It’s Just an Empire State of Mind…

When you hear the word “empire”,  what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

• Monarchs in powdered wigs, wrapped in ermine and carrying a scepter?
• Toga-wearing Romans being fed grapes in an inclined position?
• Sultans sipping a cup of Turkish coffee in Constantinople?
  or perhaps,
• George Lucas and his ‘Star Wars’ movies…and a big bowl of popcorn?

When I hear the word “empire”, I think of my home state of New York.

New York’s official nickname is “The Empire State”.

Now, this may seem like a moniker with a mild case of egomania…

But it was, in fact, George Washington who coined New York’s nickname in 1785…(thanks, Wikipedia)

In a letter to the mayor of New York City, Washington called New York, “The Seat of the Empire”.     (He must have liked the place a lot.)

And after all these years, the name “The Empire State” has remained.

In honor of this daring diminutive, I am delighted to display some black & white photos I took of the famous:

Empire State Building (Built in 1931 — Way to go again, Wikipedia)…

 

 

 

 

I’ve written this post especially in honor of my fellow blogger, priorhouse blog, who chose me for the 5-day Black & White photo challenge.  Here are the rules:

1. On 5 consecutive days, create a post using either a past or recent photo in B&W.

2. Each day, invite another blogging friend to join in the fun!

I’ve broken these rules a bit, since I’ve created 1 post with 5 photos, (instead of 5 posts with 1 photo each!)  Blame it on all this intrepid empire talk!

I’ve chosen another blogging friend to carry on with the 5-day B&W photo challenge…My amazing, fellow New Yorker and fabulous blogger/photographer, Souzapalooza!

All these black & white photos give this post an “old-world empire” feel to it.
Too bad my toga is in the wash…Will someone pass me the grapes?