This is a photo of the extended window sill of the Leach Building. It appears to be made of sandstone and supported, in part, by two blond bricks protruding underneath.

Here is another picture featuring the blond brickwork and painted window peak design on the Leach Building.

The least ornate building on the south leg of Medina Public Square is the Leach Building. The picture here is the second floor view. The first floor storefront houses a retail business that sells nautical themed items, known as the Wind and Sea, Ltd. Blond brick and a straight roof line mark this structure differently from any other on the block. This building is also different from the others because it does not have a date marking it's construction.

This is a full front view of the Reinhardt Building on the south leg of the Medina Public Square. What you are looking at are the tall windows and column facings on the second floor of the building. The vaulting and keyhole design on the roof is attractive. A steep stairway leads to law offices and other small businesses on the second floor. The first floor features an interior design business.

The Reinhardt Building is one of my personal favorites. Above the window is the date of construction after the great fire. This window is very familiar to me because I rented this office space and looked out of this exact window early in my legal career.

The south leg of Medina Public Square is seen here in a photograph I took during the summer of 2006. From left to right is the Gazette (Marco) Building; the Firehouse; the Reinhardt Building; the Munson Building; the Leach Building; and, unseen on the right, the Old Phoenix National Bank Building.

This photo shows the arch work above the rectangular windows.

Here is a view that shows how the upper window of the Gazette building extends over the sidewalk. The colorful paint shows off the columns, arching and brickwork of this law office.

This is my first picture in a series describing the south leg of Medina Public Square. I believe the south leg is the most beautiful block of the Square. It is made up of retail, commercial, banking and professional offices. This first building shown here is the Gazette Building at 52 Public Square. This building houses the law offices of Marco, Marco and Bailey. This is the most eastern structure on an attached six building group.

I will begin to photograph the south leg of Medina Public Square in the next day or so. The weather today is cold, grey and overcast. Very common weather for this area, but not always the best conditions for photography. I have included here a photo taken this past summer of the Firehouse on the Square to give you an idea of the very beatuiful buildings to be found on this side of the Square.

Here is a photograph of the most southerly building on the eastern leg of Medina Public Square. Currently the building houses the Medina County Prosecutor's office. Prior to the present use, the building was a bank and before that a funeral home. As you can see, it snowed today. This completes the photographs of the eastern leg of Public Square. All of the buildings on this side of the Square are related to the administration of justice in Medina County.

Just to the south of the stucco building sits this more typical brick faced construction. The tall, narrow, arched windows are common to many of Medina Public Square buildings. Although it is difficult to discern, the plate at the top of the structure shows that it was built in 1871, just one year after the great fire.

Even folks familiar with Medina Public Square are surprised to see this stucco and ironwork building exterior. On the west leg of the Square, this is the only building front not comprised of brick or stone.

It is Friday January 23, 2007. Here is one of my favorite buildings on the west leg of Medina Public Square. This building, recently purchased by attorney James B. Palmquist III, features beautiful woven-basket style brickwork just above an extended window overlooking the Square. The hansome mauve and green painted woodwork caputres the look of the early 1900's. Attorney Palmquist is remodeling the interior and should be ready to see clients in mid 2007.

Here is another picture of the New Medina County Courthouse I took during the summer of 2006. The clock tower that crowns the "Old Courthouse" can be seen on the upper left. This photograph was selected by the Ohio Supreme Court and is currently on display in the Supreme Court building in Columbus, Ohio in their exhibition of county courthouses.

Here is a photograph that shows the connection between the Old and New Courthouses on the Medina Public Square. These two buildings make up 2/3rds of the eastern leg of Medina Public Square. The last building on this east leg of the Square is the Medina County Prosecutor's Office. It is unseen in this photograph but is to the right or south of the "New Courthouse." It is attached to the Courthouse complex by a corridor.

The"New Courthouse" was built in the 1950's to accomodate the growing population of this Northeast Ohio County. Currently, this building houses the Medina County Clerk of Courts, the Medina County Juvenile and Probate Court, the Medina County Common Pleas General Division Courts, the Medina County Law Library and the Medina County Adult Probation Department. Plans are underway to expand this building out the back to house an addition general division courtroom. This building is attached to the "Old Courthouse" by a corridor to the north or left in this photograph.

