Rick Romanowski
@freddysfingers.bsky.social
Carnegie library enthusiast; amateur photography historian; unpaid writer; cinephile; professional cynic. Thirtysomething. Co-owner of Mourning Wood Photographic Company.
The upcoming Carnegie library video is going to be massive! Probably the closest thing I’ve ever come to producing a full fledge documentary!
#librarysky #carnegielibrary
#librarysky #carnegielibrary
December 16, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The upcoming Carnegie library video is going to be massive! Probably the closest thing I’ve ever come to producing a full fledge documentary!
#librarysky #carnegielibrary
#librarysky #carnegielibrary
Part of the big dive into Carnegie libraries is filling in the gaps as to why certain cities declined the library grant. This is where real historical research/analysis takes place - mostly done by the wonderful librarians in each of these cities. #librarysky
June 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Part of the big dive into Carnegie libraries is filling in the gaps as to why certain cities declined the library grant. This is where real historical research/analysis takes place - mostly done by the wonderful librarians in each of these cities. #librarysky
The Carnegie library in Dubuque; the final library I visited while in Iowa. I’m almost shocked that it was greenlit by Carnegie’s secretary. These things were certainly “temples of knowledge,” and I cannot wait to put together this video. #librarysky
June 7, 2025 at 5:49 PM
The Carnegie library in Dubuque; the final library I visited while in Iowa. I’m almost shocked that it was greenlit by Carnegie’s secretary. These things were certainly “temples of knowledge,” and I cannot wait to put together this video. #librarysky
The Carnegie library in Warren, Illinois. A fierce snowstorm was around the corner. I nestled inside for warmth. The cold wind was battering the windows. Shadows shrouded the oaken aisles, and the floor creaked as I strode through inquisitively. It was a perfect place to write. #librarysky
June 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The Carnegie library in Warren, Illinois. A fierce snowstorm was around the corner. I nestled inside for warmth. The cold wind was battering the windows. Shadows shrouded the oaken aisles, and the floor creaked as I strode through inquisitively. It was a perfect place to write. #librarysky
Jesus. It’s been so long, I forgot I had this account. The last couple of months have been a carnival ride of teaching, writing, and research. All these pages discussing the history of Iowa and its Carnegie libraries.
March 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Jesus. It’s been so long, I forgot I had this account. The last couple of months have been a carnival ride of teaching, writing, and research. All these pages discussing the history of Iowa and its Carnegie libraries.
One thing about being bedridden for a month is that is allows you to catch up on a lot of personal projects. I'm going to use this time to write as many videos as I can, for both the Carnegie libraries and the laundry list of obscure 19th century camera companies.
December 31, 2024 at 5:57 PM
One thing about being bedridden for a month is that is allows you to catch up on a lot of personal projects. I'm going to use this time to write as many videos as I can, for both the Carnegie libraries and the laundry list of obscure 19th century camera companies.
I've been putting together a #vlog series about starting a photography YouTube channel, but also about the trials and tribulations of working with antiquated cameras. Please check it out! Language advisory applies. #filmphotography
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyc...
The Reddick // Video Log 7
YouTube video by Mourning Wood Photographic Company
www.youtube.com
December 31, 2024 at 5:54 PM
I've been putting together a #vlog series about starting a photography YouTube channel, but also about the trials and tribulations of working with antiquated cameras. Please check it out! Language advisory applies. #filmphotography
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyc...
Completely incapacitated for weeks now due to TMJ pain.
December 28, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Completely incapacitated for weeks now due to TMJ pain.
Last month I put together a huge video about the history of the Dawson City Carnegie library, as well as the history of Dawson, and the Klondike Gold Rush. Check it out, if you haven't already. This was probably the most fun I had researching. #librarysky #history
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_s...
Carnegie Libraries: Dawson City | Ep. 4
YouTube video by Mourning Wood Photographic Company
www.youtube.com
December 23, 2024 at 8:47 PM
Last month I put together a huge video about the history of the Dawson City Carnegie library, as well as the history of Dawson, and the Klondike Gold Rush. Check it out, if you haven't already. This was probably the most fun I had researching. #librarysky #history
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_s...
