A Stroll on the Mountain

This has been a busy week and the temperature so warm that I have not finished the second part of our tour to the Paramount Pictures Studio. A couple of days ago we had to get up at dawn to drive to Atlanta for a doctor’s appointment. It is not often that we see the sun rise over Atlanta on a dusty morning.




Then today I had to get my driver’s license renewed. We made a stop on the road to take the picture of this wonderful old tree starting to bud out.



It was such a lovely day that as we drove by the mountain we decided to stop and drive slowly to the top. The last time we tried to walk up the mountain was last year in January, but it was hazardous because of the ice covering the snow. There has been no snow this year. Below is a picture of the road to the top of the mountain taken in January 2011.



I like living close to a mountain. In Paris I lived on a hill going toward Montmartre and, in suburban Paris, on the forest hill near St Leu la Forêt. In San Francisco I lived also on three hills, first Nob Hill then one near 17th Street and then Mint Hill. Now we live in West Cobb County which is northwest of Atlanta. We are only 5 miles from Kennesaw Mountain. It is a National Battlefield Park. I have driven on the road in front of the mountain or the one in the back of the mountain for decades – twice a day while going to work, seeing deer and even foxes at dawn or dusk. Now that we are retired we can stop and enjoy the mountain any time. This is what we did. Below is a vintage postcard of the mountain.



This is what I found out for those interested in geology: Kennesaw Mountain is nestled in the Piedmont geologic province of north-central Georgia. This province was formed between one billion to 300 million years ago through a series of mounting building events in the Precambrian to the early Paleozoic times. The name Kennesaw is derived from the Cherokee Indian "Gah-nee-sah" meaning cemetery or burial ground. The park is a 2,923 acre preserve for a Civil War battleground of the Atlanta Campaign. There are over 18 miles of maintained interpretive trails and a 1.5 mile road going to the summit of the mountain. We drove as it was quite warm and my knees were hurting. Once there after admiring the view we did take a stroll. We could see the Atlanta skyline in the distance, about 20 miles away (about 32 kms.)



From the other side of the overlook I could see the terminus of the Appalachian Mountains.




There were several people resting on the benches – some wearing apparel as if it were the middle of July. We talked to a gentleman with a cute little dog named Solveigh (the owner was originally from Norway.)



A great Civil War battle was fought on Kennesaw Mountain between the Confederates from the South and the Northern Union soldiers. It started almost 150 years ago on June 27, 1864 exactly. Union General Sherman sent his troops forward but the Confederates were dug in and his attack was futile. The Confederates won the battle and Sherman’s army suffered high casualties. I’ll have a post some time on this battle, but today we are just enjoying the mountain. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield was authorized for protection by the War Department in 1917. Historic earthworks, monuments and cannon emplacements are preserved here.



There are many interpretative panels. People come from everywhere to visit Kennesaw Mountain.

Click on the picture to see better

We strolled on the path going higher on the mountain.

The cannons that were dragged to the peak of the mountain by the Confederates are still there.



Even just strolling up this path we cannot forget the battle. A historical marker explained about the cannons (the Northern Union troops suffered 3000 casualties that day.) Below are more cannons I passed by.



I sat on a bench for a while and tried to photograph two large birds riding the wind but, I missed them.



I could hear the whistle of a freight train below and looking at the sky – a helicopter was flying by.




There were no helicopters by this mountain in 1864, but the sky was the same, some of the trees, too. I thought that for someone who hates wars since I was a child in World War II where my father was badly injured (which changed our lives) it is ironic that our current house is less than 5 miles from such a historic battlefield and I see it almost daily.

If I had rubies and riches and crowns
I’d buy the whole world and change things around
I’d throw all the guns and the tanks in the sea
For they are mistakes of a past history - Bob Dylan

There are so many beautiful boulders and rocks dotting this hill. I wish I was a poet and could do the landscape justice by describing it with romantic imagery.




Before joining my husband I stopped to snap more early blooms on a couple of trees.




We looked some more at the panoramic view, the acres of land and open fields below. Reading the historical markers we could imagine how it would have been to watch Sherman’s army with its 100,000 men, 254 guns and 35,000 horses trying to assault the mountain. Then we slowly drove back down.




