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Wood architecture. Massive wooden building Sibley Breaker, Pennsylvania, built in 1886 and destroyed by fire in 1906.

[MaxBigfoot]

Wood architecture. Massive wooden building Sibley Breaker, Pennsylvania, built in 1886 and destroyed by fire in 1906.

Wow, that's amazing.  That's gotta be one of the biggest wooden buildings I've ever seen.   

[solvegas]

I recently drove to see my stepsister living in Ontario, Canada, and on the way back I decided to see a part of the USA I'd never seen before, Southern Kansas, and I visited Dodge City. Established in 1872 near an old US Army fort, Fort Dodge, the railroad established a train station and word got down to Texas cattlemen that the closest railroad station was now in Dodge City and so the legendary cattle drives from Texas to Kansas, which took 2-3 months to do on the old Chisolm trail, where started and Dodge City became a boomtown which also had a bad reputation due to violence. There were several iconic lawmen such as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson that helped police the town. This is a photo of the oldest surviving original building in town, which is still used, built in 1873, the Union church. In 1887 there was a huge fire in the town and most of the building that were reconstructed afterwards are still around. Part of the violence in town was due to Texas cowboys, who fought for the Confederacy, met Yankees railroad men and when trying to make a deal, there were disagreements. The cattle were eventually shipped to Chicago, which at the time, was known as the butcher city.

[bignatslover]

Southern Kansas, and I visited Dodge City

Oooh, fun trip. I'll bet the laid-back, Mayberry-like feel of the area was a contrast to Vegas!

Wood architecture. Massive wooden building Sibley Breaker, Pennsylvania, built in 1886 and destroyed by fire in 1906.

Yup. 1906: "The fire is believed to have originated from a crossed wire in the electric lighting system... The use of open flames in the breaker, which was against the rules, is also thought to have contributed to the disaster." (Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, June 24, 1906)
"Hmmm, what could go wrong with our 150-foot tall wooden structure if we fill it with faulty electric wiring?"

[gOOber]

 

[MaxBigfoot]

That's sad.   

[solvegas]

This is the stone/brick home of legendary Old West lawman Bat Masterson which survived the town fire since it was not wooden. It is now a museum in Dodge City, Kansas, and you can see the statue of Bat Masterson. 

[gOOber]

 

[Shadowmuse Blown]

Who is that?

[Shadowmuse Blown]

1938 - Peal Street near John & Fulton, showing 2nd & 3rd Ave El lines, and today.

[solvegas]

From Dodge City, Kansas, the iconic and perhaps the most popular Old West saloon, the Long Branch saloon, in which the TV series/show Gunsmoke had Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty, as the owner/madam of the place and it was based on this one. This was the reconstructed one in which the original was burned down in a huge town fire, and it is now an exhibit of the Boot Hill Museum which maintains these old structures from 1887. By the way, this is a photo I took when I visited the town. 

[solvegas]

From Fort Dodge, Kansas, which gave the name to the city of Dodge City, the barracks of the US 7th Cavalry at the time. It became a hospital later on and then a veterans medical establishment. The fort is essentially abandoned now, some parts are museums now. I took this photo.   

[Shadowmuse Blown]

Back when they were stupid enough to allow helicopters to land on the PanAm (now MetLife) Building.

[solvegas]

This bridge was built by the Spaniards back in 1709 in the city my father was born, Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico, and it is still used for pedestrian traffic, not automobile or truck traffic, since the weight difference could collapse it. Orizaba also has earthquakes, so this is a surviving structure. I took this photo. 

[gOOber]