My friend and I spent a few hours walking around the UC Berkeley campus, and burt off a butt load of calories as this is a very highly campus. And a gorgeous one at that. It contains several historic buildings, as well as some extremely well done newer buildings.
One of the beautiful historical buildings on campus, off the main drive.
This one is the old library on campus. I found it amusing that there was no walk leading up to the grand staircase. (The entrance had actually been moved).
Historical Clock Tower. I think all cities should have some sort of icon like this.
This is the new business college building. I found it to be delightful. This is a huge building overall, but it was designed to resemble a series of buildings, complete with a village square. I also liked how they brought a lot of the craftsman style detailing indicative of the area into the building. They also pulled a lot of classic detailing such as the arches into the building. Very well done.
Part of the central ‘Village Courtyard’. Did I mention this campus is hilly?
One of the things that really impressed me, among many, was the architectural detailing. The ‘lap’ siding, the window trim, the board and batten, the corbels, and all of it 100% concrete. Talk about fire proof, and it won’t rot either.
A couple months ago, I visited a friend of mine in Oakland, CA. This trip was a bit different from other visits I have made to metropolitan areas. Usually I stay in a hotel, and visit the touristy spots and roam around in a rental car usually looking specific neighborhoods or development projects. This time, I stayed with my friend and did all of our touring using public transportation, or our own feet to get around. One day, we walked around a significant portion of Berkeley, visiting the campus, The Berkeley Rose Garden, and neighborhoods in between. I will have to admit, while I have been to the bay area several times over the years, I have never spent any real time in Oakland or Berkeley. Of course, I have heard all the rumors about how Oakland is rough and tumble, the gangs, the high crime rate, etc. I admit, from the places I have lived, I have been pretty sheltered, not really exposed to a wide range of diversity of ethnicities or lifestyles. Oakland and Berkeley are very diverse cities, having huge variety of ethnic populations. Touring the UC Berkeley campus I quickly figured out that being a white male, I was a distinct minority. Not that this bothered me at all mind you, it just opened my eyes some more. One thing that I did really appreciate though, was the overall tolerance and acceptance of not only the diversity, but for different lifestyles. I saw openly gay and lesbian couples roaming around, mixed race couples, and about everything else too. I found it all to be refreshing and enjoyable. In my opinion all communities should be this way.
Oakland and Berkeley both have a significant population of older working class homes, of all vintages. Oakland also has one of the oldest and strongest historic preservation programs in the country. Over the coming days, I will be posting several pics and descriptions of what I saw, both old and new. These posts will be organized by subject, so it will be easier to find images.
When I am out and about, shooting pictures of people, places, and things, I am usually focused on the bigger picture, looking at entire objects in the context in which they exist. Recently, our friends Bobbi and Craig visited for Thanksgiving, and we took her to our property, that we are working on developing, named Midori. This is a five acre piece of land that we proposing on developing into 10 homesites, and converting the existing 104 year old farmhouse into our office. This property most recently was a horse boarding facility for a number of years. Anyway, I see the overall buildings, the trees, and the potential. I also see all the stuff that was left behind and is laying around. To me, this is mostly stuff that clutters up the place, and that I need to picked up and cleaned up. Well, Bobbi came along and took a bunch of pictures that she posted to her blog, Bobbi’s Art. She makes all that stuff laying around look cool! Check our her blog for the pictures.
Tonight I attending a mini reunion of my high school alum. I call it a mini-reunion since it wasn’t official, but was organized by a few people, and made easier by Facebook these days. Anyway, I would say around 30-40 people showed up. Several were people that I had totally forgotten about, but it was nice to reconnect. Of course, I wasn’t born with the gift of gab and I was hardly popular in High School. Nevertheless, I do have fond memories of High School and generally enjoyed it. It was funny to note though, that most of the guys I still recognized, and they hadn’t changed all that much. Sure, some had grayed out, some had lost hair (me included), but mostly were still recognizable. Now the woman on the other hand, most I didn’t remember or recognize at all. Then again, most of them didn’t pay any attention to me in High School, so why would I remember them. The people I did hang out with though, I have long since lost contact with, and of course, they didn’t attend. All in all, it wasn’t bad, and I will probably attend future events and work on connecting more. Now if only I had born with that gift of gab…
This summer I had the pleasure of being able to tour South Main in Buena Vista, Colorado. I have heard about this community through various news articles and publications, and I have visited the web site many times. I was not prepared though, for how wonderful and beautiful this neighborhood has become! First it was a little hard to find. I had a vague idea of where it was in Buena Vista, but there were no real estate signs directing you to it. However, you could see it from the main highway through town. Fittingly, you drive down Main Street in Buena Vista to get to South Main. This community is only just beginning, but already you can get a feel for what this community will become. The homes range from fairly modest, to large custom homes, but they all exhibit an attention to detail, and fine craftsmanship that insures these homes will be around for generations to come. Mixed in with the homes, are some scattered mixed use and commercial buildings. It is obvious that this is only the beginning of the commercial core, but what is there embodies the best of commercial architecture. Instead of massive look-alike buildings, or even large buildings that are designed to look like they were built over time, these buildings actually are individual, and will truly be built over time, giving them some real character and individualism. Even the streets have character. There is one street that is built of river cobble, presumably from the river that is adjacent to the site.
As unique as this community is, the story behind it is every bit as unique. The community came to being behind the vision and drive of the sister brother team of Jed Selby and Katie Urban. Neither one had developed a community before, much less having really been involved in real estate. Being life long residents of Buena Vista, and avid kayakers on the Arkansas River, they learned that this 41 acre site was being proposed for development, and would likely cut the river off from the town. Instead, they parlayed a family investment into the ability to purchase the property, vision a community based on sound design principles, and that keeps the river open for the enjoyment of all residents.
While I have enjoyed touring many wonderful New Urbanism communities, this one is a diamond in the rough. It is being masterfully crafted and carried out. My hats go off to Jed and Katie. I only hope that my own development projects turn out as well done as this one it.
This is the new business college building. I found it to be delightful. This is a huge building overall, but it was designed to resemble a series of buildings, complete with a village square. I also liked how they brought a lot of the craftsman style detailing indicative of the area into the building. They also pulled a lot of classic detailing such as the arches into the building. Very well done.
