Category: architecture

One Fine Morning

semi carrying one of 3 bridge sections
Tractor trailers have arrived at the Woolen Mill with sections of the new Moores Creek pedestrian bridge. The bridge comes from Bridge Brothers. I am so pleased. Circumabulation of Charlottesville will be possible without getting wet feet… Thank you Brian Roy and investors.
image courtesy of Bridge Brothers
The Bridge was fabricated by Bridge Brothers Inc in Pickens, SC. The Bridge is 140′ x 8′ and weighs in at 48,500#. The deck is a solid 2″ x 8″ PT Pine with vertical pickets. It is designed to AASHTO standards and is designed for 90 PSF live load, 30 PSF snow Load, and 105MPH winds.

Relics, Free, you can’t make this stuff up

“If you want your own slice of Cavalier athletics history, the University of Virginia will distribute bricks from the exterior of University Hall for free Thursday evening.”
ZACK WAJSGRAS/THE DAILY PROGRESS 5/15/2019

queque
Charlottesville got some bad press, fine people on both sides. But real Charlottesville people, I love each and everyone of them, no stain here.

University Hall University Hall is an 8,000+ seat multi-purpose butt-ugly arena on the University of Virginia Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia. Constructed in 1965. Barry Parkhill and Ralph Sampson played basketball under the dome. B.B. King, Steve Goodman, R.E.M., Dionne Warwick, 10,000 Maniacs, The Pretenders, Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys played music here.

University Hall is being demolished.

Christian belief in the power of relics, the physical remains of a holy site or holy person, or objects with which they had contact, is as old as the faith itself and developed alongside it. Relics were more than mementos. The New Testament refers to the healing power of objects that were touched by Christ or his apostles.–Metropolitan Museum

(Or objects touched by Lucille)

B.B.King backstage, 1971.

The healing power of even half a brick can’t be discounted. And the price, FREE.

600' lineBy 6:30 the line was 600 feet long. Initially the bricks were whole, clean, shrink wrapped on pallets but those were gone soon.
But these are good people, Charlottesvillians. They queue up, they wait patiently, they talk to their neighbors in line.

bobcatThey do not riot or fight, they do not mob the one hapless guy driving the bobcat transporting masonry rubble to the faithful.

iPhoneThe people are civil, polite, kind, patient.

head of the lineUltimately they reach the head of the line.

relic bitsTaking home a fragment of Ralph’s house, of the music hall, of the place where Presidents spoke. A fragment valuable because they believed, because they waited for it, because because.