Inside the Wrigley Mansion

Inside the main entrance to the Wrigley Mansion is this wonderful room with the curved stairway and the gorgeous wood ceiling. This is where you check in to be seated for dinner.

At one corner of the lobby area is this small "telephone" room were guests of the Wrigley's could make telephone calls if needed.  I love that old switchboard.

I hate to admit it but I actually operated one very similar to this on my very first job.

I loved these peacock lamps on a table in the long hallway.

Last but certainly not least is this Steinway "player" piano.  It's one of only two remaining anywhere. It's been said that Geordie Hormel (heir of the Hormel meats family) bought the mansion because he loved and wanted this piano.  He actually saved the mansion from demolition back in 1992.  I can't imagine demolishing such a wonderful piece of Arizona history so I'm glad Geordie saved it.  In his will, he left instructions that the piano had to stay with the house.

The Wrigley Mansion

Last Friday I skipped an outdoor concert because of the wind and cold temperatures here in the Phoenix area.  Just as I had curled up on the sofa to watch the evening news, my friend Julie called and asked if I had eaten dinner yet.  I hadn't so she suggested that we go somewhere.  I have to admit, I didn't expect to go somewhere quite like this.  We ended up at the Wrigley Mansion.  I've probably had a post about this place years ago but I hadn't been here in many years so it was a treat to go again.  I used this photo from a while ago so you can see the building.  It was too dark to take one that night.

The Wrigley Mansion sits on top of hill just overlooking the Arizona Biltmore Hotel on one side and the city of Phoenix on the other.  It was built between 1929 and 1931 for William Wrigley Jr.  It was his "winter cottage".   That's some cottage!  It is now a fine dining restaurant and event space.  This second photo was taken with my iPhone of the view over the city.  Tomorrow I'll show you a few pictures from inside.

Peace and Light

I'm betting that not many people get to see this mural because it's located behind a local restaurant called The Windsor on Central Avenue.  It covers a big utility building.

That's a shame because I really like the clean lines and graphic design of this one.  It was created by the artistic team of the Fartoul Brothers (Gabriel and Isaac).  All of their artwork has this graphic style that makes them very appealing to me.

Urban Living

Another combined use building that I found in downtown Phoenix.  Ground floor are businesses and upper floors are condominiums.  Judging from the furniture on those upper floor patios, it looks like they are occupied.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I made a discovery that proves my childhood has now become "vintage".

Clouds Floating By

Much cooler weather has rolled into the Valley of the Sun this last week so it's coat weather again for most of us desert dwellers.  I do see the occasional shorts and flip-flops but, for most of us a coat is necessary.

I even had tickets for an outdoor concert last night and I ended up not going.  It's just too cold to sit outside in the evening.  I was out during the day to run some errands and when the sun peeked through it was warm but the minute it hid I was cold again.

Architectural Details

I love the architectural details of the Phoenix Art Museum.  The building has such a contemporary feel to it.

This is one of the stairways leading from the second floor down to the first.

This is the same stairway looking up to the second floor.

I'm not sure why these kind of details appeal to me so much, but they do.

Taking in the View

Two weekends ago, my friend David and I attended a Phoenix Symphony event on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Standing on the raised area around Symphony Hall, I spotted this view that takes in the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Phoenix.  After the concert, David and were going to meet a friend for a drink in the revolving restaurant at the top of the hotel.

We walked over there and discovered that the restaurant was closed for the evening for a private event.  So before we left to find a new location, I snapped this photo of some new decor in the hotel lobby.  I'm not sure what to make of these wooden heads!

Back in Sync

Yesterday I posted a northern winter scene from my weekend trip to Oregon.  Today I thought it would be appropriate to post much more familiar scenes for the Phoenix area.  Like this gorgeous sunset with the looming palm trees.

Or, this shapely pair of palm trees in someone's front yard.

Or this row of tall palm trees against a blue sky!  That's more like it!

Snow is a lot of fun for a day or two, but I'll take the warm sun and palm trees of Arizona.

Change in the Weather

I'm sure this is not a scene you would expect to see on Phoenix Daily Photo!  I flew with my good friends Julie and Dave to Oregon for a weekend in the Oregon Wine Country.  Friday and Saturday were pretty much typical Oregon winter weather with rain and cold temperatures but, when we got up on Sunday, that rain had turned to snow, blanketing the area with some winter-time beauty.  It was a treat for us desert dwellers.  We were snapping photos in every direction.  It was Truffle Festival weekend in Oregon so in addition to all this winter beauty, we had great wines and wonderful foods all inspired by that world famous mushroom. We even had truffle enhanced desserts!

Thanks again to Julie and Dave for such a fantastic weekend but most of all for being such wonderful friends!

New Whales Replacing the Old Whales

Remember that "Find Your Direction" mural that I posted last August?  It's been painted over with a bright new set of whales.  The artists are Isaac Caruso and Leter91.   This one looks so bright and fresh, it's hard to miss when you are driving north on Central Ave.  When I was researching the artists, I found this short little video of the mural being painted.  The video was shot with areal views so not only does it show the artists at work, but it shows great views up and down Central Avenue.  Have a look!

Bloom'n Pretty

It's that time of year again!  The flowering pear trees are in full bloom and looking gorgeous as usual. I really do love it when these trees bloom like this.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Seen any buskers lately?

Random Shots

I have another selection of random shots today.  First up is the exit ramp to the garage where I work.  Don't ask me why I took this.  It just appealed to me that day.

The back to back dressing (or undressing) rooms at an Xray facility.  I took this one while I was sitting there waiting for my name to be called.

A few colorful leaves on the ground where I live.  We only have about two weeks to enjoy the leaves changing so when I was this group on the ground, I snapped a shot.

