Thursday, February 10, 2011

Ruins Of The Governors Mansion



Most every day that we walk into town from our trailer park
 we pass this old ruin and would wonder what is this?

What happened here?



From this perspective it appears that it was originally a stone face
 that was later faced with brick.

Was there a period that the brick was considered a more refined material?


I was also struck by the sculptural quality
 that only time and elements can bring.


The arch is nicely proportioned... 


...from the grass on top... 


...to the plaster that is still smooth...


...and the eroded bottom.

Of course the stone does not erode.


As luck would have it the day we stopped to take some photos
  a neighbor, Emily, stopped and gave us some history.


And more importantly, she kindly showed us an old photo 
that was taken before the building fell into ruins.

Our ruin is below the steeple,
 (which is actually part of the church a block or two away)
 and was apparently part of the portal of the governors mansion
 when Alamos was the capital of the combined states of Sonora and Sinaloa
in the early half of the 19th century. 


In the last century the building fell into ruin and after the roof collapsed,
 many of the materials were scavenged to live again in other buildings,
 leaving our ruin.

Thanks Emily.