Theme Week Puerto Rico – Culebra Island

25 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Dewey © Steven595/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dewey © Steven595/cc-by-sa-4.0

Isla Culebra (Snake Island) is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) east of the Puerto Rican mainland, 12 miles (19 km) west of St. Thomas and 9 miles (14 km) north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 barrios and Culebra Pueblo (Dewey), the main town and the administrative center of the island. Residents of the island are known as culebrenses. With a population of 1,792 as of the 2020 Census, it is Puerto Rico’s least populous municipality.   read more…

Portrait: Raymond Loewy, a French-born American industrial designer

25 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Design & Products, Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner © Tysto

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner © Tysto

Raymond Loewy was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by Time magazine and featured on its cover on October 31, 1949.   read more…

Theme Week Puerto Rico – Vieques Island

24 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Shoreline at Esperanza © Rar285/cc-by-sa-3.0

Shoreline at Esperanza © Rar285/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vieques, officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and retains strong influences from 400 years of Spanish presence in the island.   read more…

Theme Week Puerto Rico

23 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Old San Juan with the Luquillo Mountain Range in the background © U.S. National Park Service

Old San Juan with the Luquillo Mountain Range in the background © U.S. National Park Service

Puerto Rico (Spanish for rich port), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated territory of the United States with official Commonwealth status. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. It has roughly 3.2 million residents, and its capital and most populous city is San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates.   read more…

Embassy of the United States in London

3 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, London Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Curran2/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Curran2/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. It is located in Nine Elms and is the largest American embassy in Western Europe and the focal point for events relating to the United States held in the United Kingdom. From an architectural point of view, the embassy is interesting because, among other things, aspects of medieval castle building came into play here, including a moat. Ground was broken on 13 November 2013, and the building opened to the public on 13 December 2017.   read more…

Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Paradise

2 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture Reading Time:  8 minutes

The Sphere imitating the Moon © flickr.com - Cory Doctorow/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Sphere imitating the Moon © flickr.com – Cory Doctorow/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Sphere at the Venetian Resort, previously referred to as MSG Sphere, is a spherical music and entertainment arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States, near the Las Vegas Strip and east of the Venetian resort. Designed by Populous, the project was announced by the Madison Square Garden Company in 2018. The 18,600-seat auditorium is being marketed for its immersive video and audio capabilities, which include a 16K resolution wraparound interior LED screen, speakers with beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies, and 4D physical effects. The venue’s exterior also features 580,000 sq ft (54,000 m²) of LED displays. The Sphere measures 366 feet (112 m) high and 516 feet (157 m) wide at its broadest point.   read more…

Santa Maria in California

1 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Santa Maria–style barbecue made with pink beans © flickr.com - Eugene Kim/cc-by-2.0

Santa Maria–style barbecue made with pink beans © flickr.com – Eugene Kim/cc-by-2.0

Santa Maria (Spanish for “St. Mary“) is a city in the Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County. It is approximately 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Santa Barbara and 150 miles (240 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 109,707 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the county and the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metro Area. The city is notable for its wine industry and Santa Maria-style barbecue.   read more…

Omaha Union Station

23 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Robertmoo40

© Robertmoo40

The Union Station, at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is “one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest“. Designated an Omaha Landmark in 1978, it was listed as “Union Passenger Terminal” on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. The Union Station is also a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District. It was the Union Pacific’s first Art Deco railroad station, and the completion of the terminal “firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest”.   read more…

Novato in the North Bay Area

11 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  6 minutes

Spanish Colonial Revival homes at Hamilton Army Airfield © Terrygraham415/cc-by-sa-4.0

Spanish Colonial Revival homes at Hamilton Army Airfield © Terrygraham415/cc-by-sa-4.0

Novato is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok villages: Chokecherry, near downtown Novato; Puyuku, near Ignacio; and Olómpali, at the present-day Olompali State Historic Park.   read more…

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