My newest version of seeing all the county seats in Texas ...

[Teeds]

This should take a while ...

A long while probably ...

I have to ride my bike into town and take a photo of my bike in front of the courthouse ...

So far ...

Hudspeth
Kimble
Kaufman
Mason

Menard

Real

Van Zandt
Upshur

Only 246 to go ...

This is the map so far ...

I will add the photos of my bike and the courthouses as soon as I can upload them to SmugMug.

 

[Janet]

Hey Teeds. It all starts with one. Have fun.

 

[Teeds]

You should recognize the graphic. It is the one you sent me!

Many thanks!! I carry a printout with me.

I am closing in on my first round of courthouses. I like about 10, all up in the lower Panhandle. I will get them on an extended 3 day weekend trip this summer sometime.

That will close out my adventures in general. The newer version is more for fun of being able to say I have touched every county in the state with a bike. I expect it will take a while to achieve. I ride a dual sport, so it isn't like I am racking up miles on a cruiser.

I managed 270 miles yesterday and found a swell road that I want to research some ... Dallas-Shreveport Road. Apparently it was originally an indian trail. It is a beautiful way to lollygag back from Gilmer to Dallas.

 

[Janet]

Which part of the D-S road were you on? I know some of it is FM 16 out around Lindale and Winona. The rest of it is chopped up into other county roads like out around Grand Saline.
Sounds like a fun afternoon.

 

[Teeds]

Which part of the D-S road were you on? I know some of it is FM 16 out around Lindale and Winona. The rest of it is chopped up into other county roads like out around Grand Saline.
Sounds like a fun afternoon.

Janet:

Duh ... I forgot to answer the most important question ...

I had a fabulous time and it was a wonderful day for a ride.

I rode the section north of Lindale westward to where it ended at FM1253

I went straight at the T where FM 2710 turns south and heads to Lindale.

Are you familiar with the history of the road?

I did a bit of digging today on the web and came up with some tidbits, but nothing solid and definitely nothing in the way of a map. I have got the hair brained idea that tracing this and documenting the history of the road would be fun. Being an architect that deals in historic preservation and economic revitalization, I am always looking for ways to get couch potatoes out of the big cities and into the small towns of Texas.

Grand Saline is having their Salt Festival next weekend and Terrell is having a antique tractor fair the second weekend of June. I need to check them out and see what is cooking! I'm betting is will all be good and the people as genuine as the day is long!

Edit: Here is a link to the thread I started about the road.

 

[Tourmeister]

You know Teeds, being an architect type nerd, I wonder... Do you give much thought to the psychology of the design of many public buildings like court houses, city halls, schools, etc,...?

 

[Teeds]

You know Teeds, being an architect type nerd, I wonder... Do you give much thought to the psychology of the design of many public buildings like court houses, city halls, schools, etc,...?

The psychology of the design is always a large part of the design of public buildings. Washington DC is a good example of a city where public structures are readily identifiable among the surrounding structures. Federalism has become a freestanding design aesthetic.

Actually this is often the case with all corporate work as well. Anytime you have an owner wanting to make a statement, you get into psychology at some level. It can be something as simple as the feeling the skyline profile evokes or something as complicated as how people feel crossing the threshold of the entry when encountering the main lobby.

 

[Tourmeister]

The psychology of the design is always a large part of the design of public buildings. Washington DC is a good example of a city where public structures are readily identifiable among the surrounding structures. Federalism has become a freestanding design aesthetic.

Actually this is often the case with all corporate work as well. Anytime you have an owner wanting to make a statement, you get into psychology at some level. It can be something as simple as the feeling the skyline profile evokes or something as complicated as how people feel crossing the threshold of the entry when encountering the main lobby.

So what "statements" do you think typical government buildings are trying to make based on your numerous observations?

 

[Teeds]

So what "statements" do you think typical government buildings are trying to make based on your numerous observations?

Scott:

The two values that come to mind most quickly are strength and stability. Making a quick pass through some books, we noted also the traits of weigh and institutional authority.

Can you name the few courthouses in Texas still made of wood? Only a few come to mind and they are merely ceremonial at this point for the most part. All too many of the courthouses in Texas have burned and it is indeed rare to find one that has not been touched by fire. Ego and the need for fireproof design deemed that many of the oldest surviving courthouses across the US are constructed of stone. As iron and steel replaced stone as the structure members of buildings stone became even more ceremonial than the early days of the republic.

Romantic Classicism is the underlying theme of virtually all of the federal buildings built prior to the modern era. Neo-Classical Revival is the most accurate name for the style. America was struggling to define itself on the world stage and our unique federalist style is a reaction to what American architects of the era were seeing in Europe.

Neo-Classical Revival springs from a blending of Greek Revival with a dash of Beaux-Arts Classicism. Larger that Greek Revival and simpler in ornamentation than Beaux-Art, Neo-Classical became the default style of government for the latter part of the 19th and much of the 20th century. Even Art Deco maintains many of the elements of Neo-Classical, but strips them down even further.

Some books on the subject that we perused ...

American Architecture Since 1780 - Marcus Whiffen
A Field Guide to American Architecture - Carole Rifkind

Both have excellent discussions of the styles.

“The increasingly differentiated plan of capitol, courthouse, customhouse, record building, hospital, college, and jail accommodated the growing scope and complexity of government and institutional authority, while an impressive appearance lent weight and authority.” (Carole Rifkind - A Field Guide to American Architecture - Page 174)