There Used To Be A Ballpark Right Here

And there used to be a ballpark
Where the field was warm and green
And the people played their crazy game
With a joy I’d never seen.
And the air was such a wonder
From the hot dogs and the beer
Yes, there used a ballpark, right here.

Born from the design table of Gary Allen at Frank L. Hope and Associates, San Diego Stadium opened in August of 1967. Gary Allen came there with experience working under the renown architect Philip Johnson. To the architects of the mid century modern era, designing stadiums as multi function venues made sense. Combining football and baseball use in one facility was a strong selling point in San Diego for the 1965 stadium bond measure. Although no opposing arguments appeared on the ballot, I well remember hearing the debate. “The teams can’t fill stadiums they have already, why should we build them a new one?”

Of all the 1960’s multi use stadiums, San Diego Stadium stands alone architecturally. It opted for a pure, simple yet bold look achieved in poured concrete. Other stadiums of the period did not show nearly the same level of aesthetic consideration. It should be noted the American Institute of Architects Honor award in 1969 was given to San Diego Stadium for outstanding design. This was the first time ever a San Diego structure received an A.I.A national honor award.

The concrete work here is superb. The grandstand is cradled by the ribs of a colonnade that rise to support light fixtures.

The simplicity perhaps disguises the thought put into this. The slanted colonnade, and top sloping of the elevator column gives a touch of elegance.

It seems the strong smooth gray concrete forms were meant to have an undecorated raw beauty. Extremely bold accent colors in the concourse served as spice and contrast.

It was after all the 1960’s. From London’s Carnaby Street to the Sunset Strip, art, fashion and architecture reapproached uses of color. The smooth poured concrete surfaces find texture relief in the concourse areas with colored square blocks.

A nearly op art looking fence obscures generators and compressors.

Through the years decision makers grew dissatisfied with the bare gray concrete. More and more of the stadium was coated in Chargers blue paint.

The stadium was originally open with a view at the east end. From the grandstands it was most pleasant viewing east mission valley, the mountains, freeway lights and the periodic moon rise. A breeze was mostly gentle and pleasant–although it could be chilly and swirly at times. I remember attending a baseball game that saw a “dust devil” kick up. It whirled and swirled around the grandstand collecting trash and debris before moving onto the baseball diamond. It was a tornado of trash that seemed to purposely pursue one umpire. The players and fans laughed hysterically as the umpire threw up his hands to stop the game and try to escape the determined twister. Finally when it died out and all the trash landed, a crew ran on the field and picked up the mess. A Jack In The Box hamburger wrapper clung to the umpire’s rear quarters for two innings more before another umpire peeled it off to laughter and ovation of the crowd.
The stadium as it looks today is much different than in these photos. The original accent color scheme is gone. The open east end is now enclosed with grandstands. A whole list of problems developed with plumbing, water, toilets, sewer and electrical systems designed to serve 50,000 people having to serve over 70,000. The Chargers are dissatisfied with the size of the press corps facilities, the number of high value luxury suites, the size of the locker rooms and trainer’s facilities, and many other issues.

But it is hard to see losing this fine example of a public mid century modern work as justified for the reasons mentioned. Existing trends, however, do not favor the stadium’s future. Steinbrenner’s NY Yankees, tor example, are intent on abandoning hallowed grounds–“The House That Ruth Built.” Extremely wealthy franchise owners have an expectation for municipalities to ask “how high?” when they say “jump.” It is fair to examine how the pouring of over $60 million dollars into renovations of San Diego Stadium in 1997 failed to satisfy the NFL and team owners. The drumbeat for a new facility has been ongoing for years now. That $60 million dollars doesn’t seem to have bought the taxpayers and sports fans much time on the calendar. The facility is only 40 years old. And only 10 years removed from massive remodeling.

It certainly seems San Diego Stadium–aka Jack Murphy, Qualcomm Stadium–is nearing an end. If this venue is lost someone will surely play the old Frank Sinatra song, There Used To Be A Ballpark Right Here.

