Cool Pics and story.

[JackDidley]

Pigeon picture. Thats right, a pigeon took this pic. Not sure how I found this. Link to the story and more pics below.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-turn-of-the-century-pigeons-that-photographed-earth-from-above

[stomachmonkey]

Looks like Oheka Castle.

Hard to be sure as Oheka went through so many changes over a century.

Oheka was built by a Jewish banker named Otto Kahn.

It's on the North Shore of Long Island, the gold coast, summer home to the Rockerfellers, Gettys, Vanderbilts and other assorted old money blue bloods. It's where The Great Gatsby was based on.

Second largest residential home in the US behind San Simeon.

The story was Otto wanted a summer home amongst his peers but being a Jew and it being the turn of the century no one would sell him property on the water. Best he could do was a mile inland so he trucked in enough dirt to build a hill high enough where he could see the water. His proverbial FU to them.

Cold Spring Harbor Station, part of the Long Island Railroad system exists because he built the tracks to facilitate bringing in workers and building materials.

After Otto passed the property became Eastern Military academy which eventually shut down in IIRC the 70's.

The massive acreage around it was sold off and the structure feel into disrepair becoming a place for local teens to hang out and party. Ask me how I know

It was purchased by a real estate developer who started to restore it with the intent of breaking it up into condo units.

He nearly went bankrupt and sold to a Japanese investor who mostly completed the restoration then sold it back to the developer.

These days it's used as a high end vacation getaway and catering facility.

Stunning structure that can bee seen from miles around.

[Tervuren]

I think it is a fake, the earth looks curved and not flat.

[Baz]

Early drone technology!

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

I think it is a fake, the earth looks curved and not flat.

I agree. Pigeon photoshopped that one for sure.

[GH85Carrera]

I do aerial photography for a living. We had a fantastic archive of old aerials back to 1947. One customer called and wanted aerial of an area in middle of nowhere Texas-Oklahoma border from the 1880s I told her that airplane was not even invented until December 17, 1903 and it was not taking pictures. There are some aerials from balloons from the late 1800s but thay are in Paris and New York not middle of nowhere remote areas.

I did dig up some 1936 photography of the area.

[tcar]

Definitely not Oheka Castle.

Good story, though.

Searching... maybe Kroonberg Palace near Frankfurt...

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by tcar

Definitely not Oheka Castle.

Good story, though.

Searching... maybe Kroonberg Palace near Frankfurt...

The story does say, he was German. I am just amazed at the fact that he did this in 1907. He was a true innovator.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by JackDidley

The story does say, he was German. I am just amazed at the fact that he did this in 1907. He was a true innovator.

Yes... read the story... and more... pretty amazing.

Had a friend that raced homing pigeons many years ago... interesting how they can find their way back to the coop from very, very far away.