suns along the Mohawk

  update (February 26, 2010):  I may have passed this “Begin” sign many times, but never noticed it until I was pacing the block across from the Grog Shoppe on February 8, while waiting for a late Amtrak train to arrive.  It seemed strange to encounter the End Scenic Byway sign last year, but this view of where the Byway begins is even more telling.

– you can share this posting with this shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/SchdyByway

original posting (with March 27, 2014 update)”

 Last weekend, we asked if anyone could help explain this sign marking the “End” of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway, on the block of Erie Blvd. between Liberty and State Streets, near The Grog Shoppe (Google map).  Since no one came to our assistance, we did a little research of our own.  The U.S. Department of Transportation’s “America’s Byways” webpage for the 27.7-mile Mohawk Towpath Byway [map] invites you to:

“Visit New York’s historic canal system and see the locks and bridges that made canal transport possible for almost two centuries. The Mohawk Towpath Byway links scenic, recreational and historic resources. Architecture from the 18th and 19th Centuries endures, as does the landscape and the perseverance of the canal builders.”

. . . in case you’re wondering what the stretch of “scenic byway” leading up to our sign looks like, here’s the view, looking northward:

– that’s the scenic and historic Burger King at Liberty St. and Erie Blvd. –

. . . and across the street (the Schenectady Amtrak Station):

According to the Wikipedia entry for “Mohawk Towpath Byway,” it was “Built on local grass roots enthusiasm” and “is a series of local, county, and state highways between Waterford and Cohoes and Schenectady along the Mohawk River and historic Erie Canal in upstate New York.”  For more details, see “Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway Overview,” from the U.S. DOT’s America’s Byways site, and the Mohawk Towpath Weblog.

. . . also, click for a collection of “best bets” to see along the byway, compiled by the not-for-profit MTSB Coalition.  Remarkably, the above stretch of Erie Blvd. did not make the “best scenic views” list.  If you’d nonetheless like to acquire a shirt or mug boasting the MTSB mule logo, go to their store.

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follow-up (March 27, 2014): The Schenectady Gazette had an editorial yesterday titled, “Protect Mohawk scenic byway.” (March 26, 2014, C7) I put together the collage above to highlight the importance of their cause — preserving our scenic places, “especially in places with historic and aesthetic value. They’re keys to protecting quality of life and attracting tourist dollars”.  The editorial staff is correct that “The plan needs to be officially endorsed and incorporated into the planning and zoning laws of the eight communities that are part of the byway coalition.”

 Click on the collage at the head of this paragraph.  It concerns a location along the Byway, on S. College Street,just a block and a half from the “Begins” sign.  The City’s historic Fire Station #2 was torn down without permission by a property owner, who then promised to build a replica, which would be part of the Clinton’s Ditch Restaurant facility.  The so-called replica fire station ended up looking like an auto mechanic shop or a storage warehouse. And, the final design was never even presented to the public before approval.  The episode is proof that the Schenectady Planning Board often gives virtually no weight to history or aesthetic values.  Sadly, it will probably take a lot more than editorials to get it to change its ways.

Colors of Takoma poster (click for details). .  

It’s not often that I’m away from the Schenectady’s Stockade Historic District and Mohawk River for an entire week.  But, I just spent 8 days visiting various friends in and around Washington, D.C., while staying with John Redman and Marianne Clarke, in Takoma Park, Montgomery County, Maryland.  Their home is located in the Takoma Park Historic District, so I was still surrounded by fine old homes, located along hilly and tree-lined streets — mostly Victorians and craftsman bungalows (many constructed from Sears kits in the 1920s).

– 2 Cucumber Alley, Stockade –

Here in the Stockade, I’ve come to associate striking shades and combinations of colors with our sunsets along the Mohawk, not our historic buildings.  Even when Stockadians decide to create an adventurous color scheme for their residences, the palette tends to be rather subdued — with any intense shades used sparingly on a bit of trim. [One exception, of course, is the lovely, recently-painted home at 2 Cucumber Alley, seen above.]

In the Takoma Park Historic District, on the other hand, eye-popping colors have become a tradition, and have been celebrated recently in the Colors of Takoma poster shown at the head of this posting.  As explained in the Historic Takoma Newsletter (Dec. 2008, at 5), the poster is the work of Ross Chapple and Lea Chartock who live in Takoma Park. (For more “Colors of Takoma Park,” see the FourthWall weblog, by the folks at Takoma’s Design Farm.)

My appetite for gaudily painted homes was whetted immediately on my arrival in TP, while swinging lazily on John and Marianne’s modestly-hued front porch, with this view to the right (as usual, click to enlarge the photos)

– 6908 Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park –  

. . . and this colorful pair right across the street:

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The unconventional colors reminded me that Takoma Park has long been thought of as the hippie-lefty headquarters of the DC Metro region.  These days, it has mellowed into a gray-ponytail, aging Boomer enclave.  Shortly before I moved from DC to Schenectady, in the article “How to Get Rid of Rats in Most Humane Way” (September 25, 1987), the New York Times stated:

“This is not your average Washington suburb, and never has been. Its 17,000 residents love a good argument, especially one over on the leftish side of things.”

As you can see below, the free-spirited residents of Takoma Park, Maryland, continue to strut their stuff with their colorful homes:

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– next-door neighbors –

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On the other hand: Stockade District Colors:

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Of course, Schenectady’s Stockade District isn’t totally colorless or stodgy.   Here are a few side-by-side comparisons with Takoma Park’s colorful displays:

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– 108 Front St., Stockade –                                                               – Takoma Park –

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– Stockade –                                   – Takoma Park –                               – Stockade –

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– Takoma Park –             ———————– Stockade doors —————————-

The colors of Takoma and the Stockade’s hues make me thankful for people who love historic districts and lovingly care for their homes.

overtime (June 2, 2009):  Driving up Green St. this evening, I realized there were a few doorways that needed to be recognized in this posting.  So, I walked back home and got my PowerShot:

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…… Green Street doorways, Schenectady Stockade …..

p.s. Maybe I’m Sunset Jingoist: None of the Takoma sunsets last week could match this one from my backyard, my first night back along the Mohawk: