The Long Ridge Community in Mars Hill, North Carolina, is a historic Black community in Madison County. In 1928, the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School was built. The two-room schoolhouse was built at the cost of $2,093.
If you want to know more about the school, its trustees built an incredible website documenting its history and published a book. I highly recommend visiting to see the great work they’ve done.
The First Baptist Church of Huntsville is home to a fantastic mosaic officially titled “Cosmic Christ.” Still, it is colloquially known as “Eggbeater Jesus” because the bottom part of Jesus’s body resembles a whisk. The mosaic was inspired by Huntsville being the home of NASA’s Marshall Space Center and the United States Space and Rocket Center, and by a Bible passage that referred to a ‘cosmic christ.’ Glass artist Gordon William Smith designed it in 1966, and the mosaic was installed in 1973. It cost $115,000 to complete. It took over 14 million pieces to make the mosaic.
Over the years, the mosaic began to deteriorate, and it was decided to restore it in 2016. The restoration lasted until 2022. It took 4.3 million blown glass tiles to restore. The church continues to use the original tiles in art projects.
In addition to the “Eggbeater Jesus,” the church is noted for its 229-foot steeple made by Campbellsville Industries, a company based in Kentucky. Known as the “God Rocket.” it is the largest premade steeple in the world.
The combination of the tower and the mosaic makes for an incredible piece of public art that you can see on Governor’s Drive. If you are ever in Huntsville, it is a must-see. If you are able, try to visit it at night when the mosaic is lit up.
I love the Coca-Cola and drug store ghost signs on the side of this downtown building in Colbert.
