Category: Historical Monuments

Posted on

ANGELS FLIGHT RETURNS FROM 1901 AS THE WORLD’S SHORTEST RAILWAY

ANGELS FLIGHT IS THE WORLD’S SHORTEST RAILWAY located in Los Angeles, California in the historic Bunker Hill neighborhood.

Bunker Hill was once a wealthy neighborhood with Queen Anne mansions lived in by doctors, lawyers and bankers and elegant hotels for visiting guests.

It was once difficult for individuals to access Bunker Hill due to a steep incline.

Colonel, Lawyer and Engineer James Ward Eddy came up with an idea approved by the City Council to build a funicular railway to provide easy and reliable transportation. Colonel Eddy completed the project in 5 months.

1901 – the original Angels Flight was located a half block north from the Grand Central Market location next to the Third Street tunnel to connect Bunker Hill residents living in Queen Anne mansions at the top of the hill to local businesses at the bottom. White was the original color of the Angels Flight cars. They were named Sinai and Olivet. The cost was 1 cent for 1 ride or 3 rides for 5 cents from Hill Street to Olive Street  or vice versa from 6:00am to 12:20pm.

1914 – Angel Flights fare was increased from 1 cent to 5 cents.

1920 – Bunker Hill started to decline because elite residents started moving west and the mansions and hotels became boarding eye sores in the community.

1959 – the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency adopted a redevelopment for Bunker Hill.

1968 – the former Bunker Hill neighborhood was completely leveled.

May 18, 1969 at 10:30pm – Angels Flight made its last trip before the City of Los Angeles dismantled the Angels Flight cars and placed them in storage to redevelop the Bunker Hill neighborhood.

1996 – Angels Flight reopened at its current location across the street from the Grand Central Market.

February 1, 2001 – Angels Flight closed after the death of a passenger and seven injuries due to a derailment

March 15, 2010 – Angels Flight reopened for a short period.

September 5, 2013 – Angels Flight closed due to another derailment.

2016 – Angels Flight makes a cameo appearance in the Oscar nominated film La La Land before opening to the public thanks to a 30 year contract between the Angels Flight Development Company and the City of Los Angeles.

August 31, 2017 – Angels Flight reopens to the public. Today, the Angels Flight cars are orange and black instead of white with the same names Sinai and Olivet.

The cost $1.00 to ride one way unless you have a valid Metro Tap Card the ride is 50 cents to ride from Hill Street to California Plaza and vice versa from 6:45am to 10:00pm.

If you start at the bottom, you will pay at the ticket booth located at the top to exit at California Plaza. If you start at the top, you will pay before riding to the bottom to exit at Hill Street.

You enter Angels Flight on a first come, first serve basis by standing in line.

You walk up the stairs in the middle of the wooden car to find a place to sit in 1 of the 16 seats.

There is no standing allowed inside the car nor outside at the back of the car.

There are usually people standing respectfully in line waiting to ride Angels Flight at the bottom and top. We decided to take a round trip ride to avoid the tourist lines.

It is worth noting dogs are not allowed on Angels Flight.

The ride on Angels Flight was surprisingly smooth and the view from the top was breathtaking.  It’s also the perfect place to take a selfie.

There is a water fountain with a plaque to commemorate fifty years of service by the railway dedicated to Colonel by the Native Daughters of the Golden West at the top near the ticket booth and it reads “Built in 1901 by Colonel J.W. Eddy, Lawyer, Engineer and Friend of President Lincoln, Angel Flight is said to be the world’s shortest incorporated railway.  The counterbalanced cars, controlled by cables, travel a 33 percent grade for 315 feet. It is estimated that Angels Flight has carried more passengers per mile than any other railway in the world. Over a hundred million in its first fifty years. This incline railway is a public utility operating under a franchise granted by the City of Los Angles.”

The memories of Bunker Hill Avenue and neighborhood continues to live on through history thanks to Angels Flight Railway.


