Tag: 1940s

Today wraps up the exploration of the Cave of the Mounds with an image of the exit area just before ascending from the cave.
This image shows the extent of modifications made to the cave for safe tourist access. Not only are there permanent concrete stairs and handrails, but the image shows a larger floor area that is likely also poured concrete over the cave floor. In other pictures there is a visible wooden floor, which may have been cheaper or simply more practical given the conditions of the floor in that part of the cave.

The description states:
Exit Hall — North Cave, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
The photo is part of a larger series which dates from the 1940s.

This image, of an apparently large domed room in the Cave of the Mounds, shows significant color streaking in the stone itself, instead of simple staining on the surface. To the far left, up on the ledge, are two dark formations styled Black Knights.

The description states:
Rare ribbons in stone with black and white stripes showing twin Black Knights at left. Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wis.
Unfortunately, there is no way to determine the scale of the picture, so it is not clear if the room is very large, or only slightly higer than human scale or not.
This photo like the others shown in this series, dates from the 1940s.

This area, styled the Cathedral Hall, shows evidence of the changes required to make the cave safe and traversable by tourists. Such modifications are common in these privately owned cave sites.

The description states simply:
Cathedral Hall, North Section, Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
The picture is part of a larger collection which have indications that they date from the 1940s.

We have another person in this photo of the room styled the Chapel, presumably to add some point of reference for size and orientation. The image shows dramatic stalactites and more modest stalagmites throughout the image.

The description states:
Stalactites on the ceiling and dome-shaped stalagmites on the floor of the Chapel, Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
The woman’s attire indicates the photo is from the 1940’s.

Returning to the Cave of the Mounds, this image shows some perspective on the size of the formation though the inclusion of the woman standing along the walkway. The distance recedes into darkness from the absence of lighting further down the pathway.

The simple description states:
The Hall of Statuary in the South Section at Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
The primitive handrail shown here, made out of plumbing pipe and connections, is typical of the kinds of safety provisions present in public access caves of that era.
The woman’s apparel is consistent with indications in other photos that this picture dates from the 1940s.

Much like the previous image, this one also has an ambiguity of orientation from the lighting and symmetrical nature of many cave formations. In this case, the room is decorated with stalactites and stalagmites which have merged back into solid columns like the one shown here.

It is possible to determine orientation again by the flooring provided for tourists at the lower left of the image.
The description simply states: The Totem Pole Room at Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wis.
This photo, like the others in this series, dates from the 1940s.

This photo shows a small section of the Cave of the Mounds called the Narrows. It’s not clear from the photo why this is so as only one side of this passage is shown here.

This photo nicely demonstrates the difficulty in identifying up and down in many cave photos. The area is lit from several sources to highlight different features of the cave floor, walls and ceiling. As a result, the picture can almost be displayed inverted from the correct orientation shown here, and be acceptable to the human eye. Only the presence of the small floor area makes it clear ‘which way is up.’
The description simply states: The Narrows, Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
This is part of a larger series of photos that date from the 1940s.

This rather cryptic photo is of a stalagmite formation (one that forms from the cave floor upwards) that the cave owner identifies as a parrot. With a little imagination, one can see, in the left side white formation, the flat top of a parrot’s head, followed downward by the swelling body that forms the area around the wings, then tapers to the smaller portion making the tail.

The description on the card is significantly less detailed:
The parrot, a stalagmite formation at the entrance to the Narrows in the Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wis.
The photos in this series date from the 1940s.

This card shows a young woman observing some stalactites in the Cave of the Mounds.

Regrettably, the black and white photo, combined with the limited lighting in the cave, result in a photo that is not particularly evocative of the name.  As a result, it is not clear why this is the Gem Room, other than the fanciful imaginations of the owners and marketers. The description states simply:
Gem Room – Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds Wisconsin
The woman’s attire indicates this photo is from the 1940s.

This week is a tour of a typical cave exhibit of the mid-century. This one, Cave of the Mounds, was discovered in 1939 and opened to the public for tours. The experience was expanded with the addition of several more rooms in the cave throughout the 1940s.

The description on the back states simply:
The Oak Grove parking area at the entrance arch to Cave of the Mounds, Blue Mounds, Wis.
The vehicles in this photo, along with the fashions in following images, place these photos in the 1940s.