July 2, 2022
Four Architecture Shots On Slide Film
Construction of Copley Place in Boston, 1983, Agfachrome. The dome in the foreground is the backside of the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade.
In Chicago, 1984. I can't identify the building, but I'm sure someone else can.
The north tower of the World Trade Center, 1985. This was my one trip to the top of the WTC. The roof deck was closed that day.
Citigroup Center in NYC, 1983.
permalink | July 2, 2022 at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2022
Four From The 1980s
Snow on the Charles River, Agfachrome, 1985.
The Cloisters, 1986. I don't even remember visiting the Cloisters or how I happened to be there, but no denying the photographic evidence.
Canoes, Polaroid Polapan instant slide film. Late 1980s, but I don't recognize the location.
permalink | June 29, 2022 at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2022
Million Dollar Theatre
A good shot of the Million Dollar Theatre while the Los Angeles World Naked Bike Ride was passing by. Photo by westwood1727.
permalink | June 28, 2022 at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2022
Old Stuff In Slides
Greg in Washington DC, Kodachrome, possibly 2001.
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Atlas, Agfachrome, 1983.
Two Wall Street, 1985.
Myself at Tanglewood, late 1980s.
permalink | June 24, 2022 at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2022
A Variety
Rockefeller Center, Agfachrome, 1983. This one had taken on a bit of a magenta cast and the easiest way to get rid of that was just to make it black & white.
One Financial Center in Boston with the shadow of the Federal Reserve Bank falling on it, 1983.
At gay pride in Boston, 2001, Kodachrome.
Wrigley Building, 1984.
permalink | June 16, 2022 at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2022
Times Square & Silver Lake
Times Square, 1996, Ektachrome.
Plumbago, also in Silver lake.
A home in Silver Lake designed by Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright.
permalink | May 25, 2022 at 05:38 PM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2022
Neutra Homes In Silver Lake
A week ago I headed into Silver Lake for a tour of homes designed by Richard Neutra. It was part of Modernism Week which seems to take place three times a year now. This tour started at the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences at 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard. This was Neutra's home and office. There are nine homes designed by Neutra in the immediate neighborhood. The tour started with the interior of the Neutra VDL Studio, followed by a walk-by of the other homes, concluding with an interior tour of Reunion House at 2440 Earl Street, which the Neutra Institute took possession of just this past February. The complete set of photos is here. These are some samples:
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences.
Neutra's remains are interred in the courtyard of the house.
They let us climb these apparently insubstantial stairs to the penthouse.
Balcony overlooking the courtyard.
The gate to the Sokol House at 2242 Silver Lake Boulevard.
L to R: the Inadomi, Kambara and Yew Houses on Silver Lake Boulevard.
The entrance area for the Inadomi and Kambara houses.
Yew House at 2226 Silver Lake Boulevard.
Ohara House at 2210 Neutra Place.
Reunion House at 2440 Earl Street.
permalink | May 22, 2022 at 05:43 PM | Comments (1)
May 11, 2022
Various Slides
In Quebec, 1994, Kodachrome.
Don't know which beach, undated E6 slide.
Saguaros near Tucson, 1988, Kodachrome.
"Peace Through Chemistry Bronze" by Roy Lichtenstein at the National Gallery of Art, 1992, Kodachrome.
permalink | May 11, 2022 at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
May 4, 2022
Four Slides For You
Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont, 1991, Kodachrome.
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, 1992, Kodachrome.
The Proctor Building in Boston, 1983, Ektachrome. From a report by the Boston Landmarks Commission:
The Proctor Building is a small-scale, flat-roofed three-story commercial building dating from 1897, faced with yellow terra cotta molded in high relief sculptural forms inspired by Spanish Renaissance architecture. The overall design is unusually bold and elaborate for a commercial structure and is intact and in excellent condition above the first story. The building covers the entire 998 square foot parcel, a roughly triangular-shaped lot which measures 62 feet along Bedford Street, 29 feet along Kingston and 55 feet along the northeast party wall.