Posted on

SEVEN MAGIC MOUNTAINS BRINGS A LITTLE COLOR TO THE DESERT

It’s rare to see colorful structures in the middle of the desert. From afar I thought I saw giant size Simpsons cartoon characters until I saw the sign Seven Magic Mountains next exit.

The Seven Magic Mountains can be seen from a distance on Interstate 15 traveling north or south between Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. The paved roads lead to a graveled parking lot. It’s FREE to park and view the Seven Magic Mountains in a place open to the public.

There are signs warning visitors to stay on the designated path because Venomous snakes may be present in the area.

Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone created the Seven Magic Mountains with bright colorful boulders to stand between 30 and 34 feet high. The colorful boulders also glow in the dark at night!

The Hoodoos in Utah inspired Rondinone to come up with the Seven Magic Mountains while working on a Public Art Fund project. 

It took Rondinone approximately five (5) years to complete the Seven Magic Mountains, which was organized by the Art Production Fund and the Nevada Museum of Art.

If a person decides to visit and climb to the top and fall to their death, the artist and producers of the Seven Magic Mountains are clear from liability due to the passage of legislation. 

The Seven Magic Mountains has been standing strong in the desert since 2016 and they may be gone the end of 2018.  It’s a lot of work maintaining a $3.5 million installation on Federal land. The Nevada Museum of Art is working on a longer-term plan to keep the Seven Magic Mountains at its current location, which is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.

Posted on

MOTORCYCLE RIDE TO THE BOYHOOD HOME OF ALEX HALEY

It was a peaceful motorcycle ride on the backroads of Henning, Tennessee to pay respect to Alexander Murray Palmer Haley aka Alex Haley, the African American author of Pulitzer Prize winning novel Roots translated into 37 languages, the Autobiography of Malcom X translated into eight (8) languages, Palmer Town, Madam Walker, A Different Kind of Christmas, Queen, Henning and Fred Montgomery. Most people do not know Alex Haley’s first screenplay was Super Fly.

Alex Haley’s boyhood home is the first state-owned historic site devoted to African-Americans in Tennessee.
The home is in a quiet neighborhood and it was owned by his grandparents Will and Cynthia Palmer.

Alex Haley lived with his grandparents from 1921 through 1929. It was on the front porch where young Alex Haley would listen to the accounts about his family history to include the stories of his West African roots and the famous Mandingo Kunta Kinte.

Alex Haley is buried in the front yard of his boyhood home.

I enjoyed walking around the outside of the home with beautiful black and white picture monuments and brief descriptions about his family.

While admiring Alex Haley’s home Porsche Taylor, Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Black Girls Ride Magazine http://blackgirlsride.com/ and I had the opportunity to meet the former Mayor of Henning Mary Ann Jarrett. Ms. Jarrett served as mayor from 2001 through 2005.

Alex Haley contribution to the African American community is invaluable. His legacy reminds us of the importance to uplift and honor our roots with dignity.

Posted on

LABOR DAY INCLUDES BLACK HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Motorcycle ride to Memphis, Tennessee where two black sanitation workers  – Echol Cole age 36 and Robert Walker age 30 were crushed to death in a garbage truck compactor on Thursday, February 1, 1968 about 4:30pm.

April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched in Memphis, Tennessee to support the strike of black sanitation workers for equal pay and better working conditions. Some black sanitation workers were not allowed to catch the bus, so they had to walk because their employer would not allow them to wash off the stench of trash in a sink like their white co-workers after working 9 hours per day for $1.25 per day.

April 4, 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

BRIEF BLACK HISTORY LABOR MOVEMENT TIMELINE

1844 – It is worth noting the state of Oregon ordered all black people to get out since it was the first state to make Labor Day a holiday in 1887.  Slave holders in Oregon could keep their slaves for up to three years. All free blacks including slaves had to leave Oregon. Those who refused to leave could be severely whipped not less than 20 or more 29 stripes to be repeated every six (6) months until they left.  Black women were given three (3) years to leave and black men were given two (2) years to leave under a law called the Peter Burnett’s Lash Law . When Peter Burnett became the first Governor of California, his push for the exclusion of black people in California was defeated https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.83c5932648f2.

