has provided just about everything in our scant collection of family photos from that time/generation.
And today it makes me so, so sad... I miss my Gran so intensely - It reminds me of her and the hours we spent talking about her childhood. :::cries:::