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Stratford, Ontario: A love story

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I have been putting off telling this story for weeks. The idea of uncovering for the world my love for Stratford, Ontario feels wrong in a way. Like a girl finally telling the boy she loves that she loves him, but doing it through a megaphone at a football game. It’s not that she worries the love will not be reciprocated, although maybe that’s part of it. It’s that by telling it, she reveals too much of herself and risks cheapening the love, bringing in too many outsiders into something that should be tenderly intimate. But I’ve got to take that risk, so here goes.

I love Stratford.

There, I said it. I love everything about it: the old shops along Ontario street, the Avon River, the trees surrounding the river, the Shakespeare Gardens, the tour guides who take you around the same routes telling you the same stories with the innocence of volunteers who love their town.

I love The Verandah, our home away from home when we visit Stratford.

I love the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. How could you not love the theater in this town? When I am there, I absorb the plays as if they are one layer deeper than my own skin, and I wear their memory for the whole year after, in some cases, even years to come.

The town of Stratford, alive with life.

This past year was my third time visiting Stratford. It was the longest visit–two weeks. We stayed, for the second time, in The Verandah, the place I dream about during the year when I have a hard day and need something soft and beautiful to remind me of joy and happiness.

Here it is just a storybook card, but I fell in love with the real Verandah.

Stratford is a town of 32,000 or so other people who love their town, at least that’s how it comes across. While I was there this year, we spoke with locals from different aspects of life and they all had the same thing to say: it is a great place to live. It is hopeful and lively. It is small-town life with the kind of world-class entertainment and cuisine that big cities dream of. It is thoughtful with things like recycling and seasonal food and supporting local businesses.

Of course, we cannot ever forget the theater. That’s part of the world-class entertainment and is what brings thousands of people to Stratford every year for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Still, with all the other things going on–music festivals, food festivals, daily visits to boutiques and antique shops, wiling a day away at a coffee house, luxuriating in the pleasures of a meal at The Prune or Bijou–whole days could potentially pass where no theater is experienced.

But it must be experienced.

The majesty of the Festival Theatre is celebrated with lush gardens and public art.

William Shakespeare in stainless steel (or aluminum?) in the gardens outside the Festival Theatre.

I saw a play there this year called Hirsch. Out of the five I saw, all of which were moving and powerful, Hirsch was the most powerful. It was about the Canadian director, John Hirsch, who was originally from Hungary and had been orphaned in World War II. He watched his mother carted off and never saw her again. He watched his uncle shot in front of him. They were Jews and treated the way Jews were treated by the Third Reich in World War II.

Terrifying things happened to this man before he was a teenager. Yet, as the story unfolded–and as I wept from the depths of my humanity that connects with such things–it demonstrated the courage it takes to live a real life. It showed how life grows on, in some ways because of what one has witnessed, and in other ways, in spite of it.

The actor, Alon Nashman, was also the creator of the play. He was brilliant. Brilliant. You know how I know? Because even now as I am writing this paragraph, I can call to mind the delightful laughter and the excruciating tears he pulled out of me with his story and his acting. He connected with me, a white, non-Jewish, 40-something American woman who has never experienced such discrimination, torture, and terror, and who has never been forced to find beauty and strength in that kind of loneliness.

His play and his acting are what stays with me today. The story inspires me to do the work that I do in the world, and it reminds me that nothing can be as scary as what that man experienced in his life. What fears I may have for any venture I take on cannot be half as terrifying as facing the world completely alone and ostracized as an orphaned Jewish boy after World War II. Yet, he found the strength and courage to not only keep going, but to become one of the greatest creative forces in Canada.

This is why I go to Stratford. It inspires me, it pushes me, it nourishes me in ways no other place can. I will carry the messages of the play and the story of John Hirsch for the rest of my life.

Then there’s Elektra. I read a comment someone made on the Stratford Festival Facebook page that it was not true to Sophocles. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t know, and I don’t really care. It was a story well told with a depth of emotion, and the emotions fleshed out in the characters (especially Elektra). What happened in that theater to actors and patrons alike far outweighs how it stands up to what Sophocles intended. The physicality of the play, the rhythm of it, the costuming, all the things those actors did, which seemed to me to be flawless and effortless, pulled together to become an enveloping tale about sorrow, loss, fear, and justice that rocked me to my very bones and left me feeling very much alive.

Christopher Plummer in A Word or Two was magnificent. It was an honor to see him perform live, especially given how intimate it was and how the one-man show was about his life. I can’t say it was the most powerful play–the two mentioned above get that nomination. But it was the one that takes my breath away when I think about it because it’s as if I got to see one of the Great Wonders of the World before it disappears. (And please, Mr. Plummer, if you ever read this, which I doubt you will, forgive me for comparing you to a large, ancient monument of some sort, but you must know I mean it with the greatest of humility and respect.)

The Avon Theatre, where we saw Christopher Plummer in “A Word or Two”.

The other plays, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing were the two Shakespearean plays we saw out of the five. Of course, it is hard to go wrong with Shakespeare, but these two were not the ones that will stay with me all year. The acting was superb, of course. The costumes, amazing. The staging, incredible, especially the use of that massive door for Henry V, which they utilized in a million different ways to portray different scenes. Both plays were worth seeing. If I was in Stratford all season, I would go see them several times–but Hirsch and Elektra would be my picks if I had only time and budget for two.

When there are no plays to see–the theaters are dark on Mondays in Stratford–there is a wealth of things worth seeing and doing. It is important to point out, however, that part of the charm of Stratford is slowing down and not rushing from one thing to another. I do that all year in my regular life. I don’t need to do it in Stratford.

Summer there is lush with flowers and brimming with life. It is in Stratford that we might pause and enjoy this beauty. Starting at the Avon River, we watch as it lolls slowly under the stone-arch bridge.

What is left of an old wool mill and is now part of The Shakespeare Gardens which sits along the Avon River.

The stone-arch bridge is the oldest of its kind in Canada. It is still in use and is part of a major thoroughfare through the town. The steeple seen in the distance is the courthouse.

The beloved swans parade their regency of the waters and surrounding lands with their little cygnets. The trees dip their knobby elbows and fingers into the river, and their leaves provide a golden curtain to shield land lovers who sit on benches along the shore.

A male swan rests with the female (not shown) and their brood of cygnets by the river.

Chess anyone?

On one of the first days we were there I discovered the magic of sunsets in Stratford. I heard bagpipes coming up to the town from near the river and was drawn to see what sort of group was serenading the sun as it went down.

Two boys, one playing the bagpipes and one playing the snare drum, were in the plaza standing next to a war memorial. Beyond them was the Avon River, peaceful and permissive to their music. People gathered in the plaza, surrounded the boys, listening. Two little girls–about six and four–danced and hopped to the beat of the drum.

The pipes and drums serenade the sun as it sets.

When I arrived, there was a feeling of reverence toward the boys and their music. It seemed the perfect way to end a day. I scooted up on one of the half-walls that lines the plaza and listened. No one wanted to move while they were playing. If we did move, we were slow and respectful, as if we were in church and had just taken communion.

While the boys played, two little girls with bright orange hair came with their mother and sat across from me on the foot of the memorial. Were they put there to make the scene more authentic? Of course they weren’t, but the picture of Scottish music playing over a plaza with two wee girls of that heritage could not have been more complete. How adorably Scottish they were with their rolly cheeks and their shining braids. They sat sweetly in their little dresses, licking delicately at their ice cream cones, and they listened. While I was there, I imagined their souls being drawn to this music of their ancestors. I wondered if it was at all familiar to them. They surely were not out of place. Come to think of it, I have Scottish heritage. Perhaps that is what drew me as well, while my Polish-bred husband went on to the house, unmoved by the sounds.

