Enjoying the View

 

One day last week, I was asked to join my work supervisor at our office in east Phoenix.  This is the building with the fabulous view looking toward Tovrea Castle and Camelback Mountain.  The city of Phoenix owns all the land around Tovrea Castle so the view stays wide open.  

However, there are other obstructions.  Power lines run across the sky and the light rail trains run just below along the street.  But still, you have to admit that is some view!

I looked at my old posts and it's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since I was last in this office.  I posted about that visit in 2022. 

Some of you might also remember that I volunteered on the work the city did to get the Castle open to the public.  That was way back in 2011 and 2012.  I can't believe it's been that long.  If you click the Tovrea Castle label, you can see all those older posts.

Office View

 

I've mentioned before that I work part-time for a non-profit organization. Last week, I needed to meet with employees at our newest office location.  This new location has only been open for less than a year and I hadn't been there before.  I was surprised to find it located on the third floor of an office building directly across the street from the Tovrea Castle.  Anyone remember when I did some volunteer work at the castle? (That was over 10 years ago! My how time flies.)

I took these photos with my iPhone looking out the windows facing the north.  On the south side, they have a view toward the airport where they can see jets taking off all day long.  It's a wonderful office space.

That Castle

If you've been following my site for a long time, you probably remember when my friend David and I worked with the City of Phoenix to help get the Tovrea Castle open to the public.  I'm so glad this historic Phoenix landmark in our city is thriving today.  I hope it will soon start hosting events.  It's a great place for a small gathering of people.  I took this photo back in November of 2010.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting an English university town.

"Tovrea Dreams"

On the first of the month I featured another photo from Tovrea Castle, a Phoenix landmark.  I found this photo of a painting I saw in the lobby of a downtown office building.  I had forgotten that I took this shot last spring.  The painting is titled "Tovrea Dreams" by artist Rafael Navarro.  Navarro was born in Mexico City and moved to Phoenix in 1989.  He is a primarily self-taught artist who draws inspiration from Rene Magritte, Picasso, and Frida Kahlo.  I can certainly see hints of Magritte in this painting.  I am a fan of Magritte and am drawn to surreal paintings in general and since this one featured Tovrea Castle, it especially appealed to me.

Theme Day: Landmarks

The November 1st theme for City Daily Photo bloggers is "Landmark" and what better Phoenix landmark is there than Tovrea Castle.  Do you remember back in 2010 and 2011 when I spent quite a lot of time here helping the city get it ready to open to the public?  I probably mentioned sometime back then how this place sits atop a hill on the south side of Phoenix right in the flight path for Sky Harbor International Airport.  When I spent all those years doing consulting work in other cities, I always knew I was home when I peeked out the airplane window and spotted the castle as we approached for a landing.  So not only is a city landmark but it's a personal landmark for me too.  If you don't remember this place, click here and you will see some of the many posts I did about the place back then.  The post from June 10, 2010 tells the story of the castle.

If you want to see how other city daily photo bloggers depict "landmark" for their cities click here.

More Palo Verde Trees

The blooming Palo Verde Trees are so gorgeous right now that I couldn't help posting one more shot of them.  This is an office building that has four trees gracing the sidewalk leading to the building.

Here you see the Tovrea Castle framed by a pair blooming in the foreground.
Sorry about so many Tovrea Castle photos lately.  It seems like the only place I get to visit lately since I've been training docents and leading tours in addition to my normal job.  I have today off so I'll find something new to show you tomorrow.

Palo Verde

The Palo Verde tree is the state tree of Arizona and right now, they are blooming all over the city.  The beautiful yellow blooms and the green branches make such an eye-pleasing combination.  When the wind blows, you can see the tiny petals of the yellow flowers falling like rain all around the tree and creating a yellow carpet on the ground below.

Tovrea Castle at Night

I mentioned several months ago that one day I'd show you a view of the Tovrea Castle at night and I finally got one to show you.  It's not the best yet.  It was a spur of the moment thing and I just balanced the camera on a wall.  Someday I'll get out there at night with a tripod and get some really interesting shots.

Color at the Castle

On Saturday, my close friend David and I trained a class of docents who will be conducting tours at the Tovrea Castle that I've mentioned many times before.  In spite of the unseasonal heat, there were a lot of wonderful cactus blooms to enhance the scenery.  Here you see prickly pear blooms on the hillside next to the castle.

