Blog Archives
Headquarters
I shot this on the same trip to Odessa where I took this and this. It’s not as dramatic as the other two shots, but I sure did like the way those letters cast a shadow onto the window blinds behind them. So impressed, in fact, that I stood in the middle of the street to get the picture. (That wasn’t as dangerous as it sounds: as it turns out, there is very little traffic in downtown Odessa on a Sunday afternoon. You might want to keep that in mind when planning your own trip there.)
Odessa, Texas
photographed 12.8.2013
Water Gardens
So, this place. The Fort Worth Water Gardens. It was designed in the 1970s by famed architect Philip Johnson, and is in a style called “brutalism.” From the looks of the place, I’d say “brutalism” involves lots and lots of exposed aggregate concrete.
The gardens have three separate water features – an active pool (which was the site of a tragic multiple drowning in 1984), an aeration pool, and a meditation pool. This picture was taken beside the meditation pool.
All three fountain areas are interesting to visit (though it was hard to put the memories of the drownings out of my head at the active pool) – they were designed to give visitors different experiences at each location. While I didn’t necessarily stop and meditate at the meditation pool, it was a very calm place to sit in the warm winter sun for a few minutes. Until I saw some other things to photograph….
Fort Worth, Texas
photographed 12.26.2013
Three barriers
These three skinny sentries keep (everyone hopes) cars from turning into the pedestrian walkway at this parking garage. I like how the concrete is discolored where people walk, and lighter where they don’t. And I like the way the posts lean slightly in different directions, as though they are getting tired of standing there.
Fort Worth, Texas
photographed 12.26.2013
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