Finally, I walked to the river. The music followed me there, to a leafy cocoon on the shore. The branches of the massive tree before me bent over and into the river. I imagined I was beneath the arm of a giant boy sticking his fingers out of a boat to feel the water on his fingertips. The stillness, the joy in my heart, the poetry of music and sunset, it all formed this love I carry with me.

A sanctuary built by nature.

When it was time to return home from the pipes and drum, I made my way across the familiar path I had come to know the year before–up the hill to town, across the busy street of Ontario, through a parking lot and down the graveled path of the pastoral Verandah.

Our half of The Verandah.

A warm welcome of hospitality awaits every visit.

Why it’s called The Verandah.

Debbie and Denis Harrison, the owners of The Verandah, clearly love their town and the home they open to others. The house is divided into two. On one side is where they live. On the other side is where we stayed for the second year in a row.

Debbie has decorated it with things she found all over Ontario, many of which had to be given new life with scrubbings, washings, sandings, new coats of paint–whatever it took to make it live again. She has breathed life into The Verandah, both in the structure of the 100-plus year-old home, and the things furnishing it.

Home Sweet Home.

Treasures and trinkets adorn every space.

There are nooks for every fancy. This one is in the master bedroom. That window is a door that opens onto a balcony.

The kitchen is well-furnished with pots, pans, dishes, and welcoming flowers.

The gardens surrounding it are cared for by her and her husband Denis. Even without the plays or the river, I would go to Stratford to stay in The Verandah. It is a retreat and a blessing to be there. If you knew how many pictures I took of their house so that I could look at them over the year when I cannot be there, you would think I was quite crazy. And I am–in the same way that someone is crazy when they fall in love.

Even the back door is a delightful sign of home.

More nooks–even for the birds.

A spot for dinner al fresco, complete with a large umbrella to shade the sun.

Beauty is everywhere at The Verandah.

I told myself I wouldn’t cry while writing this love letter, but it’s too late. And now I realize why it truly took me so long to compose it. I didn’t want the pain of missing it to scrape at my heart like it is doing now.

Times like these call for remembering what I have rather than what I don’t have and being grateful for it, so allow me a moment to be thankful.

Angels shall trumpet my love and gratitude.

I am thankful to my husband for making it possible for us to visit Stratford every year. I am thankful for such a place as Stratford, Ontario. I am grateful to Debbie and Denis for opening one side of their home so we may enjoy their hospitality and friendship. I am thankful for having such memories, for experiencing such joy. I am thankful for being in love and having something so worthy of my devotion that I can make a pilgrimage there every year to renew the wonder and joy it brings me.

That spark of joy you see in my husband’s eyes as he is being silly with one of my hats is another reason I love Stratford. It brings that out in both of us.

I am thankful for having the opportunity to be surrounded by beauty upon beauty.

And I thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me during this love letter. It makes me feel silly to gush, but I can’t help it. I hope you can see why. This is the only thing I will write in this way. Tomorrow we get back to business as I demonstrate how easy it is to walk Stratford from The Verandah, so stay tuned for “Walking Stratford”.

Thank you for allowing me to share my favorite place in the world with you.

Walking Chicago

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In many ways, Chicago is like every other city. Generations of people and buildings overlap as reminders of the past, witnesses of the present, and springboards to the future. The city seems to breathe in and out as waves of people and cars navigate its sidewalks and streets. It sings the songs of diesel engines, street musicians, and car horns. Its colors blur in the mirrors of its glass buildings: taxicab yellow, brick red, asphalt black. It has an electricity that gets the pulse racing and can make a person feel charged with life. In this telling Chicago could be any city. Seeing it like this, though, is only a minute of its existence, and this particular city deserves a longer look.

Video by Chris Pritchard from his “Places in Time” series.

It is difficult to nail down just one thing that defines Chicago. Many have tried. They say it’s heart and soul is about architecture, finances, or politics. Chicago is about all of those things, but it is more than that. It is a complex grouping of everything that makes the human race tick, pushes it to thrive, and occasionally causes it to stumble and lose its way. No one thing encompasses this city and holds it still for very long. Therefore, no one visit is enough to completely understand it. Even one visit, though, can be enough to loosen one’s own stale understandings of the world and leave them to feel a little new and green again.

Chicago is a mosaic of history, people, experiences. This public work of art by Marc Chagall is available for all to see in the Chase Tower plaza.

Hubby and I have spent time in Chicago before, but it had been a while since our last visit. It won’t be our last. I went in to this trip thinking I knew what to expect, seeing it as “just another city I had been to before”. I quickly learned how wrong I was. I hadn’t taken into account the vibrancy and inventiveness of the place. Before our four-day visit was over, I was breathless, almost exhausted, by all I had taken in. We did more than just sightsee. We saturated our thoughts into the city, thanks to time spent with a well-informed local. Even then, though, we recognized that it was not enough.

Rolf Achilles

Allow me to introduce you to our well-informed local, Mr. Rolf Achilles. When I spoke with the concierge at the hotel where we stayed, I told her that we wanted to experience as much of the spirit of Chicago as we could in such a short amount of time. She recommended we hire Mr. Achilles as a private tour guide for the city. Her description of him was, “he is like a walking Encyclopedia Britannica on Chicago”. She wasn’t kidding. You can look on his website to see his long list of achievements, projects, and interests. There is also a History of Chicago Timeline on his website, which starts way back in 1673, before any keystone was laid for what is now known as Chicago. It is as impressive as anything else he has done.

When we finally met Mr. Achilles, we discovered that although the concierge’s description was spot-on, there was more to him than just bookly information. He loves his town. His love for it bubbled over in waves until, suddenly, we knew we were in love with his town too.

In the short amount of time we spent traveling around with him, Mr. Achilles quickly became a trusted friend. He is not just an expert on all things Chicago. He is an experiencer of life. He savors rich experiences as well as mundane ones and then he turns to you and offers you a bite.

We were given three bites of Chicago while we explored the city with Mr. Achilles: Public Art and Architecture, the Chicago History Museum and Old Town, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

For these tours, we took cabs to our destinations, with Mr. Achilles indicating to the driver special neighborhoods and spaces we needed to thread our way through so that we could take in the majority of the city along the way.

Public Art and Architecture

Public Art

Chicago is a city packed with public art. On nearly every block there seems to be a famous statue or structure by someone we have all heard of. Mr. Achilles showed us these works of art and spoke about them as if they were offerings of love from their artists and patrons.

The Chicago Picasso is an untitled sculpture, weighing in at 160 tons and standing up to 50 feet tall. It was was unveiled in 1967 and has since become a beloved icon of the city. It was designed by Picasso in France (he never visited Chicago), but it was built by the American Bridge division of U.S. Steel in Gary, Indiana.

At the time, the statue was seen as a bit odd-looking, but then it was Picasso, so it was accepted. In fact, Mayor Daley, who did the unveiling, said in his speech, “We dedicate this celebrated work this morning with the belief that what is strange to us today will be familiar tomorrow.” Not only has this sculpture become so familiar to the people of Chicago that children regularly slide down its base (see photo for evidence!), it is a point of reference for meeting friends, and is a place of celebration and holidays. The Chicago Picasso even gets decked out with hats for different occasions!

The Chicago Picasso is a massive steel sculpture that has, over the years, become both a landmark for the Daley Center and an irresistible jungle gym for kids in the plaza.