PCH: Roadside Stops and Detours

The invasion began in 1962. Through the mid 1960’s until 1974 many areas of the U.S.A became the land of giants. Enormous fiberglass men, some twenty feet tall, stood over muffler shops, miniature golf courses, tire stores, and other venues. This population explosion of big men occurred because businesses with them became hugely successful immediately after installation. Back in the 1960’s you could order one for as little as $1,800. With added features and accessories–maybe a hamburger, golf club, or lumberjack ax, and other ad-ons including various garments, hats or facial hair–the price could be as much as $2,800. The basic big man ordered in quantity by a franchise chain could be purchased for a mere $1,000 a unit.

There was a female version produced as well. She was rendered with features resembling Jackie Kennedy. The tall figure had a removable dress and wore a bikini bathing suit underneath.

The giant in the above photo was called Malibu Man. He was a hamburger chef towering over a burger joint on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu. Steve Dashew the entrepreneur behind these big men took special satisfaction with this particular model. It was coincidentally built next to where his ex girlfriend lived. “I thought she’d appreciate the remembrance.”

The figure still stands, but perhaps in a most revealing sign of the times, he is now called Salsa Man. He sports a mustache, wears a sombrero, and has a serape over his shoulder. The hamburger has been replaced by a tray of Mexican food. [1]

This is a detailed replica of Villa dei Papiri, a Roman villa in the town of Herculaneum, which was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Much of the ancient sight was visible only by camera inserted through shafts drilled in the solidified volcanic flow. The man that could afford such a venture was J. Paul Getty. His Museum overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, just off of PCH.

The gardens, the beauty of the architecture, the gorgeous bluff overlooking the Pacific makes the J. Paul Getty Museum (Now simply called The Villa) a soul soothing place on earth. It reopened in February of 2006 after nearly 12 years and $275 million dollars of remodeling. The museum previously housed both ancient and modern art. Then a second Getty Museum was built in Brentwood to house the modern collection. The Malibu museum closed to reconfigure for the ancient collection and to install teaching/educational facilities.

The original version of the museum was completed in 1974. Getty was living in England at the time and died before he could make the trip back to view his creation. The sorting out of his estate took until 1982 when the J. Paul Getty Museum became the world’s most richly endowed exhibition. Getty bequest 1.2 billion dollars for his art house. [2]

Another monument achieved by extreme wealth is Hearst Castle. This is the magnificent Neptune swimming pool, an architectural masterpiece surrounded by fourth-century Roman columns, Italian bas-reliefs, and contemporary statues from Paris.

The pool is lined with marble quarried in Vermont. The pool was enlarged twice after the original was completed in 1924. The pool as it is today was completed in 1936. As big as it appears, it is some 60 feet shorter than an Olympic size pool.

Hearst Castle in San Simeon is exactly half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Either city is two hundred miles away.

This being a “house” with 165 bedrooms and 41 bathrooms, there are 5 different tours offered. Ticket prices range from $20 to $30 for adults. Well worth every penny. Well worth repeat visits to experience all five tours–which I haven’t done yet. But it is on the agenda. [3]

There’s something enchanting about the mix of scents from the ocean and the red woods of Big Sur. The calming peace and quiet found here attracted the likes of Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, just to mention a few. And a few of them stayed here at Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn. I had noticed the sign on many a trip through Big Sur. When I finally gave it a try, I found myself a new favorite place to stay.

Helmuth Deetjen, a Scandinavian, settled in the quiet secluded Castro Canyon of Big Sur in the 1930’s and built this barn. Today it is the reception office and dining room of the Inn.

The rustic guest cabins were built by Helmuth in the manner he learned in Norway. The cabins trail up and are tucked into the pastoral canyon.

The rooms are quaint and cozy. There are no televisions, stereos or phones in the rooms. Cell phones do not have reception at Deetjens. Children under 12 are only allowed if the occupants rent all the shared rooms and walls of a freestanding cabin. You get peace and quiet here.

Wood burning stove, copper kettle and ornate chair. Deetjen’s has a time travel feel. It is easy to imagine the atmosphere of the 1930’s here.

A garden paradise is one step out the door. [4]
References and links

1. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/index.html

2. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0203/p15s02-alar.html

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6821

3. http://www.grandtimes.com/hearst.html

http://www.hearstcastle.com/tours/neptune_pool.asp

4. http://www.deetjens.com/home.htm

Tumacacori

Territory known today as southern Arizona and northern Sonora Mexico was originally Pima Indian territory, the Pimeria Alta. Their settlements nestled along various river tracks. Thus the name “Pima,” given by the Spanish, indicates “river people.” The natives had an agrarian society that mastered irrigation with diverted river water. Growing corn, beans and squash. They were artisans. Pima made baskets with their distinctive coil construction and geometric patterns which are highly desirable to this day. Their architecture used bent tree saplings to form dome shaped structures. They had their own government, political hierarchy, and means to defend themselves or attack outside forces.

But in the end they were no match for the Spaniards.

A church has been present at Tumacacori since 1753. The structure as it exists now, San Jose de Tumacacori, began in 1800.

The Jesuit Missionary Priest Eusebio Kino (1645-1711) first met the natives at Tumacacori in 1691. He was an educated man that came to devote his life to Missionary work. In the league of Spaniards entering New Spain for such work, he was the “kind” Padre. He took into account Indian ways. He skillfully taught during his 24 years in the region. The Pimas were receptive pupils in learning about wheat, livestock and fruit trees. He presented Christianity by means of pageantry and ritual rather than dogma. He offered communion and baptized children but then also taught many practical skills. He built other missions. He also established and mapped supply routes throughout the region. He was a “good” soldier of souls for the church and Spain.

The circular mortuary chapel at Tumacacori.

The Pimas were gently “tamed” under Kino. But some 40 years after Kino, Spain administered the region far more harshly. Pimas found themselves in slave labor at mines and ranches. They rebelled in 1751. At no point were the Apaches agreeable to foreign occupation. Their insurgency had been continual. A presidio built at Tubac was the result. But Apache attacks continued until the late 19th century as the territory transitioned from Spainish domain to independent Mexico, and finally to the U.S. in 1853.

The grave sites are only from the late 19th and early 20th century. Evidence of mission era graves has vanished.

The Soto Family lived in Tumacacori at the turn of the century.

The weathered soft curves of Tumacacori clay walls cast interesting curvaceous shadows.

Tumacacori National Monument is located 45 miles south of Tucson and 19 miles north of Nogalas. It came under protection of the U.S. Forrest Service, and later the National Park Service, by executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.

Wonder

From the comfort of air conditioned automobiles the wonders of the Mojave Desert are viewed much differently today than in the times when names such as Death Valley and Funeral Mountains were chosen for these locations.

A lady meditates amongst the mineral deposits of Death Valley known as Artist’s Palette.

I’m not sure prospectors of olden days spent much time meditating here in the other- world beauty of Death Valley. Recreational communing with nature would have been an unimaginable concept to them I would think. Livelihood if not existence here was tough business. Prospector Jack Keene scratched around the Funeral Mountains without success for some 8 years. But his dogged persistence paid off. He and fellow digger Domingo Etcharren hit pay dirt –gold– on the Death Valley slope of the Funeral Mountains in late 1903. Their 1904 claim was named “Wonder.” Both sold their claim for $45,000. The yield of the mine –gold and silver– was estimated at nearly a million dollars. It was part of the “Bullfrog” lode that created the city of Rhyolite.

The Keane Wonder Mill. The raw ore was deposited here from mine buckets delivered by a tram wire. Ore was crushed then pulverized before the valuable elements were separated mechanically, chemically, by slurry and wash.

Domingo Etcharren went on to buy a store in Darwin. Jack Keane returned to his homeland Ireland where he landed in prison after a sentence of 17 years for killing someone.

In 1908 the mine site had a house, an office building and a cookhouse. There were plans for an ice house as well. By 1909, 50 men were working at the mill and the mine. Work also began on a cyanide mill used for separating gold from rock.

