As a reader of this site, you are probably well aware of my love of architecture, especially the old styles of Romanesque and Gothic. But I love (good) architecture in all of its forms, and lately I’ve been really loving Modernism – that style born out of the late 1950s early 1960s that hinted at [...]
Five Reasons Why I Travel
The Five Reasons Why I Travel Meme: 1. Wanderlust. Lust being the operative part of that word. I lust for cultures I do not live in, languages I do not speak, food that I did not grow up eating, and history that I was not part of. You could also call it a drive or [...]
Photo Of The Day: La Placita Village, Tucson
Ok, let me be straight up with you right from the start – La Placita Village, in downtown Tucson, Arizona, is not a traditional village in the old Southwest tradition. Instead it is delightful collection of adobe, brick, and wood frame buildings designed to resemble a Mexican marketplace. When I visited the complex on a [...]
First Church Of Christ Scientist In Berkeley
Even though this building is on the list of National Historic Landmarks it is not an easy accomplishment to see the interior of this church. Only open to the public on the first Sunday of each month, and during special events, it takes conscious effort to make note of the one day and time each [...]
Photo Of The Day: Inside BAM Three
Looking up at the ceiling it’s difficult to see that the light is coming through the skylight wells while the rest of the museum ceiling is in shadow. It’s a study in concrete contrasts, geometry, and brutal architecture created by the casting of light.
Art History: Gisant
One of the best places to find examples of this type of funereal sculpture is in the Basilica Saint-Denis. As you walk through the Basilica Saint-Denis you will come across many gisants – the sculptures on top of the tombs, that represent the entombed person either dying or in death. Always shown in a recumbent [...]
Photo Of The Day: Storybook Gothic
Of all the photographs I took of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris during my December 2010 trip to Paris, this photograph has turned out to be my favourite. Because of the minimal amount of natural light available within the Cathedral, I adjusted the ISO speed setting of my Canon PowerShot SX20-IS to 1600. While [...]
The “New” Addition Of The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
The new church of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche was designed by Egon Eiermann and incorporates the remaining ruins of the original church. The “new” church isn’t exactly new, it’s just newer than the original church. The foundation stone was laid on May 9, 1959 and the church was consecrated on December 17, 1961. Even if you are not [...]
Mosaics in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche (kirche is the German word for church) was built by Kaiser Wilhelm II in honor of his father, Kaiser Wilhelm I, and designed by Franz Schwechten in the Neo-Romanesque style. The building was consecrated in 1895 and the entrance hall when it was finished in 1906. On the night of November 23, 1943, the [...]
Photo Of The Day: Saint-Trophime Stairway
Sunlight filters through the windows on the top half of the photo and joins with modern florescent lighting on the bottom half to illuminate this stairwell inside the cloisters at Saint-Trophime in Arles. Stairways, no matter how elegant or rustic, always have a feeling of movement, whether they are full of people or completely empty. [...]
