Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels) is a large Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles which finished construction in 2002. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I have been here for a variety of reasons including funerals, weddings, and general attendance. I have been able to view many of the religious artifacts and art which they have hosted over the years. I have an interesting memory of a time when I was walking around in the lower levels trying to find a bathroom and ended up walking into the crypt beneath the cathedral. I am not particularly fond of the modernist architecture of the exterior, but the interior of the building is beautiful making it one of my favorite religious places of worship which I have encountered.

Honestly, most of my experiences with this building have been negative, just because almost all of them involved my mom dragging me through the store with a mile-long grocery list. I’m actually a fan of the building itself- I like how the design kind of blends some aspects of traditional and contemporary architecture, giving the building an updated look without being too overly modern. I will say, however, that I wish the architect(s) had taken cell service into account when designing it. Without service, it makes it real difficult to call home when you can’t remember what you came there for. Plus, no one wants to spend an hour at the grocery store with no cell service. Overall, this building doesn’t mean much to me personally, besides that it’s just the grocery store I’ve spent the most time in.

I would like to make a post about a restaurant/market which I enjoy immensely. I love seafood and I love the San Pedro area of Los Angeles (generally speaking its the area I enjoy the most out of the entire state of California). The San Pedro Fish market has a long history dating back to its beginnings in the 1950s as a multi-generational fish market known for its smoked seafood. The building itself is not the most impressive construction and is in fact somewhat run down and the outdoor seating area is very old. Despite this, the place has a great ambience and the Hispanic community prevalent here makes the dining experience grand. It is a great experience to sit by the water in the port of Los Angeles while boats slowly pass by alongside a great community and is my favorite place to eat in San Pedro.

The One Charles Center was designed by Mies Van Der Rohe in 1962 in the state of Maryland. It is a 23 story skyscraper that was viewed as the first modernistic office building in downtown Baltimore. The introduction of international modernism was influential to the city of Baltimore to help continually spark the modern movement during the 60s in Baltimore. The tall skyscraper captures modern beauty with a unique “T” shape from the front showing a sense of creativity inside professionality. The use of space as seen in many of Mies Van Der Rohe’s buildings is evident in this one as well in the sense that the lobby is very spacious and open for congregation. The reinforced concrete and steel structure utilized the open space for retail and underground parking. Similar to many of Mies Van Der Rohe’s various designs, the One Charles Center continuously affirms the unique design style/influence that he held in the architecture world.

The Avila Adobe is the oldest residence in the City of Los Angeles originally built in 1818 and is located on Olvera Street (part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District). The plaza is the third location of “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles” which is the original Spanish settlement in the area. I first visited this residence when I was a young child accompanied by my parents. My father, an immigrant from Mexico, explained the similarities in the design of the building and how they are commonplace in rural areas of Mexico today. Everything that my father would speak of was reminiscent of a different time and his family. In a strange way, I have always felt a connection between myself and this building, as well as the subsequent times I have visited, and my Hispanic heritage. In conjunction with these feelings, I have always held significant interest in history and appreciate the building for the fact that the residence that stands as a symbol of a different time in Los Angeles.

As I was growing up, I went here all the time to watch the Dallas Mavericks and Stars play. This was one of the first buildings I came to admire and go quite often. I can remember going to games with my father and being ecstatic about seeing Dirk Nowitzki. This building represents my upbringing and brings back fond memories as a child. My encounter walking into this building is always very joyful, and I always feel at home in this building. It represents many memories I will never forget and many more to come.

Bridge Creek High School is a well thought out design in my opinion. The building was designed in such a way that when the school had outgrown its building it could later have easy add-ons. I am the type of person to try to always be thinking ahead and I felt the architect was thinking ahead on this design. All schools will grow at some point and this was a perfect design for it.

Gallogly Hall is significant because it is the engineering building that was built while I attended the University. I can remember back to when I was touring and it there was just a green space, to being roped off and all the way through construction. Even though I wasn’t involved in any way with the erection I feel connected to it. It is a modern and design with a central staircase and large open atrium similar to Devon Energy Hall.

This building speaks to me as the future for engineering and OU. Not only the design with large open lecture rooms where the professor is central and large lab spaces but also there’s new subject matter being taught. Gallogly Hall houses the Biomedical Engineering College which is the newest discipline. I’m glad to see the progress and can’t wait for what’s to come.

Dale Hall is a unique building to me. Many of my freshman level courses were in this building. There is nothing like taking a test in one of those small Dale Hall seats. I find the interior of Dale Hall to be designed very unique. The stairway right in the middle of the building when you first walk in is awesome. I spent many hours in classes in this building.