Agora is the name of the grouping of 106 cast iron figures wandering the southern side of Grant Park. They are 9-feet tall, headless and armless shells, grouped in clumps, just as crowds seem to group whether they mean to or not. The artist, Magdalena Abakanowicz, hates crowds and described them as ”brainless organisms acting on command, worshipping on command and hating on command.” This particular crowd, with its height, texture, and color seems more like a forest of branchless trees, though, and just as harmless.

My take on the grouping was that they were contemplative, as if their arms were folded back behind them, their movement is forward toward better ways of being, and their body shells were waiting to be filled with great ideas. But then, I am an optimist.

“Agora” by Magdalena Abakanowicz is an impressive group of 9-feet tall, headless and armless statues at the south end of Grant Park.

The Four Seasons by Marc Chagall was unveiled in 1974, when the artist was 87 years old. Unlike Picasso, Chagall had visited Chicago many times and fallen in love with it. The Four Seasons is a mosaic, not only of glass, marble, stone, and brick (some of which was from Chicago herself!), it is a mosaic of the seasons, the people, the experiences which make up the life of the city. Like Chicago, The Four Seasons is complex and difficult to take in completely in just one visit. It is, after all, 70 feet long, 10 feet wide and 14 feet high. All four sides are covered in dreamy scenes of life from all the various walks of life which call Chicago home. It’s colors and happy images make this my favorite of all the public art we saw on our tour.

The Four Seasons by Marc Chagall is located in the Chase Tower Plaza. It is a massive rectangular box covered in a mosaic depicting the four seasons which can be found in Chicago.

UIC Skyspace: The University of Illinois Chicago houses a large work of art at the corners of Roosevelt Road and Halstead Street. UIC Skyspace is by James Turrell and was unveiled in 2006. It is a free-standing elliptical work of art meant to be experienced inside and out, taking note of the interplay of light. To go inside it is to walk into a quieter sanctuary of soft light; a place to sit and read, perhaps, or to experience one of my favorite activities, people watching.

James Turrell’s UIC Skyspace. Hubby and Mr. Achilles walked up to it and looked into its elliptical opening on the ceiling. Venturing further inside, it is meant to create a quiet world in the heart of a vibrant city.

Richard Lippold’s Untitled (Radiant I) was locked up tight in the lobby of the Inland Steel Building on the day we visited, but we could still see it by pressing our noses and cameras to the glass. Taut wires of various materials zig zag out from criss-crossing steel rods, giving it the presence of a star radiating out from the dark sky. It was installed in 1957 and was the first abstract work of art to be on permanent display in Chicago.

My photo here does not do justice to Richard Lippold’s Untitled (Radiant I).

We saw many other sculptures on this tour, but I did not get photos of all of them. Below is a list of addresses for everything we saw, including distances from the Four Seasons Chicago hotel, where we stayed, in case you are keeping track of step-counts like we do. More information about each piece can be found by clicking on the links provided.

For even more information about these and other public works of art in Chicago, check out the Public Art Guide put out by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

Architecture

Stand on almost any corner in Chicago, and you will probably be standing in the shadow of a famous architect. This city has developed a reputation for setting the world on fire with its forward thinking architectural designs and designers. Styles and methods born in Chicago eventually become things we take for granted in other parts of the world.

Chicago is known for its architecture of buildings, as well as the engineering of its drawbridges.

Besides the ground-breaking drawbridges, Chicago developed the modern skyscraper using a steel frame. Windows were made larger, thanks to these frames, so light could enter the whole floor of a building, instead of just the outer offices. These days, all around the world, the windows seen in older skyscrapers are called Chicago Windows because they were developed here. Next time you find yourself walking in a town with buildings dating back to the first of the last century, look for windows with a large, fixed center panel and two operable windows on each end. That is a Chicago Window.  A prime example of this style of window can be see in the Marquette Building at S. Dearborn St. and Adams.

The Marquette Building is 1.6 miles from the hotel, or approximately 3200 steps.

Chicago style windows in the Marquette Building.

Just down the street from the Marquette Building is a whole complex of buildings designed by a man who ushered Chicago and the rest of the world into what is known as the Modernist style. That complex of buildings is the Federal Center Complex and the man is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. For many years, “Mies”, as so many call him, was the head of the School of Architecture at Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology (now the Illinois Institute of Technology). Driving around Chicago, one can see many of his designs and many designs created in the likeness of Miesian design. These buildings are free from ornamentation, they are steel and glass structures with plate glass windows, and which reach toward the heavens with all the simplicity modern technology affords it.

This complex of buildings is located at 50 W. Adams Street, the same location as Alexander Calder’s Flamingo. This means that it is 1.6 miles from the hotel, or approximately 3200 steps.

The Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (Photo by Local Hero.)

Out of the Miesian school of architecture grew innovative students, such as Bertrand Goldberg, who designed the Marina Towers to be a city within a city. Completed in 1964, the corn-cob towers contained condos and all the amenities one might need to function in life, such as stores, restaurants, a gym, bowling alley, etc. Now the iconic towers house a hotel, a concert hall, and several restaurants.

Marina Towers are located at 300 N. State St., which is 1 mile from the hotel, or approximately 2000 steps.

Marina City located on the river in Chicago was one of the first mix-use buildings meant to lure people back to life in the city.

Chicago History Museum and Old Town

Chicago History Museum

The second tour we took with Mr. Achilles was to the Chicago History Museum. While there, we talked of the fire that destroyed Chicago, of ties to Abraham Lincoln, stained glass windows by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Magic!

Chicago History Museum. (Photo by AlanScottWalker from Wikipedia.com)

The Chicago History Museum has vivid dioramas which tell the history of the city. Mr. Achilles told us that the dioramas had been there for a long time–well before they went out of style at museums–and they stayed around long enough to come back into style again. They have since been cleaned up and restored, providing excellent visuals for Chicago’s history.

Chicago Fire Diorama. (I could not get a good photo, so I have borrowed from CaZaTo Ma (Tricia J.) from Flicker.com.)

Mr. Achilles is the curator for the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at the Navy Pier in Chicago. He has also helped to curate the windows shown in the Chicago Room at the History Museum, which is flanked on all sides by a gallery of historic windows from names such as Tiffany and Wright.

Tiffany stained glass window from the William Wrigley collection. (Photo by Corey Seeman.)

The Chicago History Museum houses information and artifacts from its complete history. A giant locomotive engine sits on the second floor of the museum next to one of the first rail cars used for city transit (which went on to be what is now called the “L”). Walk through all the halls of the museum to taste every generation’s contribution and inventions, including those from the furniture industry, the brewers, and the meat packers. Even the slaughterhouses contributed to fashion and furniture (leather goods), as well as food preservation methods, such as canning on a large scale.

Pioneer was Chicago’s first locomotive. (Photo by Jeremy A from Wikipedia.com.)

South Side Elevated Car 1 — the first passenger car to operate on the Chicago “L” line.

Chicago has been the site of helping to define human rights and civil liberties. It hasn’t always been pretty, but the struggles which have taken place in Chicago have been felt around the globe. This museum does an excellent job demonstrating with visuals and audio the contributions made and the battles fought.

Some of the quotes found at the Chicago History Museum, with displays providing information about such events as the Haymarket Massacre. (Photo by Aaron Ray.)

While at the History Museum, we were treated to a personal demonstration of magic by Jeanette Andrews, who has been doing magic tricks since the age of six! I thought for sure I would be able to tell how she chose the different cards she did or how she made the rubberbands move in and out from our fingers, but I never got it. I walked away happily mystified.

This video and more from Ms. Andrews can be seen at JeanetteAndrewsMagic.

The Chicago History Museum is located at 1601 N. Clark St., which is 1.1 miles from the hotel. That is approximately 2200 steps.