We wanted to test out our Land Camera 95, but since they don't make film cartridges for it anymore, JD, with a bit of careful maneuvering and a darkroom bag, was able to tape a Polaroid 600 sheet on the back of the exposure plate. This would allow us to finally use the camera! #instantfilm
December 22, 2024 at 9:42 PM
We wanted to test out our Land Camera 95, but since they don't make film cartridges for it anymore, JD, with a bit of careful maneuvering and a darkroom bag, was able to tape a Polaroid 600 sheet on the back of the exposure plate. This would allow us to finally use the camera! #instantfilm
The Carnegie library of Viroqua, Wisconsin, according to Wikipedia, is marked as "still a library," but when I go into street view, the building is labeled as the Bricolage Cirkus. And if we look at the inside, we can see the skeleton of the old Carnegie library, including the fireplace! #librarysky
December 21, 2024 at 8:58 PM
The Carnegie library of Viroqua, Wisconsin, according to Wikipedia, is marked as "still a library," but when I go into street view, the building is labeled as the Bricolage Cirkus. And if we look at the inside, we can see the skeleton of the old Carnegie library, including the fireplace! #librarysky
Finally, the Hawaiʻi State Library was awarded $100,000 in 1909 and opened in 1913. It is thankfully still with us, and it looks virtually the same (on the outside at least) as it did in the 1910s. It'd be curious to see how long correspondence took between Hawaii and NYC in the 1900s. #librarysky
December 18, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Finally, the Hawaiʻi State Library was awarded $100,000 in 1909 and opened in 1913. It is thankfully still with us, and it looks virtually the same (on the outside at least) as it did in the 1910s. It'd be curious to see how long correspondence took between Hawaii and NYC in the 1900s. #librarysky
Carnegie libraries are all over the country! The Biblioteca Carnegie is Puerto Rico opened in 1915 after it received a $100,000 endowment in 1901! Almost 15 years later! It's still with us today, now in beautiful pastel pink. I'm curious as to why it took so long to build. #librarysky
December 18, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Carnegie libraries are all over the country! The Biblioteca Carnegie is Puerto Rico opened in 1915 after it received a $100,000 endowment in 1901! Almost 15 years later! It's still with us today, now in beautiful pastel pink. I'm curious as to why it took so long to build. #librarysky
The adorably quaint Carnegie library in Sunnyside, Washington was demolished in 1964. I find its architecture very fascinating because at first glance, it looks fairly modest, but the "templed" details are still there. Almost hidden in plain sight. I love it. #librarysky #history
December 18, 2024 at 4:49 PM
The adorably quaint Carnegie library in Sunnyside, Washington was demolished in 1964. I find its architecture very fascinating because at first glance, it looks fairly modest, but the "templed" details are still there. Almost hidden in plain sight. I love it. #librarysky #history
What the hell is going on with the Carnegie libraries in Washington?!
December 18, 2024 at 4:39 PM
What the hell is going on with the Carnegie libraries in Washington?!
The former Lehi library in Utah is probably the most nondescript Carnegie I've come across so far. It was, from what I'm reading, a part of the old city hall building. Granted $17,000 in 1917, and completed in 1920/1921. #librarysky
December 13, 2024 at 9:43 PM
The former Lehi library in Utah is probably the most nondescript Carnegie I've come across so far. It was, from what I'm reading, a part of the old city hall building. Granted $17,000 in 1917, and completed in 1920/1921. #librarysky
In case you missed it, I put together a video chronicling the history of one the largest repositories of early 20th Century photographs in the country, the Detroit Publishing Company, and an obscure color-photo technique known as Photochrom! #history #skystorian
youtu.be/plkf96lthGg?...
youtu.be/plkf96lthGg?...
The Incredible History of The Detroit Publishing Company - Framing the Past (EP. 5)
YouTube video by Mourning Wood Photographic Company
youtu.be
December 13, 2024 at 5:24 PM
In case you missed it, I put together a video chronicling the history of one the largest repositories of early 20th Century photographs in the country, the Detroit Publishing Company, and an obscure color-photo technique known as Photochrom! #history #skystorian
youtu.be/plkf96lthGg?...
youtu.be/plkf96lthGg?...
