buildings

Help Save The Curtis Brothers House

The Delta Bravo Exploration Team has purchased the “Outsiders House” in Tulsa OK. They are raising funds to restore it to its authentic movie condition and turn it into a museum dedicated The Outsiders. The museum would showcase collections of “Outsiders” pop culture and will pay tribute to S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film.

Hopefully something gold can stay.

The Tallest Structure In The United States Is A TV Antenna

The KVLY Television Tower, located in Blanchard, North Dakota is the tallest structure in the United States. It is also the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth tallest in the World (beaten by the Burj Khalifa, Tokyo Skytree and Shanghai Tower). It tops in at 2,063 feet (628.8 m) tall. Just a few miles away is the fifth tallest structure in the world, the 2,060 ft (628 m) KRDK Television Tower.

If you’re interested in what it might be like to climb to the top of one of these towers, check out this video.

KVLY-TV Mast Tower Wide.jpgImage via Wikimedia

They’re All Made Out Of Ticky-Tacky And They All Look Just The Same

There is a surprising amount of visual diversity in these tract homes in Santa Clara, California. Especially given that all the houses are all located in the same area, are all built during the same decade (1950’s), and all are structured from the same architectural plan. Photographer Julia Baum says of the photo collection,

“Over the past 50 years these Houses have transformed from modest white cubes into a vibrant display of personality and present a rebellion against conformity. My work asserts that human individuality cannot be contained. Inevitably it shines through even the most average facade.”

Commitment

When I was in the commercial real estate business it wasn’t uncommon for me to see a 100-year lease signed by a manufacturer or distributor for a large or complex industrial building, but Guinness has really shown it’s ability to commit:

Leased for 9,000 years in 1759 by Arthur Guinness at £45 per year, St. James’s Gate has been the home of Guinness ever since. It became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838, and was the largest in the world in 1914, covering 64 acres. Although no longer the largest brewery in the world, it is still the largest brewer of stout in the world.

via Bobulate

Opening Day

Opening Day

Today is the Colorado Rockies opening day so yesterday my dad and I took a tour of Coors Field. If you’re a fan of baseball, and in particular a fan of the Rockies, I highly recommend the tour. It’s a really interesting and insightful. It lasts about 90 minutes and you get to see the entire ball field from top down and the guides are full of unusual facts and little known tid-bits about the Rockies home field.

Below is the purple stripe leading down Blake Street to Coors Field marking the way for the opening day parade.

Opening Day Racing Stripe

More pictures below.

Live Girl Show

Before Santa Fe had it’s recent little clean-up near the Hampden exit there was a place called the Adult Palace. The Adult Palace had been around since I was a young child. For as long as I can remember really. It was in a windowless, non-descript, squat, gray building with parking in the rear. On the front of the building was a large white sign that read in large, red, script, “ADULT PALACE – LIVE GIRL SHOW”.

photo courtesy of ewy.

Whenever the family drove past – whether it be on our way to our uncles, or perhaps to a movie at Cinderella City – somebody would make a comment about the “Live Girl” that worked their. We would all chuckle at the fact the Adult Palace bragged about the fact it contained a live girl. We were all relieved that the girl was alive, but shouldn’t she be nude, or at least topless? And why only one girl? We would all laugh a little laugh, and shake our heads. I’m sure my Father and Brother’s minds, much like mine, turned to what sort of naughtiness must be happening inside with the live girl. Mom mostly just crossed hers arms and looked straight ahead.

For years and years and years I would drive by the adult palace and say to myself, “Someday I’m just gonna pull over a see what’s going on in there”. Unfortunately I never did. And as of this summer, The Adult Palace on South Santa Fe is now gone. It’s now a Super Target. But the wonderful (and incredibly hilarious) Ewy has captured the essence of this building and its live girl, “Crystal Rayne,” in his photo essay. Go check out his blog while you’re at it.

Thanking New York: Day Two

I had a slow leisurely morning on my second day in NYC. Taking time to enjoy my coffee, finish my book, and have a nice breakfast. Then I jumped headfirst into the chaos that is Times Square on Black Friday.

P1030740

I relieved my crowd-induced-anxiety by heading over to Madison Square Park where I enjoyed the, well-disputed-best-burger-in-New-York-City, at the Shake Shack. I was a little surprised they were actually open this late in the season.

After that it was off to have a look at two of my favorite buildings in the city. The Flat Iron building
And the American Radiator building.

Afterwards I headed over to the Freemans. I wanted to check out this little secret gem hidden away in an ally of the LES. It was cool, but veering on too cool. I stayed for a couple of beers before heading to Lorely for a tall glass of German suds and the meeting of friends and family.

Then it was off to our big dinner. For reasons I won’t get into we had a “break the bank” expense budget that had to be spent and it was my girlfriend’s parents 40th anniversary. We also had reservations at Perry St. This was a Jean-Georges Vongerichten (his blog) joint. He’s is probably one of the most famous chefs in NYC. And this was probably the best meal I ate all year (and probably in the top ten meals I’ve eaten ever). We went haywire in this place ordering several appetizers, all kinds of special cocktails, desserts, wines and entrees (grilled tenderloin of beef with herbal spinach and liquid gruyere for me). It was wonderful for everyone. The restrooms were out of toilet paper though. Not the type of thing you’d expect from a place like this.

Afterwards we to Turks & Frogs which I believe was having a sewage problem. I have no idea why we stayed there so long but the experience was disappointingly if not for the company. We quickly scuttled over to The Otheroom. This place was great. The music was perfect all night, the atmosphere was fun, dim and cozy, the people were really cool, the women were hot and the men were gay (mostly). We stayed here till about three am.

Our adventure home included three taxi rides, a car accident, the new jersey transit system, some tears, getting list in Secaucus, and a $60 cab fair. Ouch.

~(_8^(I)

Yesterday I went to see the new Simpsons movie. Definitely worth my $6.00. But I’m a fan of the Simpson and laughed throughout the entire movie, so my opinion is probably a bit biased. Still, I recommend you go see it. Stay through the credits to hear the Springfield Anthem, afterall, the music is one of the best parts of the Simpsons. In celebration here are some pictures I took a few ago of the 7-11 they turned into a Kwik-E-Mart here in Denver.

Kwik-E-Mart

Radioactive & Rachell

Kwik-E-Mart Security Hat

Buzz Cola

Me & Security
The guys down at Westword like to make fun of this security guard for some reason. He actually had a pretty tough job the night I was there, the drunks were out in full force.

By the way, the title to this post is the emoticon for “Homer”.

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