Our first stop was to learn more about this unique area. The Historical Society, like a few we have visited, is house in the town's Carnegie Library (1911), significant both for its architecture and its history.
Designed by Brainerd Jones, it is one of only a handful of buildings in Healdsburg in the Classical Revival style, and it retains a high degree of integrity. It was the first permanent home of the city's library collection, and for more than seventy years it was Healdsburg's only public library.
The Museum had a fantastic collection of photographs, this one depicting the library being constructed in 1911. I'm a huge fan of historic pictures.
We left the History Museum ready to amble through the area, better prepared to appreciate all we were about to see.
We briefly visited the Center for The Arts for Under Pressure: Printmaking in Modern Times, a curated exhibition featuring the work of 18 Northern California printmakers who use mediums steeped in traditional printmaking techniques, while re-interpreting, re-defining and re-envisioning the imagery and dimensionality of printmaking. I found a great deal of the art unique and incredibly interesting.
I was intrigued by Todd Barricklow's work, "I consider all of my work to be figurative in nature, whether I am drawing the human body or what I consider to be extensions or our earthly form. Arms and hands are our given implements but tools and machines are all extensions of our original intentions. Knee joints, roller chains, pillow blocks, or cartilage, I find them all part of the same mechanism."
Just meandering around town and the environs, we found ourselves pretty smitten with it all.
This sign, at a crossroads, pretty much summed up our day. I called it "Decisions, decisions."
Dr. Pierce's ads are not an uncommon sight around the States, but I have never had the opportunity to stand in a vineyard and photograph one. I had to learn more. It turns out, besides manufacturing patented medicines and selling them through mail-orders, Ray Vaughn Pierce was considered a prominent doctor who founded a sanitarium and authored a home-diagnosis manual called The People's Common Sense Medical Advisor in Plain English; or Medicine Simplified which sold more than four million copies. He served in the 46th Congress in 1879-1880. History can be found in some pretty unique places.
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In fact, many of the local wineries are historic. We chose to tour and taste at the Alexander Valley Vineyard, named after a man who arrived here on horseback in 1840. Pioneer Cyrus Alexander had ridden from San Diego, and long story short, ended up with 9,000 acres of fertile land. The industrious Cyrus planted the area’s first grape vines in 1846 and the Alexander family is buried, on a knoll, overlooking his beautiful vineyard, what history. [Since 1962, this property has belong to the Wetzel family].
Last stop of our long, final Healdsburg day, was at Preston Winery of Dry Creek. Located down a 1/2 mile dirt road, it was an oasis in ruralness.
The Secret Garden was a pure delight. I loved the variety of flowers and profusion of colors. I could have stayed there all day!
Oh man, and this little guy. Healdsburg offers something for everyone and we plan to return again... there is always more to explore!
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1 comments:
Alexander Valley Vineyard and Preston Winery look like your cup of tea (wine).
Was it busy? It looks like you were the only ones there!
PS I love your closeups!
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