I so love the photograph I took of the pearl-gray sky over the Cannon River in Northfield, Minnesota, earlier this week that I am reposting it for my first-ever offering for
Skywatch Friday. This is the scene I see from the river's edge in front of the building where I work, and I have photographed this view numerous times in different seasons and different weather. I never tire of it.
The tall building is the historic
Ames Mill, which produced prize-winning flour in the 19th century, not too long after the founding of Northfield. It is still in use today as part of the Malt-O-Meal cereal company's production plant. The golden dome visible just above the left (west) side of the bridge belongs to the
State Bank Building, built in 1910 in the Egyptian Revival style and now home to a local law firm that has done much to restore it. In the violent
hailstorm of August 2006 (another video
here), the dome was damaged and remained covered with tarps for months, but it has now been restored to its golden glory. The not-so-lovely green plastic fencing visible at the lower right is a temporary part of a riverbank relandscaping project designed to encourage taller grasses and discourage Canada geese.
Northfield is best known for being home to two fine liberal arts colleges,
Carleton College and
St. Olaf College, and for being the site of the defeat of the Jesse James Gang when they tried to rob the First National Bank and were routed by stalwart citizens. The anniversary of the occasion is celebrated with a major community festival,
the Defeat of Jesse James Days, each September.
This is not the typical view of Northfield, Minnesota, which would make most people who have been here think of college architecture, a historic main street dating to the second half of the 19th century, and pleasantly varied houses on tree-lined streets where in many cases there are no longer any above-ground utility lines. I find the little touch of urbanism above interesting and rather endearing: the telephone or power lines; the unadorned flat faces of the rear apartments; the absence of green; the little hint of Europe (somehow I imagine Marseilles) in the balcony with the yellow backdrop. This is the view not meant to be seen.
Stepping back and swinging the camera a few degrees to the left, this is the public counterpart to the same location: the graceful mature tree (I'm guessing an elm, by its shape, but perhaps a cottonwood) framing the stately post office whose parking lot opens the way to the view seen above; the old-fashioned street lamps; the hint of the public square beyond.
The first thunderstorm of the year rolled in somewhat unexpectedly this morning, bearing strong winds that persisted all day while the temperatures rose into the lower 80s. After the rain had stopped I battled the relentless wind to take several photos from the corner on which my office building stands in downtown Northfield. In the third week of April in southern Minnesota, the trees have not yet leafed out, though some are just starting to show signs of it. I am fascinated by both of the bare trees shown here against the scudding clouds. I encourage you to click on the photos to step more deeply into these scenes; the full-size versions are quite large.
