The model castle my friend and I made from cardboard, construction paper and Christmas tree lights in my basement. It's about three feet tall; openings gave views into three-dimensional mini-diorama scenes. From the left, a Victorian parlor opening to the hall where Alice in Wonderland (a cut-out from a comic book) meets the talking Doorknob. Out of sight above, a window shows her fall down the rabbit hole. Next, Alice's forest meeting with the Cheshire Cat, who appears and disappears via a rear-illuminating blinking light. The castle has a moonlit courtyard, bright ballroom and a fire-lit dungeon. A chapel with flying buttresses and rose window has pipe organ music supplied by a small loudspeaker inside. We cut up the strings of lights to get them into the right positions, joining the wires with electrical tape. It's a wonder we didn't burn the house down. The inspiration was the diorama scenes inside Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. This Kodachrome really doesn't do it justice, but trying to get a good exposure was devilishly difficult. I'd been describing my work on this project to my new acquaintance in our sophomore year at Redwood High; it fired his imagination and soon we were collaborating on it, and thus began a lifelong friendship. View full size.

San Diego, California, 1913. "San Diego and bay from U.S. Grant Hotel." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Washington, D.C, 1921. "Scripps-Booth Sales Co., 14th Street N.W." And one very shiny sedan. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Universal Auto Co., interior." Our second look at this Ford dealership at 1529 M Street. National Photo Co. View full size.

Circa 1916. "New York Post Office, main corridor." Snapshot from the Golden Age of Mail. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Universal Auto Co., interior." The parts of old, beset by mold. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size.

Detroit circa 1912. "Griswold Street from Capitol Park." Home of the Miles Theater and "Advanced Vaudeville" -- you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll need a slide rule and a thesaurus. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing. View full size.