Ahh, the classic compare and contrast of the classic scenery of Auburn. Classic.

Something similar to this is very possibly the indirect inspiration for these glances into the old Glomeratas. The old photograph, after it was rediscovered, was something of a stable in the imagery. These days they do interesting airbrush versions where on one side of the Live Oak is old Auburn and one the other side is the new. It is an arresting view the first time you see it.

The students of 1976 didn't have access to the almight Photoshop, however, so they were left with the side-by-side study. It works just as well. Here you see the same view, separated by three quarters of a century.

Indeed, the old portrait of Toomer's Corner is estimated at 1910. Those buildings didn't survive, but they informed the modern layout. Unseen in the slightly different 1976 angle is a two-floor building on the same spot on the left of the old photograph.

The forestry experts are trying to determine the health of the Toomer's trees as of this writing. Given the amount of toilet paper and other various abuses they've seen in their lives there is a fear they might be in real danger. No one, though, knows how old these trees are. There isn't a record of their planting, but the forestry folks speculate that they were about 20 years old in the top photograph.

It would probably seem silly to someone in the later part of the 19th Century to make note of when they planted a particular tree or two. And rolling them? That'd be outlandish. But, again, more on that in a moment.

The lower picture, meanwhile, has become a piece of history itself. You'll note by the decorations that this one was shot around the holidays. The actual intersection itself looks a bit different now after some expansion during my tenure on The Plains. And those cars!

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