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Russell A. Alger Jr. was instrumental in persuading the Packard Motor Car Company to move from Ohio to Michigan. He built a palatial Italian Renaissance style estate, "The Moorings," in Grosse Pointe. (Wikipedia)
Detroit circa 1908. "Packard Model 30 Limousine, Packard Motor Car Company. 'Auto -- Alger' on negative; 'R.A.A.' monogram on car door." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
I wish we could actually see the "R.A.A. monogram on car door." It must be quite tiny.
[It's right there under the window. - Dave]
A while back, I noticed that most modern masonry buildings either have expansion gaps (generally filled with a rubberlike material) or cracks in the masonry, but older ones could go on for a block or so with no cracks. I asked a mason friend why that was, and his response was that the old "lime mortar" allowed just enough movement to preserve the masonry without cracking, but modern mortar is more rigid/brittle and does not handle thermal cycles well.
So my bet is a lot of modern masons could do that, but they don't generally get the supplies or time to do it. What a shame.
Beautiful as that car is, I was enhanced with the fancy brickwork on the building in the background. Wonder how many of today's masons could duplicate it?
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