California Gardens

 

The fountain at Sherman Library and Gardens.

Corona Del Mar, California

Radio City Music Hall

 

A landmark in midtown Manhattan, Radio City Music Hall.

New York, New York

Let's Go Sailing

 

An unlikely but popular sailing spot at Elephant Butte Reservoir 

Five miles north of Truth or Consequences New Mexico

Advising the Tourists

 

A historic figure giving directions to a tourist at the Minute Man National Park.

Concord Massachusetts 

Mark Twain

 

Mark Twain's boyhood home and museum.  The white building was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemons, better known as Mark Twain from 1844 to 1853.  

Hannibal Missouri

Roof Top Gardens

 A scene from the rooftop gardens at the historic Mission Inn.

Riverside, California

The Gardens

 

Looking down at the gardens at the Getty Museum.

Los Angeles, California

Brighton Pier

 

Walking on to the Brighton Pier.

Brighton England

Charles Darwin

 

A statue of Charles Darwin sits at the top of the stairs inside the Natural History Museum.

London England

Women of World War II

 

A monument to the women of World War II representing the wartime contributions of over 7 million women, 650,000 who joined the military service.  Located on Whitehall near the end of Downing Street.

London England

Palazzo

 

Palazzo  Comunale di Cortona at the center of town.

Cortona Italy

Palazzo Salimbeni

 

Palazzo Salimbeni is a Gothic palace forming a Piazza of the same name. In the center stands a statue of Sallustio Bandini an Italian archdeacon, economist and politician.  

Siena Italy

Floris Generica

 

Floris Generica is a sculpture by artist Eduardo Catalano.  It was a gift to the City of Buenos Aires and it sits in park surrounded by green lawns and flowering trees. The sculpture has an electronic devise the opens and closes the petals of the flower depending on the time of day. The artist says it represents all the flowers in the world.

Buenos Aires Argentina

The Lifeguard

 The Lifeguard tower on the main beach in Laguna Beach.  It serves as a symbol for the city.

Laguna Beach California

Union

 

A sculpture by artist Christopher Le Brun.  It's called "Untion (Horse with Two Discs)".  It sits near the entrance to the Museum of London.

London England

Sir Thomas More

 

A statue of Sir Thomas More.  The plaque below reads:

Sir Thomas More Kt 

Some Time Lord Chancellor of England 

Martyred July 6, 1535 

The Faithful Servant of Both God and the King.

London England

Pearly Kings

 

Two members of the Pearly Kings and Queens, a charitable tradition of working class culture founded in 1875.  These two were volunteering some time at the Museum of London.

London England 

The United State Capitol

The United State Capitol Building photographed on a winter day.

Washington D.C.

Mystery Castle

 

Built in the 1930's by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter.  He came to Arizona from Seattle because he had developed tuberculosis.  He started building this "castle" using mostly found items.  When he died in 1945 his wife and daughter were told they had inherited the property.  They moved to Arizona and lived here the rest of their lives.

Phoenix Arizona

Cultural Center

 

The Recoleta Cultural Center used for exhibitions and events.

Buenos Aires Argentina

The Getty Villa

 

The gardens at the Getty Villa will once again be open to the public.  The museum will open its doors today after being closed for 6 months following the Palisades fire.  The museum's contents were completely safe but the smoke and soot took its toll on the outside. The surrounding hillside once full of trees and plants is completely scorched. It is said that roughly 1400 trees on the property were lost.

Pacific Palisades California

Hodgson Mill

 

Hodgson Mill is a historic grist mill located on the Bryant Creek in Ozark County Missouri.  It was constructed in 1897 and is now on the Historic Register for the United States.  

Hodgson Mill still produces stone ground flours and baking mixes only now they are produced at a factory in Illinois.  

The Santa Maria

 

The Santa Maria weather vane sits atop 2 Temple Place, a building constructed for William Waldorf Astor in 1890. It is a replica of the Santa Maria that Columbus sailed to America and symbolizes the connections between Astor's American and European roots.

London England

An Elaborate Garden

The elaborate gardens of Villa Isola Bella are something to behold.  The gardens are located on the grounds of the villa on one of the Borromean Islands in Lake Maggiore in Italy.  This garden was certainly made to impress.

Off the shores of Stressa, Italy

 

Tall Fountain

 

This world famous fountain shoots water in the air up to 560 feet.  It acts as a cultural center point for the town of Fountain Hills while attracting visitors from all over the world.

Fountain Hills Arizona

Picasso in Chicago

 

This giant sculpture has been greeting passersby since 1967.  It's simply known as The Chicago Picasso.  The sculpture was actually left unnamed by the artist.  It's become a beloved Chicago landmark at Daley Plaza.

Chicago Illinois

Sherlock Holmes

 

The Sherlock Holmes pub.  One of the many colorful and historic pubs that can be found in London.  The building once housed a Victorian era pub but it was renamed The Sherlock Holmes in 1957.

London England

St Pancras Station

 

The St. Pancras Station serving the Eurostar Rail Line.  It's worth a visit even if you aren't taking the train.