The Wonder Tram.

The mill and tram were powered by gravity. With an elevation drop of 1, 300 feet from mine shafts to mill, loaded ore buckets traveled a descent of about a mile pushed by gravity on a tram wire stretched between eleven towers. The energy generated not only sustained the tram but pumped water, operated an ore crusher and the mill. The self sustaining power concept seems to be a technology applicable today somewhere, somehow.

“Old Dinah” a steam engine tractor used to haul Wonder ore to the train line at Rhyolite. On the third trip, the tractor blew a flue and was abandoned on the spot. Now it commands tourist attention at the Furnace Creek Ranch.

Keane’s Wonder mine shut down in 1912 with the announcement it was tapped out. It started up again in 1914 but went went idle once more in 1916. It restarted in 1935 to rework the tailings with Cyanide. The Chemical was stored in these large tanks.

The mine closed again in 1937. The next interest in Wonder came in 1940.

The tram was refurbished. Machines retooled and geared up. But operation was not meant to be. In 1942 all usable gear except the tram was moved to other mines. In 1972 the abandoned mine site came under the protective reach of the National Park Service.

White Gold


A Death Valley icon. The 20 mule team borax wagons of the Harmony Borax Works. Each wagon empty weighs 7,800 pounds. A mule team pulled a load of 10 tons.

The tank held water. A 20 mule team was actually 18 mules. Two of the twenty animals were large horses, the “wheelers,” the ones closest to wagon wheels. This position required more strength and start up power. Horses handled the jarring wagon tongue better. And one horse carried a rider. However the remainder were mules which were “smarter” and sturdier in Death Valley heat. They made a trek of 165 miles, about 10 days, to a railroad depot.

The larger borax wagon wheels stand seven feet tall.

Only ruins remain of Harmony Borax works. The site went idle in 1888.


On December 31, 1974, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nowadays, Borax, the “White Gold” comes from Boron, California, under domain of U.S. Borax. The product to this day serves many household uses.

Ghost Town

Rhyolite. It was once the third largest city in Nevada. Boomtown it was. Between 1904 and 1908 she was the queen of mining towns. Not just your ordinary canvass and wood makeshift structures. Rhyolite was solidly built with obvious intentions of staying around awhile. It boasted all the cosmopolitan features. Water and power. There were forty-five saloons, an opera house, an orchestra, a number of dance halls, a slaughterhouse, two railroad depots, and three public swimming pools serving as many as 10,000 residents.

Looking out the school house window openings to the town. The Cook Bank building, left. Overbury Building (jewelry store), center. General Store, right.

Two things killed Rhyolite. The gold mines tapped out. City investors pulled out when the national economy turned sour. By 1911 the population was down to 675. In 1916 utilities were shut off. Boomtown became ghost town.

Cook Bank Building

This substantial structure of 3 stories cost $90,000. It had marble floors imported from Italy, mahogany woodwork, electric lights, telephone and inside plumbing. Various interior components and fixtures were sold off when Rhyolite shut down. Staircases, banisters, floors, etc., live on today as parts of various buildings scattered through the region.



General Store.

Rhyolite is perhaps the best known of all ghost towns. Likely the most photographed. It has served as a set for numerous motion pictures and music videos.

Train Station

Three Railroad lines came through Rhyolite. The Depot today appears in use by someone. The structure seems restorable to me.

Bottle House of 1906.

The walls are completely made of glass bottles. The house has lived on through the years as a tourist attraction. However upon my visit I didn’t see any caretaker. It seemed closed up.

Wingspread

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Fourteen thousand square feet of floor space. A lot of modern tract homes seem to be headed in that direction, but for 1937 this was a bold size for a house. This is Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Wingspread,” on the outskirts of Racine, Wisconsin. The home he designed for Herbert Johnson of the Johnson Wax Company. The house plans were completed a year after he built their renown cooperate headquarters in central Racine.

It is a “zone” plan. Areas of the house are separate zones, or wings. Wingspread has four wings. One for Master Bedrooms, the second for the children’s rooms, a third for guests, the fourth for service and servants.