And another set of gorgeous blooms were a surprise that waited right next to the castle.

And to top it all off, the Saguaro Cactus were blooming all over the property.  It was a delight to see and a special treat for our guests that day.

Opening Day....

This weekend, the Tovrea Castle opens to the public for tours.  This morning a few of us took the Mayor of Phoenix there to see the displays and learn how our tours are going to work.  On Saturday and Sunday, I'll be playing the role of tour guide for the scheduled tours.

A lot of hard work went into getting this ready for the public and the big day has finally arrived.  If you live in the Phoenix area, you can schedule a tour by clicking here.

I Need Your Help

Most of my readers know that I have been working with the Tovrea Carraro Society to help open the Tovrea Castle for public tours.  We've been given a very unique opportunity to receive a $25,000.00 grant from the Intuit Company and all we have to do is get people to vote for us on the "Love a Business" website.  They count the votes by individual email addresses, one vote per address is allowed.  If all of you loyal readers could send a vote, it would go a long way to put us in line for this grant.  The grant would be a gigantic help to us getting this project off the ground.

If you click on this Link, it will open to the Intuit website with Tovrea Castle already selected.  All you need to do is complete step 3 by entering a name (any screen name will do) and your email address (they will not send you spam).  You can also enter comments if you want, but it isn't necessary.  Then click VOTE. 

Thank you for your support.  It means a lot!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to my sister Judy of Prescott Area Daily Photo.  Stop by and wish her a happy birthday!

*Someone from the city of Phoenix took this beautiful photo of the Tovrea Castle.

Out of Season

While I was at Tovrea Castle last Thursday, I saw this cactus with a gorgeous bloom.  It's not exactly the right time of year for it to be blooming but, it had two more buds that were going to pop out in the next day or two.  The cactus might be a little mixed up but, it was a pleasant sight nonetheless.

Christmas Lights

Thursday morning I joined fellow volunteers at the Torvrea Castle to change the lights to colorful Christmas light for the season.  Every year the white bulbs that line the outside of the castle are switched out for red, green, and blue lights for the holiday season.  We all donned Santa Clause hats and set about changing the lights on a cloudy, blustery morning.  I think I might be ready to tackle my own decorations at home now.

Hawk

I was at the Tovrea Castle most of the day yesterday working on the docent training program when someone in our group spotted this Cooper's Hawk sitting on top of the power pole and surveying the property.  He was patient enough to let me snap a few shots before he flew off toward the castle.  I like the effect of that thin cloud streaking the sky behind him.

Rain....finally

We finally had some rain on Friday night washing all the dust out of the air that had been stirred up by the winds earlier in the day.  It has been so dry here that when the winds kicked up on Friday afternoon, the air immediately filled with dust and dirt.
Saturday morning I spent a couple of hours going over the plans for tours of the Tovrea Castle (I've told you about Tovrea Castle here and here) and that's where I saw the castle reflection in the puddle of water.

Artistic Details

This is one of the art deco light fixtures on the ceiling of the living area inside Tovrea Castle.  Each light fixture and wall sconce is surrounded by delicate painted stenciling.

The photo to the left shows a broader view of the living area with the early morning sun streaming through the windows.

One Year Later

Last year around this time, I showed you some photos from Tovrea Castle, a historic landmark in Phoenix that the city owns but, because of budget woes, hasn’t been able to prepare for operation. (To see my photos and story from last year, click on June 2010 and scroll down to June 21st.)


Since that time, a very active citizens committee has been working diligently to prepare the castle for tours. Very early Saturday morning, I went out again to review how the tour is envisioned in preparation for obtaining docents and training them. I was able to snap a few more photos. This one shows the castle with a plane taking off from Sky Harbor International Airport just passing overhead.

Theme Day: Reflections

A mighty saguaro reflected in one of the doors to the Tovrea Castle.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Desert Fruit

The saguaros at the Tovrea Castle were laden with fruit and attracting the all kinds of birds. This one shows some of the fruit that has been broken revealing the bright, juicy goodness inside.

The small photo is of one of the art deco light fixtures that grace the patio that surrounds the castle.