Old Town

When we had seen everything we had gone to see at the museum, we walked through the tree-lined streets of Old Town, a neighborhood which was settled first by the Potawatomi, Miami and Illinois nations before it was settled by German Catholics. We stopped into a Bavarian-styled church in the neighborhood that survived the Great Chicago Fire, St. Michael Redemptorist Catholic Church.

The church has an altar made of silver, gold and onyx, featuring St. Michael the Archangel as, what looks like, a soldier of the Crusades. There are 16 stained glass windows in the church depicting the life of Jesus and Mary, which were designed and built by the Mayer Window Art Institute in Munich, Germany. It is a building quilted with colors and design and well worth a visit. My understanding is that the parish offers tours of the building. Call ahead for information first, though.

St. Michael’s Catholic Church is located at 1633 North Cleveland Avenue. It is 1.6 miles from the hotel (approximately, 3200 steps); or .6 miles from the Chicago History Museum (approximately, 1200 steps).

St. Michael’s Catholic Church in the Old Town neighborhood was part of our tour. It is resplendent.


Old Town is also home to Second City, the world-famous comic improvisational theater which has become known for churning out the world’s greatest comedic actors. Some of their alum include Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Dan Aykroyd, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, to name just a few.

Second City is located at 1616 N Wells St. which is 1.3 miles from the hotel, or approximately 2600 steps.

The Art Institute of Chicago

Our last stop in Chicago was its world-famous Art Institute of Chicago. We had been there years ago, but not with Mr. Achilles, who opened our eyes to the art surrounding us. We ended up learning so much and getting so much out of our conversation in the Institute that, not only did I forget to take pictures, we ran out of time for Millenium Park! One more reason to return to the Windy City, I think!

The Art Institute is perhaps best known for its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork. The elite of Chicago were the first to collect these “fuzzy” paintings before they were thought of as anything of value.

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat.

Wheatstacks by Claude Monet.

Beyond that, there are some other iconic offerings by Edward Hopper and Van Gogh, as well as one of the most identifiable paintings, American Gothic by Grant Wood.

Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh, available to be seen at the AIC.

American Gothic by Grant Wood can be seen at the AIC.

Mixed in with the artwork is art of another kind — furniture and home furnishings, such as tea cups and silverware. They serve to illustrate how the designs of the home can define an era.

In doing research for this article, I discovered a program near and dear to my heart that the Art Institute has started: The Cultural Distance: Half-Mile Tour. The link takes you to a PDF of a tour which walks you a half mile through the AIC, enriching your body as well as your mind! They have other distance tours as well on their website under Mini Tours.

The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 South Michigan Avenue, which is 1.3 miles from the hotel, or approximately 2600 steps.

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Below you can read where we stayed and how we otherwise fared in this very walkable city. As always in this series, the goal is to demonstrate how we were able to achieve at least 10,000 steps a day while exploring a different North American city. All step calculations were taken from the front door of the hotel to the front door of each destination.

Where we stayed and why

We chose the Four Seasons Chicago for several reasons. First of all, it’s the Four Seasons. It’s hard to bicker with a luxurious choice like that. The Four Seasons has a wide range of advantages, not the least of which is access to their concierge services. Karen, Michelle, and Adelina all worked with me at various times to set up our tours, plus, they gave us a long list of restaurant recommendations, and they made sure we got to and from the airport without problem. Besides that, we were able to request an extra, empty refrigerator so we could keep low-calorie options in the room for breakfast and lunch.

Waiting for us in the hotel room when we checked in were several personal notes from the concierge and front desk staff, along with a plate of gorgeous strawberries, a couple of beautiful plums, a succulent peach, and some bottled water. All healthy choices given to us as a thoughtful gift, after I had told them about Hubby’s weight loss and desire to keep it off. Of course, we couldn’t eat all of it right away, so we stored it in the empty fridge to munch on for the next few days.

Ever thoughtful, this is what the Four Seasons greeted us with in our hotel room!

If that wasn’t enough, the Four Seasons Chicago is located within walking distance to everything we needed access to, such as restaurants, grocery stores, and Walgreens.

The Four Seasons Chicago is located at 120 East Delaware Place.

Groceries and other necessities

Potash Market: This little store had everything we needed during our short stay in Chicago. It is located at 875 North State Street, just .2 miles from the hotel, or approximately 400 steps.

Walgreen’s: Located just up the block from Potash Market was a quieter Walgreen’s. It is located at 933 North State Street, just .2 miles from the hotel, or approximately 400 steps.

Coffee

Sadly, we did not drink coffee outside of the hotel. This is a big surprise for someone like me who loves her coffee, but I did think to ask Mr. Achilles where was the place for a cuppa Joe. His response was, without a doubt, Intelligentsia.

There are several locations around Chicago (and New York, Pasadena, LA, and Atlanta). To find them go to Intelligentsia’s website.

Restaurants

The order in which I have these restaurants is not the chronological order in which we ate at them, it is the order in which I rate them. I start with L2O for a reason. It was, without a doubt, our favorite. We met a friend there, which only served to enhance the experience, but we all agreed that between the level of food and the level of service, it was bar none. Two other restaurants mentioned below were fantastic and, if we had only eaten at them in Chicago, our experience would have been great. But L2O took everything to the next level and blew us away with flavor, innovation, and service.

L2O: L2O stands for “Lake to Ocean”, so it is a restaurant heavily influenced by seafood. My experience as a vegetarian, though, was no where near second class. In fact, on a couple of fronts, our friend or Hubby mentioned that, in some way, they wished they had my serving–until they tried their own and decided they were over-the-moon happy with what they had ordered.

Reservations are recommended and can be made on OpenTable.com.

L2O is located at 2300 N. Lincoln Park West. It is 2 miles from the hotel, or 4000 steps. Although we did not walk there, we did walk back!

Hubby’s dessert had gold sprinkles on it and they poured more gold sprinkles on it after it was served. (Thank you, Mike R., for the photo!)

Blackbird: Don’t let my gushing about L2O lead you to believe that Blackbird isn’t worth your time. Quite the opposite. Blackbird knocked our socks off too. They just didn’t pick them up, launder them, and put them back on our feet when we were done like L2O did.

But seriously, Blackbird was delicious. The waiter who took our orders was very knowledgeable about what was on their menu and what it tasted like. When I mentioned I was vegetarian, he recommended the salad of endives with crispy potatoes, basil, dijon, and poached egg, minus the pancetta. For my entree, he suggested crispy buckwheat crepes with feta, artichokes, maitake mushrooms and ginger broth. I think I embarrassed Hubby as I slurped everything off the salad plate. I am a sucker for poached eggs in salads and this one was better than most. The crepes were outstanding as well; very fresh, spring green sorts of flavors that were grounded in the earthiness of mushrooms.

For what it’s worth, everyone we spoke to in Chicago about Blackbird–and there were quite a few–said they had been to this restaurant several times and they had loved it.

Reservations are recommended and can be made at OpenTable.com.

Blackbird is located at 619 W Randolph in a skinny building that has a small number of tables. The walk is 2 miles from the hotel, or 4000 steps. Although we cabbed to the restaurant, we walked back to the hotel.

Naha: We met another friend at this fine restaurant–delicious as Blackbird and just as attentive, service-wise. In fact, the waiter was kind enough to realize we were catching up with friends, so he checked in when he sensed a quiet moment, even though we didn’t leave him with many opportunities. We had a lot of catching up to do! The wait staff had the perfect balance between being attentive and letting us enjoy one another’s company. We never felt rushed or interrupted, nor did we wonder where our waiter went, and the food was delightful.

This restaurant was recommended by others we spoke to as well. It got hopping soon after we got there, so it seems like a popular place. Reservations are recommended and can be made at OpenTable.com.

