Ringo’s boyhood home threatened with demolition

by Sean McLachlan on

If you want to see where Ringo Starr was born, you better hurry.

Number 9 Madryn Street in Liverpool, where the Beatles drummer was born in 1940, is one of a neighborhood of decrepit homes slated for demolition. The little Victorian rowhouse was never glamorous, and fell into disrepair years ago. While John and Paul’s childhood homes are now preserved by the National Trust, Ringo’s place doesn’t even have an historic plaque.

Fans are up in arms and are hoping to save the house. They’re even comparing it to Shakespeare’s home. Starr himself had a more measured response, yet nonetheless said he’d love to see his old address saved from the wrecking ball. Currently the house is unoccupied and the windows boarded up. That doesn’t stop a steady trickle of tourists coming to the rundown area to see a bit of music history.

A Liverpool City Council representative offered a ray of hope by saying the city is “currently in discussions” with the city museum about options for the building.

Image courtesy user Tima63 via Wikimedia Commons.

Benjamin Franklin’s historic London home

by Sean McLachlan on

Of all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the most interesting. A true genius, he was a printer, writer, scientist, philosopher, ladies man, politician, businessman, inventor, and much more.

Despite his crucial role in the development of the early United States, none of his American homes still exist. The house where he lived in London, however, is open to the public.

The Benjamin Franklin House makes for an interesting insight into American history, and tells about life in 18th century London as well. Franklin lived here from 1757 to 1775 and worked as a representative for various colonial interests. In the early years he tried to act as an intermediary, a calm voice of reason opposed to hotheads on both sides of the Atlantic. But as dissent grew louder in the colonies, and the British government became ever more intransigent, Franklin threw his lot in with the rebels. In fact, he had to leave London in haste to avoid being arrested by the British government.

The home is tucked away on Craven Street, a quiet little lane of well-preserved Georgian-era homes not far from Trafalgar Square. Here he lived with his landlady Margaret Stevenson and her family, including a relative who ran an anatomy school. This doctor buried discarded human remains in the garden and they now make a fascinating if rather gruesome addition to an exhibition that otherwise features artifacts from Franklin’s life and times.

The tour is run by an attractive and talented actress playing Mrs. Stevenson, who takes you from room to room as audiovisual displays tell of Franklin’s stay at the house. There is little in the way of period furnishings, but the combination of the actress and recordings bring you into the era much better than old furniture ever could. It seems his London period was one of the intellectual highlights of Franklin’s life. A constant stream of visitors came to the home to discuss science, philosophy, and politics. Europe was in the midst of the Enlightenment and Franklin became a central figure in London’s intellectual scene. So if you’re interested in learning more about one of America’s truly great figures, give the Benjamin Franklin House a try.

Image courtesy the Benjamin Franklin House.

Controversy over Wal-mart on Civil War battlefield

by Sean McLachlan on

A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site of one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles is being challenged by local preservationists.

The case has gone into a new phase as a local court ruled that opponents to the Wal-Mart have the right to bring the company to trial, reports Civil War News.

When the Orange County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors approved the construction of a 138,000 square-foot Wal-mart Supercenter at the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield, part of a National Battlefield Park, two preservation groups and six local residents sued. They say that the location is too close to the battlefield and will ruin its atmosphere.

The Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-7, 1864 was a brutal slugfest between the armies of Grant and Lee that left tens of thousands of Americans dead or wounded. Many historians see the battle as the start of a long war of attrition that bled the Confederacy to death.

The Board of Supervisors challenged the opponents’ right to sue, but a court said that they do, indeed, have a vested interest in the area and may bring Wal-Mart to court. This will delay Wal-Mart’s final purchase of the land and application for building permits.

This case is similar to one concerning the Gettysburg casino, pitting historians and preservation groups against the interests of big business.

Wilderness battlefield photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Top ten historic hotels from around the world

by Scott Carmichael on

Hotel price comparison site www.trivago.co.uk has put together a list of ten historic international hotels and the famous individuals that stayed in them.

