Glazed White Bricks at City Hall

I am enamored of the glazed white brick walls in the courtyard at City Hall. I like to think they were used to bounce and reflect light during dismal winter months. Like today. And yesterday. And the day I took these photos last week.
Being completely solar powered I'm headed for Snoozeville. I may even skip Judge Judy.


Yeowsa!
Seriously ripped columns:

Twenty years ago

One early November morning in 1979 my mother called me at work to tell me Jack's father had been killed in a car bombing. I had heard the news but never made the connection between John Paul Spica and Paul, the guy who owned the produce stand in my neighborhood.

During the next few days I learned just who his father had been via the newspapers (you can do a google search).

I worked downtown, and rode the bus home which stopped at Vandeventer and Shenandoah. I'd cross the hot asphalt in my high heels, buy some produce and wonder about the aloof guy running the stand. Eventually his girlfriend starting working with him and then his son, Jack.

I knew Jack and I lost contact with him years ago. It's one of just very few regrets. He was one of those exceptional people who had the ability to grace a life.

If you have any info please contact me via email on my profile page (and not by comments). Father and son did not share the last name and I no longer remember how to spell his last name.

The Hill

Tim and I used to dine at Zia's on The Hill until I noticed how anxious I became during the ride. I was completely unhinged by the architecture to the point of worrying about spontaneously combustion.

Tim (who is an architect and my constant companion) tolerated (per usual) my increasingly worrisome rants about the chaos I was perceiving: Ultra Modern storefronts next to homes built in the late 1800s. Permastone added to facades. Bizarro painting of limestone and brick. Venus and Adonis sculptures where mafia meets bling in the front yard. YIKES!

I was usually driving which added to the chaos with my literal knee jerk brake stomping whenever I was freshly appalled.

I eventually insisted we had to dine elsewhere but here's some recent photos through the gloam...or maybe this is how I usually experience The Hill.

Just look at this poor house with an elaborate wall that now suffers from siding. CHAOS!


Triple arch alert!
Seriously, triple arches are repeated throughout our city. I'm starting a file of triple arches photos and will report as soon as I've canvased all neighborhoods. Of course this could take years and I lack direction. Just ask Tim, he's been in the car when I'm driving.










Nothing like protecting a slab of concrete with a chain link fence!


Art deco facade:


One remaining granitoid street:

See? Triple arches everywhere. They're EVERYWHERE I tell you!

American Pulverizer

Located on Macklind just south of the Humane Society (where Beau has a standing monthly appointment).

Caling all Bears

They're back!

Yesterday I stepped out of the car on Kingshighway and heard, Caw, caw, caw. I was immensely relieved to hear a crow, the first call I've heard in a decade.

If you're a fan of Crows I recommend reading Desert Notes for its surreal stories, insight and riveting prose. It's a slim volume, probably out of print, check Amazon.

Beau has cooties!

"Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." -Count Dracula discussing wolves.

Here's poor Beau howling and wearing his Dracula collar:

He was really encouraging me to saddle up and put him back in the car.

That's a soft collar he's wearing, also called a comfort or comfy collar. It's a great alternative to the hard plastic collar given Beau developed a reaction to the plastic. Bumping into the door frame and furniture with the hard collar was frustrating him, I could hear his sighs. So I went to Google, clicked on Shopping and did a search by relevance (lowest price first) where I found this comfort e-collar for 28.00 (shipping included). At Petsmart they're around 40.00 with tax for his size.

Beau has ringworm and it's a beeyatch.
It involves bathing him with medicated shampoo every three days that should be followed by a lime dip which smells like rotten eggs. Since it's cold outside and he's now being bathed inside we've eliminated the lime dip. Pheeeewww (Beau and I agree on this.)

Of course he is contaminating the environment and since it's impossible to see the stuff a relentless cleaning regime is required. Each time he is bathed the bathroom, the gloves I wear, the six towels used to dry him and the shower curtain gets bleached. Every three days.

Every hard surface gets bleached along with my clothing.
Carpets get vacuumed (10 minutes for each carpet and every day) and the bag carried out after one use. The hardwood floors get mopped then washed with Lysol. The couch is currently barricaded and is also vacuumed because he is wily and can leap over the barricade when I'm sleeping.

Ringworm is 'very contagious to all mammals' said his Vet (the amazing and attentive Dr. Wright at the Humane Society of Macklind).

I learned everything I needed to know from a four page hand out from the HS.

My internist incorrectly identified the rash at the base of my neck as ringworm. Dr Wright took a gander and said that I am cootie free. In the interim (it can drag on for years) Beau wears the collar to prevent licking the infection and spreading it on his body.

Beau is progressing well but his servant Renfeild is exhausted from cleaning, bleaching, and doing laundry.

Mid Century Hell - for Andrew Raimist

I've never been a huge fan of Modern Architecture with it's factory appearance, chronic box references, and reflective glass windows. It's not boring, it just lacks the warmth and wonder of a Craftsmen Bungalow.

Just east of Hampton there's a huge cluster of the stuff. Take a drive along Elisabeth, 59th St. and January. Most of these buildings are union halls and related businesses. Check out the parking lot to building ratio along your tour.

I do enjoy that the Weinhardt building has a matching sidewalk.





Along the tour I spotted this massive retaining wall and two BBQ constructions of some killer bricks in back yards:







While I dislike the 'style' of architecture there's some elements I love like these brushed aluminum railings:






Sure, slap some tiles on the brick wall to jazz it up.

Cool decorative copper. I'm astonished it hasn't been pulled off the building.