Haunting Graveyards – Page 3 – Postcards from Barton Springs

Postcard from London, England: ‘Strange bedfellows’ for eternity

June 24, 2024August 23, 2026 postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

A postage stamp celebrating the 900th anniversary of Westminster Abbey, featuring intricate architectural details and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Above left: Monumental effigy of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587). Above right: Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey

There is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.”

The Tempest, William Shakespeare, 1611

In recent years, you’ve been exposed to an immense quantity of footage showing the interior of Westminster Abbey: the wedding of Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011; the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022); and the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in 2023.

With no need to cover that aspect, this taphophile is jumping straight to the everyday role of Westminster – a splendid monumental cemetery housing the remains of more than 3,300 elite, a veritable who’s-who of a thousand years of British history. Grave markers underfoot lie ignored, overwhelmed by the sculptural and polychrome effigies and memorials climbing ever higher up the church walls.

If ghosts rise in the night, what bedlam must reign. According to the Westminster website, the remains of 13 kings, four queens regnant, 11 queens consort, and two more queens are interred there. Blood might run thicker than water, yet British bluebloods frequently spilled that of their kin.

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Operatic backdrop fit for explosive finale

January 8, 2024 postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Above: Scene from The Godfather III shot on the steps of Teatro Massimo

Even if you have never seen The Godfather III, a spoiler alert scarcely seems necessary when revealing lots of bodies fall during the last few scenes of the film. You’d expect no less in any of Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy of films revolving around the Corleone family.

But who knew a silent scream could be rendered so powerfully as Michael Corleone’s? The unheard-scream scene was rendered on the steps of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, the largest opera house in Italy.

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Postcard from London, England: Art restores power to the station

November 27, 2023August 23, 2026 postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Above: “Life in His Mouth, Death Cradles Her Arm,” Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, 2016. Photo grab from video.

A view of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, with surrounding buildings and a river boat transporting cargo on the Thames River. — *St. Paul’s Cathedral*

Architectural Challenge Number One, 1940s: Design an industrial complex on a site directly across the Thames from one of London’s most cherished landmarks – Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was an accomplished architect by the time he was tapped to tackle the Bankside Power Station. Unlike his earlier two-chimneyed Battersea Power Station, Bankside featured a single soaring chimney front and center, prompting some to refer to it as the cathedral of industry.

Industrial smokestack emitting smoke against a clear sky, reflected in the water below.

Architectural Challenge Number 2, 1990s: Convert a massive decommissioned power station into a frame for modern art. An international competition attracted 168 submissions, with the Swiss architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron selected for the adaptive reuse project. The firm’s respect for and desire to preserve the external features of the brick power station impressed the selection committee of the Tate Modern.

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