Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Wednesday search challenge (10/17/12): Intellectuals and land-change in Colorado?



I know this is hard to believe, but one of the most remarkable social movements of the late 19th century was a drive towards intellectualism. 

Once upon a time in an age before films, digitally recorded music, and massive amount of content on the internet, people self-organized into groups to learn about history, science, music, religion, and art.  They felt a need to learn about the world, even without the need for certificates and credentials.  They just wanted to know more.  

As a consequence, there was a mass education populist movement that began in New York during the latter part of the 1800s and was quickly picked up and franchised around the country. 

Today’s question is to figure out what the backstory is to this movement--what was it, where did it begin... AND to learn how much the organization changed the land around it.   We’ll look at one specific locale in the West to see what’s happened. 

1. Even after more than 100 years, one of these education franchises is still very active and very well-known in Colorado.  What's it called and what city is it in?   (For search fanatics, give us the lat/long.)  
2.  Can you find a current photo of the grounds of this institution AND a photo from a 1899?   (We’re going to ask for a highly reputable source for the image from more than 100 years ago.) 
3.  What’s the most striking difference in the appearance of the land between now and 100 years ago?  (For extra-extra credit, can you show both current and 1899 views side-by-side?) 

 Search on! 


19 comments:

  1. 1. You speaking of the Chautauqua Movement in Boulder CO 39.9989, -105.2809
    2. photos here http://www.chautauqua.com/preservation.html
    3. The move toward conservation and energy performance. Pics here http://www.chautauqua.com/high_performance_preservation.html

    5 mins searching on 'chautauqua colorado'

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    Replies
    1. #3 probably should be the planting of trees. Good pix here.....

      http://www.chautauqua.com/pdf/Chautauqua_Landscape_Assessment_2004.pdf


      Delete
  2. 1. The movement is Chautauqua, and the organization is Colorado Chautauqua http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Chautauqua, it is located at 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, Colorado 39°59′52″N 105°16′50″W

    I did this in one search, I was pretty sure that the "mass education populist movement that began in New York during the latter part of the 1800s" was the Chautauqua movement. So I did a search for "chautauqua colorado" I'll admit that I relied on instant search to hone in on the correct spelling of chautauqua.

    I looked first at the second result, which was the wikipedia article to confirm the basic facts, then I looked at the first result which is the official Web site of Colorado Chautauqua:

    2. http://www.chautauqua.com/preservation.html is linked off of that home page and shows photos from 1898, ca 1970s, and 2010. I'll claim that the organization itself is a reputable enough source of the 1897 image. The images aren't side-by-side but they are stacked vertically on the same page.

    3. I'd say the most striking difference is the quantity and size of the trees on the property.

    More info on the history can be found on this page http://www.chautauqua.com/preservationdocs.html which contains various documents relevant to the preservation of the site.

    Another interesting site I found via a google image search for the 1998 photo.
    http://brownpaperpkgs.squarespace.com/journal/2010/10/8/the-chautauqua-movement.html


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  3. This was almost too easy. Because of where I live, I immediately thought of Chatauqua which is a couple of hours from here in New York. However, I dutifully searched education movement new york colorado and that's what came up. The surviving place is in Boulder, Colorado, 39°59′51.42″N 105°16′46.64″W. Here it is as it looks today: http://www.chautauqua.com/images/auditorium-home.jpg and as it was when it was under construction (from the organization's website) : http://www.chautauqua.com/photos/AUDITORIUM_HISTORIC_0003.jpg

    The only real difference that I noticed in the land is that today it seems to be a lot more green, less barren. Also, one of the mountains in 1900 seems a little higher, but that may be an optical illusion unless it was reduced in size by mining.

    http://www.genealogyalongtherockies.com/colorado/boulder/cobotown1900.JPG

    http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS63JOM6xhAhCDCaTyHlNAqZgIYFoAWLHed3qRx6xVeF7Mk5Jtvig

    The initial search took me about 2 minutes. However finding those old pictures for the third question took about 45 minutes searching Google Earth and Goodle images.

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  4. This was literally "search and research" for me. It took me approximately 30 mins. I started with [intellectualism colorado OR co site:gov] to try to cut right to any organizations. Then [intellectualism education colorado OR co], [populist party] (gleaned from results), [populist education intellectualism], [intellectualism social movements]. Tried here: The Progressive Intellectual Tradition in America | Center for American Progress and here: U.S. Intellectual History: Widening the Circle of “We” in the Age of Fracture. Back to the drawing board: [populist education], [populist AROUND education "new york"]. Tried here after selecting news and limiting dates to late 19th century: Daily True American - Google News Archive Search, and here: RELIGION AND SCIENCE. - Review - NYTimes.com. And a few others. And then [social movements in the us education], and finally [populist education in colorado]. Bingo.
    1. The Colorado Chautauqua, located in Boulder, Colorado, United States.
    2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_Chautauqua_Auditorium_Boulder_CO.jpg
    http://www.boulderlibrary.org/cwjpgs/212-1-3photo_2.jpg

    (reputable source- Boulder Public Library - used [carnegie library images "colorado chautauqua"] after I saw a Carnegie image in my initial search)

    3. From the pictures, there are a lot more trees. But from this article (http://www.boulderblueline.org/2011/04/25/the-future-of-chautauqua/), which may have spurred the challenge, there seems to be a lot of talk about paving over the landscape and erecting new buildings instead of pavilions.

