The News Crew

I took this shot on election night 2014 while I was waiting for the results of the Governor's race.  This is a team of reporters from my favorite radio station KJZZ, our local National Public Radio station.  They were there along with representatives from all the local news stations and papers.  Pretty soon there will be another one of these election night events somewhere in downtown Phoenix.

All About the Architecture

I posted a photo of this building way back in 2009 but I think it's due for an update.  This is Banner Good Samaritan Hospital.  It's a very striking building that certainly draws your attention.  It was designed by Bertrand Goldberg, the same guy who designed the famous Marina Towers in Chicago.

Mayhem

Doesn't this wheel look menacing?

At least that's what I thought when I pulled up in a parking spot behind this Jeep and that wheel was hanging on the back.  I see the brand of the wheel is "Mayhem".  That seems appropriate.  

Adapting to the Surroundings

I saw this tree sort of wedged into the corner of this building and marveled over how nature just takes its own path when obstacles are put in its way.

It seems to have found a way to thrive in this cramped corner.

Discovery

I pass by this church occasionally and finally one day I stopped to get a photograph.  Since that time I've been trying to find out what church it is before I posted a photo of it.  Right before I left on my trip, I drove by there and stopped to look for a sign and there wasn't one which I found even more curious.  So after searching all kinds of references on Encyclopedia Google, I finally found the story behind this building and wow, what a story it is.

It so happens that this church was once the home of an internationally known evangelist named Neal Frisby and it was called Capstone Cathedral.  I stumbled across a lengthy article about the man who passed away in 2005 and how he gave his entire fortune and properties to a former wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers instead of to his children.  If you enjoy a good read, you might want to check out this article.  It is a fascinating story.

Sadly, the building is showing a need for some TLC.  Apparently, the Frisby home that was next door to this church at one time was torn down.

Robert Brooks, the man who got all of Frisby's money and property still owns this building.  He became a minister and was preaching from here but, I can't tell if that is still happening.  It really looks like the building sits empty all of the time.

Basement Bicycle

The basement at Blanco Tacos & Tequila at Biltmore Fashion Park is where you will find the restrooms and the meeting and party rooms.  Also found down there is this bicycle parked in a corner.  The first time I ventured down there I thought maybe it was an employee's bike and they had parked it there for safekeeping.  But it appears that it's just part of the decor.  It sure is a nifty bike.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  The subject is an ancient arena that is still in use today.

Theme Day: Abandoned

This old building was once part of a trading post back in the 1930's.  It has long since been abandoned but, at least the City of Phoenix has put it on the Historic Register so that what is left will be preserved.  Today is the first of the month so that means it's theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers.  This month's theme is "abandoned".  If you would like to see how bloggers around the world have depicted the theme, click here.

Calico Prickly Pear

Back in June of 2014, I visited the Four Seasons Resort in the far northern reaches of Scottsdale.  It is a beautiful southwestern style resort.  I posted a few photos from there a while back.

I didn't post this photo of a calico prickly pear located in the lobby of the resort.

It was located up against a window so it was difficult to photograph the whole thing.  It was made of a mosaic of glass pieces.

When I went outside the resort I found a real prickly pear that looked pretty good up against the stucco walls of the resort.

Sunrise on the Lagoon

I don't live near Encanto Park any longer but, when I did I used to race over there whenever I saw an interesting sunrise or sunset happening.  It was a great place to catch both events.  I took this photo back in December of 2008 at sunrise and the cool air and warm water created a bit of a fog over the lagoon.

Paper Kite

I haven't been out to the Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale for a couple of years now.  It might be time for another visit.  I took this photo in March of 2014 of a paper kite butterfly enjoying the flavors of these tiny white flowers.

Mostly White

In June of last year, I posted this photo in Flickr for a macro group called "Macro Mondays".  You post a theme based macro photo every Monday.  I've enjoyed the challenge of creating a macro photo based on the chosen theme for the week.  For this particular week, the theme was "Mostly White" and I entered this photo.  I like the photo so much, I had it printed on canvas at 16 x 20.  It turned out beautifully.

A Hawaiian Luau

Last March, I volunteered to take photos for a fund-raising event for an organization that my friend Janet belongs to. The theme of the party was Hawaiian Luau.

This young lady was demonstrating the steps to a traditional hula dance.

And, then she attempted to teach some of the ladies at the party how to do the hula along with her.

I'd say everyone had a great time.

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.

The Cool-Down

I've featured photos from "Arizona Falls" park in Phoenix before on this site.  What I hadn't mentioned is that there is a running and cycling track that runs along he canal and right past this park.  Whenever I stop there I always see runners, walkers and cyclists using the track.  On this day back in April of 2015 I saw these two runners who found the perfect place to cool down after their run.

They just let the cool breeze off of the splashing water to cool themselves off.

A Book Event

In January of 2015, I took photos of a book launch event for a friend.  The book was called "Laid Open - 21 Men" and it consisted of interviews with 21 men known to the author Rea Bennett.  My close friend David was one of the men in the book.  This is David greeting guests at the event.

And, here is David next to his photograph that was used in the book along with some of the dialog from the book.  The portrait was taken by Troy Aossey who took all of the photos for the book.  He did an amazing job with David's portrait.  It really looks fantastic.

