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March 21, 2005

Walking Tour

Today we walked around college town and campus a bit, ostensibly in search of a mail box, but really just to get out and get some exercise. Ithaca is dismal and dead right now, with students away and the slush in full force.

A lot of the maples on my parents' street have died or gotten so sick the city has cut them down and replanted, so the street looks bare and bright and weird to me. Those trees had been there for a hundred years, so they were good shade and good old friends. So strange to see them gone.

One of the buildings in college town used to be full of shops and stuff, but every storefront is empty -- the shops have just moved across the street or a block away.

For whatever reason, college town has turned into a collection of huge apartment blocks. It's sucked residents out of downtown and up onto the hill. And it's made our nice, quiet little college town into an urban landscape.

When people think of Ithaca, they think of the gorges. Ithaca is littered with them. What looks like a mild-mannered stream turns into a gorge in a matter of meters. One second you're by a quiet lake, the next you're looking over a 200-foot drop over jagged cliffs. Makes life exciting.

Sage Hall is a student residence, one of the older buildings on campus. Late Gothic revival and proud of it. I've always been fond of the shape of the tower. (Edited to add that my father informed me that a few years ago this became a Business School building. Well.)

Ithaca in March equals slush.

I remember when the site this building is on was a parking lot. Actually, I remember when a lot of buildings on campus were not there. Makes you feel ancient.

Moments before I took this photo, two large bucks crossed the path. But I wasn't taking it because of that.

Posted by ayse on 03/21/05 at 7:53 PM