1850 – Samuel Ringgold Ward organized the first black American labor union in New York, New York called the American League of Colored Laborers (ALCL) http://www.blackpast.org/aah/american-league-colored-laborers-1850 for skilled free craftsmen and to encourage African American business to develop agricultural and industrial skills.

1850 – White ship caulkers went on strike and started a riot against the well unionized black ship caulkers because they were sometimes paid more than them due to collective bargaining with Baltimore shipyard owners. The shipyard owners fired approximately 1,000 black workers including Isaac Myers http://www.blackpast.org/aah/myers-isaac-1835-1891 who was born a free black in Baltimore, Maryland in 1835. At the age of 16, he started working as a Ship Caulker. After Myers was fired in 1850 along with other black ship caulkers, he and other black laborers established the Chesapeake Marine Railway and the Dry Dock Company to employ themselves.

1865 – Blacks legally freed as slaves had a difficult time finding paid employment and joining unions including blacks in white-collar professions such as the first black lawyer Macon Bolling Allen http://www.blackpast.org/aah/allen-macon-bolling-1816-1894 and the first black doctor James McCune Smith http://www.blackpast.org/aah/smith-james-mccune-1813-1865. Some free blacks worked in blue-collar jobs such as servants, laborers, farm workers, artisans and caulkers.

1869 – African Americans established the Colored National Labor Union (CNLU) to improve working conditions and quality of life for its members collectively on a national level and public education with equal opportunities for blacks. Isaac Meyers became the first president of the CNLU. The CNLU included all races, genders, or occupations.

1872 – Fredrick Douglas http://www.blackpast.org/aah/douglass-frederick-1817-1895 became the second president of the Colored National Labor Union

1887 – Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a holiday.

1894 – Labor Day became a Federal Holiday after a strike led by the American Railway Union also referred to as the Pullman Strike. Black Pullmans had to continue working because they were not allowed to join the union.

1925 – the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters  was established, and the first president of the union was Asa Philip Randolph http://www.blackpast.org/aah/randolph-asa-philip-1889-1979. This was the first union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor  known today as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

1940 – the International Association of Machinist union known to today as the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) banned segregation.

1942 – Executive Order 8802 https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/thelaw/eo-8802.html was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address pay inequality based on gender and race.

1943 – the National War Labor Board issued an order to abolish pay differentials based on race because America thought it was necessary for the Negro to work so America can win World War II.

 

Posted on

Motorcycle Ride to Frederick Douglass Home in Baltimore, Marlyand

Motorcycle Ride to Baltimore, Maryland to celebrate the 200th year anniversary of one of my favorite African American Abolitionist Frederick Douglass made me feel proud.

Frederick Douglass was also a champion for women to vote during a time when black men were murdered for exercising their right to vote. He was one of the few men present at the pioneer woman’s rights convention held at Seneca Falls, New York in July 1948.

In 1818, Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland. In 1838, he escaped slavery in Maryland only to return to Baltimore to create a prosperous African American community.

In 1890, Frederick Douglass bought his home at 524 S. Dallas Street in Baltimore, Maryland for $1,800.00. The five brick homes known as “Douglass Place” once served as rental properties for African Americans.

I was lucky to find a place to park my motorcycle in the alley directly in front of the house and take a walk in his footsteps.

Posted on

CHECK THE WEATHER BEFORE YOUR MOTORCYCLE RIDE

It’s highly suggested to check the weather along the route you plan to take on your journey to your destination outside your local riding area.

My go to website to obtain weather forecast on Interstates are https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us/maps/us-highway-forecast/ and https://www.accuweather.com/en/driving-directions-weather.  My favorite app to monitor weather conditions is MyRadar http://myradar.com.

The more you ride your motorcycle across state lines, you will LEARN HOW TO READ THE SKY. Is the sky clear? Are the clouds white or dark ready to release rain?

PAY ATTENTION TO THE ANIMALS. I’ve witness for myself during my cross country motorcycle rides the old wives’ tale is true if COWS ARE LYING DOWN IN A PASTURE A RAINSTORM IS COMING…lol

ALWAYS PACK YOUR RAIN GEAR!!! It rains winter, spring, summer and fall.

