Once again, like in Sandy Hook, the COG office was in a house instead of an office building. I give it points for being more attractive than some random office block, but otherwise it was nothing special. The cache was equally un-special, a magnetic plate attached to a light pole. To highlight its un-specialness, in … Continue reading 811. Essex, Lower Connecticut River Valley COG (CT7) →

I spied with my little eye something beginning with e: even more unremarkable office buildings!  With Hartford, I didn’t even try to get a photo that might simulate a semblance of dignity.  I got it out the car window on the way out of town.  I won’t blame the council.  It’s just an administrative designation … Continue reading 810. Hartford, Capitol Region COG (CT6) →

The drive out to the council office was stupid. It was on a wooded road into a private parking lot, but the entrance was about a quarter mile from where the address was located. If you drive to the address, you end up at the edge of a wooded hillside on a major thoroughfare. You … Continue reading 809. Litchfield, Northwest Hills COG (CT5) →

Another mundane, though not entirely nondescript, office building greeted me in Waterbury. I know the administrators of the council (and most county administrators) are tasked with being good stewards of the public purse, but come on! I'm not sure that any of the council offices I've seen thus far own or entirely control their own … Continue reading 808. Waterbury, Naugatuck Valley COG (CT4) →

Yes, that Sandy Hook. The COG headquarters, being a converted house, was a little nicer than expected. But that was not the thing on our minds as we drove through town. What can I say that hasn't already been said? I still have trouble conceiving how a town manages to survive such a tragedy. I … Continue reading 807. Sandy Hook, Western COG (CT3) →

Another mundane office building greeted me in North Haven. At least it wasn't terribly difficult to get to or in the middle of nowhere. It had been lightly raining all morning, but it was not enough to be more than an inconvenience. I did my photography, and then we jetted off on our way again. … Continue reading 806. North Haven, South Central COG (CT2) →

Oh, Connecticut!Welcome to a new type of county equivalent! After 1960, the state of Connecticut had eight counties, which served as second-level administrative districts. In the 1980s, the state went from a county model to councils of governments (COGs), collections of cities and towns in a region that cooperate to handle governmental and political issues, … Continue reading 805. Bridgeport, Metropolitan COG (CT1) →

Oh, New York!The courthouse in White Plains was depressingly modern, but what could be expected from a suburb of The City? They no doubt have so much work going through this building that even I concede that a traditional courthouse would be inadequate for the task. Much was sacrificed to get here, both in New … Continue reading 804. White Plains, Westchester County (NY01) →

The courthouse was predictably impressive. Why would I be surprised at that? The courthouses of the East Coast have been quite nice up to this point (though Maryland probably doesn't count). And why would I expect less from a city founded by the ten-dollar founding father himself, Alexander Hamilton? Not that he had anything to … Continue reading 803. Paterson, Passaic County (NJ02) →

Oh, New Jersey!Much like with Philadelphia, I would expect no less an impressive courthouse from one of the oldest cities in the country. Oddly enough, the Mercer County Courthouse and this trip forced the resolution of a troublesome issue for me. For a very long time, I’ve considered deeply what building to document as the … Continue reading 802. Trenton, Mercer County (NJ01) →