indiana
New Harmony
2007/07/30 14:07 Filed in: Journal
The previous Sunday, July 22, I went with my friends
Adam and Gabriela to New Harmony, Indiana. The
drive took about 1.5 hours. Although I had heard
about it a number of times, this was my first
time visiting.
New Harmony was first established as a religious community, and later as a more secular communal experiment. You can read more about its interesting history here and here.
After coming across the old toll bridge joining Illinois and Indiana, our first stop was the Atheneum, a modernist design visitors center. (A more interesting side profile photo is available here.) Aside from a tour and film, which we skipped, the only other attraction inside was a gift shop. One fascinating curiosity in the gift shop was a remake of a 4-sided wood block from the time of the second New Harmony community. The blocks were hung at each worker's station. Each side was a different color, and each color indicated the respective worker's performance that day.
This walled garden with a fountain in the center is a fairly recent addition:
My companions on this adventure were Gabriela and Adam:
A large open courtyard, surrounded by a brick wall, is known as the Roofless Church. Inside is this very prominent structure, which has a statue in the middle symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit (that's me in the foreground):
This hedge maze contains a round "temple" in the middle, which is basically a room for meditation. Around the ceiling are various quotes from the Bible and other more contemporary sources; I believe this is a reconstruction based on a hedge maze from the original Harmonist colony:
There were other interesting things there, but our time was limited and we did not see it all. Unfortunately the current community is a bit hickey, and undoubtedly does not reflect the ideals of either of the town's original communities. From various reports, the original New Harmony was quite a spectacle in its day.
New Harmony was first established as a religious community, and later as a more secular communal experiment. You can read more about its interesting history here and here.
After coming across the old toll bridge joining Illinois and Indiana, our first stop was the Atheneum, a modernist design visitors center. (A more interesting side profile photo is available here.) Aside from a tour and film, which we skipped, the only other attraction inside was a gift shop. One fascinating curiosity in the gift shop was a remake of a 4-sided wood block from the time of the second New Harmony community. The blocks were hung at each worker's station. Each side was a different color, and each color indicated the respective worker's performance that day.
This walled garden with a fountain in the center is a fairly recent addition:
My companions on this adventure were Gabriela and Adam:
A large open courtyard, surrounded by a brick wall, is known as the Roofless Church. Inside is this very prominent structure, which has a statue in the middle symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit (that's me in the foreground):
This hedge maze contains a round "temple" in the middle, which is basically a room for meditation. Around the ceiling are various quotes from the Bible and other more contemporary sources; I believe this is a reconstruction based on a hedge maze from the original Harmonist colony:
There were other interesting things there, but our time was limited and we did not see it all. Unfortunately the current community is a bit hickey, and undoubtedly does not reflect the ideals of either of the town's original communities. From various reports, the original New Harmony was quite a spectacle in its day.
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