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As floor plan indicates where all four wings join together is called The Great Hall. Wright liked to call it the Wigwam. It is the living room. The tall central roof is punctuated neatly with stacked rows and layers of skylights. Almost like banks of movie set lights. The play of light in a Wright structure is always remarkable.

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A massive tall chimney structure divides the Wigwam into four areas. Entrance, living room proper, library, and dining room. The above photo is looking from the library to the dining area.

WingSpread_826The Wigwam’s towering vertical brick hub contains 5 fireplaces on 4 sides including one for an upper level. In his Autobiography Wright expressed complete satisfaction with the high level of quality and workmanship found in the home’s woodwork and furniture. All his design. “(Wingspread) has the best brickwork I have seen in my life, and the materials of construction and the workmanship throughout are everywhere substantial”

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This is looking down on the same area shown in the previous two photos. Wright provided views from upper levels to lower ones throughout his designs. It is an element of his unequaled ability to manipulate space and perspectives. Making larger rooms seem more intimate. Making smaller spaces seem vast. The floors are of concrete in four foot squares. Radiant floor heating. The soft gloss is achieved, as you might guess, by a Johnson Wax. One that was specifically developed for this type of floor upon completion of both the Johnson Wax building and residence. Many a Wright client with residences built after this became Johnson Wax customers.

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If you’ve seen more than one Wright structure, then you’ll know he loved his fire places. This is the 5th fireplace of the Wigwam, up on the second level. Maybe more appropriate to call it a forest-fire place. Actually the tall log idea didn’t work. The logs fall out too easily.

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The spiral staircase is a fun and adventurous touch. And for good reason. He had in mind the Johnson children. The spiral staircase leads to a delightful lookout or crow’s nest on the roof. Indeed the children did greatly enjoy this feature.

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The spiral staircase top flight. Open ribs of the interior staircase enclosure are repeated above the roof. A skin of glass connects the ribs for a weather tight transparent shelter. The tile roof tops and swimming pool below. The Johnson children were traumatized and emotionally distressed at the prospect of moving here. They’d be leaving a lot friends in the city by living out here in the hinterlands of Racine. But alas, private swimming pools were a rarity in 1938–not to mention a Frank Lloyd Wright designed crow’s nest. They soon found out all the kids clamored for visits to par-take in the fun this house had to offer. Mr. Johnson was a pilot. He’d buzz the tower, so to speak, in his airplane which excited the children to no end.

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Wright referred to this as a belvedere rather than a crows nest. Even with construction of Wingspread well under way, it was a project that was nearly abandoned. And it all had to do with an Oman concerning wings of another breed. Wright talked about it in his autobiography. An old worker freaked out one day. A white dove persistently hovered over the belvedere. “Bad Oman. The lady of the house will never live here.” Johnson had remarried in 1936. This house was to be a custom made newlywed’s home.
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With the house three-fourths finished Mrs. Johnson passed away. Herbert Johnson lost all interest and desire for the project. Said Wright “I, friend now as well as architect, did my best to represent to him what I thought his young wife would have wanted.” Wright firmly believed that upon experiencing life within a space he and his wife dreamed and worked on brought Johnson back again. Johnson’s son observed years later “I guess I couldn’t argue with the fact that the house had a major impact on my father, rehabilitating him to a new life without his young bride.”

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Wright describes the Master Bedroom wing as a luxurious mezzanine with a continuous balcony. The extreme cantilever is synonymous with Frank Lloyd Wright.

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The weathered wood exterior is wide plank cypress. The bricks are from batches also used in the Johnson Wax building. One instance of savings in an otherwise characteristic M.O. of Wright: going over budget. Way over budget. Johnson was quoted as saying: “It started off with Wright working for me. Then we worked as equals. Finally I was working for him.”

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Those are wild grapevines on all the trellises, pergolas and cantilevered overheads. Wright used landscaping to tone down the sheer volume and mass of the structure.