The lineup includes some of the most beautiful hotels from around the world and was compiled using reviews submitted to Trivago, booking.com, hotel.info and others.

The top ten lineup is:

1. Palace Beau Rivage, Lausanne, Switzerland

2. Hotel Copernicus, Krakow, Poland

3. Las Casas De La Juderia, Seville, Spain

4. The Willard, Washington DC, USA

5. Reid’s Palace, Funchal, Portugal

6. Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg, Bonn, Germany

7. Le Plaza, Brussels, Belgium

8. Grand Hotel Rimini, Rimini, Italy

9. The Cadogan, London, United Kingdom

10. Grand Hotel de Cabourg, Cabourg, France

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How to save NYC’s Tin Pan Alley: Five ideas for the buildings where musicians thrived.

by Jamie Rhein on

The news that Tin Pan Alley’s half-dozen row houses [photo by edenpictures]may be torn down to make room for high rise apartments caught my attention for several reasons:

  • One–because a group of people are working to save the buildings by having them acheive historical landmark status.
  • Two–because 19th century buildings have more character than high rise apartments,
  • Three– because they have significance to Americana which means they have significance to tourists
  • Four–because Singapore almost destroyed all of its charm several years back by tearing down many colonial shop houses in favor of high rises until the Singapore government caught on that the shop houses offered charm. Tourists love charm. Charm can mean money. Several areas were earmarked for development where the shop houses were refurbished to create popular tourist destinations like Boat Quay and Clarke Quay–not to mention the streets in back of Orchard Road, one of the biggest commercial streets in Singapore.

My five suggestions for Tin Pan Alley’s salvation involve pepping up each building’s musical connection status by turning part of each building into a place that reflects Tin Pan Alley’s’ important history and contribution to American life.

Suggestion one: Turn one building into a music museum. The museum would have:

  • displays of instruments, photographs, and belongings of Irving Berlin, Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, George M. Cohan and others who got their start here
  • exhibits of publications, advertisements and sheet music
  • Interactive exhibits where people could try their hand at playing tunes, and composing
  • A small theater where a montage of movie scene clips that feature the music of these composers play and another film that shows the history of American music, similar to what is played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
  • Listening kiosks where people could listen to the tunes of the musicians who got their start at Tin Pan Alley. Also similar to what is at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • an auditorium for talks and concerts
  • a gift shop that sells CDs, movies, and music related items

Suggestion two: Part of one building could house a restaurant with food named for the musical greats such as the Scott Joplin Burger, the Fats Waller Fries, and the George M. Cohan Cobb Salad.

Suggestion three: Next door to the museum and the restaurant could be a music academy where people of all ages can go for music instruction on a weekly basis –or for a week or weekend of intensive instruction. Song writing workshops could be offered as well. Always wanted to play the banjo? Here’s where.

Suggestion four: Part of another building could be turned into a B&B or hostel where people could stay for their musical journey

Suggestion five: One building could be earmarked as affordable housing for musicians. They would pay for rent but, they could reduce their rent by putting in hours at either the restaurant, the museum or the music academy as part of their payment. This could help keep NYC’s musical talent in Manhattan. You try living in an apartment in Manhattan on a musician’s salary.

Suggestion six: Any ideas? Here’s your chance to change history too. Who knows? Maybe someone will listen to us.

By the way, the top few floors of each building could still be used for housing for any New York City resident so that the people who now live in these buildings who are trying to preserve them have the ability to live where they love. Some of these folks might end up on the governing board of whatever foundation needs to be set up in order to help run the place.

And, here’s another reason to save the buildings. It seems to me, it would be a great American success story.

Didn’t the people who would be honored by such a place achieve the American Dream? What better way to show that the American Dream can happen than by having this small piece of Manhattan real estate showcase where dreams came true.

For more Tin Pan Alley information, check out Tin Pan Alley Project. It includes song lists to take you down memory lane.