Vancouver House is not your typical high-rise residential tower. Wikipedia lists its architectural style as Neo-futurist / Structural Expressionism; whatever that means. That florid language aside, it really is a stunning and eye-catching building. My wife and I were planning a vacation to Olympic National Park and decided to also spend some time in Vancouver…
Sea stacks are well, simply amazing. At least, that’s how I felt upon seeing them for the first time during a trip to Olympic National Park. A sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast. Some are quite large…
UC – San Diego (University of California – San Diego) is a relatively new university. As a result, I wouldn’t expect to see older buildings. I don’t imagine a stately old structure lovingly called “Old Main”. Likewise, I wouldn’t expect a Student Union with beautifully patinaed coffered wood walls and ceilings. At least I didn’t…
The Geisel Library on the UCSD (University of California – San Diego) campus has been on my photo wish list for some time. Since my daughter lives in San Diego and we occasionally visit her, I figured I’d be able to visit the library on one of our trips. Our most recent visit was over…
Waves and ripples (which are just a series of small waves) are all around us. Of course you see them in bodies of water, both large and small. Who doesn’t like to just watch the waves come in? Likewise, who hasn’t thrown a stone into the lake just to see the ripples? There’s just something…
Railroad Street is a common street name; especially in old rural towns. As the name implies it parallels the main railroad line. Sometimes the railroad is gone; but the street remains. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries railroads were the lifeblood of the community. This was all before UPS, FedEx, commercial airlines, and…
The MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the largest cancer treatment centers in the world. More importantly, it is considered one of the best. Given this status it is befitting that the architectural design of their main building is eye-catching. However, it is not “over the top” or extravagant. After all, it is a…
An invitation for the curious is how I like to think of old, abandoned buildings. This is especially true for those with character. They stir our imagination and make us curious about them. Why was it abandoned? What’s the story of the people that lived, or worked, or worshipped here? Where did all the people…
The spiral staircase at the LyondonellBasell Tower has intrigued me for some time. It’s an external two-story white staircase that stands in contrast to the darker tones of the tower. It just seemed like it would be a great subject. I drove by it a number of times, looked at it from various angles of…
