Visiting USF

Took the bus to the City to attend a talk with Andrew Galvan and Vincent Medina as they discussed the impending Canonization of Junipero Serra..




Here Father Lucas is introducing Vincent Medina and Andrew Galvan..

The event had to be moved outside as some unforseen glitch (the fire alarm went off right at the beginning as we were all seated in McLaren) made it necessary to change venue. This actually worked out pretty good.. the day was lovely, and I didn't have too much trouble hearing.

There was a reception at the Gleeson Library's Thacher Gallery where "Interwoven" (a collection of Native Californian basketry) is on display..


Afterwards I walked around a little.. I could see the far hills of SF from here.. Twin Peaks and Sutro Tower..


fwiw, I did walk back to Market (Powell Street BART) since I'd done it before (from the DeYoung earlier this year.) It's mostly flat with a lot of downhill. ;)

Imagining the World With No People..

it's actually rather difficult when you see how much has been done..

Raccoons in the Museum!

1000 Oak Street
Oakland, CA

Playing tourist and taking in a little history until I get back to class.. Spent a good time in the Art Gallery, had lunch and then took in the Museum.. and yes, they had raccoons in there. ;)



You can see the rest of my set (including food pRon) HERE

E*Ville City Hall

The City of Emeryville's Town Hall was built in 1903..It was in use for over 60 years until the city outgrew it and moved to another location in 1971. Eventually those city facilities were no longer adequate and it was decided to renovate the original city hall and expand offices into the modern glass and steel structure adjacent to the original building. The City of Emeryville has made these facilities home since 2001.

LA History: Cross Roads of the World

LAist has a history expose on architectural original "Cross Roads of the World" (one of the first LA shopping malls). This Art Deco Icon still stands in Hollywood, one of few originals to LA that hasn't been torn down or remodeled into condos.

What I found interesting is how,(as reported by Lindsay Williams-Ross of LAist), the Cross Roads came into being from a murderous past:


"While the Cross Roads was a spectacular shopping complex and tourist attraction, how it came to be is very curious. Mrs. Crawford was the widow of an infamous man named Charles Crawford, known as anything from a prominent West Coast brothel and casino operator nicknamed "Goodtime Charlie", to "the Gray Wolf of Spring Street," to a prominent local politician, to an organized crime boss, or as the "model for some of Raymond Chandler's juicier villains" (Rasmussen). According to a detailed articled about Crawford by Cecilia Rasmussen published in 1999 in the LA Times, "[Charles Crawford's] notorious viciousness and cunning helped take public corruption to a new level in Los Angeles city government in the 1920s." Crawford, however, became most well known in 1931 as a corpse; he and newspaper man Herbert Spencer were shot and killed by former Deputy District Attorney David Clark. The incident took place in Crawford's real estate office, which just happened to be located at 6665 Sunset Boulevard."

READ THE WHOLE LAist ARTICLE

Art Deco LA

One of the things noted while away in Florida is the plethora of art deco and neon prevalent at the Disney Studios in Orlando. So much neon and architecture of the earlier part of the 20th century. So beloved that they're planning to use the scheme yet again when they refurbish (or re-imagineer if you will) the 2nd gate of Disneyland, "Disney's California Adventure" (DCA).



So much of LA seems to be a tear it down & rebuild it into something else sort of culture. It really is a shame. The fact is that so much of what LA used to be is honored and memorialized in kitch-y Disney fashion because it is beloved, and in many cases, no longer exists: the Brown Derby, the Crossroads (ok that's sort of still there) and the Pan-Pacific Auditorium.. which being relatively new to California (and LA especially) I wasn't aware what it was or that it burned down.

What about that LA architecture? The fact is if it weren't for the historic tours such as the neon bus or the Conservancy tours, these lost treasures would be just that.. completely lost.

I'm so grateful that while living in LA, I have the opportunity to make my home in a place that makes an attempt at keeping old LA alive and well, not just gentrifying a place but re-purposing the structure, keeping as much of the original intact. The fact is we need to keep these places as original and pristine as possible. Places have meaning for us because they have history and a story behind them. We care for the things we love and they will stay with us, and not become just another place to be honored in an amusement park, or books about recalling the past that no longer exists.