The rotunda at City Hall was cleared out for painting this month and once again the plaques commemorating veterans can be seen close up.
These plaques are magnificent reminders of the sacrifices for freedom that our local military personnel made.
They were partially obscured by a desk for several years but now can be properly seen.
The refurbishment included restoration of this seal marked "Plainfield Municipal Building" and dating back to 1917. It has stylized dolphins that reflect the motifs on the stair rails. Very nice work!
Here is the central image, with the scales of justice.
On a modern note, 2012 is furnishing us with some wacky weather, as witnessed by this Flowering Quince in full bloom on Feb. 18 outside City Hall Annex.
Over on Park Avenue, retail rental space is vacant again in two Paramount buildings. The red-and-white signs can also be seen downtown. The turnover makes me think a business registry, if one ever gets established, would have to be very nimble to keep up with the changes.
Things were busy yesterday on North Avenue, where PMUA was dealing with a full 30-yard Dumpster full of construction debris and leaving off an empty one. The building with the ornate facade was once owned by the Johnson family, publishers of the weekly Plainfield Today. When I worked there, I helped paint an art gallery they opened in the building. As exciting as that was, I felt sad to have gotten paint on my favorite purple jeans in the process.
Finally, here's a bit of whimsy: On Watchung Avenue near East Seventh Street, you can hug a tree and get a kiss!
--Bernice
Bernice, did you save a picture of you in those purple jeans. . . .we would love to see it!
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Bernice: I was so pleased to see the Rotunda looking decent for a change. I went up to Mr. Jackson's office to tell them not to restore that stupid sign-in desk, and then this morning I phoned John Louise. He told me a smaller desk is now on the other side. At least it's not blocking the plaques. That's progress, but the whole desk thing arose when Dan Damon allegedly threatened the mayor's life, leading to the body guard and the dopey sign-in rule. My response? I signed in as Mickey Mouse, which is what it was.
ReplyDeleteDan Damon didn't "threaten" the mayor's life. What he did was report that there had been a threat. My understanding is that it was thoroughly investigated by the county and found to be not credible. Anyway I wish Dan all the best during his current difficult medical circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the administration heeded the word of the people with regard to finally ridding our rotunda of that godawful junk--including cheesy advertisements for wedding photography and the like--which should never be seen as a municipal endorsement of such things. Keeping the rotunda clean and open is at least one place where the administration can show transparency.
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Dear 08:35 a.m., of course the allegation was discredited. It was nonsense, and typical self-promotion. A full-time body-guard? Give me a break.
DeleteBut I must say the Rotunda does look much better, brighter, cleaner, not cluttered with ads for bail bondsmen. I continue to recommend Mickey Mouse if you're forced to sign in.
Come walk down to the Plainfield border at Somerset St. The shade trees there will give you an unique view of out of control
ReplyDeleteIt is about time this shady mayor removed her shadiness from our rotunda and stopped hiding our pride and joy, our service men and women.
ReplyDeleteThe false threat against the mayor was a harbinger of things to come and they have come true, indeed. It nice to have a City Hall that we can be proud of. Now to remove the one person who still makes it look shabby.
I doubt that the mayor would give any information at all to Dan Damon. It was an alarmist hoax that he either invented or promoted to make the mayor look bad. A lot of people figured that out. Ultimately the county seems to have figured it out too after he was interviewed by county law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteI hope his health situation improves. He is in my prayers.
Well its about time those disrespectful boobs in city hall cleaned the Memorial and moved the junk from inbfont of it. A sure sign of disrespect to the Men who Died serving our country
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