Often, I have heard Troy referred to as the butt hole of New York. That is harsh and uncalled for.
It actually resembles the backlot at Universal Studios. Wait. Maybe I have that backwards. I went to visit on a rainy day with my friend Bob.Lots to know about Troy...In 1840 (the start of modernity for us visual culturists) Troy was the fourth wealthiest community in the country and TROY HAS MORE TIFFANY WINDOWS PER SQUARE MILE THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE US. That fact alone sent my decorative arts heart beating r
apidly. Hey! Even the frat house on First Street had a Tiffany window. Bob and I attempted a church entry to see the windows at St. Paul's but the church was locked tighter than a drum. But all was not lost, the Troy library building was such a treat. It actually reminded me of the Boston Library without the John Singer Sargent Mura
ls. The windows were spectacular. Behind the checkout desk is a huge window depicting Aldus delivering a copy of the Dante's Divine Comedy with the following quote in the right hand corner "Study as if you were to live forever and live as if you were to die tomorrow." I gotta think about that....The window was designed for Tiffany by Frederick Wilson whose primary focus seem
ed to be church windows. He must have relished a secular subject like this one. The other windows in the Libary were extraordinary. I wish I could have lit them for my photos but that option didn't exist. I am starting to think that if you were anybody doing anything of import in the gilded age...you had Tiffany Studios do your windows, Frederick Law Olmstead do your garden, Augustus Saint Gaudens do your statuary and John Singer
Sargent paint your picture, even if you lived up in the sticks like Troy or Saratoga. Bob and I didn't get to see the Tiffany windows at The Bush Memorial Center at Russell Sage either. It was locked....I am coming back. There is an underground railroad walking tour Saturday morning...I think I gotta check it out. Other things you need to know about Troy; Herman Melville lived here for a while and published two books (before Moby Dick), The night before Christmas was published and written here in 1823. The Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, Ironweed, and The Bostonians were shot here. I mean if Scorcese liked it, who am I to disagree?
apidly. Hey! Even the frat house on First Street had a Tiffany window. Bob and I attempted a church entry to see the windows at St. Paul's but the church was locked tighter than a drum. But all was not lost, the Troy library building was such a treat. It actually reminded me of the Boston Library without the John Singer Sargent Mura
ls. The windows were spectacular. Behind the checkout desk is a huge window depicting Aldus delivering a copy of the Dante's Divine Comedy with the following quote in the right hand corner "Study as if you were to live forever and live as if you were to die tomorrow." I gotta think about that....The window was designed for Tiffany by Frederick Wilson whose primary focus seem
ed to be church windows. He must have relished a secular subject like this one. The other windows in the Libary were extraordinary. I wish I could have lit them for my photos but that option didn't exist. I am starting to think that if you were anybody doing anything of import in the gilded age...you had Tiffany Studios do your windows, Frederick Law Olmstead do your garden, Augustus Saint Gaudens do your statuary and John Singer
Sargent paint your picture, even if you lived up in the sticks like Troy or Saratoga. Bob and I didn't get to see the Tiffany windows at The Bush Memorial Center at Russell Sage either. It was locked....I am coming back. There is an underground railroad walking tour Saturday morning...I think I gotta check it out. Other things you need to know about Troy; Herman Melville lived here for a while and published two books (before Moby Dick), The night before Christmas was published and written here in 1823. The Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, Ironweed, and The Bostonians were shot here. I mean if Scorcese liked it, who am I to disagree?