Pergola and planter detail

Under this pergola yet another massive fireplace for evenings outdoors.

The garden. Note the vine supports. Wright employed the same use of ordinary galvanized pipe painted his “Cherokee Red” for his own home, Taliesin, in Spring Green, also in Wisconsin.  Today Wingspread no longer serves as a private residence but is home of the Johnson Foundation which is set up to facilitate conferences.  In short Wingspan is a conference center and a living Wright/Johnson Family museum open for tours.

Herbert Johnson later married actress Irene Purcell. When she moved into Wingspread she found herself akin to the new Mrs. De Winter in the story Rebecca. She struggled to fit in at Wingspread just as her fictional counterpart did in the mansion Manderley. And as far as Irene Purcell was concerned, the evil Mrs. Danvers in her story was none other than Frank Lloyd Wright.

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After Irene and Herbert Johnson had been married a few years, they sent out an invitation to Wright for a visit. By this time Irene had tried to leave her personal touch on the house. She brought in paintings and redecorated. Wright spent the night on this visit but was up at 4 a.m. undoing all the decorating that had been done. He pulled out furniture and changed paintings.

She wasn’t impressed or amused. Not being a part of its creation as the prior Mrs. Johnson had been, Irene never felt altogether comfortable in Wingspread. Nearly all clients of Wright came to know one inescapable reality. You not only lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright house, but you also figuratively and almost literally lived with Frank Lloyd Wright. There are probably dozens of such stories. I once met members of the Bazett family who lived in a Wright House in Hillsborough, California. They were awakened early one Sunday morning. Squeak, squeak, squeak.


There at the window in his low cut wide brim hat and cape was the 80 something year old Frank Lloyd Wright cleaning windows with his white handkerchief. Upon being invited in he didn’t miss the opportunity to move a few items of furniture around. He was also known to bring into a house certain objects of art he considered complimentary. A vase or oriental ginger jar perhaps. To swap out items he objected to. Everyone’s reaction to Wright’s antics varied. But by and large having Wright in your house moving furniture around was considered by most clients like having Mozart sit and play the piano for you. Moments in their lives that were relived time and again in stories proudly told and retold.

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The Eggmen

John Lennon’s famous quote “Before Elvis there was nothing” could especially be said about Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337). When the glory that was Rome faded into the Middle Ages, art became highly stylized and flat dimensionally. Naturalistic perspective and depiction vanished. At the precipice of The Renaissance Giotto nearly stands alone in his discarding the centuries old framework of painting and art. Not since Roman times was the human form naturally depicted. He reinvented soft rounded deep modeling effects using light and dark values. Giotto marks the turning point toward The Renaissance. The above Madonna and Child is in Firenze’s Uffizi Gallery.

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Giotto was also an accomplished architect. The Bell Tower at Santa Maria del Fiore, Firenze, is his. He never saw the completed work. He died three years after construction began. It took more than fifty years to build.

Giotto’s bell tower is sublime. But the grandiose architectural element of Santa Maria del Fiore is the celebrated dome by Filippo Brunelleschi. The achievement can not be over stated. Architectural dome engineering and construction know-how died with the Romans. It wasn’t until Brunelleschi closely studied the Roman artifacts first hand (especially the well preserved Pantheon in Rome) that architecture was reinvented. Being this was unexplored design in its day, Brunelleschi faced a counter current of resistance and opposition. The Guild of Wool Merchants who sponsored and over saw the project wanted to know just how in the world such a large dome could be accomplished. Brunelleschi asked the members of the committee to demonstrate to him how they would stand an egg on the table. No one could. “Impossible,” they said. With that, Brunelleschi cracked the end off the egg and proceeded to stand the shell on the table. When the members of the committee protested that any one of them could have done that, Brunelleschi explained that was exactly his point. If he told the committee how he planned to execute his concept, all would claim that they could have done it. After several months of arguing, the committee allowed him to proceed and work began on the dome in the summer of 1420.


