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Showing posts from December, 2018

Historical Profile: Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson (1838 – 1886) was a well-known American architect.   Richardson designed building in several cities including: Albany, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, and Pittsburgh.   He is credited with creating the “Richardson Romanesque” architectural style.   Richardson is also considered part of the trinity of American architecture along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Richardson had numerous acclaimed architectural designs.   He designed: commercial buildings, commuter railroad station buildings, churches, public libraries, and single-family houses. Richardson’s most notable works include: The Buffalo State Asylum (1869) in New York; The Trinity Church (1872) in Boston; Albany City Hall (1880); Sever Hall (1880) at Harvard University; Oakes Ames Memorial Town Hall (1879) in North Easton, Massachusetts; and the New York State Capitol building (1875) in Albany.

Contaminated water in Flint, Michigan causes political crisis

On August 14, 2014 Flint, Michigan announced that bacteria had been detected in the city’s drinking water supply.   The detection of bacteria had prompted the city to declare a boil water advisory to residents living on the west side of Flint.   Earlier in the year, on April 25, 2014, Flint changed the source of its water supply.   Previously, Flint received its drinking water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River and in 2014 the city switched its supply to the Flint River.   The city’s water supply change was supposed to be a temporary fix.   The city went to the Flint River as its main water source while a new pipeline would be constructed to supply water from Lake Huron to Flint.   Shortly after changing the water supply to the Flint River, residents began reporting that drinking water looked contaminated.   The Detroit River had supplied the city of Flint with quality drinking water for almost 50 years.   After the city changed its drinking water source, Flint residents