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  5. search "populist education movement New York"

    returns "Chautauqua"

    search "Chautauqua Colorado"

    returns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Chautauqua


    900 Baseline Road, Boulder, Colorado
    Coordinates: 39°59′52″N 105°16′50″W

    current picture is on wikipedia


    image search finds:
    http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/2009/05/freezing-clouds-trail-ridge-road-and.html

    which has old and new pictures.

    It looks like the bricks were originally painted? And now are red?

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  6. after reading this:
    http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/chautauqua.html

    I think the modern-day sucessor to Chautauqua is probably the TED talks: http://www.ted.com/talks

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  7. This one sounds a bit harder than normal. There are lots of keywords to check.
    Intellectualism, self-organized into groups to learn, mass education populist movement that began in New York during the latter part of the 1800s, New York Colorado, etc.

    I first looked at various forms of the key words. Some possible answers found suffragette, populism, something called Primrose. But I am not finding a connection as described. This group started in New York, went all around the country and still has a building in Colorado.

    When I tried “learning started in new york 19th century”. The third entry was the “New York Chautauqua Assembly” and was a successor to the Lyceum Movement. Now we are getting somewhere.

    Looking up Chautauqua I see that it seems to fit. It was started: “New York Chautauqua Assembly, was organized in 1874 by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller at a campsite on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York State.” From Wikipedia.

    Looking further into Wiki I found The Chautauqua Auditorium, in Boulder Colorado. This seems to fit the given parameters.

    So by combining the key words and choosing different combinations I think I hit on the group, and the building. Now for finding the specifics.

    1. Even after more than 100 years, one of these education franchises is still very active and very well-known in Colorado. What's it called and what city is it in? (For search fanatics, give us the lat/long.)

    The group is the Chautauqua movement, the City is Boulder, Colorado and the name of the building is the Chautauqua Auditorium. The Lat/Long. is 39°59′51.42″N 105°16′46.64″W


    I found pictures but don't know how to post them in a comment. Darn!

    The difference is there were few trees when it was built. To see the pictures go to the http://www.chautauqua.com/default.html
    Web site.

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  8. Texado Park (I think Coloas would have been more correct) 900 Baseline Rd. Boulder, Co. 39°59′52″N 105°16′50″W - OK, Chautauqua Park...

    Nice little video (≈ 7 minutes) includes historical photos -
    Boulder C'qua
    Wikipedia entry
    CO.
    photos
    DPL
    popularized in recent political history by Bill Clinton & David Gergen among others - the NY version (Boulder needs to get with Google+)
    NYC
    NYCg+

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  9. Searched: [ny intellectualism movement 1800s]

    Found: Chautauqua movement

    http://www.campusschool.dsu.edu/myweb/history.htm
    http://www-distance.syr.edu/lllch2.html Chautauqua movement


    Searched [1899 education movement still colorado]

    Found Wikipedia:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Chautauqua

    Looking that picture found lat/long

    Searched: [“Chautauqua Park” 1899] in images.
    Found: http://www.rare-maps.com/PHOTOS_PIC/P-1546-CHAUTAUQUA-CAMPUS.JPG


    [“Chautauqua auditorium” 2012]

    Found: http://www.heyreverb.com/blog/2012/04/19/levitate-festival-2012/48395/
    and http://www.dailycamera.com/features/ci_21706714/chautauqua-still-relevant-seneca-indians-boulder-walking-tour

    And http://www.chautauqua.com/

    1. Even after more than 100 years, one of these education franchises is still very active and very well-known in Colorado. What's it called and what city is it in? (For search fanatics, give us the lat/long.)


    A: Chautauqua movement. In Colorado is in Boulder.

    Latitude 39° 59′ 51.55″ N
    Longitude 105° 16′ 47.23″ W
    Altitude 1,746.226 meters above sea level


    2. Can you find a current photo of the grounds of this institution AND a photo from a 1899? (We’re going to ask for a highly reputable source for the image from more than 100 years ago.)

    From: http://www.chautauqua.com/history_cca.html
    And http://www.rare-maps.com/PHOTOS_PIC/P-1546-CHAUTAUQUA-CAMPUS.JPG


    3. What’s the most striking difference in the appearance of the land between now and 100 years ago? (For extra-extra credit, can you show both current and 1899 views side-by-side?)

    A: The threes and vegetation

    Wanted to add photos for answer 2 and 3 but don´t know how.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the detail Ramón GO. HU. I really like to see the detail of how others search.

      I like to open up a word file and save my steps along the way and appreciate when others do the same. The fun of this is comparing your search to others.

      And how do we post images in a comment?

      Delete
  10. Chatauqua in Boulder, CO. I hiked there last June, under drifts of smoke from the wildfires. 1899 image: http://www.rare-maps.com/PHOTOS_PIC/P-1546-CHAUTAUQUA-CAMPUS.JPG
    Current image: http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9586&Itemid=3170. These two shots appear to be of the same viewpoint. The modern shot has more, and larger, trees.

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    Replies
    1. Nice answer, Susanne -- how did you find this site? Did you already know about rare-maps.com ?

      Delete
    2. see Ramón GO. HU.'s answer above for one path to rare-maps.com

      "Searched: [“Chautauqua Park” 1899] in images.
      Found: http://www.rare-maps.com/PHOTOS_PIC/P-1546-CHAUTAUQUA-CAMPUS.JPG"

      he raises an interesting point about information/answers being based in images/video/audio/etc. results; in addition to text, and the need for formats that allow those responses as well. Information isn't just empirical/computational,
      but many times is contextual/relational. It's also about efficiencies - one picture (YT, audio interview) is worth yada, yada, yada... v text - tl;dr... (nutshell)

      concur with GRayR's comment and applaud Ramón GO. HU. search skills and adaptability..
      still looking for the name/location of the building used in the 10/10/12 challenge -
      any assistance would be appreciated!

      Delete
  11. Chautaqua, Boulder Co

    1899 photo:mgurl=http://www.chautauquatrail.com/assets/img/site/movement-1899BoulderTentEncampment.jpg&w=640&h=400&ei=nBl_UJC4FdH7yAG31IHYBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=778&vpy=513&dur=6556&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=178&ty=114&sig=115994457904058857609&page=2&tbnh=138&tbnw=216&start=41&ndsp=48&ved=1t:429,r:32,s:20,i:235

    Current photo:http://www.chautauqua.com/images/auditorium-home.jpg

    Striking difference: population explosion in Boulder

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  12. Wow! This was harder than I expected. I already knew about the chatauqua movement, so I just googled [chatauqua colorado]. By interesting coincidence, the name of the organization was Colorado Chatauqua, so this brought me right to their website. It is located in Boulder. A quick search on [Colorado Chatauqua latitude] brought me the gps coordinates from a tourist website (39.997865 (Latitude), -105.28138 (Longitude)).
    The 1899 photo was the hard part. I tried image search limiting by date--nothing. I tried Library of congress--nothing. I think I tried some other things too, but the only thing that worked for me was to search [colorado chatauqua 1899] and page through until I finally found the picture on the 6th page of results. It was from the Chatauqua website, but hadn't come up with a search of the website or with a google search limited to that site. The photo was on page 16 of a pdf press kit. http://www.chautauqua.com/pdf/2009/Press%20Kit_4_2009.pdf

    about 45 minutes. Did not finish

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  13. About 45 min and did not finish.
    "populist education movement Colorado" did have the start of the solution as the 5th result, but after plowing through things higher on the page i never got to it.

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  14. Alright I'll admit it, I got it so wrong. I did exactly what you shouldn't do.
    1) I didn't understand the query completely- I didn't know what Populist was but just assumed it as something to do with the popular party at the time and never gave it another thought.
    2) I didn't focus in on the right keywords - I used intellectual, education, learning, along with New York and Colorado. I did search for non-public education, adult education, meetings, groups, etc.
    3) I came up with Carnegie, Andrew and Dale. So I followed that through and made decisions to support my conclusions. Timing was good, locations were good, meetings & groups good as well. Images of buildings- now that got confusing because there is 38 Carnegie Libraries but also there is the Carnegie head office in Denver. I couldn't figure out which building to focus on and chose the wrong one.
    So in conclusion as we were taught, keywords are crucial and if you don't understand the question you won't use good keywords. I know everyone loves to brag about their successes but let me tell you I learned alot by this awesome mistake. Oh and found a really neat website as well which is a sub-site to Wiki called GeoHack. As a hiker into navigation this was a great find. Hope my mistakes helps someone else.

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  15. Searched: Colorado education movement 19th century

    Then did a second search: Chautauqua Colorado
    1. The Colorado Chautauqua Association - Boulder, CO
    2. Current Image:
    http://www.chautauqua.com/images/auditorium-home.jpg
    1899 - http://www.rare-maps.com/PHOTOS_PIC/P-1487-CHAUTAUQUA-STREET.JPG or http://www.chautauqua.com/photos/auditorium_historic_0004.jpg
    3. It was dusty and there weren't many trees, nowit looks leafy and green

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