The Pantheon, Rome, A.D. 118-25. Besides its position as one of history’s greatest architectural masterpieces, its survival from ancient times to modern day Rome is miraculous. Step in from the noisy hot streets of Rome to a cool calm quiet atmosphere where time seems frozen. You may almost hear the distant whisper of Marcus Aurelius. That the structure is so well preserved is a testament to Roman engineering and master building. One can only ponder a question; if the Pantheon had not survived into Brunelleschi‘s time, how long to reinvent such engineering from scratch?


Locals simply refer to Santa Maria del Fiore as “Il Duomo.” It remains to this day the most iconic Feature of Firenze. A site on the landscape still commanding the most attention.

Michaelangelo’s David, Firenze Italy.
Michaelangelo went to school, so to speak, with The Duomo before designing Saint Peters in Rome.

Another source of Michaelangelo’s admiration was Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Doors of the Baptistery, Firenze.

Michaelangelo fondly referred to them as “The Gates of Paradise.”

The doors consist of ten panels. Each frame depicts a scene from either the New or Old Testament. Ghiberti used a painter’s approach to composition but used his sculpture and architectural skill to create enormous visual depth. As an architect, Ghiberti was the only other considered candidate besides Brunelleschi for designing the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. And Brunelleschi was a possible choice for the commission Baptistery doors. Much competition for the prized jobs during The Renaissance.

The Gates of Paradise have been removed from the Baptistery and have undergone restoration. Replicas are there now. The originals will be kept indoors under a protective transparent encasement after completing a world tour. They maybe coming to a city near you.

Smithsonian Magazine has a complete story of the restoration and history of these magnificent panels.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gatesofparadise-200711.html?page=2#

Love A Parade


Firenze (Florence), Italy. That cradle of The Renaissance and birthplace of modern Western Civilization. Trove of priceless art and architecture. It is only natural to view the parade of Calico Storico (Historic Soccer) with its Renaissance costumes as a quaint colorful and charming affair. In perfect fitting with all that is great with Firenze and Italy at large.


But I truly didn’t grasp what I was looking at. When I heard “Historic Soccer” I figured this was in some way akin to modern soccer.

It is not. These are mean nasty tough guys that play a sport that makes rugby look like a game of paddy cake.


A recorded date of 1530 is affixed to the beginning of Calico Storico, but it actually goes as far back as the 1400’s.


The child will not be participating. Nor will the older members of the parade. Only men in their 20’s and 30’s have the bodies capable of enduring the punishment suffered in this “sport.” A later day rule prohibits criminals from participating to somewhat mitigate blood letting.


A good wholesome church function? The four major churches of Firenze each sponsor a team. Here the white team is sponsored by Santo Spirito.

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The ball isn’t kicked in this version of soccer. A heavy leather bladder is hauled through a maul and melee across a field. The “goal” is to heave the ball over a 4 foot wall at either end of the grounds. Players literally wrestle, shove and bare knuckle punch or slug. It is part “Fight Club,” carnal demolition derby in some semblance of a ball game. By the end players are near naked from gear being ripped to shreds. Bruised, bloodied, dirty, sweaty and spitting mud. A splendid time for all!

The Netherlands of Van Gogh and Hitchcock

If you discover the tourist hubbub in Amsterdam not to your liking escape easily by heading north a short distance to the Waterland.

The Waterland is a region of lakes, canals, ditches, dikes, and drawbridges. Once a land of bogs, it was first drained for practical use in the middle ages. Today peace and quiet with lots a fresh air and unspoiled scenery characterize this region.

With little change here in 400 years, the sites are similar to ones inspiring Vincent Van Gogh.


A creaky wooden windmill recalls Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent (1940).


Joel McCrea discovering sinister activity in a Dutch wooden windmill.


Ten small towns and villages dot The Waterland. The proper experience here is by bicycle on the narrow dike roads. The villages have their shops. Cafes offer Dutch cuisine.

Dairy farmers welcome bicycle tourists to view hand made cheese production. Samples offered of course.

Copyright Notice: All photography is copyrighted. Getting permission is easy, just ask. Email: danielsoderberg@cox.net
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