When I lived in San Fransisco, the first place I wanted to go was the Golden Gate bridge. The structure is absolutely huge up close. It is synonymous with the city and provides a link from San Francisco, California to Marin County. It is a suspension bridge that was revolutionary for its ability to sustain earthquakes, which bridges like the Bay Bridge could not. Until 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,300 m). It now has the second-longest main span in the United States.

These are houses are known as the “Painted ladies”. They were part of the 48,000 Victorian and Edwardian style houses built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915. Many were painted in bright colors, such as red, yellow, chocolate, orange, and blue. They stand to represent the culture of its time. The majority were destroyed in an earthquake in 1906, these on Nob Hill still stand.

My family and I lived in these type of condos during our stint in San Francisco. Not only did It feel like I was continuing a part of history, but it’s practicality made sense in the city. Instead of building out, the condos are instead built upwards to conserve space. It is plenty spacious for a family, and I believe a tactic that we as a society should utilize to better conserve the environment around us. The street also incorporates nature to make the resident feel a sense of the outdoors.

In December 2017, I went to Thailand to reunite with my family after over 42 years. I was born in Bangkok, Thailand and left when I was 2 years old. I reunited with my mother about 15 years ago but didn’t get to see her until 4 years ago. This trip alone was very sentimental to me because of the reunion. I visited the Royal Palace in Bangkok on my last day. I visited many temples during my visit in Thailand and they were all beautiful and full of details. It s sacred ground so you have to take off your shoes before entering them. This building stood out to me because of the details and the beautiful jade Buddha (Jade is one of my favorite stone). It is the most important Buddhist temple and located in the historic center of Bangkok in the Royal Palace. The Buddha was carved out of a single block of jade. When you go inside of the temple, the tourists were not allowed to go past a certain point. Only Thai residents were allowed to get close, touch it and praise it. It was dark but yet you could see everything because of the shimmers of the gold and the jade Buddha was lit up. I don’t go to church but I do believe in a higher authority. I started learning about Buddhism about 10 years and my visit to Thailand confirmed my interest.

Sharon Hannah

I transferred to OU my sophomore year in search of connections and life-long friendships. I went through formal recruitment not sure what to expect, but ended up in Kappa Alpha Theta. I have met people that will be in my life forever, I am sure. The house we have is truly so beautiful. It is a white brick house surrounded by greenery and flowers. I lived in Theta this last year and fell even more in love with the building. I grew so much there, have many positive memories and truly discovered who I am while living in. I love sitting out on the back patio for dinner, learning about the building founders and first residents. It was built in 1909, and was the first greek letter sorority on campus. It is so cool to have lived in the same building these women who changed history also lived in.

In the Summer of 2017, I got the chance to travel to Italy for a month with my family. There are many, many building I could talk about, but one building stuck out to me. The Baptistry inside the Piazza del Duomo located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, was really breathtaking. Here in America, most of our buildings are pretty simple, lacking intricate detail. This structure has many colors, different types of stone and marble and even statues embedded in the sides. What really struck me and made me emotional was the dome ceiling. Although we couldn’t tale photos inside, I will always remember the murals on the ceiling and how people could stand in the middle and sing and it was so beautiful. It is Romanesque style and is the largest in Italy. This building is actually designed to mimic the sounds an organ makes, and people consider it a true icon.

Source: https://www.emis.de//journals/NNJ/Guardian.html

The Roman Coliseum

In 2010, I got the chance to visit Rome, Italy. It was astonishing how much history this city has. The hundreds of monumental buildings, the roads, the museums, and fountains found there is awe-inspiring. The most interesting and by far my favorite was the Roman cesium. What I learned and really had no clue about was the fact that the center of the coliseum was not an empty filed but was a complex labyrinth of structures and walls. What I learned was that there was a floor above the maze-like structures where the animals and people were raised to the top to be revealed to the spectators. I really enjoyed looking at the stones that made up the structure. It’s pretty amazing what humans can build without cranes and heavy equipment. 

Caleb Griffith.

In September 1921, a disastrous flood along the San Antonio River took 51 lives, with an additional 23 people reported missing. Plans were then developed for flood control of the river. Among the plans was to build an upstream dam and bypass a prominent bend of the river in the Downtown area, then to pave over the bend, and create a storm sewer.

Architect Robert Hugman submitted his plans for what would become the River Walk. He introduced the “San Antonio River Beautification Project”, which began the evolution of the site into the present 2.5-mile-long (4 km) River Walk. Hugman endorsed the bypass channel idea but, instead of paving over the bend, Hugman suggested a flood gate at the northern (upstream) end of the bend; a small dam at the southern (downstream) end of the bend; and a tainter gate in the channel to regulate the flow of water. The bend would then be surrounded by commercial development; like shops, bars, and restaurants.

This is a really beautiful place to go in Texas, especially at night. I went for my birthday one year and we stayed at a hotel on the Riverwalk and it gave off a real sense of community. Architecturally, it has classic, historical buildings combined with modern shops and resturants; the nature interceding gives it a lively feeling as well. All of the colors that the lights, umbrellas, and trees reflect off the water makes the look fantastic; it is a place people aspire to go. The riverwalk not only solved a major issue in the city’s relocation of water, but also in celebrating the city’s large Spanish heritage in Texas.

Alright, now we have one named after him. Gallier Hall is a City hall in New Orleans. It still gets used for event too.

It’s Greek style. Marble. Columns. It has steps going up the front and a nice carving over the entrance. It also has two stories with several windows set in around it. Quite noble to look at. I like the horizontal striping at the bottom too.

(2016, Jan, 13). Historic Gallier Hall. nola.gov [online]. Available: https://nola.gov/gallier-hall/

Jessica Liszewski

Blog Post #4

My grandmother lives a couple miles away from Taliesin West in Scottsdale. When we go visit her frequently throughout the year, my dad and I love to go on evening hikes to see it. Its become a tradition for us to get our exercise in and get to see the famous building that’s been standing for almost 100 years. My favorite part about this building is that it is nestled into the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. I think it adds on to the beauty of the building because it emphasizes the beauty of nature in the desert areas of the country. I love that it has a modern design with stone and hints of red reminding you it is in the middle of the desert.

Frank Lloyd Wright built Taliesin West in 1937 when he moved to Arizona to escape the harsh winters of Wisconsin. He also used this land to open a school of architecture. After he died in 1959 it was adopted to be the national headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and it also offers tours to the public

Source: https://franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/

Jessica Liszewski

Blog Post 3

Before going into college, I attended a Pre-Medical camp that was housed by Rice University. The moment I stepped on to campus I was just in awe of the detail that went in to every building on the campus. I loved that they were all very similar and uniform with very specific landscaping. Although the buildings, dorms, and lecture halls seemed to be pretty old, they all had so much character that gave you a sense of being at home.

Rice University is located in a heavily wooded 290 acre spot of land in the Museum District of Houston. It was founded in 1912 by Edgar Odell Lovett. When he first visited in 1907, he expressed a strong need for a large campus with uniform architecture. The school was developed in a Mediterranean Revival style with light brick facades, quadrangles, archways, and decorative columns.

Source: Boles, John B. (2000). Edgar Odell Lovett and the Creation of Rice University. Houston: Rice Historical Society.