Southwestern Scenes

 

Just spending 30 minutes walking around the grounds of the Hermosa Inn reveals an abundance of southwestern images to share.  

Walking around this resort is a lot like walking the streets of Santa Fe New Mexico.  There is something to catch the eye wherever you look.  

The Hermosa Inn is close to where I live so whenever I'm in search of photographic inspiration, I can always stop by for a little walk.  

Night at the Opera

 

I was in downtown Phoenix Saturday evening for the season opening performance of the Arizona Opera Company.  They did a wonderful job with "Madam Butterfly", a classic opera with an inevitable dramatically sad ending.  At intermission I stepped out onto the Symphony Hall patio where there is a great view of some of the Phoenix Convention Center buildings all lit up at night.  My Uber driver told me that there are two very large conferences starting this week in downtown Phoenix so I'm guessing this area will be hopping with activity.

Facing the other way, I saw one of the Symphony Hall chandeliers framed perfectly in that tall, narrow window.

Here's what they look like inside the hall.  

One of Those Things....

 

....that caught my eye.  

When I was out taking photos of architectural gems, I happened to come across this building.  This is a view from the side of the building.  The front of the building is rather ordinary but from this side, it has charm in composition and symmetry.  

I love finding little gems like this.

More Unusual Architecture

 

This is another building I photographed on the day I was looking for Beadle architecture.  I stopped at this place because the Modern Phoenix website listed it as one where the architect is unknown.  This is a bowling alley that has been at this location as long as I've lived in Arizona.  The ownership has changed a few times but it remains a bowling alley.

The architecture is a bit crazy with those soaring rooflines.  It's a shame that we can't give the true architect credit for this very distinctive style.  

Eye-Catching Discovery

 

On the day I was out looking for the different Beadle structures, I happened to find this building. It's located in the midtown area of Phoenix and appears to be an old office building that has been converted into apartments.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what they were until I searched the name.  It appears they are loft-like apartments with open, industrial-style ceilings.  Not something I would want but the outside is certainly eye-catching.

The Beadle Surprise

 

When I went out on my "Beadle hunt", I had the address of this building but wasn't sure what I'd find. It appears that the Modern Phoenix website is not being updated currently and the photos of this building looked like this on their site:

I was afraid it might have been torn down.

I was surprised to see this beautifully restored building looking very fresh and inviting.  It is now being operated as The Beadle Workspace, a shared workspace facility.  Their website has great views of the building from above and inside.  It's well worth a look here! The eclectic work environment made me smile.  

Finding this building was a surprise and a pleasure.  It's so nice to see that someone has thought enough of the history of the place to name the building and business to honor the original architect.

Roman Roads

 

I discovered this condo neighborhood back in 2015 and commented on its unusual name and appearance.  It turns out that this is an Al Beadle multi-housing development dating back to 1964.  

When I discovered it was another Beadle project, I decided to get new photos.  I drove into the complex to get a look at the fronts of the units seen in these two photos.  It appears that sunlight arrives via the backs which I couldn't see from the roads.  However, that Modern Phoenix website has photos that show the insides of these units showing that the back walls are all glass.  You can see that here.

A Beadle Home

 

Most of the Beadle buildings I'm familiar with are commercial buildings but Beadle also created single family homes.  There are several listed but only a few have a an actual address listed.  Others just give a general vicinity.  This one had a street address so I was able to track it down.  I'm glad I did, this is classic Al Beadle.  

Those "Beatle Balls" are present and the design is very much his style.  Rather than leveling this lot, he worked around the dips and valleys and built the house so it sort of floats over the desert floor.  

That website I found has a lot more photos of this home both inside and out.  You can see them here.  

I Went on a Beadle Hunt

 

At the end of July, I posted a photo of Executive Tower, a mid-century high-rise building design by Phoenix's very own mid-century architect Al Beadle.  I mentioned that I might look for more of the Beadle buildings around Phoenix and that's exactly what I did.  These first three are styles that I wouldn't normally associate with Beadle but I found a website that has archived a lot of his buildings and these three were all on the list.  Above is a small apartment complex called 12th Street Apartments.  The pattern of the blocks on the end is a signature Beadle style.

