The first of the overviews was taken in March of this year; the second, two months later. I was out showing a new friend some of the 'ancient' builds nearby, and did a double-take, "Wait a minute... Varney's not empty anymore!" And so it goes, in Second Life -- the single adjective that comes most often to my mind is ephemeral.
Even so, two major builds -- in both size and historical significance -- remain from the days of beta.
The Vorago, a first-person shooter game space built by Tcoz Bach (whose work we've already seen in Natoma) during December 2003 through January 2004. I haven't tried it, but it got a good review in 2005.
Hiro Pendragon's Dojo (which is hidden behind the mountain in those overview photos). Hiro is also a long-time veteran of the SLogosphere; Second Tense has been going since May 2005. Older photos, such as this one (also from Shack Dougall's collection at Snapzilla) show another large building of the same style on the adjacent island to the west. I believe Hiro had a shop, and has consolidated his holdings since; that land is empty now.
One more thing about that "before and after" comparison at the top: the mountain was resculptured during the intervening time. That mountain has had its part in Varney's history, as well -- in yet another form, it was the hideout of the Storm Pirates.
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16 June, 2010 18:59
http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Varney
I still miss Lain Kothari's giant tree on top of what was Mount Varney. (All that's left of the mountain is on my plot.) The space next to me was someone else, who also built in theme. Circa 2006 - 2007, the majority of Varney was Japanese theme in look. Tcoz is a lifetime account, and never logs on - the game itself lags the sim. :)
16 June, 2010 21:12
I read about that tree in the SL Wikia, but I haven't found any photos.
I also haven't found any photos at Snapzilla with upload dates older than 2005. I suspect some may be from earlier, but also that Snapzilla didn't exist before then.