Naha is located at 500 north clark street, which is .9 miles from the hotel, or 1800 steps. We walked to and from this restaurant.

Panera Bread: When we first got to town and just before we left we needed something to eat. Hubby found us a Panera Bread located .6 miles from the hotel, or approximately 1200 steps. We got soup and/or sandwiches and were set for the rest of the afternoon.

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At the end of the day, Chicago has everything a person could want in a city–all of the conveniences and luxuries. Still, Chicago is a city set apart by its richness in culture, heritage, and talents. It has given the world gift upon gift but continues to be looked upon as “The Second City”. Maybe that’s what makes it so special, though. It’s the younger brother to The Big Apple. It’s the kid always having to prove himself. And, in doing so, it changes the world in ways no one ever expected.

As for me, I can honestly say my own world was shifted from four days spent learning this city. I can only imagine what it must do for those who live there.

Have you visited Chicago? If so, what did you see that I didn’t mention here? Share your tips and ideas in the Comments Section below to help others who might be planning a visit to Chicago.

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This article is dedicated to my friend Gabi who is getting ready to start a new phase of her life in The Windy City. Good luck, Gabi! The world is waiting for you!

Hotel Valley Ho stays fresh while paying homage to the hippest parts of its history

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In the scurry that is Sunday morning at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona, Hubby and I, along with a group of eight or so other people, met with Ace Bailey of Ultimate Art & Cultural Tours to learn all there is to know about this Mid-Century Modern hotel with a Southwest twist.

The Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona. The concrete panels mentioned below can be seen lining the roofline of the porte-cochere along the entrance.

Built in 1956, the hotel was the first year-round resort in Scottsdale. It was lined all around with 350-pound concrete panels that have an “arrowhead” design set in them. The design marked the hotel as “Southwest” while keeping to the slick minimalism of Modern design. The hotel drew Hollywood’s elite to the Arizona desert with the lure of luxury and anonymity. Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood celebrated their wedding reception there. Jimmy Durante was a favorite guest who could often be found tickling the ivories at the purple piano in the lounge.

A column in the lobby has the arrowhead design in it. I don't know about you, but I see "V's" in it, for "Valley Ho," maybe?

Through the years, the hotel went through different phases of facelifts. Ramada acquired the hotel in the 1970s and tinkered with cosmetic changes. By the early 2000s, though, the hotel had seen better years and was up for demolition. In 2004, though, Westroc Hotels & Resorts took on the task of bringing the hotel back to life with a full restoration and update, inspired by the building’s cool history. It now embraces its hip past while setting trends for today. It boasts that it is “posh but never stuffy. Relaxed but far from dull.”

Below are pictures from our tour. I think you’ll agree that the hotel definitely clicks along to a familiar, fun-loving groove, inspired by its mid-century roots.

Old pictures of the original design can be found beside the concierge stand. Here is one of the original restaurant.

The lobby has a great expansiveness to it with the stone-clad wall extending outside, beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. The fireplace is fantastic.

When the hotel underwent its most recent facelift, the developers went out of their way to reuse and recycle as much as they could. In fact, they managed to save 20,000 tons of waste from ever reaching the landfill by restoring the hotel instead of tearing it down. The fireplace in the lobby is one example as to how they did that. Instead of throwing out glass doors that had broken, they used them as a decorative feature in the fireplace. Today, the hotel has been classified as a “Green Hotel“, thanks to its environmentally friendly policies.

The environmentally friendly fireplace.

Seen here, the massive concrete "arrowhead" panels lining the hotel, and a Saucer Pendant Light first designed in 1952 by George Nelson, which is translucent plastic spray-coated onto a steel skeleton.

This is the bar/lounge area as it is today. I think they've done a great job of mixing the best of yesterday with what's cool today. I particularly love those "bubble" mirrors and those white lamps.

This curved wall leads from the lobby of the hotel to the lounge area. It is clad in shiny glass tiles. Layered on top of those is a hard-to-miss, funky design made of felt or some other soft fabric in blues and chartreuse.

A toast to cool: 1950s Fenders hang in the lobby area, behind the concierge desk.

Back in the day, connecting rooms didn’t exist, so the architect came up with the idea of using rotating screens on the patios and balconies so friends and families could visit one another in their PJs. The screens are still in use today, but perhaps as more of a novelty since there seems to be less concern about being seen in one’s pajamas these days.

Look closely to see the bars which hang from the ceiling and allow the screens to rotate.

From the roof of the hotel, circles of tables perfectly aligned for, what looks like a celebratory dinner.

A view of the pool from the rooftop. Notice the shape--a circle within another circle. It is meant to be the view one might see when looking down upon a martini glass with an olive sticking out of the side. The pool shape is not original to the hotel. It had to be completely redone when Westroc took it over because it was in disrepair.

The view of a pleasant balcony for one of the rooms which, I believe, is an executive suite.

Rates for a signature king started at $229 a night when I did a search on their website for a weekend stay. The hotel also has several packages available.

The hotel also offers several rooms to those traveling with pets, providing some special amenities for your furry loved one.

If the price of a night’s stay is too rich for your blood, perhaps visiting Cafe Zuzu for dinner would be more to your liking. While the service can sometimes be a little off, I can personally vouch for Chef Wiley’s American cuisine. They offer new twists on old favorites.

There is a spa on site, as well as a fitness center. MyTown365, another blogger based in the area, recently posted a picture and information of one of the yoga classes provided on the rooftop of the hotel. From the looks of it, it is a very popular class among guests and the community at large.

Finally, if you do nothing else at the hotel, I highly recommend taking the tour with Ace Bailey. The price is $19.56 (in honor of the year the hotel first opened) and the 90-minute tour not only provides access to places within the hotel not usually available to the general public, you also receive discounts to the VH Spa and Cafe Zuzu. For more information about how to sign up for the tour, click here.

Hotel Valley Ho is located within walking distance to Old Town Scottsdale at 6850 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. To make reservations or for more information, go to their website or call 480-248-2000.

Robot invasion sweeps Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and robots of all sizes and shapes. Today’s coffee hour is inspired by the Liberty Street Robot & Supply Repair in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

A favorite mug from Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair in Ann Arbor.

Sometimes I think I should have been a social roboticist. Alright, I admit that I only heard that term about three months ago when I came across an article about Heather Knight on CNN.com. Since then, I have been mad with jealousy that I never pursued that route.

Below is a video of Heather presenting “Data” at a Ted Talk. Data is one of the social robots she programs and learns from. In the video below, Data tells silly jokes and gauges the audience’s response.

I do have my own robot, though. Her name is Rosie, or at least that’s what I call her. You may recall that “The Jetsons” had a robot named Rosie.

Rosie the Robot, a toy version. (Photo by t()by.)

My Rosie is not quite as multi-functional as the robot on “The Jetsons” but I love her no less for it. She is a Roomba, the kind of robot whose purpose in life is to suck up life’s dirt while I go about doing other things, like writing this article.

You might think I am odd to name my robot and give her social characteristics, but when you cohabitate with a robot, you tend to pick up on their little idiosyncrasies. For example, Rosie loves going underneath furniture. She’s very good at it too, sliding beneath wardrobes and armoires–and getting stuck because her little nose (sensor) is too tall to get her out.

She also loves climbing things. Rosie has two wheels that remind me of the all-terrain wheels on the Mars Rover. Whenever she comes to something, such as the base of a floor lamp or the air tube under my bed which pumps air into my Sleep Number bed, she sees it as a challenge to climb it, and puts her full-purpose into it until she gets both wheels up off the ground, dangling. Moments later, when she has realized she can go no further, she calls out “Error! Move Roomba to a new location then press CLEAN to restart.”

