Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Share the Joy

What gives me joy?

the elegance of Beaux-Arts architecture~



Union train station, Washington, DC





Penn Station, New York City




Grand Central Station, New York City


How enchanted one feels stepping off the train into this world!


Share the Joy Thursday is the inspiraton of Meri at Meri's Musings. To share your joy, please visit her at http://meriak.blogspot.com.
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28 comments:

  1. Stickup ArtistApril 13, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    I have been to both those places. The station in DC is truly remarkable. I love train travel, it's a great way to see the country. I do wish we had more trains out here. They are moving forward with plans to build a high speed train from San Bernardino County to Las Vegas, but I'd much rather they built it to San Diego. But nobody asked me!

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  2. rebeccaApril 14, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    so romantic...and the endless stories of departures and arrivals...
    the coming and going, returning and reuniting.

    love your jOY!

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  3. MeriApril 14, 2011 at 1:18 AM

    I've always loved Union Station. Apparently I've never been in Penn Station -- I would have remembered the architecture and the light.

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  4. MarionApril 14, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    What beautiful photos. I've never been to a train station. I must remedy that soon.

    Love & Blessings,
    Marion

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  5. AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    Enchanted indeed...it feels like another era..
    x..x

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  6. Lynne with an eApril 14, 2011 at 12:22 PM

    The unexpected elegance of train stations. Always a joyful experience. Of course, not all train stations have been kept up and some have been allowed to become downright seedy, but these that you have shared here are quite awe-inspiring and redolent of romance.

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  7. GrammyApril 14, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    I love thing like that. Full of details, I have not been to either place.

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  8. DianaApril 14, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    I've never been to either place. Quite amazing, especially the one in DC. Really beautiful. Love Di ♥

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  9. Magical Mystical TeacherApril 14, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    Oh, my! That staircase is simply grand! I wouldn't mind walking sedately up or down.

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  10. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    Thanks for sharing my joy! I added another "beaux-Arts" train station in New York: the Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street. It is known for Jackie Kennedy's fight to keep it, the Oyster Bar, and having once neighbored the Biltmore Hotel and Clock. When I go from New Jersey to New York via the train, I come out at Penn Station under Madison Square Garden on 31st Street. From there, you can walk up Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center...
    All three of these stations were built just after the turn of the century (20th).

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  11. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    Hi Stickup~ Yes, DC's Union Station is magnificent! Plus it's less crowded and less pressure than others. You can actually walk around and enjoy it. The New York stations are cans of sardines! Funny how the TGV's (trains of high speed) are truly very safe (I'm thinking of France). Are they considering the BART system for your area? I wonder if it's used a lot in the Bay area because there is still a LOT of traffic! xxox

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  12. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 7:45 PM

    Hi Rebecca! And all thos romantic films! Casablanca, Anna Karenina... Someone always looking out the window as the loved one recedes into the distance... xxox

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  13. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 7:48 PM

    Hi Meri~ Actually, the better known New York station is Grand Central (added); I of course was only thinking of the one I use (Penn)! (I wrote more about it above in the Comments.) However, all three of these were designed in the same style and era.

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  14. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 7:52 PM

    Hi Marion~ Go in a sleeping car (far enough to actually sleep over)! It is so relaxing at nightfall to lie in your berth and look at the glimmering lights as you pass. And to sit and read, occasionally looking out the window... And the dining car. Oh, it's so much fun! xxox

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  15. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:04 PM

    Hi Stephanie~ Stepping from the train to the top of the staircase in Washington made me think of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Somehow you wish you weren't wearing your capris! For about a week, you want to use your crystal wine glasses, silk underwear, expensive French perfume! And then you remember, "We don't have fourteen servants!" And you're back to your cotton Gaiam clothes. And I do love the "New Age!!" :)

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  16. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    Hi Lynne! You are so right! And worst of all are the conditions at bus stations! Plus being on a bus is pretty bad. To go cross-country as we do (you thru Canada and I thru the US), the only feasible plan is to fly. The train--while nice is SLOW (five days)! (There is a stop-over in Chicago which would be fun to take advantage of.) Bus slower (a week). Have you ever been on the Canadian cross-country Orient Express? I hear that is so de luxe! xxox

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  17. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    Thank you, LauraX, for your comment and for visiting! I love your blog and shall visit you soon! xxox

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  18. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:24 PM

    Hi Grammy! I think you would like New York: it is crammed with so many visions... You know, in Paris if you wanted to change your apt building, it would have to pass a lot of city planners and could only be so many stories, etc. New York has it all! xxox

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  19. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:27 PM

    Hi Diana~ I live in a rural/suburban area, and it always gives me pleasure to see works of art like that! xxox

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  20. Margaret PangertApril 14, 2011 at 8:28 PM

    Hi mmt~ It does change your attitude! You immediately sense the grandeur of the era and want to descend slowly, head held high.

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  21. kjApril 14, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    hi margaret, thank you for the architectual feasts. i get joy just thinking about how they were built. i imagine more than a few people (men) came home with stories of working on pillars at grand central station or that steel in d.c.

    here's wishing you a good weekend. i think you and i are in for pretty good weather xoxo

    love
    kj

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  22. Dawn ElliottApril 15, 2011 at 12:22 AM

    Trains are from a bygone era, which we get a glimpse of in some of those beautiful old stations...very sweet!

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  23. AnonymousApril 15, 2011 at 1:53 AM

    Exquisite shots ... captivating post ... "All Aboard!" ... so many lives touched, stories waiting to be told ... tearful goodbyes, and joyous hellos ... centuries of involvement.

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  24. foxysueApril 15, 2011 at 4:54 AM

    Hi Margaret, thank you so much for this, I forget how architecture can thrill so, I must get my camera down to a few UK stations and post!

    PS love yesterday's post too.

    Love Sue x

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  25. Margaret PangertApril 18, 2011 at 7:52 PM

    Hi kj~ And how varied the architectural styles are? I do remember seeing photos of Native Americans standing on steel beams over 100 meters high. And then there is working underground on all the tunnels... I'm afraid of heights and claustrophobic!
    Two nice days so far! It'll be summer before we have spring! xxox

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  26. Margaret PangertApril 18, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    Hi Dawn! And you think of the trunks and the need to not brush the ground... Life was so complicated! xxox

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  27. Margaret PangertApril 18, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    HI Becca~ Trains do have such a romantic history. I'm not so sure I could have made those long sea voyages, though! xxox

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  28. Margaret PangertApril 18, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Hi Sue~ Oh, that would be so interesting! Remember the book Charing Cross Station? Was that the Underground, though? xxox

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