Sunday, February 14, 2010

Plant Hall at the University of Tampa

The domes and minarets of Plant Hall are the iconic architectural symbol of Tampa.  The building was completed in 1891 as The Tampa Bay Hotel.   I've only gotten glimpses of the place when driving by, and wanted to visit. 

The hotel was built by railroad tycoon Henry Plant when there wasn't much else in Tampa.  It was at the terminus of the western Florida railroad line.  There weren't many passable roads through the swamps of Florida in the 1880's.  The railroads would have been the first Dixie Highway in Florida.

The Victorian facade and portico are awe inspiring.  The Tampa Bay Hotel was open seasonally from December - April.  Famous people such as Sandra Berhardt, Clara Barton, Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, and Babe Ruth visited the hotel.  It was the beginning of Florida's tourism industry.

The railroads created not only new winter retreats for the rich, but also created opportunities for the orange farmers to reach new markets.  The Port of Tampa grew from the connection of steamship to rail transport.  Local businesses flourished.

This fountain inscribed with the name Henry Bradley Plant is across the street from the main entrance facade.  You can see downtown Tampa in the background.

Henry Plant made his fortune in the North when as a railroad employee he saw an opportunity for express parcel service, which was nonexistent at the time.  He worked his way up to becoming a high profile executive.  After the Civil War he purchased bankrupt Southern railroads that were devastated by the war.  The restored railroad lines went to major cities of the South and connected them to the Northeast.  Florida was still a new frontier.

Fletcher Lounge is a large space used today by the University of Tampa as an auditorium.

Here's a detail of the dome inside Fletcher Lounge.

The large Victorian windows of Fletcher Lounge.

I climbed a narrow spiral staircase to explore the area above Fletcher Lounge and felt a little like Alice in Wonderland.   I wasn't sure what I might find around the corner.  This curved hallway on the second floor runs along a rooftop.  It connects the offices near Fletcher Lounge to the classrooms of the Science Department.

Grandiose staircases can be found throughout the building.

There's a lot to see here, including the Henry B. Plant Museum on the first floor, and a park along the Hillsborough River. Parking is a challenge, as it is on most college campuses.  If you visit give a little extra time to find parking.  It's a great place to photograph.

More photos of Plant Hall in Tampa

Monday, February 08, 2010

STS-130 Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch

It was cold and windy on the water. People were huddled together under blankets. Some were on the ground in sleeping bags. Cameras on tripods were ready to take in the last night launch of the space shuttle era.  It's 3:30am and the space shuttle is scheduled to launch at 4:14:08am.

They waited in the darkness for hours listening to the radio and checking for news on cell phones. The previous night had been a disappointment when the launch was scrubbed due to a low cloud ceiling. Tonight, the weather for launch was perfect in Florida, but the emergency landing sites in Europe were all experiencing inclement weather. Less than a half-hour before launch, the weather had cleared in Zaragoza, Spain. Conditions went from red to green and everyone cheered.

Rollcall was about to be called in Mission Control during the last meeting before launch known as The Nine Minute Hold. Everyone polled replies "GO." Once the countdown restarts at T-9 minutes things happen very quickly. The people sitting in the dark stand up, drop their blankets and check camera settings. At T-5 minutes the orbiter access arm slowly swings away from the space shuttle. At T-2.5 minutes the beanie cap at the top of the orange fuel tank lifts and retracts. At T-6.6 seconds the main engines start. 3...2...1...GO!

There's a small glow of amber light at the launchpad as smoke starts streaming out the sides. The light glows dark orange as the space shuttle silently lifts off. We are about 9 miles away and the sound hasn't reached us yet. The light becomes brighter as the space shuttle ascends and suddenly overwhelms the darkness like a rising sun. The entire area is lit as if by daylight and then the rumbling begins. The sound is accompanied by crackles and pops and builds into a crescendo as what looks like a star continues to rise.

Clouds above the space shuttle are illuminated in an eerie funnel shape as if opening a door to another world.

A long flame enters the clouds and the rumbling continues.

No one can take their eyes off of it. Some completely abandon their cameras to watch.

The white star separates from two orange flames as the solid rocket boosters drop away from the space shuttle. The people in the dark applaud and continue to watch as the sound fades and the light dims to a pinpoint. They gather their equipment and leave knowing that they will never see a sight quite like this again.

More of our photos of STS-130 launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

A Gallery of Photos: The Last Night Launch