Bodie California #3
by Nick Boren
Title
Bodie California #3
Artist
Nick Boren
Medium
Photograph - Digital Image
Description
Step back into the past ... visit Bodie California.
I thought it would be fitting to post my Bodie image again since it is Halloween today. :-)
Description from www.bodie.com
Bodie State Historic Park � Bodie, California
Bodie, California� a town frozen in time in a �state of arrested decay�. Explore Bodie.com to learn more.
Bodie is an original mining town from the late 1800�s. What�s left today stands in a state of �arrested decay� and is maintained by the California State Parks System, who took over the town in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park.
In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and �houses of ill repute�, gambling halls and opium dens � an entertainment outlet for everyone.
On a daily basis miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would often prove fatal. Newspapers report that towns people would ask in the mornings �Have a man for breakfast?� Meaning �Did anyone get killed last night?�
Some records show that a �Wm. Body� took a ship from New York, around the horn to end up in San Francisco. It isn�t clear if that�s the same man who was prospecting near present day Bodie. In any case, the spelling of the name was changed at some point before the majority of the people made their way to Bodie, and it stuck.
Today, even though Bodie is down a dusty, bumpy, slow 13 mile long road off of State Highway 395, it�s amazing how many people are aware of this once glorious town.
There�s a story about a little girl whose family was moving from San Francisco to Bodie; Depending on who tells it, she wrote in her diary either: �Good, by God, I�m going to Bodie�-or-�Goodbye God, I�m going to Bodie�. Learn more about Bodie and decide for yourself�
from http://www.bodie.com/#ixzz3TrWpzwFV
- Bodie.com
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
The watermark will be removed from the photograph before it is sent to the purchaser. Thank You.
Uploaded
March 9th, 2015
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Viewed 725 Times - Last Visitor from Wilmington, DE on 03/27/2024 at 4:34 PM
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Comments (29)
Elizabeth Dow
I would live here. Can you imagine all the history...memories still living in this spot? What a shot!
Linda Foakes
What a fabulous b/w image, Nick.The description is so interesting and adds a mental picture of bygone days. l/f
Catalina Walker
Love the contrast of these lovely clouds in the gorgeous sky and this charming blast from the past homestead, makes you stop and wonder what kind of lifestyle was there back when it was new...Thought provoking, Nick, so interesting...l/fv
Maggie Terlecki
I just read your description and it was really interesting. What a great image and the black and white suits it so well... great range of white to black and everything in between. Gorgeous!
Cheryl Rose
This is really great in B&W, Nick! The sky and light in the clouds are fantastic elements of this photograph. The over grown weeds and boarded up windows and rustic wood siding create an awesome composition to study. Good job! l/f
Mary Machare
Love the use of black and white to emphasize the weathered wood and barren landscape. LF