Rosie and I have come to understand one another, though. Because of her penchant for climbing on things, I now set up a “virtual wall” at the end of the bed so she can’t climb up onto the Sleep Number air tube. When I prepare a room for her to work in, I scoop up wires (she loves to munch on the small ones) or block off certain entry points under armoires where she has gotten stuck before. Now that we understand one another, I can go about my business without checking on her so often. Kind of reminds me of when I was first training my puppy.

But why is a travel writer blogging about robots, you ask? It has everything to do with setting the stage for the place I discovered last summer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As someone who finds robots utterly fascinating, imagine my delight when I came across the Liberty Street Robot Repair & Supply Shop in downtown Ann Arbor.

Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair shop.

When I first encountered it, I squealed and giggled like a little girl. Adult restraint kept me from clapping my hands and jumping up and down. I did, however, press my nose to the glass to see what was inside. It was like something out of a future envisioned in the 1950s. Robots, robot parts, and “robot swag”, as they called it, lined the shelves. I longed to go inside and explore! Sadly, though, the store was closed. I had to wait until the next day to go inside.

Robot stuff everywhere!

They were closed, but I loved their door sign.

When I did, I found a delightful shop celebrating all things robot. There were robot brains and robot souls. You could buy robot tears and anamorphic equalizers to make your bot more human. They had ultra-flex suspension coils, joint lubricants, and, of course, tons of loose screws.

Better Bot's Positronic Brain.

Hand-Crank Robot Souls. The fine print reads, "Studies show that robots with souls are 54% less likely to rise up against humanity than their soulless counterparts."

Robot tears.

Sound-Activated Anamorphic Equalizers. "Now with test button!"

Ultra-Flex Suspension Coils.

Joint Lubricant.

Loose Screws.

If building a full robot is out of the question, have no fear! They have robot ducks! And erasers in the shape of a robot! Maybe you would like some robot art made out of old scrap metal and Raytheon vacuum tubes? They’ve got it all!

Robot Duck.

"Robo-Swag" advertised among robots from days gone by.

Raytheon tube robot art.

The best part about the whole thing, though, is that the store is just a front for 826Michigan, a nonprofit dedicated to ”supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.” As a writer and robot lover, I had returned to the mother ship.

So, the next time you’re in Ann Arbor, go down to Liberty Street and check out the robot store. Not only will you feed the part of you that wishes you had a robot butler, but if you buy something from them or donate to them, you’ll be supporting a great organization that inspires and empowers kids to write. After all, if the kids aren’t getting inspired to create, who’s gonna design our robot butlers?

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Need a place to stay in Ann Arbor?

Bellanina, a day spa in A2, has at least two vacation rentals which both offer fantastic locations within walking distance to everything. We have stayed in the vacation rental just across the street from Kerrytown Market and Shops and loved walking over to Sweetwaters every morning for coffee. Because we had a kitchenette, we also took advantage of having a fridge to store perishables found at Sparrows Meat & Produce, also located within the Kerrytown building. We’re looking forward to our next visit to Ann Arbor when we will stay at the other one.

Our favorite eats

We walked all over downtown Ann Arbor and enjoyed quite a few restaurants during our two weeks there. Our favorites, though, were Logan, “New American” cuisine, and Grange Kitchen & Bar, locally sourced, farm-to-table meals.

La Casita Palm Springs: a home away from home

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If you have been following this blog over the last week, you know Hubby and I were in Palm Springs for Modernism Week. While we were there, we stayed at a great little Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) called “La Casita“. It truly is a “little house”, and an adorable one at that.

Below are photos with more information about a great place to stay in Palm Springs.

We rarely needed our car. La Casita is within walking distance to all the restaurants and shops we visited.

La Casita is well situated, just two blocks from Palm Canyon Drive, the main road where all the restaurants and shops are. Palm Springs Art Museum is just a quarter of a mile from this house. It is a mile to the Convention Center. Trio restaurant, along with the art galleries and vintage shops in that area are about a mile away. We are big walkers, walking about 5 miles a day, so when we had Modernism Week activities that took us a mile or mile and a half from the downtown corridor, we walked that too. This could not have been a better location for us.

Shaded front porch.

The owner did a great job with the curb appeal.

Great landscaping. Love the winding sidewalk leading to the front door.

There are lots of special little touches in La Casita that make it unique, homey and inviting.

The front door has a sweet speakeasy door for the rumrunners in your group.

Saltillo tile runs through the entire home with cute, hand-painted Mexican tiles dotting the diamond pattern.

I loved this fireplace and wondered if the tile was original to the home or if they had added it during a renovation. It is a gas fireplace, so on chilly nights, it is easy to find to a warm spot in the living room.

The living room at La Casita. (Photo from the VRBO website.)

It is a small but perfectly outfitted kitchen. It's clean too! (Photo from the VRBO website.)

The first little bathroom off the hall has a window that looks like stained glass. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the "stain" was an adhesive film, but it's still unique.

One of my favorite things in La Casita was this little copper sink in the bathroom.

It was set into this antique washstand!

First bathroom off the hallway. (Photo from the VRBO website.)

This is the main bedroom and it leads out to the pool. All the bedrooms have doors leading to the backyard. (Photo from VRBO website.)

This is the second bedroom. It shares a bathroom with the third bedroom. (Photo from the VRBO website.)

This is the second of two bathrooms. It is in between two bedrooms.

This is the third bedroom with twin beds. All bedrooms have a door leading to the backyard and all have TVs. (Photo from VRBO website.)

The backyard was quiet but for the occasional hummingbird that buzzed through or the wafting sounds of a jazz band playing somewhere off in the distance at night. It was a relaxing and somewhat spiritual experience to be surrounded by such peace and beauty, backed up by a serene mountain. The lighting in Palm Springs is particularly friendly because the sun softens as it goes behind those mountains and disperses a light that makes the world seem simpler, friendlier.

The serene mountains and the delightful pool. Photo by M Dryja.

One of two hammocks. This one is closer to the mountain.

The other hammock, closer to the house.

A pretty fountain and a solitary bench.

St. Francis watches over it all.

The hot tub.

Flowers line the orange brick wall.

By the way, if you read my post about the Frey House II, you can see that house from La Casita’s backyard, if you know where to look. Kind of fun.

Benches line the pool on one side. Chaise lounges line the other side.

As you can see, it was easy to stay in La Casita, with all sorts of little nooks and crannies in which to relax and unwind. It was also easy to get work done since the house had a large desk on which to work and came with high-speed internet and wifi.

Work was made easier, thanks to the desk and high-speed internet provided. (Photo by M Dryja.)

Of course, our time there wasn't all work. You know that already. This little green pig was part of the fun. We found him at one of the shops on Palm Canyon Drive. Hubby named him "Frey". (Photo by M Dryja.)

Our time at La Casita ended far too soon. Even now, several days after returning to our “headquarters” in Arizona, we miss the friendly light of Palm Springs and our little paradise at La Casita.

How Frank Sinatra helped Palm Springs become a goldmine of Modern Architecture

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Before Frank Sinatra ever stepped foot into Palm Springs, the little town in the Coachella Valley had started its metamorphosis from a dusty spot in the desert to the polished star it would eventually become. But it was people like Mr. Sinatra who, with their interest and investment in this paradise, propelled the town into a place to see and be seen.

It is because of that interest that Palm Springs is now an icon of Mid-Century Modern design. Famous architects of that era were drawn here, both for the success they could achieve in designing homes, banks, and shops, and for the stunning weather the area is known for. Thanks to people like Sinatra, and other important but lesser known investors and visionaries, Palm Springs now has some of the best examples of preserved modern architecture to be found in the world.

