The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

One of my favorite poems from middle school, romanticizing travel


The Highwayman

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle--
His rapier hilt a-twinkle--
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked--
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter--
The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching--
Marching--marching--
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."

She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.

Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight--
Her musket shattered the moonlight--
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.

He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Innovative Parking Ideas

Upon further evaluation of why the McDonough Square cannot sustain itself I have concluded that it is because of the inconvenience of the parking. McDonough was not created to be a walkable community whatsoever and public transit has not trickled down to Henry county yet, mainly because of politics. I have a feeling any sort of bill proposing any sort of mass transit in McDonough, i.e. MARTA, trolleys, trains, large buses, will not occur in the near future, if ever, so now we are forced to work best with what we are given. If you are interested, this is an interesting proposal of a conservative pro-transit stance of how transit benefits everyone, even non-riders. Cars are the most convenient, affordable forms of transportation that provide the greatest amount of freedom. If mass transit was not provided, in even the small form that it is in Atlanta, then more cars would definitely be on the road. Cheap cars are very easy to find and with gas prices on average $.40 lower in the suburbs than downtown more people would buy cars who normally ride public transit, even if they could not necessarily afford to do so.

Still, with public transit not an immediate option, I have been researching innovative parking solutions that are being implemented around the world. One solution that a company is offering called Urban Parking Concepts LLC by creating buildings dissimilar to parking garages in the fact that humans do not drive their cars into designated spots, yielding more efficient use of space. As technology progresses, this concept could become a great solution to urban areas that rely on cars as their main mode of transportation. A similar implementation in Germany is an innovative way to store VW's at the Volkswagon factory. Unfortunately, designs such as these are too modern for McDonough, which takes pride in its local charm and history, not to mention financially impossible.




Volkswagon Parking Garage

Seeing as how the McDonough Square strives to attract people of all ages, with local restaurants, antique shops, bakeries, and businesses, a parking garage is not the best option because, truthfully, people 60+ are statistically scared of parking garages and/or getting parking tickets. It's true, just ask my grandmother. Also, older people are less likely to walk into a downtown area because of health reasons. The ungodly heat index that surrounds Atlanta in the summer and frigid winters that just keep getting longer are other reasons supporting why walking into a city is not feasible if the square wants to attract the most people as possible.


Atlantic Station

Atlantic Station, a residential and commercial community located off the 17th bridge in Atlanta (which is a Georgia Tech MCRP grad creation, btw) is a great example of utilizing parking to the fullest. Though the parking meters in front of the stores are ridiculous overpriced ($.05 a minute!) the free, 2-hour underground parking is successfully innovative. It offers 7,300 parking spaces across the entire propertyw with the majority of the spaces being underground. However, Atlantic Station is catered to 18-35 year olds who enjoy name-brand shopping, fine cuisine, and a sophisticated nightlife. With condos between the downtown area and IKEA, Atlantic Station is a great addition to the city and is a case study I am using for research.


Detroit Theatre Parking

One solution that I feel could be implemented in McDonough is an accidental parking creation in Detroit. After decades of disuse, Detroit's Michigan Theater is now a glorified parking lot. While some might argue that it is unfortunate it's come to that, the fact that it is still standing and has some sort of function is a success story in and of itself. This solution ultimately saved it from destruction. In fact, one of the reasons the theater was forced to close was because it's lack of parking. Oh the irony! However, that could be the same fate of stores in McDonough and I am hoping that I can propose a solution that will not come to that. Therefore, I think that creating a parking lot using a building's exterior as the shell could begin to scratch the surface of bringing functional parking created for an intentional purpose to the square's perimeter. Using buildings located on
View Larger Map">Macon St. and Hwy. 42 could be an aesthetic solution to this problem. By ultimately doubling the square footage of the buildings by constructing multiple stories on existing structure provides easy re-locations to these businesses.

Any suggestions or comments on this idea or any others is greatly appreciated!

The Importance of City Planning

Ancient civilizations remained isolated for generations, relying only upon the vast expanse of what was above them for spiritual guidance and a subconscious knowledge that they were not alone. Global monumental construction became commonplace, and erecting megaliths became a statement by many technologically advanced peoples; that is, that they were here and that they had a purpose. Since the beginning of time, people have utilized construction methods as a means of communication. Whether it is for religious, ceremonial, or astronomical objectives, leaving physical legacies for future generations has been a central goal for humanity and a means of allowing connections through communication, thereby dissolving their social isolation.


Ruins of Sacsayhuaman

Urban design and city planning are not recent concepts. They have advanced over thousands of years into organized thought-processes that can lead to purpose-driven development and sustainable economic and social communities. There are many facets to this field and even encompass the realms of ecology, sociology, economics, urban geography, and law. City planning programs at universities are so vast and students must specialize in such fields as economic development, environmental planning and systems, geographic information systems, land and community development, land use planning, transportation, and urban design.

