Archaeographica

at the base of the tower of babel

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:20:00 +0000

at the base of the tower of babel, originally uploaded by R. Doyle Bowman.

Looking into the Past

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:21:00 +0000

There are more and more people making photos like these everyday. On Flickr there is a great photo pool on the Looking into the Past group page. Lots of these shots are great and remind me of some sort of momentary time machine, or something like that. Whatever. The photos and the photographers in the group are great. In many cases it's clear a lot of time, thought and preperation went into each of these photographs. Photo by Sergei Larenkov.

First Christian Church Archaeographic

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:22:00 +0000

First Christian Church Archaeographic, originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

Now City Church, the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City is one of the towns most iconic places of worship.

OKC Kiltie Band Archaeographic

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:27:00 +0000

OKC Kiltie Band Archaeographic, originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

The Oklahoma Kiltie Band (1922-1990) was for years, an ambassador from Oklahoma City to the rest of the nation. This pipe and drum band of exactly 42 members played a variety of march and folk tunes.

The Kiltie Band was a crowd favorite and a staple at parades and events in Oklahoma and across the US.
This postcard/photo was taken in the 1950's. It is shot from east of the Civic Center on Hudson and 1st looking east.

In the background onthe left of the frame in the Oklahoma County Court House. On the right, not seen in the past image, is the Norrick Downtown Library.

As a note, it took me a long time to find this location even though I live right across the street. I wondered around in from of the Civic Center, which is actually the OKC Municipal Building now. I stepped up onto the first stair leading into the builfing and centered myself, held the camera up, took the shot and with very little effort, was able to line the two images up rather closely.

I have been trying to do some research on this "Kiltie Band" Not many records exist for it on the internet, so I guess I will have to get analog and search out some microfiche.

Any Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?

Union Bus Station

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Union Bus Station , originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

Built in 1952, the Union Bus Station has become a landmark in Oklahoma City. The Image seen here combines a postcard from the early 1950's and a contemporary digital image.

During the 1950's and 1960's The Union Bus Station was the place GI's returning home or leaving for deployment would pass through. It was also very popular, due in part to the high costs of air travel, as a terminal providing bus service across the country.

Today, the Union still provides bus service via Greyhound. Unfortunately, in recent years the Union has aged poorly. Many neighboring cities, such as Dallas and Denver provide transients with one-way bus tickets to clear their streets. Those people are often sent to Oklahoma City. They arrive at the Union.

The Union Bus Station may have lost some of its glamour and the allure of travel by bus is not what it used to be. However, the building is an icon of travel and of Oklahoma City.

Newsie Archaeographic

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Long before the internet, people got thier news from the papers, and at the turn of the century most of the people selling papers children. The image within this image comes from the Library of Congress archives. In 1907 the federal goverment started a project that,in part, photographed the working conditions of children across the country. This partiular boy was not even ten year old at the time of this photograph.

I have more details on the provienence of this image and the story behind it which I will post very soon.

The Santa Fe Rail Yard

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:37:00 +0000

The Rail Yard, originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

Although this does not really fall under the heading I have created here at Archaeographica, I thought since I really don't know how else should describe this photograph, I would post it here.

This photograph depicts the Santa Fe Railroad scrap yard in Moore, Oklahoma. The photograph was made by compositing nine or ten images together to create the illusion of a 19th centure panoramic print.

Click on the image to follow the link back to the "original" size on Flickr if you want to he the hi-rez detail.

Maywood: Before and After

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:36:00 +0000

(click image for full page view)

Backstory is important, especially when it comes to history. I have decided to post a before and after image of the Maywood Church to give an insight into the process. On the bottom right of the image is the original photograph I found in the Library of Congress photo archives. It is a wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in historical photographs and images.

After doing a bit of research into the location of the church, to my surprise finding that is was still there, I set out to photograph the location. Using the historical photo as a reference, I shot multiple images from approximately the same perspective as the original. As you can see on the above left portion of the image are the multiple images I later stitched together as a small panoramic image, which is at the top of the above image.

In order to learn more about the history of the Maywood Church, I performed a cursory search online, which led me to historical documents held at the Norrick Library. Spending just a few hours gathering this information provided me with a factual background, from which I could tell the story in concert with the photographs.

In the end the backstory of the Church, or the subject in any case, it what really makes the connection between the past and present so immediate through the images. I am working on several more images, all of which are in downtown Oklahoma City. I will post them as I go.

Russia's Wartime Past - The Photography of Sergei Larenkov

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:17:00 +0000

I am not the first person, nor will I be the last to write about the work of Russian photographer, Sergei Larenkov. He has created a set of haunting images combining modern St. Petersburg, Russia with wartime photographs. The result is an unusual and disturbingly present collection. You can see more of them at Sergei's blog here.

When I set out on this project, I came across Sergei's work and was completely fascinated. Many of us live in cities with perhaps hundreds of years of history around us all the time, and yet we are rarely aware of it. What Sergei has done so wonderfully, and what I hope to do, is to bring that history into the modern day in a visual and interesting way. When we are able to see the past in the present it reminds us that those that have come before are always with us.

That They All May Be One

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:14:00 +0000

That They All May Be One, originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

Here is an interesting side note to the history of the church. This photo is facing the cornerstone of the Maywood Presbyterian Church. This is the same building featured in the previous post.

In 1980 the Maywood Presbyterian Church property was abandoned. Some time after that the property was purchased out right by a Mr. J.D.Lobb. Mr. Lobb removed the cornerstone of the church (seen above right). From under the cornerstone Mr. Lobb removed the original time capsule placed there in 1907. He then replaced the cornerstone and promptly sold the property.

Records do not indicate the contents of that time capsule. After I had read this, I couldn't help but think about what could have possibly been in that time capsule. It was placed in 1907 by the church founder Rev. Whitwell. I suppose the answer and the contents of that capsule are lost to history. However, the story is not.

As an aside, in the image you can almost make out where the mortar has been pried from in between the bricks.

Maywood Archaeographic

noreply@blogger.com (R. Doyle Bowman) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Maywood Archaeographic, originally uploaded by R Doyle Bowman.

Welcome to Archaeographica!

Archaeographica is a blog for the art and study of archaeographics; which is the merging of the historical and the contemporary. Archaeographics utilize historical archaeological images with contemporary photography to create images representing multiple time periods within the same composition.

This is my first posting. I plan to post images with a good deal of back story for each explaining the historical provenience of the referenced images. Below is a summary for the Maywood Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City, OK.

The Maywood Presbyterian Church was built in 1907, under the direction of Rev. E.G.Whitwell and Mr. William N. Meredith, architect.

The building is an example of the Victorian Romanesque and the Gothic Revival styles.

In 1907 the congregation of the Maywood Presbyterian church raised funds to erect an new church on Stiles Circle, in what is now midtown, Oklahoma City. During the construction process, funding fell through and the general contractor left the job, taking most of the construction materials.

It fell to the members of the congregation, under the leadership of Rev. Whitwell, to build the church with their own hands. By July 5th, 1908 the church was dedicated.

Due to decades of urban sprawl and suburban flight, the church was sold by it's board of trustees to the Irving Baptist Church. Again in 1956, the church was sold to the Zion Baptist church. These Baptist congregations used the church until August of 1980 when the property was abandoned.

The Church was saved from demolition by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority. Now the original church building and a new modern wing is home to the State of Oklahoma Department of Commerce.