Below are photos from my recent tour of Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate, which has been lovingly refurbished after having escaped complete ruin, and a tour of the commercial district in Palm Springs, where all these swanky celebrities watched architects like E. Stewart Willaims turn this town into a goldmine of modernism.

The Twin Palms after which Sinatra's first Palm Springs estate was named. The house was designed by famous modernist architect E. Stewart Williams.

The pool, the pergola walkway, and the first house Frank Sinatra owned in Palm Springs. Originally, Sinatra wanted a traditional Georgian mansion, but when E. Stewart Williams presented him with this modern design, Old Blue Eyes chose the contemporary style: a house with a flat roof, lots of glass windows, and horizontal lines.

The living room with the original recording equipment still in tact. The house is rented out these days, which is why plasma screen TVs can be found in most of the rooms.

Much of the home has been completely renovated because it was otherwise falling apart in ruins. This bathroom, however, had all the original tile and fixtures from Frank's day, including a crack in one of the sinks said to be from Ava Gardner throwing a champagne bottle during one of the lovers' famous arguments.

Wood-clad ceilings, clerestory windows, and large floor-to-ceiling windows are some of my personal favorite features of this house and its contemporary style.

Also a favorite design element used in this house: the stacked ledger-stone, found on the fireplace in the master bedroom and on chimney outside.

Love those crooked lines of stacked ledger stone.

Architects like E. Stewart Williams designed a lot of the homes in the area, but the commercial district–a short, few-block span bordered by Indian Canyon Drive and Palm Canyon Drive–is packed with exquisite examples of modern architecture designed by Williams and other famous names of that era. Nearly every building has the presence of a beauty queen.

Union Bank has beautiful art deco tiles which tell the story of Palm Springs' history.

One of the easier modern icons to spot, thanks to its location on a triangular corner and the blue tiles along the front of it, was designed by Rudy Baumfeld of Gruen & Associates in 1959. Today it is a functioning Bank of America branch.

This is my favorite building in Palm Springs. It was designed by the same man who designed Sinatra's house, E. Stewart Williams. It is now a Chase bank.

Here you can see it from across the street. Notice how the mountain behind the building seems to sit on top like the pediment of an ancient Greek temple.

Another building designed by E. Stewart Williams, the Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan was completed in 1960. This building is in the process of being restored to become the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Edwards Harris Center for Architecture and Design.

There are lots of other buildings along the route that have a wonderful connection to the modernist architects from the middle of last century. Palm Springs Art Museum and the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation have done a wonderful job of encouraging preservation of these buildings and homes. On the tours we have participated in, the names of the architects are spoken with deserved respect. On the sidewalks outside of the soon-to-be Palm Springs Art Museum’s Edwards Harris Center for Architecture and Design those same names so well-known and beloved in this beautiful city are preserved on a Walk of Fame.

Donald Wexler, known perhaps best for the Alexander Steel Houses built in the early 60s around Palm Springs, he is a rock star architect in these parts and still lives in the area.

If you've been following my posts this week, you will recognize this man's name: Albert Frey. He has several structures in the area that are still in use, including the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the Tramway Gas Station (now the Palm Springs Visitor Center), and, of course, several homes, including his own. Outside the bounds of Palm Springs, Frey might best be known for designing the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

William Krisel designed some 30,000 homes in Southern California and left when the industry became "too uptight". He was interviewed by Dwell Magazine in June 2009.

And, of course no Palm Springs Architect Walk of Fame would be complete without E. Stewart Williams. He contributed much to the style for which Palm Springs is so well known.

For more examples of Modern Architecture found throughout Palm Springs, take a look at this article which provides information about a lot of the greatest of the Old Dames and their architects.

Other resources about Modern Architecture can be found below:

Tomorrow is the last day of Modernism Week for me. It is my understanding that the Double-Decker Bus Tour I will be taking is the perfect way to wrap up such a fantastic week of travel back to the mid-century.

Embraced by the desert at Frey House II in Palm Springs

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You are here.

Frey House II leans into the San Jacinto Mountains on a pedestal of earth-colored brick, like a ship which has run aground. The home’s architect and inhabitant, Albert Frey, had been exact about the color of the brick, wanting it to blend perfectly into the side of the mountain. Even the iron from the surrounding rocks has bled into and discolored the brick, just as it would normally do the soil around it. That was something Frey wanted to happen, something he perhaps delighted in.

The home was built in 1963 as a place for Mr. Frey to live. The original square footage was no more than 800 square feet. We learned he later added on to the home, to make room for his girlfriend, but our focus on this day was the original footprint.

A porte-cochere or portico housed Frey's small car.

One oddity stood out at the bottom of the steps leading up to this very angular house: a chubby, rotund cowbell. It makes more sense, however, knowing that Frey was born and raised in Switzerland and he placed the bell there as a nod to that heritage. In some respects, this house was the ideal Swiss chalet in his adopted “California Alps”.

Earth-colored brick, a glass block (is one missing there in that hole in the wall?), and a cowbell led us up the steps to the home. I like the shadows of the bricks jutting in and out on that corner.

Discoloration of the earth-colored brick by the iron-rich rocks.

Seeing those bricks colored and discolored like the earth and noticing how the roof of the place seems to mimic the sky on one side and the mountain on the other, for the first time I can grasp what is meant by modern architects like Frey who worked to build structures which imitated and “disappeared” into their environments. This house, perched into the walls of this mountain, was embraced by the desert around it. It blended in and molded to the nature surrounding it. Even the pool, so sparkly and blue, seemed to imitate the expansive sky above.

Looking out over the pool.

I liked the little stones embedded into the concrete around the pool. Are those river rocks? Or stones found on the mountain?

Outside, the direct sun pressed hot and heavy with temperatures flirting past 80-degrees Fahrenheit. Inside, the difference in temperature was immediately felt. It had all been planned that way by Mr. Frey to be a home that was cool in the summer and warm in the winter, without the need for piped in heat and air.

Our guide told us how Frey had spent an entire year studying the position of the sun as it hit the ground so he would know how to best place and situate the roof and its overhangs. In the summer months, the sun barely brushes the top step outside the home–never venturing further into the home with its steamy tendrils, thanks to the ribbed aluminium eave hanging over the steps by the pool. Today the winter sun (hot as it was outside) humbly crept along the floor and warmed the carpet inside. With the windows wide open, cool breezes drifted through and made the room quite pleasant and relaxing.

Perforated corrugated aluminum sheets were used on the roof/ceiling of the home. Reminds me of the sky and the cool blue of the pool.

Winter sun comes barely comes in. The rest of the house is shaded and cool.

It was so comfortable in this tiny ship of a house. Everything was built in–the couch, the record player, the drafting table–that it felt as if everything had been thought of and was within arm’s reach. It truly was like living in a ship–one which had been cast up onto high ground and landed perfectly on its anchor, a gorgeous, massive rock.

The rock is at the heart of this small home.

Frey thought around every obstacle as he built this home around the boulder. He did not have access to the kinds of laser-accurate tools we have today which could cut glass to the exact wrinkles and undulations of this rock. So he chipped at it, positioned the glass around it and then filled it back in using the chips he had displaced.

Everything was built in, even the record player.

A stereo console and nightstand/end table connects the bedroom to the main room.

Looking east onto Palm Springs. This photo gives some idea of the length of the living room/bedroom/office space in which Frey lived.

Unlike the Stephens House, I found myself wishing I could be one of the lucky few to live there. It seemed so peaceful, as if inspiration could be born and nurtured inside, while all the little niggling worries of everything else were left outside to melt in the sun.