London England

San Giovanni Evangelista

 

San Giovanni Evangelista Church in the center of town.

Parma Italy

Lighthouse

 

The Coquille River Lighthouse

Near Bandon Oregon

Glass Pyramid

 

The Lourve Pyramid made of glass and metal forms the entrance to the Louvre Museum.  It was designed by Chinese-American architect I.M.Pei.  

Paris France

The Statue of Liberty

 

A colossal Neo-classical statue located on Libery Island between the states of New York and New Jersey.  The statue was a gift to the American people from the people of France. It has become an icon of freedom and liberty around the world.

The Very Large Array

 

The Karl G Jansky Very Large Array is a radio astronomy site located on the plains of St. Agustin New Mexico.  It is open to the public every day from 9:00 to 4:00 with periodic open house days.  Anyone interested in astronomy will find the sight a wealth of information.  

50 miles west of Socorro New Mexico. 

Egyptian Avenue

 

Egyptian Avenue is the name of this section of the Highgate Cemetery.  Highgate Cemetery was opened in 1839 and was privately run. By 1970 it had fallen on hard times and nature and vandals had left their mark.  There are two sides to the cemetery which is now operated by an all volunteer group who work to preserve this place.  This side of the cemetery, the more historic area, is open for small tour groups by appointment only.  It's well worth the effort to tour this atmospheric place with its Victorian charm.  

London England

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

 

This magnificent cathedral was completed in 1914 in a Neo-Byzantine Romanesque Revival style.  It was designated a Basilica in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.  The inside of the church contains one of the largest mosaic installations in the Western Hemisphere.  

St. Louis Missouri 

Caryatids

 

The caryatids located on the south facade of the St. Pancras New Church in London.  The church was built  in Greek Revival style between 1819 and 1822.

London England

Cathedral

 

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi lit up at night. 

Santa Fe New Mexico

Urban Lights

 

Urban Lights is a large scale art installation created by Chris Burden.  It is located at the Wilshire Blvd. entrance to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  It's composed of restored historic street lights dating from the 1920's to the 1930's.  Most of them lit the streets of southern California at one time.

Los Angeles, California

The Royal Exchange

 

The Royal Exchange was founded in the 16th Century by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a center of commerce for the City of London.

London England

Tending His Flock

 

Paternoster is a bronze sculpture created by Elisabeth Frink and installed near St. Paul's Cathedral in Paternoster Square.  It depicts a shepherd tending his flock of sheep.

London England

The Hollywood Bowl

 

The Hollywood Bowl amphitheater.  It was named one of the 10 best live music venues by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2018.

Los Angeles California

Evita!

 

The tomb of the Duarte Family where Eva Peron is interred in the Recoleta Cemetery.  It's probably the most popular stop when exploring this cemetery.  

Buenos Aires Argentina

Italian Ceramics

 

One of many of the beautiful ceramics shops found in Florence.  

Florence Italy

The Pediment Sculptures

 

The front of the British Museum is photographed by many who visit this monumental establishment but, I wonder how many take a close look at the statues on the pediment.  They were created by Sir Richard Westmacott.  The museum was constructed between 1823 and 1847 and during that time Westmacott was working on the stautes until 1851.  The whole array of statues shows the Progress of Civilization.

In the Center is the allegorical statue of Civilization flanked on the left by Painting and on the right by Mathematics.    To the left of Painting we see Sculpture and Architecture and Farmer hunched over a hoe and wearing fleece.

On the right side next to Mathematics we see Dramatic Arts and Music and Poetry.  These ladies and gentlemen have a lot to tell us while we are waiting in the line to enter the museum.

London England

Mission Inn

 

The clock tower overlooking the Spanish Wing of the Mission Inn Hotel and Spa.

Riverside California

Temple Fountain

 

Temple Fountain located at the Honorable Society of Middle Temple.  It's a lovely place to rest after a long wander around Middle Temple.

"Brilliantly the Temple Fountain sparkled in the sun, 

and laughingly its liquid music played and merrily 

the idle drops of water danced and danced, 

and peeping out in sport among the trees plunged 

lightly down to hide themselves."

A quote from Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens

Old Palace Yard

 

The Old Palace Yard is adjacent to the Palace of Westminster (Parliament Buildings).  The space was known as a site of executions most notably of Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes.  

The statue is of Richard I who ruled from 1189 to 1199.  The statue of Richard Coeur de Lion was created by Baron Marochetti and first displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851.  It was moved to the Old Palace Yard afterward in 1860.  

The Rosewood

 

The Rosewood Hotel.  An elegant and pricey place to stay but beautiful to admire. 

London England

Bush House

 

Bush House was conceived as a major new trade center by the American industrialist Irving T Bush.  He commissioned, designed and funded the building with construction starting in 1925 and completed in 1935.  By 1929, it was already considered the most expensive building in London.

The statues at the top were designed by the female American artist Malvina Hoffman. The statues symbolize Anglo-American friendship and the building bears the inscription "To the friendship of English Speaking Peoples."

London England