I've been called an Anglophile by many of my friends because I really do love visiting England but, I'm NOT so big of one to purchase this ottoman.  I just took a photo instead.

There you have it, another random assortment of photos that I've collected over time.

Upside Down, Inside Out

I discovered last Friday that the Phoenix Art Museum had moved this huge sculpture called "Upside Down, Inside Out" by Anish Kapoor to a new location so I decided to try again to get a good photo of it.  I've taken many photos of this sculpture with very little luck but, this one is the best I've gotten.  Kapoor is the same artist who created "Cloudgate" the big stainless steel sculpture in Chicago that everyone lovingly calls "The Bean".

This is the type of photo I usually get.  All washed out because the automatic setting is seeing all that black so it opens up wide.  If I manually set the camera, the sculpture turns out a black blob and you can't see the shape of it.  So I'm thrilled!  I finally got a decent shot of it.

By the way, wouldn't you just love to see how the museum staff moves these huge sculptures from place to place?  I'd really enjoy seeing that.

More Ikebana

I have three more ikebana arrangements to show you from the event at the Phoenix Art Museum that I featured on Tuesday.  This one is by Wanda Laloggia.  I love the sweeping look of this one.

See that gentleman to the far right in the photo above?  He was studying this arrangement by Bev Tall.  This was another favorite of mine.  It's just so simple looking but I'm sure it took a lot of work and imagination to create.

One last arrangement that caught my eye was this pretty one by Jeanne Sours.  So simple and yet so elegant.

This is not the same exhibit as the "Arts & Flowers" I've featured in the past.  I'm not sure when that one will take place.  

This exhibit was a joy to view so I'm glad I got to see it.  Oh how I wish I could make arrangements like this.

It's Valentines Day

It's Valentine's Day and you don't have to look hard to see signs of it in every store.  How is this for the ultimate "utilitarian" Valentines gift?  A set of heart-shaped bowls.  Just what everyone needs.  Well, maybe not.  Happy Valentines Day!

The Art of Ikebana

I visited the Phoenix Art Museum last Friday to see a selection of Ikebana flower arrangements that were set up for the weekend in the Asian Art Gallery.  I think this one was my favorite of them all but, really it was very hard to choose just one.

They were all done by individuals who are students of different Ikebana classes.  This one was created by Beth Cullison.

This beauty with the exotic red blooms was created by Terry Jones.

This one in the turtle vase was created by Maya Rosenblatt.

I love the large pine branch combined with the stargazer lily in this one by Susan Allen.

These look so simple to create but, I've tried.  It is not as easy as it looks.

Two Bears in Downtown Phoenix

There is a brand new mural in downtown Phoenix located on Central Avenue on the side of the historic Heard Building.  It depicts two bears but there is something a little different about these bears.  They appear to have parts of them covered with some type of black form.

The mural was painted by the Swiss team called Nevercrew. The artists are Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni.

The bears are 100 feet high and it took the artists 5 days to complete the mural, just finishing on February 9th.

The artists say the bears represent the Mexican brown bear which has become extinct and the black forms on them represent forms of communication that are no longer used or extinct in their own way.

Below the bears and partially hidden by the building next door, are a row of rather strange looking machines.  These appear to also have something to do with communication.  I read that there is another mural inside the lobby of the building.  I'll have to make my way back there to see it sometime soon.

Nevercrew have been painting murals together for 20 years but, they only have a couple in the United States and this is their first in Arizona.

Entertaining the Crowds

There was quite a large crowd of people waiting for the the Pony Express riders (see yesterday's post) to arrive so there was entertainment on hand to keep the crowds happy.

This couple even got up and danced. It was an added bonus that they were decked out in period clothing.



I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Are you a fan of Sherlock Holmes?

Arrival of the Pony Express

I went to Scottsdale yesterday see the arrival of the pony express riders on their annual 200 mile run from Holbrook Arizona to Scottsdale.

This was the 60th anniversary for the group who have been staging the express ride and delivering real mail once a year for the past 60 years.  (I loved this horse with the white face.)

They stop in several towns along the way and drop off and pick up sacks of mail that has been hand postmarked for this special run.  The riders are part of the Navajo County Sheriff's Posse.

The actual pony express only operated for 19 months moving mail from the east coast to the west coast until the telegraph was established.

Makeshift Armor

I was up on the overhead crosswalk in downtown Phoenix when I spotted this fellow below at street level in this rather unusual outfit made of the pull tabs that open cans of soda, beer and other drinks.  His costume was completely covered in them from head to toe.

As I was looking down from above, I heard a guy walk by him and say "Hey man, cool armor".

Cool armor, indeed!

More Art & Some Canine Cuteness

The home of the art collecting lady I've been telling about also contained some canine cuteness that couldn't be over looked.  This is Riley.

And this is Cody who wasn't as keen to have his photo taken.

And, one more art shot. Another beautiful Dan Namingha painting on the wall and more wonderful baskets on the table.

Visiting her home was a lot like visiting a museum with the added benefit of two cute dogs to follow you from room to room.

Lots and Lots of Kachinas

I mentioned yesterday that I visited the home of a new member of my theatre group and that she is quite the collector of Native American art.  This has got to be one of the biggest collections of Kachinas that I've ever seen.  It rivals the famous Goldwater collection that is now on view at the Heard Museum.

This one was one of my favorites.  It's just so unusual.  I had never seen one like it.

And, I always love the antics of the clown Kachinas and these two were wonderful examples of the humor they represent.

This was another unusual one.  I don't recall his name but, he looks like the keeper of a game of some sort.

This lady has one very amazing collection of these wonderful wood carvings.