The Garment District in Midtown Manhattan

25 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  8 minutes

'The Garment Worker' and information booth with 'Button and Needle' sculpture © Jim.henderson

‘The Garment Worker’ and information booth with ‘Button and Needle’ sculpture © Jim.henderson

The Garment District is a neighborhood located in the Midtown Manhattan. The dense concentration of fashion-related uses give the neighborhood—which is generally considered to lie between Fifth Avenue and Ninth Avenue, from 34th to 42nd Street—its name. The Garment District has been known since the early 20th century as the center for fashion manufacturing and fashion design. New York City is arguably the fashion capital of the United States and the entire world. The industry based there generates over $14 billion in annual sales, and sets design trends which are mirrored worldwide.   read more…

Theme Week Los Angeles

21 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  17 minutes

East Los Angeles Basin, seen from Mulholland © Lan56/cc-by-sa-3.0

East Los Angeles Basin, seen from Mulholland © Lan56/cc-by-sa-3.0

Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles, often known by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California and the second-most populous in the United States, after New York City, with a population of 3,9 million. It has a land area of 469 square miles (1,215 km2), and is located in Southern California. The city is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim metropolitan statistical area and Greater Los Angeles Area region, which contain 13 million and over 18 million people in Combined statistical area respectively as of 2010, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognized as the most diverse of the nation’s largest cities. The city’s inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos. Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984.   read more…

Theme Week New York City – National September 11 Memorial and Museum

14 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, New York City Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Cadiomals/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Cadiomals/cc-by-sa-3.0

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the principal memorial and museum, respectively, commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001 (which killed 2,977 people) and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993 (which killed six). The memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers (which were destroyed during the attacks). It is operated by a non-profit corporation, headed by Joe Daniels, whose mission is to raise funds for, program, own and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site.   read more…

LivingHomes Completes 3 Unit Ray Kappe-Designed Multi-Family Residence in Los Altos

13 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  4 minutes

Los Altos © LivingHomes

Los Altos © LivingHomes

Modular prefab builder LivingHomes just completed their latest project – a 3 unit multifamily residence in Los Altos, California. The homes, which were designed by Ray Kappe, AIA, should be the first LEED Platinum project in the area. LivingHomes builds steel and wood-framed prefab homes with a strong focus on healthy and low impact materials. Their latest project is Kappe’s first multi-family rental with 2 three bedroom homes and an affordable one bedroom unit.   read more…

Greenwich Village in Manhattan

11 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  10 minutes

Washington Square Park © Matthew Jesuele

Washington Square Park © Matthew Jesuele

Greenwich Village, often referred to by locals as simply “the Village”, is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in the city of New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families. Greenwich Village, however, was known in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries as an artists’ haven, the bohemian capital, the cradle of the modern LGBT movement (Stonewall Inn, Stonewall riots, Christopher Street, Christopher Street Day, BBC, 17 June 2019: Stonewall: A riot that changed millions of lives, The Guardian, 19 June 2019: The riot that changed America’s gay rights movement forever, France24, 23 June 2019: A look back at the Stonewall uprising, a milestone for gay rights, The New York Times, 27 June 2019: The Night the Stonewall Inn Became a Proud Shrine, The Washington Post, 28 June 2019: Thousands gather at Stonewall 50 years after LGBTQ uprising, France24, 1 July 2019: New York City gay pride parade one of largest in movement’s history, Christopher Street Day Parade), and the East Coast birthplace of both the Beat and ’60s counterculture movements. What provided the initial attractive character of the community eventually contributed to its gentrification and commercialization.   read more…

Homer in Alaska

4 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Derek and Julie Ramsey/cc-by-sa-2.5

© Derek and Julie Ramsey/cc-by-sa-2.5

Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in Alaska. According to the 2010 Census, the population is 5,003. Long known as The “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.” Homer is also nicknamed “the end of the road,” and more recently, “the cosmic hamlet by the sea.”   read more…

Charleston in South Carolina

28 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Old Slave Mart Museum © Benjamin Dahlhoff/cc-by-3.0

Old Slave Mart Museum © Benjamin Dahlhoff/cc-by-3.0

Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city in the State of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina’s coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, or, as is locally expressed, “where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean”. Founded in 1670 as Charles Towne in honor of King Charles II of England, Charleston adopted its present name in 1783. Known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture, distinguished restaurants, and mannerly people, Charleston has received a large number of accolades, including “America’s Most Friendly [City]” by Travel + Leisure in 2011 and in 2013 and 2014 by Condé Nast Traveler, and also “the most polite and hospitable city in America” by Southern Living magazine.   read more…

FLIP, the FLoating Instrument Platform

25 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

FLoating Instrument Platform seen from USNS Navajo © Military Sealift Command

FLoating Instrument Platform seen from USNS Navajo © Military Sealift Command

RP FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform) is an open ocean research vessel owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The ship is a 355 feet (108 meters) long vessel designed to partially flood and pitch backward 90 degrees, resulting in only the front 55 feet (17 meters) of the vessel pointing up out of the water, with bulkheads becoming decks. When flipped, most of the buoyancy for the platform is provided by water at depths below the influence of surface waves, hence FLIP is a stable platform mostly immune to wave action, like a spar buoy. At the end of a mission, compressed air is pumped into the ballast tanks in the flooded section and the vessel returns to its horizontal position so it can be towed to a new location. The ship is frequently mistaken for a capsized ocean transport ship.   read more…

SoHo in Lower Manhattan

14 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, New York City, Shopping Reading Time:  11 minutes

Broome Street © Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-3.0

Broome Street © Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-3.0

SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, which in recent history came to the public’s attention for being the location of many artists’ lofts and art galleries, but is now more noted for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store outlets. The area’s history is an archetypal example of inner-city regeneration and gentrification, encompassing socio-economic, cultural, political and architectural developments. The name “SoHo” refers to the area being “SOuth of HOuston (Street)”. This began a naming convention that became a model for the names of emerging and re-purposed neighborhoods in New York such as TriBeCa for “TRIangle BElow CAnal Street”, DUMBO (“Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”), NoHo (“NOrth of HOuston Street”), Nolita (“NOrth of Little ITAly”) and NoMad (“NOrth of MADison Square”), among others.   read more…

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