The Founder of Scottsdale

The Winfield Scott Memorial is located on the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall area right next to the spiral stairway lookout.  It was commissioned through the Scottsdale Public Art program to honor the couple, Winfield and Helen Scott, the founders of Scottsdale Arizona.

Apparently, the sculpture was based on an old photograph with Scott standing next to "Old Maude" while his wife is seated side-saddle.

The artist is listed as George-Anne Tognoni.

I took this photo back in February of 2013.

The Friendly Skies

At least I hope they are going to be friendly!

Later today I'll be heading off on another adventure and losing about 8 hours along the way.  I'll be gone for two weeks but as I always do, I've posted ahead so that I won't miss a day.  I tried to think of a theme for while I was away and finally decided that I would scour my archives for photos I've never posted and see what I come up with.  So I have a rich assortment on a variety of subjects.  Enjoy!

Yoga??

This little guy looks like he's doing a yoga exercise.

Actually, he was getting a drink from this fountain but as I snapped the shutter he got himself into this strange position.  When I downloaded the photo, I had to laugh.  

Sculpture Exhibit

Last Thursday evening I attended the opening for a sculpture art exhibit at the Shemer Art Center.  My good friend and fellow "Art Challenge" member had two sculptures in the exhibit.

That's Tim Keneipp with one of his sculptures titled "Frank: an homage Taliesin"

It does have a sort of Frank Lloyd Wright look to it, doesn't it?

I had Tim pose with his wife Rita King next the the other piece that he had in the show.  This one is called "Chaos I".

The show drew an impressive crowd for such a small gallery.  I was pleased to see so many people turn out for this great exhibit.

One other piece that I admired was this one called "Trinity" by artist Robbie O'Carroll.

I have a few more from this show that I liked but, I'll save those for a future post.

Congratulations Tim for being selected for this show!  All of us in the Art Challenge Group are very proud of your accomplishment.

Houses with Turrets

I found a neighborhood of new homes, some complete and some still under construction where all the houses had these round turret-like features.

Some of them where all brick like the one in the first picture and some were stucco covered like above.  Every single house here had one of these rounded features.

I must say, it makes for an interesting neighborhood of homes.

It's going to be a gated community although the gates were open when I was there.  Even the gatehouse is a rounded building that almost has a menacing look to it.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a truly ancient church in London.

An Unidentified Sculpture

When I was driving around in the south Phoenix industrial/business park area, I came across a sculpture that literally stopped my in my tracks.  For one thing, it's huge!  For another it's amazing.  The sad part is, I can't find any information on it.

I went into a couple of businesses near by hoping someone would know something about it but no luck.  

I did an exhaustive search on the internet typing all sorts of combinations of descriptions, no luck.

I even tried the City of Phoenix public arts list with no luck

If you happen to be a local reader and you know something about this sculpture please leave a comment or email me.  I'd love to know who to give credit for this fantastic piece.  It's located on University Drive and Elwood which is around 32nd street.  It is an amazing sight to see in person.

P.S.  One of my readers found the info on this sculpture.  It's called "Tryst Marker" by Fred Borcherdt who is based in Tucson.  It's made of steel and is administered by the Southbank Property Owners Association!  Thanks Jim!

Eye Catching Red Trim

While I was exploring the industrial parks that have filled in on the south side of the Salt River bed, I crossed back into Phoenix and found a few more new places.  This one with the red trim stood out.  There was no sign out front to identify an owner or tenant so I drove up toward the door and the only sign was for the property management company JLL.  I looked them up but they appear to be a huge company with properties all over the country so finding this one wasn't in the cards.

It is a very striking building but I have no idea who works there.

Flaming Sculpture

When I was in Tempe a week ago, I drove around a new commercial/industrial area with lots of business complexes.  One of them had this gorgeous sculpture out front.

The place is called the Liberty Center at Rio Salado and it was an attractive complex made even nicer with these artistic touches.

I enjoyed snapping some photos of this sculpture made of metal and filled with colorful broken glass.

The New Dam

Today's post isn't as sexy as yesterday's post but, here is the new dam on the Tempe Town Lake that I mentioned in yesterday's post.  A few years ago I posted a photo of the original dam which was an inflatable rubber bladder.  That old dam proved to be no match for the wicked Arizona sun and at one time the lake had to be drained because the dam broke.  So recently this new and improved dam was put up using much stronger materials that won't whither away as the sun beats down on them.

This new dam looks like it will do the job nicely.

What a Surprise

Weekend before last, I got in my car and headed out to find something interesting to photograph.  I actually had been thinking that it was getting harder and harder to find something interesting and new for the blog.  So, I started to drive and found myself in Tempe and decided to park at the Tempe Center for the Arts on the Tempe Town Lake and get some photos of the new dam they recently installed.  So, I snapped a few photos of the dam and then wandered over toward the center and when I rounded I corner I came upon this scene of four ladies posing for photos in their sparkly swimwear.  I use the term swimwear loosely, because I'm quite certain these sequin studded pieces of fabric have never been exposed to swimming pool water.

After snapping a few photos of my own, I went inside the center and based on the vendors I saw, I figure there must have been some kind of fitness contest going on.  There were quite a few vendors selling fitness clothing.

And here I was feeling like there isn't anything interesting to photograph anymore.  Silly me!