I’ll post historical photos on my timeline, but Jesus Christ, I’ll never let my profile become one of these seedy content farms. There’s so much history in photographs that I would love to discuss!
December 11, 2024 at 11:25 PM
I’ll post historical photos on my timeline, but Jesus Christ, I’ll never let my profile become one of these seedy content farms. There’s so much history in photographs that I would love to discuss!
What I hate to see are these content farm pages on Facebook that automate AI generated photos and descriptions that they pass off as historical fact. So many people aren't equipped to critically assess this shit, and so history is being washed because of it. #AIsucks
December 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM
What I hate to see are these content farm pages on Facebook that automate AI generated photos and descriptions that they pass off as historical fact. So many people aren't equipped to critically assess this shit, and so history is being washed because of it. #AIsucks
Final stretch of typing out my creepypasta story. First time I ever took a swing at trying to write like a frantic, anxious, paranoid character who’s trying to get everything down faster than they can think. Interesting experiment. Will the reader feel just as nervously panicked?
December 10, 2024 at 11:01 PM
Final stretch of typing out my creepypasta story. First time I ever took a swing at trying to write like a frantic, anxious, paranoid character who’s trying to get everything down faster than they can think. Interesting experiment. Will the reader feel just as nervously panicked?
Thumbing through the still-standing Carnegie libraries in Texas - I think I've settled on the libraries in Terrell and Belton (pictured respectively) as being my favorites. I'm such a sucker for big engaged columns and overly pronounced cornices. And I love the color scheme for Belton. #librarysky
December 8, 2024 at 4:44 PM
Thumbing through the still-standing Carnegie libraries in Texas - I think I've settled on the libraries in Terrell and Belton (pictured respectively) as being my favorites. I'm such a sucker for big engaged columns and overly pronounced cornices. And I love the color scheme for Belton. #librarysky
This is a 1915 photo of Vancouver at night. It's incredible! And with a bit of light research through the Vancouver Archives, of which this image comes from, we can see the photographer was W.J. Carruthers... a Lieutenant Colonel in the [presumably] Canadian army. #photohistory
December 8, 2024 at 12:28 AM
This is a 1915 photo of Vancouver at night. It's incredible! And with a bit of light research through the Vancouver Archives, of which this image comes from, we can see the photographer was W.J. Carruthers... a Lieutenant Colonel in the [presumably] Canadian army. #photohistory
While researching the “Great Bend” of Iowa - which comprises of Clinton County up to Dubuque - I came across a grisly episode of Native/American history called the Black Hawk war. The war culminated in a native massacre of women and children in Bad Axe, Wisconsin. #history
December 7, 2024 at 6:19 PM
While researching the “Great Bend” of Iowa - which comprises of Clinton County up to Dubuque - I came across a grisly episode of Native/American history called the Black Hawk war. The war culminated in a native massacre of women and children in Bad Axe, Wisconsin. #history
Why haven't we developed word processors to autocorrect "teh" to "the"??? They will literally autocorrect "remmbesr" to "remember," but not "teh" to "the."
December 5, 2024 at 3:57 PM
Why haven't we developed word processors to autocorrect "teh" to "the"??? They will literally autocorrect "remmbesr" to "remember," but not "teh" to "the."
After wayyyy too many technical problems, I'm happy to finally release this video I made on the history of the Detroit Publishing Company, a photographic firm that was responsible for some of the most incredible and famous scenes of the late 19th Century! #history
www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkf...
The Incredible History of The Detroit Publishing Company - Framing the Past (EP. 5)
YouTube video by Mourning Wood Photographic Company
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2024 at 3:48 PM
After wayyyy too many technical problems, I'm happy to finally release this video I made on the history of the Detroit Publishing Company, a photographic firm that was responsible for some of the most incredible and famous scenes of the late 19th Century! #history
www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkf...