• Facebook
• Instagram
• Mail
• Pinterest

Hi lovies! As you know, I’ve written about doors of distinction before. Two times before, actually! No lo puedo evitar, I cant help it… I’m obsessed! We all know this muy bien by now, 3 blog posts about puertas is pretty solid evidence. Without a doubt, I’m the door girl! Que te puedo decir? I love doors. All kinds. I love the pretty ones, las que son super decorative, the ones that look abandoned, y las que son muy interesantes too!

Basically, if the door looks cool and seems like it might have a cool story to tell, I’m down! It doesn’t take much to suck me in, no te puedo mentir, but if the story behind the door as intriguing as its face, then the obsession goes para un next level. It should be noted that the story MAKES the door, en mi opinion! The who, what, where, when, and how only ADD to the magnificence of the facade.

No me crees? You don’t believe me? Ok, well, allow me to tell you about some of the most intriguing doors I’ve encountered en mis viajes around the world. The fun facts ABOUND. Sometimes, the cool tidbits have to do con la puerta itself and the people who lived behind its entry. In other instances, I found out ridiculously rad pieces of information that bring the area AROUND the door into perspective. Obviously, knowing what happened all around these portals only make their stories even more intersante.

Nerd Alert!

Ok, ok! So my inner nerd is showing. No me importa. This is some cool stuff, I promise! Follow along with me, y te voy a decir about some of the coolest doors I’ve seen and the stories they have to tell. Some dark, some silly… todas fascinantes! Just wait and see!

Oh, yea!

If you’d like to take a virtual tour of my favorite doors from previous trips (they’re pretty amazing too), please go and check out parte una y parte dos in my archives!

Ahora, who’s ready to see some DOORS!?!?

---

1. Chicago, Illinois

Mi gente, I came across this puerta espectacular while strolling along West Lake Street in Chicago, in the area right before you hit the lovely riverwalk. Estaba pasiando hand in hand with my hubby after a long day of sight seeing, when I spotted esta belleza. It just so happens, que I stumbled upon this unique doorway whilst I was living out my best “While You Were Sleeping” fantasies underneath “The L” train. Or was it “My Best Friend’s Wedding”? No tiene importancia. :). Clearly, Chicago was giving me happy rom-com vibes and this door simplemente added to my joy.

Because this super interesting puerta was located debajo de the Lake Street “L”, I thought it’d be divertido to give you a few fun facts about it (The L, not the door). Que dices?

So…

1. You could’ve ridden to your grave via the Blue Line’s car 802 back in the olden days! Imaginate! La compañia that privately owned the elevated railway in the early 1900’s thought que seria a lucrative idea to start offering transport for the dead via funeral train cars. Verdaderamente creepy, huh? YUH! Nevertheless, the practice stopped in the 1930’s when cars became readily available and people didn’t need the service anymore. Pero, still! Just thinking about riding with a load of corpses me da los heebie jeebies. Amiright?.

2. The voice of the “L” , el que dice: “Doors open on the left” is NOT a robot! NOPE! Quien lo diria? It’s actually a dude who WON the gig in 2000. Yea, its a legit job! Evidently, el hombre se llama Lee Crooks and he’s a bonafide local voiceover actor. His voice is now known by milliones de gente who ride the train on a daily basis. He’s an all out Chicago celebrity, y por just a handful of helpful phrases. Whatta gig, right?

Ready, set, GO!

3. Sabias que, there’s an unoffical “L” racing challenge? Yep! You read that right. In spite of how crazy it sounds, hay una compecición for who can drive the L the fastest! The premise is to ride the complete Chicago elevated track hitting every single station in the fastest time possible. The record was set by Brit, Adham Fisher, en 2011 cuando llego a all 146 stations in under 9 hours. Looks like the crown is still on the table for anyone willing to take on the challenge. You in?

---

2. Tower of London, England

I found this blue beauty in none other than the Tower of London. No es un lujar that most attribute a whole lot of “beauty” to, but on the contrary… it’s filled with gorgeous puertitas. This pop of turquoise es la puerta de la residencia of the Chief Yeoman Warder which looks out over the White Tower, just steps away from where Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536. Wow, verdad!?

So, a Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, is a soldier (ceremonial guardian) of the Tower of London. Son muy especiales, as they are basically members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard. There are 37 of them and they live behind lovely doors such as these, DENTRO de the Tower of London, un lugar famoso for its brutality and bloodshed. Crazy how the two can coexist, huh?

In any case, I thought it’d be fun tell you un poquito sobre los Beefeaters and their occupation as Royal Guardians at the Tower!

Bring on the fun facts!

1.Para ser un Warder, you must have at least 22 years of military service to qualify. That’s ALOT! Un monton de años de servicio to England and the monarchy! Not just anybody gets to guard the crown jewels!

2. All warders and families must live within the Tower walls ( a 700 yr. old tradition). No es una opcion! You HAVE to live within the ancient walls. That means hundreds of tourists coming into your front yard everyday, work and play never being separated, y tener que vivir alongside some sketchy British history.

3. Many Beefeaters struggle because the castle is evidently “haunted”. Hay muchas historias sobre ghost sightings and plenty of Yeoman complaints about unexplainable phenomenon happening at the Tower’s residences. It’s undoubtedly an eerie place, especially cuando consideras how many executions took place literally right at their front doors. Yo tendria medio tambien! It has been reported that several Warders have even had to be moved to different apartments because the paranormal activity was too much for their families to take. No gracias… not my kind of job!

And…

4. There are some perks to the job, though. For example, dicen que hay un pub secreto hidden within the walls of the fortress just for the Yeoman Warders. It is, essentially, their secret hangout spot. A space where they can unwind with a pint and forget about their day job. You’d think it’d be fun and colorful- devoid of signs of their service. Nope. Es totalmente lo opuesto. Its apparently lavishly decorated in military and police memorabilia. Poor Warders! HA!

• Have you visited the Tower of London? Did you enjoy your Beefeater guide? Which fun fact tickled you most?

---

3. Helen, Georgia

Gott schutze dich– God speed, May God protect you. Esas palabras lindas caught my eye while I meandered through Helen, Georgia last winter. They struck me and I stood staring at the colorfully decorated portal for a good minute. The German, the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ vibes, the Bavarian heritage of the town… todo mi impresionó! It was totally cute.

Helen WAS cute but the more I looked around, the more it felt really gimmicky.

Boy, was my gut right. Yo pensé (before I did my research) que el pueblito was settled by German immigrants and that’s why it was Bavarian inspired. NOPE. The gold rush fue la razon for the creation of Helen. It was Cherokee land that was taken by greedy ass miners and then later, loggers. It was NOT a cute community of Germans who just wanted to preserve their heritage en un nuevo paiz.

Actually, the town sprang up QUICK in 1821, with an influx of new settlers and new businesses… all with the hopes of striking it rich. Despite this, the logging town eventualmente started dying after WW2, falling into disrepair and destitution. Lo que paso next fue que en the 1970s, two businessmen decided to play up some Bavarian themed vibes with the expectation that tourists would come. They renovated el pueblo and gave it an Alpine Mountain theme, wanting to bring the “Alps” to “Appalachia”. Get it? They even brought in a local artist to produce original “German- inspired” designs para los edificios.

Totally “cute”.

It was a complete gimmick, and it completely worked. It’s the 3rd most visited town in Georgia to this day.

Tourists come to the teeny town every day. It remains only 2.12 square miles in size, with a population of about 500 actual residents. Es como un pequeno Disney World; it’s overloaded with things do to, kitschy places to eat, and a plethora of themed festivals. For this reason, I’d say it’s interesting and fairly “cute”. I’m glad we saw it. Won’t go back, but glad we saw it. I think the fact that I felt “duped” taints the town for me, ya know?

Pero una cosa si, the doorways ARE adorable. There’s no denying THAT, right?

• What do you think of Helen, GA?

---

4. St. Augustine, Florida

The gem of Spanish Street in St. Augustine es esta puertita verde that you see right here. I’ll fight anyone on this. I mean, que preciosa, verdad? She, lets call her a she, rests in the heart of the town’s historic district right next door to a beautiful B&B. She sits, tucked back off la calle, just quietly beckoning to passerbys to gaze upon her beauty. Whereas the big shot bed and breakfast next door es la estrella of Spanish Street to tourists, this picturesque casita (and it’s door) are the real charmers of the block.

Se llama “The Antonio J. Triay house” y es one of the few houses in St. Augustine that remain from the second Spanish period of colonization in Florida (1784-1821). The original Minorcan style home was built in 1807, right smack in the middle of this pivotal time frame in US history. La puerta que me gustó tanto, is actually a gate to a secret garden courtyard… one that I’m SURE has SEEN some things, lemme tell you.

No me crees? Well, allow me to explain why I say that….

What we know

The governor of Florida in the early 1800’s needed more people to move to el estado, regardless of their nationality, so he offered large land grants y un cash bonus to anyone who would come and start a homestead/farm in the area. He was desperate. For example, he even allowed slave holders to come to the area for the very first time. Necesitaban gente to populate the state THAT badly. Pues, as a consequence of so many new (not Spanish) people moving into Florida, all hell broke lose. In 1811 the Patriot’s rebellion happened, donde American “Patriots” viviendo en Spanish-owned Florida attempted to rise up and seize the state for the US.

Holy Crap, right? In spite of the US government NOT backing them, the patriots attacked St. Augustine (and eventually lost) RIGHT after this home was built. Clearly, esta casita (and it’s secret garden) SAW SOME THINGS! Muchos things!

Think of what stories that garden has to tell.

Did the owners hide inside? Were they native Spaniards or American-born patriots? Did they use their garden for clandestine military meetings? Were they Pro Spain or Pro America?

Who knows? Of course, no sabemos nada but it sure is fun to imagine. Obviously, I love to let my mind run wild with visuals of what it must’ve been like during that crazy time period. Join me, won’t you? 🙂

• Have you ever visited St. Augustine? Thoughts about America’s oldest city?

---

5. Westminster, London

Red doors are bomb. A mi, me encantan! Not only do they match beautifully with any facade and any home aesthetic, but tambien son puertas con sentido… doors with meaning. This particular set of enviable front doors, I found while traversing London’s Westminster neighborhood. Talk about CURB APPEAL.

While they are gorg, as most red doors are, no estaba mintiendo about the “full of meaning” bit. Lemme explain!

Red door symbolism around the world:

1. Sabias que in Feng Shui a red door means “welcome”? Yep! En la tradition de China, the color red symbolizes luck, health and well being. It is said that painting tu puerta el color rojo could create a wonderful “welcoming energy” for your home. Thus acting like a big fat welcome mat. Uno que te proteje from bad luck and evil. Yes, please!

2. Early American tradition holds that las puertas rojas were a sign of safe haven. Evidently, travelers making their way out west had a hard time knowing where they could stay along their journey. No sabian which establishments were worthy of trust. Enter the red door! Significaron seguridad! In other words, they told travelers que esa casa was a safe and welcoming place to rest. Red doors were like a sign that read, “Park that horse and buggy and come on in!”

Speaking of safety…

3. En el tiempo de El Civil War, The Underground Railroad used red doors as a “secret code”. Not unlike the tradition of the wild west, every red entrance was a symbol de proteción para los enslaved who had runaway to their freedom. Northern and Canadian homeowners provided meals and lodging for the night y usaron red doors as a covert message for their “passengers”. How cool!

4. In Biblical times, Hebrew slaves were instructed to smear the blood of a lamb on their mantel to protect from the Angel of Death. The red blood significaba proteción para la gente! Also, Catholic churches during the time of the Middle Ages painted their church doors red to represent the blood of Christ. Si viajes en Europa, you’ll still see many red church doors. Red=blood=a shielding from all harm. Make sense, right?

5. In beautiful Scotland, homeowners would paint their front doors red para announciar que they had paid off their mortgage entirely. Because of this, the red door for the Scots was like a a big “eff you” to debt collectors and a massive point of pride. Basicamente, era una celebración en door form. Like, ” I’m debt free, b*tches! Come thru Scotland!:)

• Which red door tradition did you enjoy learning about most?

---

6. Glencoe, Scotland

These doors me tocaron el corazon. They touched me in a sad way, however the ruins are so beautiful and so interesting que I have to tell you about them. Ready to hear a tragic Scottish tale?

Feast your eyes on the site of the Glencoe Massacre that happened in on Feb, 13 1692. (Well, not the exact site but close). 🙂

En esta lugar el Clan McDonald, a notoriously troublesome highland clan, was slaughtered at the hands Scottish Government for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs William II and Mary II.

What’s the story?

So, todo comezo when Scottish forces, angry that the McDonald clan had yet to swear loyalty to the Royals by the ordained due date, decided to make an example out of them. Lo malo, is that they only missed the due date by 5 days. Nevertheless, they were chosen for punishment.

Los soldados “forcefully quartered with them” for over a week, eso quiere decir that they used their authority to demand safety, food, and shelter from the clan during their stay. Now, it must be noted, that in highland culture, if someone invited you in into their home and broke bread with you, you were hereby considered un amigo de confianza (a trusted friend). This is a strict highland code. The soldiers spent 10 days with the McDonalds, eating, singing, gambling, playing cards etc. In other words, actuando como buenos amigos. Mutual protection from then on was assumed.

What happened next?

On strict orders, the night before the massacre, the soldiers were told que cada miembro de Clan McDonald must be “put to the sword”. Not a single clansmen was to be spared. The following wintry morning, the clan was attacked whilst still in their beds. Soldiers killed 30 personas… women, children, and elderly included. Houses were burned, property was destroyed, and the clan was irrevocably damaged.

There are several reports of officers who even “broke their swords” rather than murder “kin”. Algunos truly did hesitate and suffer at their deadly orders, others showed no mercy. Hence, the ruthless act was heard round Scotland and although but no action was taken against those involved, the massacre deeply affected the Scots for generations.

Impact

Glencoe became part of a focus on ‘the emotional trappings of the Scottish past’: bonnie Scotland of the glens and highland clans, the Jacobites, Mary, Queen of Scots, tartan mania. Basically, it came to represent the old way of life.

As for the McDonalds. Pues, they came back. YAS! Los que escaparon came back to Glencoe and rebuilt their homes. They rebuilt their glen and resettled their families. Los que ves en esta foto is a glimpse of their life after the massacre. They lived together as a clan well into the 1800’s.

The event fue brutal, though. In large part because of the betrayal of “friends”.

A Celtic cross that was erected at the Glencoe site in 1883 and the tragic event is commemorated in an annual ceremony held by The Clan Donald society. As a result of it’s effect Scottish society, the event is largely spoken of to this day. 19th century poets and writers wrote often about the massacre, Jim Mclean wrote a song about it in 1962, and even George R.R. Martin referenced the event as an influence on his creation of the infamous “Red Wedding”.

• What are your thoughts about the Glencoe Massacre? Did you enjoy this history lesson?

---

7. San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cuando vas por un camino through Old San Juan, you are blessed with visuals. Bright-colored building facades, bougainvillea bushes cascading over iron balconies, y grand puertas that lead to Spanish colonial style courtyards (much like the one you see in this picture). Puerto Rico es una joya, a true caribbean gem. I’m not biased or anything! 🙂

Around every corner, there are 300-400 year old homes. La cuidad es muy vieja. I’m talking ancient by American standards. San Juan is actually the oldest city in US territory, established in 1521 (yes, older than St. Augustine).

Quieres saber algo? The island’s history is multifaceted and super interesting, more than many know. First off, the Catholic church played a vital part in the history and development of this island in the 1500’s. Dudes like Columbus and Ponce De Leon had a hand in things, however it was the church that really ran the show. No so sabias? Yep! PR was actually declared the first ecclesiastical headquarters in the new world by Pope Leo X. Therefore making the island the official epicenter for the Spanish inquisition. To emphasize… THAT SHIT IS BANANAS!

Did somebody say pirate?

Did you know que Puerto Rico has it own version of “Robin Hood”? Without a doubt! His name was Roberto Cofresi, and he wasn’t some merry man in the forest… el era un pirata! Born in 1791, “El Pirata Cofresi” as he was called, was a Puerto Rican sailor who started using his boat “Ana” to hijack any boats off the coast of la isla that did not fly the Spanish flag. La gente of Puerto Rico protected him from the authorities because he often shared his spoils con su communidad, especially those in need. The law eventually caught up with him, and he was executed, but que interesante, right? Our very own pirate Robin Hood!

Back to the incredible doorway I photographed. What happened in this beautiful courtyard? More importantly, WHO was invited in for a cafesito or a bit of rum? A Solider? Some Priests? Una banda de piratas? What kind of activities took place beyond the gates? Drunken brawls? Religious services to convert natives?

Ahh! There are too many questions! This is clearly something I’ll have to explore more!

Have you ever been to San Juan? Ever walked by a secret courtyard and wondered its history?

---

9. Savannah, Georgia

If you are ever in the delightful city of Savannah, Georgia… look out for the Vaults at Factors Walk. They are some doorways in the heart of old town que son fascinantes. As fascinating as they are creepy. They are set of 4 portals, that lead into 4 abandoned vaults… complete with dank dark spaces and old brick walls that scream “old South”. If that isn’t enough to catch your eye, they are also adorned con plantas that have grown THROUGH the brick. Plants that add an extra layer of eerie to vaults, I think. Ha!

So, no me lo vas a creer, but lots of people walk by the mysterious brick structures on the way to River Street without even giving them a second glance! Can you believe it? Yo no! I stopped, ogled, and then slowly crept forward to see what was inside. No teno problema diciendote que I was low key afraid walking into them. Undoubtedly, these are some scary ass vaults. Parecen tombas even thought I know that tombs are almost always underground.

Here’s the interesting thing

For years, everybody had theories about what they were used for. For example, hay gente que piensaron that they were military jails during The Civil War. Other Savannah residents said that they were holding cells for the enslaved due to the fact that Savannah was a large part of the slave trade (this was the most popular theory). On the contrary, there was also a camp of people who believed they were just some sort of decoration that the city put in place.

The city began in investigation to uncover truth about the vaults. Why? Well unos estudiantes estaban muy concerned about the possibility that the vaults held the enslaved and the implications about what that could mean for the city’s history. Despues de 3 años of archeological and historical research, we finally have answers.

What’s true?

It turns out that none of the theories were true. As it happens, the vaults fueron nada mas que storage for the Clusky Embankment Stores. Evidently, in 1842 a man named Charles Clusky (a very important architect in Georgia at the time) created the vaults as a public works project to prevent river erosion. He leased the vaults from the city of Savannah for 20 years and used them as storage para sus crops. So they held cotton and tobacco, not people. Y eso es todo. Kind of anticlimatic, actually.

Ultimately, the “truth” doesn’t really matter. Le gente quiere creer the scary stuff. So much so, they they pay for it. One of the most lucrative tourist industries in Savannah right now are ghost tours! Yup. The city is known as one of the most “haunted” places in the US, y touristas vienen JUST to go on scary paranormal tours. Adivina what the first stop is? You already know… the vaults!

• What do you think? Do you think they could still be haunted by ghosts of the past even though there is no hard evidence? Do you think facts are being kept from the public?

---

Doors + History= YAY

Aye, mis amores! I hope you enjoyed this installation of “Doors of Distinction” as much as I did. As you well know, the stories surrounding these extraordinary doors son una razon mas to love them. They make the doors even MORE amazing! Don’t you agree? Did you enjoy the snippets of history? Especially the fun facts! Let me know si quieres mas de eso, because I will gladly incorporate more historical tidbits into future blogs posts! Gladly! 🙂

I just wanna say, muchas gracias for traveling along with me this year. Thank you for exploring places, food, fashion, and DOORS by my side through the lens of Traveling in Spanglish. Es un tremendo honor! Love y’all!

Besitos!

Joana