Jim Nolan's Blog

Jim to Give Reading at the Gallery on Cedar, Sunday, May 1 @ 4PM

I will be reading three of my Buffalo stories this weekend as part of the RiverArts 2011 Studio Tour. The Gallery on Cedar is at 37 Cedar Street in Dobbs Ferry (914-282-5657). My wife, Isabella Bannerman, will be doing live pencil portaits there on Saturday (11-6) and Sunday (12-4). 

New York Public Library Menu Collection

Interesting New York Times article about how the Library is scanning its collection of 35,000 menus. My friend Harley has over 10,000 menus of his own. It is the largest collection of menus in private hands.

Here's a summary from the Asia/Pacific American Archives Survey:

"The Harley Spiller Menu Collection totals 40 linear feet and consists of more than 10,000 items. Menus from Chinese restaurants comprise about three-quarters of the collection. These span in date from 1981 to 2009 and about 1000 of the menus predate 1960. There are some older menus in the collection, including a menu used at a luncheon with Li Hongzhang at Tiffin in 1879, which Spiller considers to be the oldest of his menus. Most menus are 11x17 broadsheets or the 8 1/2x 11 folded kinds, but there are also some dine-in menus, including one from the famous Snake Restaurant in Guangzhou, China. Within the collection are menus from every decade, menus from all 50 states, and 3 linear feet of international menus. Included also are photocopies Spiller made of Chinese restaurant menus contained in other collections at Hunter College and the New York Academy of Medicine."

Time to start scanning, Harley.

Listen to Harley discuss his collecting for StoryCorps here.

Blue Öyster Cult Ticket Stubs, 1976 & 1977

BÖC got a lot of my money (actually, my parents' money) back in the '70s. "Career of Evil" on Secret Treaties was co-written by the 2010 National Book Award winner for nonfiction. Do you know who? 

Frank Lloyd Wright's William R. Heath House, Part 2

 
William R. Heath House, Buffalo, NY, from Buffalo As An Architectural Museum

A shot of the garage apartment my friend Bill Brockflock lived in for five years.

Bill writes:

"The 2 car garage is actually below a lovely balcony that is off of the living room, which occupies the left side of the set of windows you can see. The 2 on the right were actually the bathroom windows, the next frame is the 5 foot high door to get onto the balcony, and then the next two are the start of 270 degrees of windows for the living room. The one car garage (right side of pic, just beyond the corner of the Jeep) is beneath the bedroom."

Frank Lloyd Wright's Heath House, Bill Brockflock's One-Time Home

 

My old friend Bill Brockflock writes: 

"I lived in the garage apt of the Heath House on Bird at Granger (yeah, Granger AGAIN!) for about 5 years. An awesome, but small apartment. And believe me, with glass almost all the way around, a strong thunderstorm is kinda scary! I would love to have seen it fully reconditioned, but the costs are outrageous these days. Did you know that when the Heath House was built, the neighbor actually moved his house away from it? Ole stick in the mud!"

"I'll give you some interesting history: All 5 houses built in Buffalo were built for officers and executives of the Larkin Soap Co. It is interesting that the Larkin family did not ever own one - they owned the house that Buffalo Seminary used to own, on the corner of Lincoln and Forest. They actually owned the entire block they were on. It was a family compound."

"Just found a site that says that Larkin's first Salesman for his new company was Elbert Hubbard! Wow! Now so much connects."

Thanks for the info, Bill! Pretty nice digs for five years!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Only Mausoleum, Built in Buffalo in 1994

The Blue Sky Mausoleum (2004) is one of two plans of F.L. Wright's that have been recently completed in Buffalo.

 

The other is the Fontana Boathouse (2007).

Wright's Larkin Administration Building (1906) was torn down in 1950. 

The Darwin Martin House (1903-1905) has undergone near complete restoration.

Tombs of Wealthy Chinese No Match (Yet) for Buffalo's Buried Rich

Great article in today's New York Times about how China is trying to "Curb Fancy Tombs That Irk Poor." To a Buffaloanian familiar with Forest Lawn, the tombs featured in the article don't seem particularly grand. Here's an example: 

Sim Chi Yin for the New York Times

Compare that with Forest Lawn's Birge Memorial:

Jeffrey Smith, amorbidfascination.blogspot.com

Here's a terrific shot of the Samuel Fletcher Pratt Monument, with the Walden-Meyer Mausoleum in the background, from "Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo History Preserved" by Michaels, Reisem and Rupp.

Seth Colby

Then there's the famous Blocher Memorial:

Dave Pape

Here's the inside.

Dave Pape

According to Richard Reisem,

"the monument is constructed of granite, cut from 20 massive stones that were shaped to the circular design of the structure. The roof is a huge, 60-ton granite bell..."

The sculptures inside are meant to show the sorrow of the Blocher parents for the untimely death of their only son Nelson, who pined away for the maid they sent away, as she was beneath their station.

Whether or not Buffalonians of the time resented these extravagent monuments and memorials I can't say. 

I'm guessing the Chinese will get the hang of it soon enough.

 

Another Halloween Costume: Eddie's Green Galaxy

 
The fabric that would become Eddie's great Halloween costume.

To hear my audio essay about it, click below.

Click here to hear Eddie's Green Galaxy 

 

Pirate Photos, early 1960s

The 44th U.S. President, Barak Obama, and his mother, Ann.

My brother Chris (right) in pirate costume of his own. I am in the Deputy Dog get-up. My sister Lisa is a fairy. Oscar is a French poodle. Click on images to enlarge.

 

Homemade Calendar Page, June 2-8, 1946

Created by my grandfather, Bengt Paul. His shot of Mom running through the water in Sweden, where they had moved from Berlin after the war. Click on image to enlarge.