Finally, a longer view of the southwest corner of Medina Public Square shows the clothing store, the flower shop and more apartment windows above. The intersection of Smith Road and Court Street can be seen on the right of this photograph. Notice the different colors of the lighting. Some lighting is florescent, white and green, on the outside of the building. Other lighting, like the lights from the apartment windows appear to be incandescent, or of a more orange/yellow hue.

Moving north on the western leg on Medina Public Square, the frame shop and hobby store dominate the foreground of this picture. These windows give off the greatest amount of light on this leg of the Square, but are the least interesting to photograph.

The moonless evening lured me out to the Medina Public Square to try more night photography. The west leg of the Square has the best assortment of lights and windows, so I'm temporarily leaving the Courthouse side to post these photos. This first picture is of a clothing store on the southwest corner of the square. I like the way the lights illuminate the red business sign. Look to the top of the photograph. Apartments above the businesses ring the western leg of Medina Public Square.

A better view of the entire "Old Courthouse" is this photograph taken in the summer of 2006. Tomorrow I will try to take photographs of the "New Courthouse", just to the south.

It is friday, January 18, 2007. Here is another view of the "Old Courthouse" on the east leg on Medina Public Square. Just to the left you can just begin to see the slate front of the clock tower. Currently the clock mechanism is being repaired.

More about the Medina Public Square. On the east leg of the Square sits the Medina County Common Pleas Courthouse, actually two courthouses. The "Old Courthouse" was built in 1841 in the Greek revival style and was remodeled into a victorian style in 1873 after the great fire. This building is at the extreme northeast corner of the Public Square. Today this building houses only the Medina County Domestic Relations Court. All other court functions are housed in the building to the south called the "New Courthouse." This photograph, taken today, shows the windows, brickwork and roofline of the "Old Courthouse."

The Medina Square, and all of the buildings surrounding it, are on the National Register of Historical Places. The Square is comprised of many beautifully restored buildings in the Greek Revival, Italianate and Second Empire style dating back to the turn of the last century. The reason these buildings look the way they do is a matter of historical curiosity. The great fire of 1870 destroyed nearly the entire town and most of the buildings were rebuilt in a similar style and at the same time. This historical moment has been captured and preserved and visitors have a chance to see the architecture of the age. The Public Square is not a museum. Many tourists come to shop or eat, business is conducted and the Courthouse and other goverment functions occupy the district. But for me, it all adds up to a great place to take pictures!

After missing a day of posting I am back with a picture of the window of a restuarant on Medina Public Square. The holday decorations are reflected in the window and I love the combination of colors and shapes. I'll be posting one more image today to catch up.

It is January 15, 2007. The rain has stopped and I expect an inch or two of snow late tonight. I returned to Medina Public Square this evening to take more pictures of the lights. Instead of traffic, I became interested in the Christmas lights that still decorate the businesses on the Square. The red and green of the wreath caught my eye. Tomorrow is back to work. After dinner I'll see what the snow looks like.

It's January 14, 2007. I enjoyed the previous evening, taking pictures of the Medina Public Sqaure at night. Tonight, I wanted to see if I could convey the movement of traffic on the Square. Notice that the ambient lighting in this image is more orange and yellow than in yesterdays' photo. I suspect that the street lights here are of a different type than those on the other side of the Square, where I took the picture yesterday. I get a different and more unsettled feel for this photo due to that lighting change. Maybe I'll take more night photographs tomorrow on different parts of the Square to see the effect of the lighting.

January 13, 2007. This is a view of the Public Square in Medina, Ohio. It's about 9:30 p.m. and the lights from the buildings and the traffic reflect off the rain cover street. I am trying to capture the different color street lighting and the movement of the auto headlights in this image.

Resolution

I resolve to post a new picture each day for an entire year. I hope this will help me work more critically and with greater discipline on my hobby of photography. If you happen upon this blog, drop me a line and let me know what you think.