Snobby Tours® Travelblog

GEORGE LUCAS' MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART HAS OPENED IN LOS ANGELES(c)

2026-09-30T13:15:30.455-07:00

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY TRADITIONS IN THE USA AND AROUND THE WORLD, PART ONE OF TWO©

2024-12-30T11:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas Holiday traditions both within the USA and around the world provide unique insight into regional historical, religious and cultural approaches to this celebration.

Part One of this Two-Part Travelblog article focuses on a few traditions around the world which intertwine the history, religion and culture of the location during the Christmas Season.

TWO CHRISTMAS MARKETS AND WINTER GLOW LIGHT FESTIVAL ARE HOLIDAY TRADITIONS IN BRUGES, BELGIUM.

The Christmas Market in the City Centre of Bruges, Belgium is beautifully decorated and embellished -- welcoming visitors with their atmospheric lighting in the typical Winter Glow style.

In addition to the Christmas Market and the ice skating rink, there are also various light installations throughout the city of Bruges. In particular is the light experience trail Winter Glow, consisting of various light installations along the extensive route.

CELEBRATING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IN TOLEDO, SPAIN.

The magic of Christmas comes alive in Toledo, Spain because of its rich history and unique traditions. Among the enchanting sights, one in particular is: the magnificent Christmas tree at Zocodover Square.

When it comes to immersing one's self in the flavors of Christmas in Toledo, the treat that stands out as a beloved tradition is the exquisite marzipan. Renowned for its quality and craftsmanship, the marzipan from Toledo is a culinary delight.

QUEBEC CITY'S GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKET.

When the air becomes crisp and snow begins to fall, Old Québec transitions into a stunning winter wonderland with snow-capped 17th and 18th-century buildings, festive lights strung along doorways and roofs, and in the heart of Old Québec, a charming Québec City German Christmas Market that runs from late November until just before Christmas.

Although established only 15 years ago, it provides visitors the opportunity to discover German and European Christmas traditions.

"ILLUMINATIONS IN JAPAN", AN ANNUAL WINTER TRADITION.

Illuminations in Japan are often associated with the Christmas season, but they usually last the entirety of winter. These types of light up displays are common around train stations, shopping areas, and city streets. Amusement parks also have illumination installments.

Winter illuminations around Christmas and New Year have become a popular attraction in cities across Japan. Illuminations are typically displayed between November and December, but some run longer, starting as early as October and running until Valentine's Day or even into spring.

Among Japan's first and most spectacular light shows is Kobe's Luminarie, an Italian designed light festival which was first held as a memorial to the victims of the disastrous Kobe earthquake in 1995.

DECEMBER MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN ARGENTINA, WHERE CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES IN BUENOS AIRES EVEN INCLUDE MIDNIGHT POOL PARTIES.

Traditional images of Christmas primarily include snowmen, mince pies, snuggling before a roaring fire, and a warmly wrapped Santa Claus, but not in Buenos Aires where December is the start of the Summer holidays in Argentina, and the weather is HOT, i.e., 30°C / 86°F.

Argentina is a Catholic country, therefore Christmas centers around religion. Families celebrate on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas Day by getting together for a cold buffet, opening presents and attending Midnight Mass, after which it is time to party! Midnight pool parties are popular, and dance parties go on until the wee hours of the next morning.

The city is decorated with fairy lights, traditional Christmas trees and all the trimmings. Christmas decorations go up on December 8th (the Festival of Immaculate Conception) and come down on January 6th (Three Kings Night), when children put out hay, water and cookies for the Magi and their camels.

One of the largest Christmas trees in Buenos Aires is in Galerias Pacifico Mall on Florida Street, decorated with more than 8,000 Swarovski crystals. The iconic Obelisk on 9 de Julio Avenue is also decorated.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS BLANKET MODERN ATHENS AND THE TRADITIONAL DECORATED KARAVAKIA SAIL AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT GREECE.

By the first week of December, Christmas trees will have appeared on every Athenian square, especially the primary one which is lit ceremoniously on Syntagma Square).

For many years in the past, however, traditional small boats called "karavakia" have been the yuletide centerpiece, adorned with lights and ornaments instead of Christmas trees. This custom began on the Greek Islands where sailors were often away from home for long periods of time. To celebrate the men’s safe return, locals decorated boats and placed them on the floor next to the fireplace, with bows pointed inwards to symbolize the journey home. Some neighborhoods, usually those closer to the seaside, still observe this tradition which originated from, and still underscores, the connection between Greece and the sea.

THE PROVENCE REGION OF SOUTHERN FRANCE HAS A LONG-STANDING CHRISTMAS TRADITION OF SANTONS AND THE NATIVITY SCENE.

The "santon" is a purely Provençal creation that totally integrates into the Christmas Holiday traditions. The Provençal word "santoun" means "little saint". The santon are generally described as being naive and comical, familiar but dignified, little figurines which are placed in quaint settings that delight both children and adults.

