Most of the states I’ve been to seem to have a town like Solvang - a place with solid European roots that has developed into a tourism draw over the years. Some of my favorites have been Helen, Georgia, Frankenmuth, Michigan, New Ulm, Minnesota and Helvetia, West Virginia. All of these have had either a German or Swiss background, which made the Danish village of Solvang different and quite fun for me to explore.
The area where Solvang now stands was originally Chumash land. In 1804, the Spanish built Mission Santa Inés, one of 21 Catholic missions they would establish in Alta California to try and convert the native peoples and help the Spanish claim to the territory. After Mexico won its independence in 1821, the mission system was dissolved and the land was divided into land grants and this area became part of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata.
Beginning in 1850, many Danish immigrants began arriving on America’s shores including some of my ancestors on my father’s side. Communities would begin to form, especially in the Midwest. In 1910, a small group of Danish men decided to try somewhere a little warmer and purchased land in the Santa Inés Valley. A year later, a town plan had been drawn up and Solvang was born.
Originally, the town looked like many others in the region but after World War II many buildings were built or rebuilt in a more Scandinavian style. Today, Solvang is definitely an eye-catching place, especially the windmills which are scattered around the town. Tourism is a major draw with people coming from all over the world to visit the delicious bakeries and restaurants.
I had a great time in Solvang. It was busy but not crazy and I couldn’t help but smile as I wandered around taking these photos. It felt familiar yet different at the same time and it is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for a break from the coastal beach towns and Mission architecture. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Solvang, California’s Danish capital.
The area we now call Cleveland Park in Washington D.C. was once a part of a massive 1000 acre estate owned by Colonel Ninian Biell. He called his estate Pretty Prospect and built a small stone cottage on the land in 1740. In 1790, the property was acquired by General Uriah Forrest, who would later become mayor of Georgetown, and a large wood-framed house was built onto the front of the stone cottage. Forrest renamed the property Rosedale. When his son inherited this land, he built an even bigger home and called it Forrest Hill. In 1886, Forrest Hill was purchased as a country retreat by then-president Grover Cleveland who converted the house into a Victorian mansion and renamed it Oak View. It is from President Cleveland that the current neighborhood takes its name.
After Cleveland lost his reelection bid in 1889, the land was purchased and converted into housing subdivisions. The neighborhood’s early success was made possible by the Rock Creek Railway line which ran up Connecticut Avenue from downtown all the way to Chevy Chase Lake in Montgomery County, Maryland. In order to make this streetcar line happen, a massive bridge had to be built over the Klingle Valley and Rock Creek connecting the area to the rest of the city. The neighborhood developed around the natural contours of the land, with a little help from the firm of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, and you’ll find more winding roads here than in most parts of the city. Many of the houses were built to be unique to those around them and many were designed by renowned architects of the day. The result was that Cleveland Park was once heralded as the “prettiest suburb of Washington”, and many of those beautiful houses survive in the neighborhood today.
Chevy Chase dates back all the way to 1725, when Col. Joseph Belt was granted 1000 acres by Lord Baltimore, the first proprietor of the Colony of Maryland. Col. Belt, who had commanded the Prince George’s County Militia in the French and Indian War, named his new farm Cheivy Chase after an area in Northern England. A portion of the land was bought up for development in the late 1800s, and lots began to sell when a streetcar line connected the neighborhood to downtown Washington. Many of the houses in Chevy Chase were bought straight from a Sears and Roebuck catalog and remain standing today. Much of the architecture in the area is in the humble Bungalow, Foursquare and Dutch Colonial styles, but many of my favorites are in the less well represented Tudor revival style. Some of the key landmarks of the community are Magruder’s Market which opened in 1875, the 1923 Avalon Theater and the far newer Chevy Chase Library and Community Center. Chevy Chase is my home neighborhood, and I have wonderful memories from my childhood of movies at the Avalon, art and gymnastics classes at the community center, going to the old Riggs Bank with my grandmother and for ice cream at the long-gone Baskin Robbins. I often take my morning walk up Connecticut Avenue, the central road of the neighborhood, and reminisce about times gone by and five generations of my family who have wandered these streets. It made my heart feel good to go out and shoot these photos of my home neighborhood.
Corpus Christi’s Marina Arts District is a wonderful story of urban renewal and public art. When Terry Sweeny moved to Corpus Christi in 2014, he found a city, like so many others, which had sold its soul to suburban sprawl. He also saw an area with tons of potential and set about trying to revitalize downtown. He joined forces with Brad Lomax, who had been working on revitalizing downtown Corpus Christi for years, and a dedicated group of like-minded citizens. The result is staggering. The colorful murals and public art projects make downtown look clean, sharp and vibrant. If you look closely enough, you’ll see that there are still plenty of empty storefronts looking for an opportunity to be resurrected, but they are hard to spot as your eyes are constantly drawn elsewhere. My favorite part is the wonderful seawall walk overlooking the marina on one side, and the Arts District on the other.
I enjoyed my time in the Marina Arts District even though I was there right as everything was closing up shop for a while due to the coronavirus. As I wandered around taking these photos, I heard wonderful music echoing up and down the empty streets. When I finally found where it was coming from, I sat for a few minutes to listen to the performance of a wonderful street musician in front of the shuttered Executive Surf Club. I needed a few songs in my day to blow thoughts of the virus away, and he gave me hope with his music. And hope is a wonderful thing. It is, in fact, the only thing more powerful than fear. I know I’ll be back in Corpus Christi at some point when all of this has blown over. I’m looking forward to it already.
West Point, Mississippi is a pleasant, medium sized town in Clay County in the east-central part of the state. Perhaps best known as the hometown of legendary bluesman Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett, I found it to be a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. There are some beautiful old buildings, some delightful parks and some wonderful murals and artwork, all packed into a compact and walkable downtown area. Originally home to Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, the French, Spanish and British also vied for control of the region. The town itself was originally laid out as a railroad town when the Mobile and Ohio Line came through in 1858. It would grow as part of the state’s Black Belt as cotton production became Alabama’s main industry. While I couldn’t find the origin of the name West Point (interesting to me because it’s in the east of the state), Clay County was named for the Great Compromiser, Kentucky’s Henry Clay. Because of the railroad, West Point was a strategic target during the Civil War, although the only real skirmish was a small one and occurred in 1864. November 2nd, 1909 was an exciting day in town when President William Howard Taft’s train pulled into the station and he addressed the townspeople from his rail car before heading on to Columbus.
When I visited West Point, I sadly found the Howlin’ Wolf Museum closed. While I waited for a call back from the man who runs it, I grabbed my camera and went for a wander. While I was there, the clouds cleared and I found a wonderful, clean, well-kept downtown with a distinctly small-town feel to it. I loved the City Hall building, City Park, the town’s stoic churches, the old Ritz Theater, some beautiful art projects scattered around town and some really cute small businesses on Main and Commerce Streets. While I never did get into the museum (they’re building a new one in a vacant storefront on Commerce Street), I’m still glad I stopped. There wasn’t much going on when I was there, and I was okay with that. A beautiful town on a sunny day is always something to write home about. Thanks for a wonderful visit, West Point; I hope to be back when the new museum is open for business.
