Disappointed Tourist
Ellen Harvey

Author: admin

Graham’s Rib Station

Springfield, Missouri, USA Closed 1995 Graham’s Rib Station was opened in 1932 on Route 66 a young African-American couple, James and Zelma Graham who had fortunately taken their savings out of the bank just a few days before the stock market crash. James Graham died in 1956, but Zelma ran the business until 1996, living […]

My Grandparents Backyard

Bellmawr, New Jersey, USA Sold They had the best tree swing and vegetable garden. Lots of great memories from playing in their backyard in Bellmawr, NJ as a child. Laurie L.

Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow, Scotland, UK Burned 2019 The Glasgow School of Art’s Building (affectionately known as “The Mack”), was designed by Charles Rennie Mackinstosh and was completed in 1909 for what was then knowns as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 2014, the building was severely damaged by fire and work on its restoration was almost […]

Henri Bendel

New York, New York, USA Closed 2019 The Disappointed Tourist: Henri Bendel, Ellen Harvey, 2021. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 24 x 18″ (61 x 46 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard. Henri Bendel was originally a women’s accessories store, founded in 1895. Its luxurious flagship department store was located at 712 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It is mentioned in […]

Hong Kong before 1997

China Decolonized Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire  after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the the Kowloon Peninsula  in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories […]

Hospital Barros Lucas Maternity Ward

Santiago, Chile Closed This painting is based on an uncredited photograph. On 24 September 1911, Chile’s President Ramón Barros Luco laid the first stone for Santiago’s first public hospital, which would go on to become one of the country’s largest health-care facilities. Fourteen years later, his widow, Mercedes Valdés, helped create the maternity ward which […]

House of Wisdom in the City of Peace

Bagdad, Iraq Destroyed 1870s The House of Wisdom was a famous library located in the the Round City of Baghdad, the original core of Bagdad. The city was built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 762–766 CE as the official residence of the Abbasid court. Its official name in Abbasid times was the City of Peace (Arabic: مدينة السلام ). The two […]

Howard Johnsons

Henderson, Kentucky, USA Closed 1990 It’s not the sign that is important to me, but what it stands for. Not so much a bygone era but more representing the overall aesthetic of Howard Johnson’s and the way it defined an period in American history and the American landscape. For instance, they hired Jacques Pépin in […]

Idora Park

Oakland, California, USA Demolished 1929 Idora Park was an amusement park constructed by The Realty Syndicate in 1904 in Ayala Park and leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement Park Co. In addition to several roller coasters, the park also had a zoo, an ostrich farm, animal shows, a dance hall, a racetrack, an outdoor amphitheater, […]

Ireland’s Rainforests

Ireland Logged According to the Irish Agriculture and Development Authority, until 6,000 years ago when the first Neolithic farmers arrived in Ireland, the island was almost completely covered with forest. These farmers cleared the land and over the next 3,500 years, the resulting layers of dead vegetation formed the bogs for which Ireland is now […]

Kenure House

Rush, Ireland Demolished 1978 Kenure House was a large Georgian house and estate in Rush, County Dublin, Ireland. The main house was constructed between 1703 and 1713 by the Duke of Ormond but rebuilt in 1827 after a fire. A portico and further additions were added in 1842 to a design by George Papworth. In […]

Key Food

Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, USA Closed When my teenage son was in second grade, he had to a make poster of his favorite things. Near the top of his collage, with dogs, cats, and the beach, was Key Food, a supermarket around the corner from our home. I knew why. Walking into that grocery […]

Kim’s Video

New York, New York, USA Closed 2014 Kim’s Video and Music were a group of video and music retail stores in and around New York City, known for their esoteric titles and knowledgeable if haughty staff. The owner, Yongman Kim, opened the first location inside his laundromat at 85 Avenue A. There was a second store at […]

Layton Art Gallery

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Demolished The Layton Art Gallery was built by Frederick Layton (1827 – 1919), an English-American businessman, philanthropist and art collector, who immigrated to the Wisconsin Territory with his father in 1843. He played a major role in the creation of Milwaukee’s meat packing industry and established a trans-Atlantic business exporting his meat products to Great […]

Madison Square Garden II

New York, New York, USA Demolished 1926 The second Madison Square Garden was a Manhattan indoor arena that replaced the first Madison Square Garden. It was designed by noted architect Stanford White, who was murdered there in 1906 by millionaire Harry Thaw over his affair with Thaw’s wife, the actress Evelyn Nesbit. Although the Garden hosted […]

Maltepe Süreyya Beach

Instanbul, Turkey Filled-in 1980s This was a beloved beach outside of Istanbul. The city approved plans to fill in the beach in 1976 and since the 1980s the little pavilion has been flanked by streets and traffic. This painting is based on an uncredited photograph. This was a meeting point for young people’s summer joy […]

Masonic Temple Building

Chicago, Illinois, USA Demolished 1939  I love the idea of a skyscraper that is also a temple of masons! Anon. The Masonic Temple Building was an early Chicago skyscraper designed by the firm of Burnham and Root, completed in 1892. With 21 stories, it was the tallest building in the city until the 1920s. It was […]

Megatron

Alconbury, UK Demolished Megatron was a space-themed restaurant founded by Danny Blundell in 1990, who hoped that the restaurant would be the first of a franchise. The building was designed by designed by architect Graham Campbell to resemble a UFO. Inside, innovative touchscreen computers allowed people to make their orders and there were regular laser […]

Michelsberg Synagogue

Wiesbaden, German Arson 1938 This synagogue was built by the architect Philipp Hoffman for the progressive Reform Jewish congregation of Wiesbaden, opening in 1869. It was burned down in 1939 as part of the Nazi Kristallnacht attack on Jewish communities throughout Germany. A memorial was erected on the site in 2011 that shows the outline […]

Milwaukee Exposition Building

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Burned 1905 The Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Building opened in 1881 as one of Milwaukee’s most spectacular buildings. Designed by Walter Holbrook of E. Townsend Mix Architects, the structure was a myriad of arches, windows, and spires and housed such varied spaces as a 6,000 seat music hall, a bicycle track, a fish […]