Archaic Ukrainian Orthographies on Ancestral Graves

The oldest Ukrainian-language grave that I found of an ancestor is my great-great-great grandmother’s grave. She died in 1883 and is buried in the village Luchkivtsi, about an hour north east of Lviv. Anna’s husband was a German man named Venceslaus (Karlo) Kuhn. The etymological spelling used is called Maksymovychivka. […]

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Sundial on Stable in Lviv

Hidden behind a tall fence at the end of a small street in Kastelivka stands a villa called “Julietka.” It was built for private use in 1891-1893 by Julian Zachariewicz and his son Alfred, two famous Lviv architects. Next to the villa is an old stable with a sundial.

Vynnychuk: Searching for a Trace of Old Lviv

“With great pleasure I immersed myself in the streets, which I had previously passed without notice; I examined the buildings, every courtyard, gazed at the windows and the flowerpots on the windowsills, as though I were trying to find at least some trace of the old Lviv, that vanished world, […]

Mounting Blocks in Charleston

In the 18th and 19th centuries, mounting blocks were common in cities, towns, and villages. Usually made of stone, they were installed in key locations, usually near inns, churches, country houses, to aid mounting or dismounting a horse, carriage, stagecoach, etc. The more elabarote mounting blocks are called carriage steps […]

Baltimore’s Boot Scrapers

Modern Hand-Painted Signs in Lviv, Part II

I’ve been seeing more and more establishments use their facades to list the products that they sell or services that they provide, the old-school way. I particularly like it when the items are listed in several languages, as used to be done in Lviv before WWII. Before the languages used […]

Chimney Sweep Sign in Lviv

Lviv, like most cities in the nineteenth century, needed chimney sweeps to keep chimneys clean from the soot that accumulated from burning coal. The bas-relief of a chimney sweep on Anhelovycha Street is one of the only reminders of the era of chimney sweeps. At the beginning of the twentieth […]

Hitching Posts in Annapolis

Antique Iron Fences in Annapolis

Annapolis has it’s fair share of antique iron fences. Like in Chicago and Winnetka, there are many fences made by The Stewar Iron Works, formely the largest iron fence maker in the world. The Stewart Iron Works The Stewart Iron Works, 3rd & Culvert St, Cincinnati, O *** G. Krug […]

Antique Iron Fences in Winnetka

I found two antique fences in Winnetka—both made by the Stewart Iron Works. Stewart Iron Works, an ironworks plant located in Covington, Kentucky, was founded in 1886 and incorporated in 1910. A branch in Cincinnati operated from 1903 to 1915. The Stewart Iron Works — Cinncinati, Ohio The Stewart Iron Works Co. — Covington, […]

Antique Iron Fences in Chicago

I discovered some old fences while in the States this summer—first I found several beautiful antique fences on Hoyne Street in Chicago, and then I came across some in my suburb and in Annapolis, and now back in Lviv I have also started paying attention to them. In all three places—Chicago, […]