B Haley
@ghastlyfop.bsky.social
architectural historian, preservation planner, university lecturer
Reposted by B Haley
Let me tell you about the other Epstein files the Trump administration is STILL HIDING — records that aren’t affected by the bill Congress passed today.
November 18, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Let me tell you about the other Epstein files the Trump administration is STILL HIDING — records that aren’t affected by the bill Congress passed today.
There’s so much nonsense out there about “ancient stone astronomical alignments” and “ceremonial stone landscapes” in the NE US. Like this talk, it’s all nonsense but is a growing movement. Glad I’m not going into archaeology now, nor can I imagine what the field will be like in 20 years.
November 18, 2025 at 8:43 PM
There’s so much nonsense out there about “ancient stone astronomical alignments” and “ceremonial stone landscapes” in the NE US. Like this talk, it’s all nonsense but is a growing movement. Glad I’m not going into archaeology now, nor can I imagine what the field will be like in 20 years.
Reposted by B Haley
17 NOVEMBER 1775, PHILADELPHIA: The Continental Congress unanimously votes to appoint Henry Knox colonel of the Continental Army’s artillery regiment; the United States Army Field Artillery Branch marks the event as its birthday.
November 17, 2025 at 8:43 PM
17 NOVEMBER 1775, PHILADELPHIA: The Continental Congress unanimously votes to appoint Henry Knox colonel of the Continental Army’s artillery regiment; the United States Army Field Artillery Branch marks the event as its birthday.
An affirmative maintenance/demo by neglect bylaw perhaps could have saved this house, but very few communities have them. andovermanews.com/historic-169...
Historic 1699 Osgood House Torn Down After Years of Neglect, Hoarding | Andover News
The 1699 Osgood home — where Revolutionary firebrand James Otis Jr. was killed by lightning — was demolished Monday after decades of neglect and hoarding left it beyond repair.
andovermanews.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM
An affirmative maintenance/demo by neglect bylaw perhaps could have saved this house, but very few communities have them. andovermanews.com/historic-169...
Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the start of the Ticonderoga Expedition in which 25-year-old Henry Knox led the effort to haul 60 tons of artillery on sleds from Fort Ticonderoga south to Albany and east across Massachusetts to the Continental Army camps in Cambridge.
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the start of the Ticonderoga Expedition in which 25-year-old Henry Knox led the effort to haul 60 tons of artillery on sleds from Fort Ticonderoga south to Albany and east across Massachusetts to the Continental Army camps in Cambridge.
The Western Railroad btw Springfield and Worcester was surveyed and built FROM SCRATCH in under 3 years in the 1830s. Just making the existing rail line from Springfield to Albany faster (the “full build,” presuming Boston to Springfield will be done ~2030) will take until 2045.
November 18, 2025 at 2:29 AM
The Western Railroad btw Springfield and Worcester was surveyed and built FROM SCRATCH in under 3 years in the 1830s. Just making the existing rail line from Springfield to Albany faster (the “full build,” presuming Boston to Springfield will be done ~2030) will take until 2045.
While some “brown furniture” seems to be coming back (hello, Regency!), a lot of prices are still so low that I managed to acquire a piece that seems to be by Duncan Phyfe for next to nothing. May have been a companion to this one at Boscobel, which is identical. www.boscobel.org/the-collecti...
Dressing table - Boscobel
Duncan Phyfe New York Dressing table with mirror, c. 1825 Mahogany, mahogany veneer, brass, looking-glass plate Gift of funds from Barnabas McHenry in honor of Jennifer Carlquist; and others, by excha...
www.boscobel.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:38 PM
While some “brown furniture” seems to be coming back (hello, Regency!), a lot of prices are still so low that I managed to acquire a piece that seems to be by Duncan Phyfe for next to nothing. May have been a companion to this one at Boscobel, which is identical. www.boscobel.org/the-collecti...
VERY well-paying historic property survey job with the City of Northampton for a very cool place, a former Methodist camp meeting. #historicpreservation www.northamptonma.gov/bids.aspx?bi...
Bids • Laurel Park Historic Documentation
Bid Publication Date/Time: 11/14/2025 12:00 AM; Closing Date/Time: 12/19/2025 11:59 PM
www.northamptonma.gov
November 17, 2025 at 9:31 PM
VERY well-paying historic property survey job with the City of Northampton for a very cool place, a former Methodist camp meeting. #historicpreservation www.northamptonma.gov/bids.aspx?bi...
Reposted by B Haley
For years, visitors to the Gropius House had to contend with an outdoor porta loo. A new architecture competition is betting the design community is flush with solutions https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/walter-gropius-house-toilet-competition
November 13, 2025 at 5:49 PM
For years, visitors to the Gropius House had to contend with an outdoor porta loo. A new architecture competition is betting the design community is flush with solutions https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/walter-gropius-house-toilet-competition
Imagine owning this fabulous ca. 1790 house in Virginia and putting in those vinyl replacement windows 🙃
November 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Imagine owning this fabulous ca. 1790 house in Virginia and putting in those vinyl replacement windows 🙃
How can there be a person named Salem Derby. That there’s a horse race.
November 8, 2025 at 1:30 AM
How can there be a person named Salem Derby. That there’s a horse race.
remarkable that the issue of selling an unused parking lot to develop housing was as contentious as it was www.nepm.org/regional-new...
