Category Archives: architecture
Church window
You might have known I couldn’t get too far into the new year before I posted a picture of Marfa. After all, in 2013, I posted more pictures from Marfa than I did from the city where I live.
This window is on the east side of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The building dates from 1929, when it was relocated to make way for the Paisano Hotel. The church’s veneer is river rock, but the church website doesn’t explain where, exactly, how this many river rocks were moved to the desert, or why the architect selected them as a building material in the first place.
Marfa, Texas
photographed 9.5.2009
Trapezoid sky
Probably anyone who has heard of San Antonio has heard about the Riverwalk; originally designed as a flood control system for the San Antonio River where it goes through downtown, it has become a big tourist attraction, with plenty of bars and restaurants lining the banks.
Lately, the River Walk has been extended to the north; this part is called the Museum Reach and it has completely different character than what the Riverwalk is famous far. It’s quieter, and there aren’t as many bars and restaurants. At the far end of the Museum Reach, is the redeveloping Pearl Brewery.
You can see this building from the Museum Reach; I believe it is still a part of the Pearl Brewery operations.
Also, if you want to walk toward downtown from the Museum Reach and start to get a little thirsty, look for the stairs up to the street at Lexington Avenue. Then when you’re at street level, head over to the bar at the Havana Hotel. It’s a fine place to have a beverage, or several, before you continue onward.
San Antonio, Texas
photographed 11.26.2011
PS – The Havana Hotel is a great place to spend the night. It’s part of a group of hotels run by Liz Lambert, whose design sensibilities and touch of whimsy make for very interesting lodging.
PS, part 2
One of my regular commenters, over at LensScaper, wondered what this would look like if it were cropped in portrait format, so here you go:
For reference, here’s the original shot:
At the theater
The sign alone would have been worth a photograph. Add in the shadow…and I had to stop.
Turns out that the sign, for the Scott Theater (which opened in 1959), was a revolving marquee fashioned after signs at the New York World’s Fair. The sign weighed 5 tons, and was said to have cost $35,000. It was also said to be able to withstand winds of 130 miles per hour. Mr. Bill Martin, whose company designed and built the sign, said it was “the ultimate design for the future of all marquees.”
The theater closed in the late 1980s. And the sign hasn’t blow down yet.
Odessa, Texas
photographed 12.8.2013
Indoor plants
It’s just never a good sign when weeds are growing up through cracks in the concrete floor on the INSIDE of a building.
The back of this building is completely gone, and the front may as well be. But there’s a metal structure covering (what’s left of) the building. Someone thinks it’s worth saving, and I wish them all the luck. In the meantime, though, those weeds just keep on sprouting.
Colorado City, Texas
photographed 3.13.2013
One Day | One Image 