Today’s mystery photo gives you no clue, from the photograph, of what is the function of this building. So pull out your thinking caps and see if you can identify what the function is and where this photo was made. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
The most recent mystery was recognized by five readers. The photo came from Paige Havens of Hoschton.
Allen Peel of San Antonio, Tex. wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is a shot taken from the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo Monument located in the Central Plaza of Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (translation: ‘Middle of the World City’), Ecuador. The photo was taken facing East along a yellow line that many believe to mark the equator in Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador. The ‘N’ and ‘S’ are markers to show the direction of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres respectively.
“What I found particularly interesting (though not surprising) in researching this site was that the yellow line has been placed where the equator was ‘believed’ to be, based on studies conducted in the 18th century. But alas, folks in those days did not have access to modern conveniences, and so their ability to precisely measure geographic locations was off a bit. According to more recent readings using the World Geodetic System WGS84 (the standard reference system used by the U.S. Department of Defense and virtually all of today’s modern GPS systems and GIS products), the equator actually lies some 790 ft north of the marked line. This means of course that the monument is actually located in the southern hemisphere!
“One more element that caught my attention during my research. Ciudad Mitad del Mundo is a tract of land located, in of all places, the San Antonio Parish in the metropolitan district of Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.”
Havens adds: “To tap into equator tourism, Ecuador’s capital, Quito, has built this impressive monument and park to mark the site, as well as various equator-themed museums. Museum exhibits include a planetarium, ethnographic museum, art exhibits, a small scale model of Quito city, an old train station, beer museum, cocoa and chocolate exhibits and a small chapel.”
Also pinpointing the photo were Stew Ogilvie of Lawrenceville; Bo O’Kelley of Peachtree Corners; Jay Altman of Columbia, S.C.; and George Graf, Palmyra, Va.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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