The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré near Quebec City, 1994, Kodachrome. Wikipedia page for this basilica.
permalink | May 4, 2022 at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2022
Four From Nineteen-Ninety-Four
A man seen wearing a condom vest in NYC when I was there for the Gay Games in 1994; Kodachrome.
Manhattan Mall (formerly Gimbels) in 1994; Kodachrome.
Le Château Frontenac in Quebec; Kodachrome, 1994.
The Charles River under ice; Kodachrome, 1994.
permalink | April 12, 2022 at 06:58 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2022
Four More On Ilford XP2 Super 400
These were shot with Ilford XP2 Super 400 film in January or February 2022.
Putting new gas lines under West Drive.
The Church of St Paul in The Desert in Palm Springs.
Mt San Gorgonio and DHS High School.
permalink | March 17, 2022 at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2022
Four On Ilford XP2 Super 400 Film
These were shot with Ilford XP2 Super 400 film in January 2022.
The Plaza Theater sign in Palm Springs.
768 N. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.
"Forever Marilyn" on Museum Way.
permalink | March 16, 2022 at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2022
Four E6 Slides
The Dead River in Maine, 1986.
In the Frog Pond on Boston Common. Agfachrome, 1983.
Louis Sullivan Exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, 1987.
permalink | March 15, 2022 at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2022
Again, Four More Slides
1986, but I don't recognize the location.
Traveler's Insurance in Hartford, 1990. The artwork is on the grounds of a museum.
Quincy Market and Custom House Tower in Boston. Agfachrome, 1983.
permalink | March 14, 2022 at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2022
Four From The Mid-80s
The Federal Reserve Bank building in Boston, 1986.
The Charles Engelhard Court in the New York Metropolitan museum of Art, 1986.
Coit Tower, 1985.
Transamerica Pyramid and a cable car, 1985.
permalink | March 13, 2022 at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)
March 9, 2022
$20 Million(-ish) For New MSWD Headquarters
On March 3, 3033, the Mission Springs Water District Board of Directors held a workshop to discuss the proposed Critical Services Center And Administration Building. The video of the workshop is available here. Director Duncan was absent.
General Manager Arden Wallum said that of the five major water purveyors in the Coachella Valley, MSWD has the worst administrative building. The site where they plan to locate the new headquarters was purchased about 2000. GM Wallum said there was a consensus in favor of one of the designs presented at the previous meeting. There was actually no consensus. He wasn't sure which one was preferred. Vice President Nancy Wright couldn't recall any consensus. President Russ Martin said he had said he preferred Option 2 only because it was the cheapest, but that any of the three designs would be acceptable. Actually, at the previous meeting he had said he preferred Option 2 before he knew that it was also the cheapest. VP Wright thought that Option 1 was cheapest. Her memory was incorrect.
The three options are options in the external appearance only. The interior layout is the same in all three. VP Wright asked which way was north on the site layout. The layout has a compass rose showing north is up, but the architect walked her through the compass directions. Director Ivan Sewell asked about the more compact site layout that was presented as a possible cost saving choice at the prior meeting. The architect said that could reduce the cost about $600,000. At the prior meeting it was said that could have reduced the cost by $1 million to $1.5 million. Now, with a range from $600,000 to $1,500,000 I would call those just wild-ass guesses.
MSWD currently has a staff of about 52 people. The architect said the new headquarters would be designed to accomodate "70-some-odd" staff. Further expansion will be possible on the site.
Ms. Wright mentioned that the district paid only $25,000 for the site originally.
There was a long discussion with Directors sharing their opinions on details of the different designs. If you want that in detail, go to the video.
Option 3 was preferred by the Directors. Directors Sewell, Grasha and VP Wright preferred the shallow curved dais for the boardroom.
