Dan Antion

More from Simsbury

Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.

The stories for the Thursday Doors Writing Challenge have begun to roll in. Please check the reminder (below) for the link to that page.

I’ve been very busy. I have doors this week, but I don’t have much information. What I do know is in the captions, so I’ll move along quickly. I hope you enjoy the gallery, and I hope you will take some time to follow a few links to the others who have contributed doors this week. May is a busy month at Thursday Doors, so I’ll be sure to remind you of the links for each week’s doors and the stories and poetry as it arrives.

If I begin to wear out my welcome in your inbox, I promise to slow down in June.

In response to Sheree’s comment, I’m adding a paragraph from a post last year.

A Bit of Door Trivia – In one of the photos, I mention an interesting feature found on many houses in New England. The door on the front edge of the side wall is known as a “Coffin Door” or the “Death Door.” The primary purpose of this door was to allow easy access to the parlor for a coffin in a home that had a central staircase (where it would be hard to maneuver a coffin). The expression, “being at death’s door” is thought to stem from the presence of these doors in European houses.

I’m adding this reminder to all my posts this month. The Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC) is underway. Visit this page – Pick a door that inspires you – Write something, anything – Post it to your blog – Leave a link to your post in a comment on the TDWC page. If you don’t feel like writing, visit the page and see the wonderful things that have been written.

You can hardly see the door, but I love the windows
I love the dentil molding
Lovely porch and dormers
I’m not sure what this building is/was but it’s for sale.
I like the stone walls
Simsbury Chamber of Commerce
St. Mary’s Church Society
St. Mary Catholic Church
I like the table and chairs
Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department Main Station
I always like firehouse doors
This house was built in 1784
I don’t know anything about this house, and I couldn’t turn around to read the sign.
Notice this house has a “Coffin Door.” The one on the corner is where they could bring a coffin in. They couldn’t come in the front door, due to the stairs
Gates to the town cemetery
The Eno Memorial Hall

If you are in a hurry and don’t wish to scroll through the comments, click to Jump to the comment form.


If you like magical realism with suspense, action and a bit of family sarcasm, you will enjoy these books:

Knuckleheads
The Evil You Choose
When Evil Chooses You

Series page on Amazon

My profile page (and books) on Lulu

All available on Kindle Unlimited!

103 comments

  2. Some striking doors and window shutters this week, Dan. Great collection.
    We don’t really have this kind of window shutters here, maybe what you would call the hurricane ones, that rolll down all the way, but mostly none at all.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • I’m glad you liked these, Patricia. We have overused (in my opinion) the shutter as a decorative element in this country. None of these are functional. I tend to point it out when I see a house with operable shutters.

      Thank you (and your daughter) for a nice selection of doors, and thank you for a brilliant poem to highlight one of my favorite architectural styles and Pi and circles.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thanks Willow. The captions are short this week. I ran out of time. I pick the doors on Tuesday, so I can announce the title on Wednesday’s post, which commits me to the subject. I usually try to research the doors on Wednesday, but this week, Wednesday go away from me. There are one or two I wish I knew more about, but…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  13. Thank you, Dan, for a beautiful selection of photos. I like the firehouse’s fabulous triple red doors@. That stunning home built in 1784 has a great deal of character. Its doors and windows balanced carefully to highlight the red door. Wow!
    Great photography all!

    I have never heard of a coffin door. So, thank you for that detail. There is always something new to discover! Cheers.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Yes, the windows on the first home are beauties, and the stonework on #700 is stunning. Love the firehouse and those doors knock it right out of the park!

    I’ve heard of a “coffin door” before….practical/functional and creepy!

    The house built in 1784 is a testament to fine workmanship and excellent maintenance. Bravo!

    Enjoyable tour today Dan. Thanks for letting me tag along.
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Ginger. I’m not sure if I added the little snippet about the coffin doors before you got here. I remembered that I had written about them earlier.

      I love finding houses that have survived for 200 or more years. It’s tough to keep a wooden house standing against the New England weather that long. These are well preserved.