Greenfield voters agree to sell downtown parking lot for housing
After a contentious campaign, a ballot question, which would have overturned the city council's decision to develop the land, failed.
www.nepm.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:39 AM
remarkable that the issue of selling an unused parking lot to develop housing was as contentious as it was www.nepm.org/regional-new...
The rise of Regency and Regency-style furniture continues apace
November 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The rise of Regency and Regency-style furniture continues apace
This cute 1930s former public school in Wilmington, MA is going to be razed because the town manager “wants 14 parking spaces” where it was. Ah, the suburban mentality.
It’s surrounded by acres of parking and other undeveloped land.
It was designed by an obscure architect named Halsey Horner.
It’s surrounded by acres of parking and other undeveloped land.
It was designed by an obscure architect named Halsey Horner.
November 5, 2025 at 9:44 PM
This cute 1930s former public school in Wilmington, MA is going to be razed because the town manager “wants 14 parking spaces” where it was. Ah, the suburban mentality.
It’s surrounded by acres of parking and other undeveloped land.
It was designed by an obscure architect named Halsey Horner.
It’s surrounded by acres of parking and other undeveloped land.
It was designed by an obscure architect named Halsey Horner.
Depressed to see this grand old house in Deerfield, MA in the midst of a gut reno. Historic Deerfield intervened to divert some stuff from the landfill to keep for their own projects, but everything else is toast. An expert on timber framing in the region has been inside and thinks it’s early 18th c
November 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Depressed to see this grand old house in Deerfield, MA in the midst of a gut reno. Historic Deerfield intervened to divert some stuff from the landfill to keep for their own projects, but everything else is toast. An expert on timber framing in the region has been inside and thinks it’s early 18th c
I met him when he was a trade envoy and came to NYC to make the rounds at an event. He stopped at me for some reason (I think bc I was the only non-businessperson in the room) and we spoke for at least 15 minutes about historic preservation. He was weirdly, unnecessarily aggressive and obnoxious.
Breaking News: Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, is being stripped of his title as prince, Buckingham Palace said. nyti.ms/4oQeykJ
October 30, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I met him when he was a trade envoy and came to NYC to make the rounds at an event. He stopped at me for some reason (I think bc I was the only non-businessperson in the room) and we spoke for at least 15 minutes about historic preservation. He was weirdly, unnecessarily aggressive and obnoxious.
Presumably this is happening at least partly because the other candidate in the primary race is nearly an octogenarian?
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“Why do so many people feel the need to work so hard to redeem a man who had a Nazi tattoo?” our columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom writes.
“Why do so many people feel the need to work so hard to redeem a man who had a Nazi tattoo?” our columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom writes.
Opinion | A Nazi Tattoo Exposes Democrats’ Greatest Weakness
Do Democrats know what the working class actually looks like?
nyti.ms
October 30, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Presumably this is happening at least partly because the other candidate in the primary race is nearly an octogenarian?
It really is astounding how perfect opportunities are handed to Democrats and they do literally nothing. I genuinely don’t understand it.
Democrats gonna announce a press conference to demand the demolition process be halted
the conference will be scheduled for next wednesday
the conference will be scheduled for next wednesday
It looks like the East Wing is pretty much gone
October 23, 2025 at 11:48 PM
It really is astounding how perfect opportunities are handed to Democrats and they do literally nothing. I genuinely don’t understand it.
That makes sense. User privacy already was garbage. My late uncle’s account got hacked by a Chinese woman who slowly took over his profile and despite repeated reports no one ever did anything to help.
Buried in Meta’s latest round of layoffs were cuts to its team responsible for monitoring risks to user privacy.
Meta Layoffs Included Employees Who Monitored Risks to User Privacy
While the company announced job cuts in artificial intelligence, it also expanded plans to replace privacy and risk auditors with more automated systems.
nyti.ms
October 23, 2025 at 11:46 PM
That makes sense. User privacy already was garbage. My late uncle’s account got hacked by a Chinese woman who slowly took over his profile and despite repeated reports no one ever did anything to help.
Well this has gotten out of hand very quickly. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
Trump Administration Live Updates: White House Changes Course and Will Demolish Entire East Wing
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Well this has gotten out of hand very quickly. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
The most aimless people I’ve known have become “life coaches.” Not sure if that’s good or bad for their paying clients.
October 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The most aimless people I’ve known have become “life coaches.” Not sure if that’s good or bad for their paying clients.
The amount of flipped furniture on FB Marketplace is wild and it’s all mid century stuff restained or colonial revival stuff painted black or navy with bright hardware. Most of the flipped pieces are worthless, like these, but now and then you see a real treasure that fell into the wrong hands.
October 21, 2025 at 1:31 AM
The amount of flipped furniture on FB Marketplace is wild and it’s all mid century stuff restained or colonial revival stuff painted black or navy with bright hardware. Most of the flipped pieces are worthless, like these, but now and then you see a real treasure that fell into the wrong hands.
Fun fact: Section 107 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 explicitly exempts the White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court building from being subject to any provision of the act.
October 20, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Fun fact: Section 107 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 explicitly exempts the White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court building from being subject to any provision of the act.
Classic autumnal scene in New England
October 19, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Classic autumnal scene in New England
Look at this wonderful ca. 1800 Chinese export bowl with Masonic imagery. Sold today and not surprised someone was willing to pay 3x the high auction estimate.
October 16, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Look at this wonderful ca. 1800 Chinese export bowl with Masonic imagery. Sold today and not surprised someone was willing to pay 3x the high auction estimate.