ONLY YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE YOU DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND LIQUIDS WITH ELECTROLYTES TO HYDRATE to prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion, which can lead to more serious health conditions, such as heat stroke.
Ride Safe and Ride Smart,

SeCCRet the Cross Country Rider

Posted on

MOTORCYCLE RIDE TO THE FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT IN THE USA

It’s a great feeling to visit four different states at the same time without figuring out how to clone yourself.

I rode my motorcycle on gravel with a beautiful view of seven (7) flags representing three nations Navajo, Ute and United States of America and four states Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The Navajo Nation owns these remote areas of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Ute Nation owns the southwest corner of Colorado.

On February 2, 1848, the United States acquired the remote area currently known as the four corners from Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for $15 million. The people living in the area had the choice to relocate within the new borders of Mexico or receive full civil rights as an American citizen. It is worth noting the land was initially owned by Native Americans before it was claimed by Spain and before Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821.

In 1912, the cement pad was built on site to officially mark the only place in the Unites States of America where four states meet at one point Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. In 1931, the cement pad was replaced with a brass disc marker. In 1962, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management poured an elevated cement pad around the 1931 brass marker. The monument was rebuilt in 1992 replacing the 1931 brass marker with a disc shaped plate.  In 2010, the monument was rebuilt again with the same 1992 disc shaped plate.

The monument is located miles away from gas, food, and lodging. There are several campgrounds nearby the monument. Visitors are encouraged to bring water and hand sanitizer since there is no running water. There are booths surrounding the four corners monument to purchase jewelry, crafts and food directly from the Navajo and Ute.

You will have to wait patiently in line for your turn to stand or lay down in the middle of the four states or figure out creative ways to touch all four states with your arms and legs. Don’t forget to get a picture!

If you plan to ride your motorcycle to the Four Corners Monument, bring your kickstand pad.

 

Posted on

MOTORCYCLE RIDE TO MICHAEL JACKSON’S CHILDHOOD HOME (includes video footage of visit)

As I ride my motorcycle through the streets of Gary, Indiana on July 5, 2017, I immediately notice poverty. Gary reminds me of a ghost town with vacant storefronts, boarded up buildings and houses and empty streets.

I’m excited for the opportunity to visit the childhood home of the late Michael Jackson and his siblings Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy, La Toya, Rebbie and Janet.

Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson purchased a two-bedroom home on 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana while Joseph Jackson was working at Inland Steel and Katherine working part-time at Sears in 1950. Joe and Katherine had 10 children. One of their children Brandon died after he was born. Joe and Katherine raised nine (9) children in their small two-bedroom home before the Jacksons became famous.

I pull up on my motorcycle to 2300 Jackson Street and park in front of the only nice house on the block. The black wrought iron fence surrounding a perfectly manicured lawn was locked to prevent visitors from walking up to the house. The small white house had security shutters on the windows to prevent criminals and visitors from looking inside. There are also security cameras installed on the house. The large granite memorial statute for Michael Jackson in the front yard with images from various stages of his career and some lyrics from his popular songs. On the side of the house in the driveway are donated bricks with some pictures of Michael and the names of family members. Behind the house is an alley. There are plastic flowers and handwritten graffiti expressing love and admiration for the Jackson family. Across from the alley is Roosevelt High School where some of the Jackson children attended. According to various news sources, the memorial statute for Michael was removed in October 2017 and in the possession of the family.

A childhood friend of the Jackson’s was there during my visit doing some surveillance on behalf of the family. He confirmed Joe and Katherine currently owns the home. The family is interested in doing something more Jackson family related since it is more like a Michael Jackson monument. He was taking pictures and sending them to Jermaine Jackson. The family is thinking about doing a Jackson’s family museum since Michael’s estate may not be interested in doing it right now and it’s important to honor the entire family and their efforts in music. He is a local designer that works with the Jackson family.

The Jackson’s achievements, music and legacy will live on forever.

Click play to watch the video below of visit to the Jackson family home.