The large windows opened up and exposed the room from floor to ceiling to welcome, cool breezes. The yellow curtains on one side looked like the yellow flowers dotting the desert floor just outside. The blue drapes on the other side of the home reminded me of the sky visible from the lower level of the living area. It was a dream home–not pretentious, but nonetheless elegant in its simplicity and functionality.

Yellow curtains, the color of bright encilia flowers just outside.

The drafting table with Frey-crafted chairs and blue curtains, the color of the surrounding sky.

In spite of a concrete floor and an aluminum perforated ceiling, this house was richly inviting. Perhaps it is the color of the wood veneer so prominent in the space, used back then for its low-cost availability, and now prized because it is so rare. Woods do tend to soften even the harshest of spaces. Or maybe it was the colors he chose–the blues on the ceiling, curtains, and tabletops. Likely, it is the complete package, a combination of everything, a habitable expression of the desert mountains, which makes it so delightful and draws out feelings of contentment and joy.

The honey-colored wood veneer covered walls and built-in furniture alike. Love that clock.

A view from the open floor-to-ceiling window off the bedroom area.

The hospitality of the home could also simply be owed to its creator, a man who put in his will a special endowment for the house to be maintained and restored as needed. He lived there and loved that house from the time it was built until his death in 1998. It was something special to him and he was happy to share it. He specified that someone should always live in the home because empty houses fall into disrepair and he desired that the home remain “alive” by having someone live there. He also made sure that architecture students and other architects should always have access to the home “for study and inspiration in the future.”

For those of us considered amateur students of architecture, this home is deeply inspiring, a welcome embrace into the simplicity and philosophy of Modernism.

Thank you to the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Architecture and Design Council for making it available to we, your budding students, privileged to walk in the life and steps of people like Albert Frey. This tour has so far been the highlight of Modernism Week for me.

For more photos from our tour of this great house, see the slideshow below.

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The Stephens House: a model of modernist design in Palm Springs

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Palm Springs Modernism Week is all about mid-century design and no where is that better illustrated than in the architecture of homes and businesses found throughout the city. The Stephens House is just such a jewel but it is not readily seen by casual passersby. It is hidden on the front side of the house with massive landscaping and hidden from the back by a silent wall. The only telling features from the street that anything exists behind that small desert forest is a mailbox and a modest, winding sidewalk leading up to the home.

The backyard of the Stephens House opens up to an oasis.

The backyard is where the sky opens up and reveals evidence of human inhabitants. A gorgeous pool and hot tub, a large, expansive patio, and manicured, green grass all point the way to the home at the property’s center. It is a home designed in 1949 by the famous Palm Springs modernist architects, John Clark and Albert Frey. The home was built in 1951 and is considered iconic modernist design because of its flat roof, large glass windows, and the mixture of glass and concrete block. It is situated and covered by eaves such that it is warmed by the winter sun and shaded from the summer sun. This particular home was featured in the September 1955 issue of House Beautiful as an introduction to the idea of a “family room” to post-war America.

The notion of a family room was introduced with this house.

As much as I appreciate the angles and form of such a home, I realized in walking through it that I could never live there. The exposed, painted masonry blocks within the home reminded me too much of military barracks–very stark and utilitarian. The paint around the frameless windows can’t help but chip as the weather seeps in through unseen cracks and works its destructive magic. And hanging anything on the wall is not only permanent, it becomes a job for a masonry expert since everything must go through the brick. Perhaps with the original carpet I might have warmed up to it, but I doubt it.

Large windows look out on a massive ficus tree.

The wood-paneled walls and the built-in clock created a warmth that was harder to find in other rooms clad only by masonry bricks.

Small block windows dotted the walls inside and out, bringing in light, enough for a small plant to be grown indoors in the floor. I'm not sure if that is part of the original design to the home since all the original flooring has been replaced.

A picture of happy lady bugs danced merrily in a framed alcove along the hallway wall.

For me, the warmth of the home was best felt outdoors, wandering under the massive ficus tree, which the experts on site agreed must have been planted in 1951 when the home was first built. It is a wonder that the winter frosts, even in the desert, did not kill it off. Happily, however, it has grown so large that its canopy covers one half of the backyard. The other half meanders back over an expanse of inviting grass, past the pool and its made-for-cocktail-party patio. Tucked beyond the pool, trailing smaller and smaller through the foliage on a grassy (and sometimes mossy) path, is what seemed like a magical forest. A table and chairs sit behind a giant palm tree, under the countenance of citrus trees. A sitting buddha reminds all who enter this triangular nook to respect the space with quiet joy and appreciation.

A ficus with stories to tell.

Looking toward the pool and mountains from the ficus tree.

A small brook hops through the brush and trees. No one seemed to know where it started or where it drifted off to.

A secret nook hidden behind and under large palm and citrus trees.

A path that sparks the imagination and leads to another part of the backyard.

How thankful I am to the Palm Springs Preservation Society and to the current owners of this home for making it available to the participants of Modernism Week. Even though I could never live there myself, I can appreciate its place in Modernist history and feel the fond memories of the first family that lived there in the walls and under that ficus.

Below is a slideshow with all the images taken on today’s tour, including some of the buildings encountered along our walk to and from the Stephens House.

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Vintage cars and mid-century furnishings rev things up at Palm Springs Modernism Week

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Photos from the 50s and 60s might be in black and white, but judging from the colors seen during two of today’s Modernism Week events in Palm Springs, the mid-century was bursting with color and shine.

“They don’t make ‘em like they used to.” No where was that more apparent than at the Vintage Car Show located outside the Palm Springs Convention Center. It was a sight of brilliant colors, shiny chrome, and decadent lines and curves. These are the cars of an era long gone, of free-wheeling creativity. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Lincoln Continental convertible.

Somewhere inside of me is a prolonged sigh–not for a past that wasn’t as good to some as it was to others–but for that kind of open-ended creativity and an “anything’s possible” attitude that created these kinds of cars.

Looooong daddy-oh. Looks like something Batman would drive.

When I look at cars today, I see only hints of the passion and flair of yesterday’s four-wheeled marvels. Where did it go? Maybe with all the rules and regulations about what a car must be today, there’s not room for that kind of passion in the car industry. Or maybe we’re just waiting for that next generation to come along and burst the seams of what we thought was possible.

All about the chrome, color, and massive hood ornaments.

Vintage Car Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Photo by Michael Dryja

Cherry red convertible Studebaker. Photo by Michael Dryja.

Chrysler New Yorker: Long, lean, and shark-like with its gills and fins. Gorgeous.

Inside the Chrysler New Yorker.

1959 Desoto.

Built in a time when kids were seen and not heard, ash trays dominated the back seats instead of video screens.

Outside the Convention Center the cars seduced with their chrome bumpers, curvaceous lines, and statuesque hood ornaments. Inside the Convention Center there was plenty to salivate over as well, thanks to the 12th Annual Palm Springs Modernism Show. All parts of a Modernist home were represented in warm shades of lacquered wood, blue vinyl, polished metals, and sparkly glass. Primary colors danced on metal orbs, rods, and squares. They saturated vinyl couches, were splashed across canvases, and were woven into fabrics.

Love this blue vinyl couch with built-in coffee and end tables. How about those fluffy, furry white pillows?

Large, colorful jacks decorated a glass fireplace surround.

Grouping of Transmission Tower Replicas at Christopher Anthony Ltd. in Palm Springs.

Not sure what material was used to house this radio. Stained wood? Melamine? It is marbled and unique.

Honeycomb bookshelves.

Colorful lamps that look like nuns bowed in prayer.

Simple, colorful, elegant clocks.

For more photos, check out the slideshow from both events:

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