This is a medical building with multiple tenants.  In fact, my dermatologist was once located in this building.  I photographed it on a Sunday morning so there would be no cars to block the view. This one is called the Missouri Medical Building because it's on Missouri Street. 

This last one has had so many modifications that I think the only thing that remains the same is the shape and size.  It used to be a First Federal Bank but as you can see it's now a pizza restaurant.  It's called "Federal Pizza" to honor the original tenant.  I'll show some more in the next few days.

It was fun seeking out these mid-century gems.  I'm glad I challenged myself to find some of them.

Tall and Sophisticated

 

This tall building is just one block away from the apartments I featured yesterday.  My first job upon moving to Arizona was in an elegant looking building between these two. (that building is long gone)  I remember coming from a small city in Illinois, this apartment building looked so "big-city" sophisticated to me.  The last time I featured this building on my blog was in 2008.

The building was designed by Al Beadle, a much admired, mid-century architect.  There is evidence of his buildings all over town.  I featured two others here and here.   

I should search out more Beadle buildings and do a series of posts! That might be a fun project.

I mentioned above that my first job after moving to Arizona was in beautifully designed building directly across the street from the apartments I posted yesterday.  The building was torn down a long time ago to make way for a parking lot.  (Yes, just like the song!) I spent two hours searching the internet for a photo of that building with no luck at all.  I can't believe that there are no photos to be found in cyberspace.  I spent another hour searching my old boxes of photos and finally came up with this one.  It's faded and pushing way too much green but at least you can get an idea of what that building looked like.  

Tall Buildings & Lots of Art

 

I wasn't thinking of Oklahoma City as being as cosmopolitan as it is.  There were lots of beautifully designed high-rise buildings and there was lots and lots of public art.

It seemed that everywhere I went there was always a piece of art to admire on every street.

Besides the grand Chihuly exhibit at the OKC Museum of Art, the museum also had a very, very tall Chihuly sculpture in its lobby window.   

Beauty was everywhere I turned.

Flashback: Walking in London

 

Before my recent trip to London, the last time I stayed there was in 2016.  I stayed in a hotel just one block from where I stayed on this recent trip so I had a good feel for the neighborhood around the hotel.  However, back in 2016 I always seemed to walk east and south and never really explored the area to the west.  

So I made a point of doing just that on this recent trip.  I walked all through the neighborhood which turned out to be right in the heart of the University of London campus.  Here are a few images I captured in that area of London.

At the top, a brutalist building I encountered.  I believe this building was full of apartments.

To the left is a sculpture that sits in front of a very large Chinese Restaurant.

This building appeared to hold university offices and possibly classrooms.  I think I'd call this brutalist architecture too.  I have no idea what those concrete objects were on the roof of the building.  

This building is definitely Art Deco, one of my favorite architectural designs.  I love the looks of this building.  

Not far away from the building above I found this apartment building that also had that Art Deco look.  I like the way it was squeezed in between the more traditional buildings.  

It was a great area to walk in.  It was buzzing with young people all speaking a variety of foreign languages and looking studious and eager.  

This is the same area where I found the very tall "Senate House" building I posted two weeks ago.  

Architectural Contrast

 

I was heading west on McDowel Road when I noticed the contrast between these two hospital buildings.  The building in the foreground is the oldest.  It was completed in 1982.  I posted about it here.

The tall building behind it was added in 2017 after around two years of construction.  I did a post about the construction progress here.  

Both buildings belong to the Banner University Medical Center.  It's probably the biggest hospital complex in the Phoenix area.  These two buildings couldn't be more different. 