      Like

      Reply

  20. I was thinking how these buildings seem to wear an invisible sign saying “Here To Stay!” and then I saw the one built in 1784! “Here To Stay” and then some! All of these are a real pleasure to look at, but it was the first one that made me stop the longest. I wouldn’t object if the owners invited me in. I hope some day you can find out something about the house with the sign you couldn’t see. It has belfries? Thanks for giving us more of Simsbury!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Maureen. I discovered some information about this area. I don’t know if it will yield anything worth sharing, but I’m going to try to search. I may pay a repeat visit to some of these. The house you mention is one I’d really like to know more about. This week slipped away from me. 200 plus years for a wooden house in New England speaks to a lot of work over time. When you consider the weather and the fact that they’ve added multiple versions of heat, water and electricity, the investment must be stunning.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. I especially like the pinkish stone and door. Those houses are big (I’m thinking of the heating bills)! Maybe I’m too used to apartment living.
    I’m going to do the writing challenge for Thursday Doors this month–I’ve started with Manja’s green door. I also put a link at the Challenge page. (K)

    The Green Door (Thursday Doors)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • In many cases, the coffin door would actually be two doors, an exterior door and one on the inside. The interior door would be removed and would be set up to hold the coffin while the body was lying in state. A little creepy for my tastes, but the practice predates funeral homes. In fact, some people who had larger houses began offering those services and (some say) were among the first funeral homes in the country.

      I’m glad you liked the gallery.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I discovered that that’s what they call them when I was trying to figure out why I was only seeing them on houses built so long ago. They predate funeral homes in this country.

      I love you r post – doors as art.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  29. Gee Dan, I love that I can learn something new every day. Coffin doors? Who’da thunk it? I’m going to do my best to participate in the writing challenge if I can unwrap my brain from at least one of these things going on. 🤦‍♀️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  34. I love the brick too, and the light, but funny how the firefighters (and churches) always win.

    I was glad to see Kerfe’s piece to my door and your news that you are writing one as well! How exciting! I’ll be adding some pieces too by the end of the month.

    I’m still receiving doors from my honeymooning couple of friends, and some doors they are! Have a look: https://manjameximexcessive6.wordpress.com/2023/05/04/thursday-doors-gifts-4-5-23-italy-and-france-ii/#Lucca#Provence#Genoa#CinqueTerre#Monaco

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  35. […] Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). The link to join is here. […]

    Like

    Reply

    • I’m glad you liked that, Darlene. I’m glad I remembered to include it after Sheree’s question. History is full of tiny details that often amaze me.

      Thanks for contributing doors today and to the writing challenge.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  37. The volunteer fire department reminds me of a time long ago when my uncle belonged to the volunteer fire department of Monson MA. There was first a large bell and then a siren that would go off in case of a fire and he’d be off.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. I agree about the windows in that first house, Dan. They’re splendid, especially that big oval one at the top. That must have been a rare showpiece when the place was built. Heck, it would be now. Those red firehouse doors caught my eye too. Hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Teagan. That window is impressive. I know this is a page about doors, but…

      thanks for supporting the writing challenge. I hope you have a great weekend.

      Like

      Reply

  44. Hi Dan, I like your doors today – and that maroon door with the warm-tones bricks was my fav
    Also, I am so excited about the writing challenge again this year and plan on joining in. And sorry I never submitted my door to you – but it does not seem like it was needed as you have so many good ones to choose from. How fun.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  45. […] It’s been a long time since I participated in Thursday Doors- first, for the want of doors and then, for the want of time. But here I am, with doors from Morocco. My sister visited the country to rein in her birthday on the 12th of March. And I asked her for pictures of the doors. The sweet sister she is, she complied. And most willingly, because Morocco is a treasure-house of doors. And I have been sitting on this treasure waiting for April (the month of poetry) to end. Here’s the first part of Morocco doors. For more of Thursday doors, you can read Dan’s post here. […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  46. […] The Thursday Doors is a weekly challenge at Dan Antion’s site No Facility for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post and then share a link to your post in the comments in Dan’s post. […]

    Like

    Reply

  48. What a great door collection! I like the stone building, it makes me miss Pennsylvania and their many old stone houses. The coffin door makes perfect sense. Those yankees were practical. I did not know the phrase ‘being at death’s door’ is attributed to coffin doors. Thanks, Dan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  51. Great selection of beautiful doors and architecture. Now what did I learn today….coffin doors. I have never heard of them until this post, so thanks for the enlightenment! Again, great selection of overall architecture!! Love it!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.