$20,000,000
They plan to pay for the new building using only property tax revenue and "other general administrative revenues." They do not intend to use the revenue from water and sewers to pay for it.
It was pointed out that it would be more correct to say that $20 million is the estimated cost of the full project, not just the building(s).
The annual property tax revenue of $1 million would be sufficient to cover either a 20-year loan of $13.5 million at 3.9% or a 30-year loan at 4.1%. Some grants may also be available. Director Grasha recommended financing the entire $20 million in order to preserve the district's cash on hand for emergencies or changes in state regulations. He also said he expects the final cost to be $30 million.
permalink | March 9, 2022 at 05:47 PM | Comments (3)
March 6, 2022
Four In Unidentified Places
I can't say for sure where any of these photos were taken.
March 1986, probably at a flower show.
permalink | March 6, 2022 at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 1, 2022
Infrared In Palm Springs
These were all shot with my infrared Canon G12.
980 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.
7 Springs Inn & Suites in Palm Springs.
permalink | March 1, 2022 at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2022
Four Shot On KONO! Monolit 64 Film
These were all shot on KONO! Monolit 64 film last month.
At the corner of Tachevah and Palm Canyon.
A cholla just outside of Joshua Tree National Park.
In the foreground: Albert Frey's Cree House.
permalink | February 21, 2022 at 08:21 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2022
Designs For New MSWD HQ Considered
At the February 17, 2022, study session the MSWD Board of Directors was presented with some design concepts for the proposed new headquarters for the district. The developer showed a lengthy Powerpoint to the board. Images from the Powerpoint were not included in the agenda packet. I'll include a few screen shots here, but if you really want to see what was presented, you should watch the YouTube video of the meeting starting at 14:57.
Roger Clarke from Ruhnau Clarke Architects led the presentation.
Over the past several months the board has discussed the new headquarters, but as far as I could determine, they never specified the exact location to the public, referring only to a site on Two Bunch Palms Trail. Now that has been cleared up. It's a parcel of land where the district already has a well, just east of one of the cultivation facilities.
Moving in a little closer, the first slide in the Powerpoint shows the general layout of the site.
As you can see this location will combine administrative and operations functions, unlike the current setup where administration is on Second Street and operations are mostly down around the Horton wastewater treatment plant.
Perhaps you are asking yourself the same questions about the location that I am. This land is zoned industrial and is immediately adjacent to several cannabis cultivation facilities. At one time the price of land there went sky high. Is it still sky high, or has that market softened? What's the market like for land in commercial zones elsewhere in the city? I don't recall hearing any discussion of it during any board meeting, but I hope someone did an analysis on the property value. Would the district be ahead by selling this site (minus the land necessary for the well, of course) for some sky high price and then using that money to buy land in a commercial zone in the city that would be closer to bus lines? Besides benefiting the customers who need to visit MSWD, the district might end up with a bigger site or a less expensive site. I know nothing of commercial land prices in DHS, nor whether there is a chunk of commercial land available of the size that would suit MSWD for its purposes.
Here's the conceptual diagram of how things will be laid out in the administrative building.
More detail is provided in this slide:
Three options were presented for the shape of the dais: slightly curved, deeply curved or just flat. There were also three options as to exterior appearance.
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
The cost of the three options are all within $250,000 of each other. Option 2 would be the least expensive. The overall site is 450,443 square feet in all three options. They could go with a smaller site (417,420 s.f.) that would reduce the available parking and save $1-million to $1.5-million.
Director Grasha suggested staff parking should be behind a secure wall or fence. I agree, and would have thought any architect would make secure staff parking a standard feature at any government building, but Rhunau Clarke had not. They said they could, of course, make that change.
President Martin said he preferred Option 2. Director Sewell preferred either Option 2 or 3. Director Duncan preferred Option 1 or 3. Mr. Clarke said Option 1 had the most glass, but the amount of glass in all three options could be adjusted.
