I grew up in the tiny town of Eldora, Iowa, and its courthouse has always been one of my favorites. The county courthouse, built in the years 1891 and 1892 for $48,000, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. My favorite part of the building is the clock tower which reaches a height of 128 feet. A hailstorm in August 2009 wreaked havoc on the entire town of Eldora, including the courthouse. The windows were smashed and the clock tower was damaged as well. Currently the town is in the process of renovating this historic structure.
The grey monument with the soldier at the pinnacle honors the servicemen who died during the Civil War. It was first built in 1885 for $3000, but has been restored many times, the most recent being in 1985.
The Hardin County website contains much more information on the courthouse as well as other historical facts about Hardin county.
This is my first attempt at a full 360 degree panoramic image. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. I have a few things yet to master, including the white balance of my camera. Hopefully the panoramas will only improve with practice. Let me know what you think!
I was playing with this recently and got pretty good results, though I like your krpano viewer better — what did you use to stitch?
Also, give pixtra a try for a wrap-around view that autoplays – http://www.tejdhawan.com/photos/mayflower.htm shows an example @ Mayflower steps.
Do you remember when I was the county courthouse for Halloween? I think that was circa 8th grade. My face was one of the clock faces. My brother was city hall. 🙂
I like the panoramic view, it will be fun to see some of your other views when you start your trip!
I had forgotten about that Halloween until you mentioned it! I’m excited to see some of the panorama possibilities coming up.
Do you know if there are any good photos of the monument in front of the court house? I visited Eldora around 1975 and found my ex-wife’s relative listed on one of the plaques. The family didn’t even know his name was there. I took photos at the time, but when we split up, she took it all. I’m trying to do a family history for her daughter and would like to show her what her great-great-grandfather did.
I’ve done a web search (that’s how I found you).
HJD
Joe – I’m not sure if there are. I think if you contact the Eldora courthouse they should be able to help you out. I know there are old photos of the monument that exist and I would think they are stored in the archives. You can also search on ebay for old pictures of the Eldora courthouse square. Hope that helps.