Down by the Visitor’s Center many trees were in full bloom. It has been like spring this week with temperatures around 81 degrees F or 27 centigrade which is unusual as spring does not start until next week. Our azalea bush in front of our kitchen window has been blooming profusely.





The ground is covered with violets. Even our herb planters are still green from last summer.




We stopped for a while by a small lake. Below is a vintage postcard of Kennesaw Mountain and a small lake.



I am not sure if this is the one we saw as now there are quite a few houses around it.



After we arrived home the clouds grew darker and it looked like it might rain.



As I started to write this post I could hear the cannons grumbling faraway and the sky in front of my window was turning red.




But no, the mountain was peaceful. It was just the distant sound of thunder. Now, the cannons are silent and the echo of the soldiers and horses is gone. There is just the mountain.

Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lakes, from the hills,
From the sky.
All is well,
Safely rest
Go to sleep, peaceful sleep
Safe in sleep.
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

(anonymous lyrics from Taps – circa 1862.)

Touring the Paramount Pictures Studio in Hollywood (Part 1)

On my last post I mentioned the celebrities who used to live in Great Neck, Long Island, New York. That made me think about the tour of the Paramount Pictures Studio in Hollywood, California, which we took in June 2010 when we visited my daughter who lived in Long Beach. This is on the opposite coast of the United States from Great Neck. I had called to obtain the tickets (reservations have to be made in advance) and purchased the tickets for the 2 PM tour. That day, 20 June 2010, we left early from Long Beach - a 40 minutes drive to Hollywood. Below is a picture of the freeway from my daughter’s Volvo sports car.

We parked the car in the Visitors Parking on Melrose Avenue – in front of the studio’s entrance and went to have lunch at the corner – The Astroburger.

Afterwards we still had some time so we walked on the side street from the Paramount Pictures Studio – it was a warm and sunny day. The famous Hollywood sign on the hill could be seen in the distance.

There were pretty flowers in front of the little houses. One even had a tiny lemon tree.

click on collage then click on each picture to enlarge

We crossed the street and I saw a sign “The Carlos Gardel Square.” This square was named in honor of the King of Tango from Argentina (who was born in France by the way.) What a coincidence – the week before, the 13th June, I had written a post where I talked about him – you may like to see it – click here.

Walking back down the street we passed a large mural near Stage 29 and the Gower Street entrance.

We entered through the Studio’s gate and had time to look at the photos displayed in several kiosks before boarding our tour cart. I recognized some of the stars and movies. As you can see below there was a strong glare on the glass. You may see better by clicking on the collage.

A large panel showed the studio land and other building locations on the sprawling 65 acres lot. On the side of the panel the names of the TV shows being currently filmed were indicated. I recognized “The Doctors” and “Dr. Phil” which I had seen once.

As I looked at this map I thought that it was strange that I would be visiting the Paramount Pictures Studio when two other Hollywood studios had marked my life. Growing up in Paris we lived in the Cité Condorcet – a small no outlet enclosure bordered by tall apartment buildings. When my mother did not take me to the gardens of the Sacré-Coeur to play I would play in the cité. Metro-Goldwin-Mayer Studio owned a property on Rue Condorcet. The camera room had a back window opening to the Cité. It was opened most of the time and we could hear westerns or other films being shown – most often in English. I am not sure what work was being doing there, maybe the dubbing of films into French.




As a small child I would play with my friends Nadia and Serge under this MGM window while hearing the sounds of their films. My father loved movies – mostly westerns. He would rent films for his movie projector and many of our neighbors would troop in our dining room-living room combo and watch movies. This was before the advent of television. Once in a while my little friends and I would be invited into the MGM viewing room and later they would give us little reels or small bobbins to keep as toys. It was a private viewing room. I should have kept these little MGM mementos.(Logo MGM courtesy Tout le Ciné)



When I decided to come to the USA in 1961 I knew that I would have to work if I wanted to stay a couple of years to visit many of the states – for this I needed a “green card” and a US sponsoring family. My father’s cousin in Paris asked his best friend in Los Angeles if he and his wife would sponsor me. I did not know then that Setrag Vartian worked at the Warner Brothers Studios as a film editor. Later on I found out that he had been the first Armenian language filmmaker in the United States. He had produced, directed and acted in two Armenian feature films and documentaries in the 1940s. I stayed with Mr and Mrs Vartian in Burbank for several weeks. During that time we went to some parties in Hollywood. I was not interested in the movie industry and all this scared me a bit so that is why I ended up in San Francisco even though Mr. Vartian had told me he would find me a job at Warner Bros Pictures if I wished to stay. (Logo WBP courtesy Tout le Ciné.)




Well I digress and need to get back to the Paramount Pictures Studio. The tour guide first gave us the history of the studio. Paramount Pictures began in 1912. It is the oldest and the last remaining movie studio in Hollywood. The other studios have moved to Burbank or Culver City. In 1926 Paramount Pictures built a new studio in Hollywood at the current location. At the time it costs $1 million to build and was on a 26-acre lot with 4 large sound stages. Below are two vintage postcards of the studio.




Now the Paramount lot covers an area almost as large as Disneyland. It has nearly 30 sound stages and post production facilities including 8 screening rooms, over 140 editing rooms and 3 million square feet of office space. The historic “New York Street” stage features 10 distinct neighborhood backdrops. The Studio also includes the Paramount Theatre appropriate for premieres, a Foley stage for creating sound effects and 3 small theaters. At peak season the studio employs over 5,000 people. Below is a picture of the Paramount Water Tower which is a Los Angeles landmark (it was used when the studio had its own fire department and hospital) and on the side three views of the lot now and in the 1930s (courtesy of Paramount.)

About 10 of us sat in the tour cart as the tour guide gave us non-stop explanations on what we were seeing while driving up and down all the studio avenues and streets.

Our tour guide listed many of the Paramount Pictures film stars – such as Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Bob Hope, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Gary Cooper, The Marx Brothers, Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn, John Wayne, John Travolta, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and many others. Below are pictures showing Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift outside stage sounds on the Paramount lot during the 1951 filming of “A Place in the Sun.” (Photos courtesy Time Inc.)



Then our tour guide gave us another list – of some of the memorable Paramount movies such as The Sheik in 1921 and Wings which was the first Academy Awards for Best Picture. Then there were also Sunset Boulevard, White Christmas, The Ten Commandments, Psycho, The Godfather Trilogy, Saturday Night Fever, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan and many more.



The park bench where Tom Hanks sat during most of the Forrest Gump movie was located at Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia, but was moved to the Savannah History Museum to preserve it. The bench at the Paramount Pictures studio – where my husband is sitting - is a replica.



We drove in front of several historic buildings named for famous film stars such as the Marlene Dietrich and W. C. Fields buildings shown below.

Our tour guide told us that many new actors would walk into the Paramount business office and would come out bearing a new name.

For example Charles Buchinski came out wearing the new stage name of Charles Bronson. He took the name of the Paramount studio’s wrought iron entrance gate which is located at the end of Bronson Avenue and called The Bronson Gate. Below is a postcard showing the Bronson Gate (courtesy Paramount Pictures.)

We will finish the Paramount Pictures studio tour in my next post…..

Driving in and around Great Neck, Long Island, New York

After leaving Naomi’s former home in Great Neck (see my last post,) we drove about 2 miles to take a look at the Saddle Rock Grist Mill. It is open occasionally but it was closed that day. It is a working museum still grinding grain and corn.



As written on the sign above, the mill was constructed around 1700 (76 years before the USA became a country) and is one of the few remaining tidal mills left in the nation. It remained the property of the original owners from the 1700s until 1950. It is now owned by Nassau County and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was built from mill equipment brought over from England. Trading vessels would come and go in the small cove opening onto Little Neck Bay off Long Island Sound.



I tried to take some closer pictures of the mill but I could not go on the other side of the cove where it can best be seen. It was restored several times to its mid-19th century appearance. Below is a better view on an old postcard.



A park surrounds the mill and fronts the water. There was absolutely no one around. We walked and I took more pictures. A black walnut tree had lost most of its leaves but there were still some black walnuts hanging from the branches.

Click collage to enlarge then click on each pictures to see better

We left the mill and drove another mile and a half to Steppingstones Park. As we entered the park we could see the Bay in the distance and a profusion of flowers in the park. Again, there was no one around.

A sign explained the origins of Great Neck. It first was called Mad Nan’s Neck and was home to Native Americans.




I found out more about them later. The Natives of Long Island were people known as Algonquians. They lived in small bands or clans. One of the groups living in this part of the Bay was called the Matinecocks. The Bay provided a variety of fishing.

Martinecock Native Americans (courtesy the Garvies Point Museum)

In the mid-1600s English and Dutch settlers came into the Great Neck area and purchased land from Asharoken, Chief of the Matinecocks. A great part of the Matinecock land was sold in 1653 and the rest in 1656. The Native Americans did not grasp the idea of land ownership and easily sold all their land for some liquor, gun powder and clothes. Even though they were the largest group of people living on the island, after the settlers came the Matinecocks quickly vanished – they caught European diseases and fought with the white settlers over their land. By 1730 all the Matinecock villages were gone.

After the Long Island Rail Road started service on the Island in the late 1890s, development and growth followed. Because of its proximity to New York City many celebrities built homes in Great Neck. I found a long list of names but will just mention the following residents: the actors Maurice Chevalier, Joan Crawford and Groucho Marx.




There was also the writer of musicals Oscar Hammerstein II, and the writers P. G. Wodehouse and Edmund Wilson. One of the better known residents was F. Scott Fitzgerald who lived in Great Neck from October 1922 to May 1924. Here he is below (picture from the Web):




He lived at six Gateway Drive in a small house but close to great estates. The owner of Naomi’s former house told me that she knew the current owners of Fitzgerald’s old lodging and that the house had been renovated since he lived there. Fitzgerald modeled his fictional West Egg, in his novel The Great Gatsby, after his own Great Neck and East Egg after the mansion on the east. It can better be seen on the map below.




The Great Gatsby was published in 1925. It is an exquisitely crafted novel of the lavish lifestyles of rich Americans in the 1920s of what is also called “The Jazz Age.” It is Fitzgerald’s greatest novel and one of the best novels of the 20th century, a literary classic. It has been translated into many languages. In French it is called “Gatsby le Magnifique.”




A film was made from the novel in 1974 with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in the leading roles. A new version is being filmed this year in 3D with Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan in the leading roles. This new Great Gatsby film is scheduled to be released on 25 December 2012.




At first, when we drove to Steppingstones Park, we went to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy which is also located in the Kings Point area of Great Neck. We were stopped by the guards. I later found out that this was originally the estate of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. the auto magnate.




In 1941 the U.S. Government purchased a 12-acre waterfront parcel of land and the Chrysler mansion. Later it became the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The Chrysler mansion is now one of the academy’s halls (Wiley Hall.) There is a small museum on the property that we tried to visit but it was closed and the guard at the academy’s entrance gave us directions to the park. Here are some pictures of the USMMA from their sites.




Steppingstones Park was also purchased from the Chrysler estate and overlooks Long Island Sound as well. First, we visited the beautiful garden there. Again, no one was around but there were many empty chairs. The garden is beautifully maintained.



It was a joy to take pictures of flowers and the fountain even though it was quite overcast.




We walked in the grass toward the Bay and the Marina. There are nesting osprey – a threatened species – and wading birds in the marshes. (Osprey nest photo below courtesy of George DeCamp.)


Then we went all the way to the end of the Marina to look at the Bay.



There was a sign at the entrance indicating that it was prohibited to take any clams or shellfish from the area.




I thought crabs were considered a shellfish since they have a shell… I guess not as some people were catching them.




I tried to ask questions about the crabs to the lady catching them, but she did not understand English so I tried to speak French and she did not understand that either. She was Asian so I guess she could not understand the sign either. We then observed another person on the Bay – it looked like a senior gentlemen having fun, I guess, windsurfing. There was no wind though, so it was slow going… it even looked like for a while the sail was going to slip into the water but he was able to master it.




After following him for a while we went back closer to the shore to look at the birds. Some were wading in the mussel shells, which were plentiful.



It was fun watching the shore birds. I could have spent hours observing them and taking their photographs.




We had been in Steppingstones Marina for a while but could have lingered by the Long Island shore for much longer. It was a magical world of shorebirds, boats, crabs and osprey. The Marina was a good vantage point in front of the boundless water and the foggy air enveloping it all. But it was time to go. There will be more posts on our trip to the Gold Coast in the future.




“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eel and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”
- Rachel Carson, American Marine Biologist and Conservationist (1907-1964.)