The Hat on Top

 

The architectural photos I posted yesterday were taken from the east patio of Symphony Hall.  This photo was taken from the west patio.  On the west side, I have a clear shot of the old Hyatt Regency Hotel and its hat-like revolving restaurant.  It's been quite a while since I've been up there.  The last time was at least three years ago.  It's a fun place for a drink after a concert.  You can sip your drink while seeing different views of the city as the restaurant slowly revolves.  

I need to experience that again sometime soon.

Architectural Observations

 

When I was downtown for the symphony last Saturday evening, I took the opportunity to snap a few shots of the buildings surrounding symphony hall.

Symphony Hall is situated right in the center of all the convention center buildings which are more modern architecturally.  

This is my favorite shot because it includes new, old and even older.  We can see a tall glass building in the background that has been there for about 45 years, the steeple for St. Mary's Basilica which has been there since 1902 and the newest convention center building from 1985.

These last two shots are just two more views.  All of these were taken from the deck at Symphony Hall.  I love being surrounded by all these interesting buildings.

A Favorite Room

 

Since we were at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel on Saturday evening for dinner, we couldn't leave without taking a peek into one of our favorite rooms.  Even though Frank Lloyd Wright was not the architect for the hotel, he was a major influence in the design and that can be seen very well in this room.

Since the room wasn't being used on this night, I could stand in the center of the room and take a photo straight up to that dramatic ceiling.  It's always fun to explore this historic hotel and it's so close to where I live, I need to visit more often.  

Architectural Spaces

 

I mentioned on Monday that I went to two museums last Saturday.  My last few posts have been about the Scottsdale Museum of the West.  Today's post is about the exhibit at the Shemer Art Center.  The exhibit was called Architectural Spaces so all the works showcased the architecture all around us.  The piece above  is a photograph by Penny Ann Dolin called "Helios".  Ms. Dolin is a professor teaching commercial photography at Arizona State University.

Here is another photograph that I admired.  It was taken by John Kitts and it's called "Renaissance" which is appropriate since the photo depicts part of the facade of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Phoenix.  You can see one of my photographs of the same subject here.  My photos were taken with my Nikon digital camera.  Mr. Kitts' photo was taken with a 4x5 large format, film camera.  

I found the painting above very impressive.  When I walked up to it, I thought it was a photograph but it is an oil painting by Barbara Clements.  She calls it "The Stevens House".  

This last one is another photograph, this one by Joanna Profitt.  Joanna says that her "goal is to provide a visual interpretation of the spirit or soul of my subjects rather than a literal representation."  I found the image very appealing.  

I think that might be the Seattle skyline, what do you think?

Watch for the Watch

 

I pass by this building quite often and I've noticed the rock wall with the clock on it many times but it wasn't until a few days ago that I saw that it was created to look like a wrist watch with a nice multi-colored band.

These days that corner office space houses a Kids Dental office.  I couldn't find any history information on the building but I'm betting there used to be a jewelers in that building years ago.  

National Non-Profit Day

 

Yesterday, I saw a post on Instagram saying that August 17th was National Non-Profit Day and that we should pay tribute to our favorite non-profit organization.  It just so happens that I work for a non-profit organization.  

It's called Southwest Human Development and they provide services that uplift the lives of children, families  and other child-care providers.  We provide Head Start programs, Healthy Families programs and a variety of mental health programs along with foster care and adoption activities.  

I work in the information technology area as an analyst so I'm not one of hundreds of childhood education specialists who work directly with clients.  I admire the work those people do very much.  

This picture is from the front of our main office building.  I actually had worked here many years before I spotted those colorful panels on the front of the building.  I guess if you park in the back or underground, you miss some details.

Tops of Tall Buildings

 

The tops of two midtown buildings that I've featured on this blog before.  The glass building to the right is the One Lexington condo building located on Central Avenue.  Around 3 years ago, I posted some photos taken in that penthouse at the very top of this building.

The other building is that big curved building I've featured many times on this blog.  It's the one that people have nick-named the piano roll building.  You can see it here and here.