As I have begun to research for the McDonough Square, concepts of different forms of transportation in cities have caught my attention. The south metro area of Atlanta is growing too fast for the department of transportation to maintain roads and by the time new roads are built, construction takes so long that they simultaneously become obsolete. Typically thought of as having the worst traffic in the country, a recent study has found that Atlanta traffic is the 10th worst. Seeing as it took me 2 and a half hours to get to work yesterday, I cannot imagine a more worse commute. A blog I have been reading focuses on transportation around the country though he has not had a post about Atlanta traffic which I am kind of surprised about.




McDonough Square

In order to be successful, a commercial, business, and residential center needs to have some sort of anchor store such as a Starbucks in order to attract people in the first place. Ultimately, placing local McDonough or other Georgia-based businesses on the square would be ideal, but people are not extremely trusting of and confident in new stores initially. Attending school in Athens at UGA for the past 4 years has provided me with a great example of how a downtown can thrive. In fact, Athens has one of the oldest, economically sustainable downtown areas in the country and it most certainly has the University to thank for that. Now, since there is not a major University in McDonough it cannot rely on just people in their late teens and early twenties for profit. But since the majority of people living in McDonough are 24 to 45 it has good potential for a classy nightlife scene. Opening up a small theatre music venue, and cinema much like Cine in Athens would be a good option to extend the hours by which the McDonough Square is profitable.

Restaurants are another big factor when planning a downtown area and since exits off the interstate have their fair share of chain restaurants, choosing restaurants that offer unique dining is key. One such restaurant is Mirko which has locations in Athens, Watkinsville, Monroe, Buford, Peachtree City, and Macon. This is a counter service pasta restaurant where customers choose their pasta and sauce a la carte. It is interactive, priced well, has a great atmosphere, and is very good quality with a menu that changes seasonally. I believe that it would be a great addition to any downtown area. Figo in metro and downtown parts of Atlanta is very similar, though I believe that Mirko one ups it.


Bliss Cupcakes

The McDonough Square is not all bad, however. An awesome cupcake shop called Bliss opened about a year ago and is doing great! It began as just a wedding cake bakery and then began serving cupcakes and other baked goods at the front of the store in order to attract customers shopping for the day. The interior is very well-designed, completely executed by the owner who is a business major passionate about baking, with a French boutique look split into three sections: the bakery front with seating, a small shop in the middle where you can buy baking products and unique accessories to make cakes look like how you see them on tv, and the bakery in the back. Though it closes at 5 and is not open on the weekends, the shop is definitely the hero of the square. Hopefully more local businesses can open up and thrive, but as Bliss displays it needs an owner who has an economic and business background who knows what he/she is doing.

Next to it, however, is another cupcake bakery. That zoning conclusion astounds me, but that is for another post on a less cynical day.

Beginning of McDonough Square Revitalization Project

It is my last semester as an undergrad interior design student at UGA and I am going to spend the rest of my semester on one project. Since I am in the process of applying to the Masters of City and Regional Planning program at Georgia Tech I decided to use this project as a means of connecting my two passions.

Growing up in a relatively small suburb in the south metro Atlanta area has allowed me
to experience the energy of a busy city from a distance while relishing the slower pace of life in a one-street neighborhood. Lately, however, these lines have been blurred and the exponential growth occurring in McDonough, Georgia has brought an
exorbitant amount of traffic with streets unable to withstand this increased congestion, fused with zoning ordinances that do not take into account the rising growth in population. Combine these issues with countless amounts of conventional chain restaurants and corporate businesses, and you have a city disintegrating into historical oblivion with an ever-depleting local charm. That is not the city in which I want my children to grow up; that is not the place that I have always called home.

At the heart of the city, however, is a delightful town square desperately grasping to the prosperity of the 1990's. Teeming with potential, the McDonough Square has an inordinately high store turn-over rate coupled with poor planning for adequate parking that prevents it from being developed to its potential. Yet, it is the nucleus of the county and a picturesque unavoidability when traveling locally. A passion of mine has been to refurbish hometown squares like my own into balanced, viable commercial properties by which businesses can invest. Any town, no matter the size, needs to communicate a direct purpose with a comprehensive plan to encourage a workable business plan for the area. Creating a walk-able community flourishing with successful, local businesses and suitable housing, however, cannot occur overnight. Nevertheless, with community and government involvement, citizens, designers, planners, and politicians can come together to propose a cooperative, sustainable, and economically effective district able to adhere to the needs and functions of multiple age groups, whereby conserving its historical integrity.

Design tells a story: to create new things from old. Learning from our heritage, we can highlight the fact that everything that occurs within the universe and, therefore, in design, comes full circle. Complexity stems from simplicity, and vice versa. We can then apply these lessons to products, interiors, and even cities. With an interior design background, and an emphasis on sustainability through projects and a LEED preparation class, I have discovered a new-found focus on the importance of programming and site-analysis portions of assignments. After all, the users of architecture will always know more about buildings than the architects themselves. This notion is the foundation of architect Christopher Alexander’s novel, “A Pattern Language,” and can be directly applied to construction at its largest scale. Whether fabricating a new city or revitalizing an existing town square;whether regulating vernacular architecture or enacting classical patterns of design, the concept of timelessness must encompass every aspect. Successful design creates a sense of home for every occupant and allows them to leave their own, minute footstep in the vast expanse of our planet.