The first ever santon came from Marseille; the oldest mould being that of Lagnel. It is exhibited at the Museum of Old Marseille (the Maison Diamantée).

The Nativity Scene is the epitome of all scenes featuring the santon. All santon are cast first in an original mould representing many different, popular Provençal figures. Each santon-maker creates some figurines by taking inspiration from folklore and tradition, such as the shepherd proffering the lamb, reminding us to share, and the woman with the black hen, whose bouillon was recommended for newborns.

Santon are generally made of plaster rather than resin. The santon-makers paint with gouache the lighter colours, such as the face, then the darker ones. The figures are sculpted based on the Maurel pastorale; some villages add characters, according to their own history. Some of them can be dressed in costumes, primarily representing various trades and professions of the 19th Century. All these figures take their place around the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the three wise men, who are only put in place on January 6th each year.

THE FARMERS SANTA PARADE CELEBRATED ITS 91st YEAR THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland's grandest and most cherished holiday tradition, the Farmers Santa Parade, now in its 91st year, marks the official start of the Christmas Season.

As the largest annual community event in Auckland, New Zealand, the Farmers Santa Parade has delighted locals and visitors alike for generations, making this as a much-anticipated holiday and family tradition. With over 4,000 participants, performers, and dedicated volunteers, this parade represents the heart and soul of Auckland, bringing people together to celebrate the wonder and magic of the Season.

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THE MET CLOISTERS: THE USA'S ONLY MUSEUM EXCLUSIVELY DEVOTED TO THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES©

2024-09-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Cloisters, a branch of the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art fondly called "The Met", overlooks the picturesque Hudson River in Fort Tryon Park located in Upper Manhattan. The Museum derives its name from the portions of five Medieval cloisters incorporated into a modern museum structure.

The Cloisters' story begins with George Grey Barnard (1863-1938), a rather colourful character. A student of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), Barnard himself was a prominent American sculptor.

HISTORY OF THE MET CLOISTERS MUSEUM

While working in rural France, Barnard supplemented his income by locating and selling medieval sculpture and architectural fragments that had made their way into the hands of local landowners over several centuries of political and religious upheaval. Barnard also served as a middleman between major Paris dealers and American clients; however, he kept many these confiscated pieces for himself -- a practice that today might cause issues of stolen art and its repatriation to arise.

Upon moving back to the United States just prior to World War I, Barnard opened to the public a church-like brick structure located in Upper Manhattan on Fort Washington Avenue filled with his Collection—the first installation of Medieval art and architectural artifacts in America, which he named George Grey Barnard's Cloisters. Although Barnard proudly displayed his own personal collection of Medieval art and architectural artifacts, the Collection was not properly curated so that it could be presented in a historically accurate context.

Vintage photo of the Interior of
Barnard's Cloisters, circa 1925

This lack of historical continuity and perspective was counterproductive to his fervent goal of enabling Americans to see and learn about art from the Middle Ages, and especially young American sculptors whom he hoped would be inspired by what he called "the patient Gothic chisel." Instead, it expressed Barnard's poetic and very personal interpretation of the Middle Ages, but nevertheless, was a ground-breaking and influential installation because it was the first ever display of its type of Medieval art in America.

Enter John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

When Barnard's Cloisters was offered for sale in 1924, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960) provided funds that enabled The Metropolitan Museum of Art to purchase the Museum and its Collections. The expert artistry of Medieval art, as well as its innate spirituality, strongly appealed to the philanthropist Rockefeller, who, like many of his contemporaries, possessed a fascination with the past. Consequently, Rockefeller concurrently presented the Museum with more than 40 pieces from his own collection of Medieval works of art -- a gift which enhanced Barnard's original very eclectic, albeit disorganized, Collection which had previously been on display.

By 1927, the Metropolitan Museum of Art decided a larger building was needed for its branch museum – one that would exhibit its Collection in a more scholarly fashion. "With visionary foresight, Rockefeller offered to finance the conversion of 66.5 acres of land just north of Barnard's [original] museum into a public park, known as Fort Tryon Park, with a new Cloisters as its centerpiece". (SIDE NOTE: Fort Tryon Park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers landscape architectural firm between 1931-1933.)

In order to retain the pastoral setting surrounding the new Cloisters Museum and grounds, and to keep the view from the new Museum pristine, Rockefeller also donated additional parkland to the State of New Jersey along the New Jersey Palisades on the opposite bank of the Hudson River.

Construction began in 1935. Photos documenting the site and construction were taken by Irving Underhill between May 6, 1935 and January 5, 1938, such as the one herein above.

The three men who, together with Rockefeller, gave shape to the present museum were Charles Collens (1873-1956), Joseph Breck (1885-1933), and James Rorimer (1905-1966) -- with Collens being the primary architect. Breck, a curator of decorative arts as well as assistant director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was primarily responsible for the Cloisters' interior design until his untimely death in 1933, after which time Rorimer replaced him.

When The Cloisters finally opened to the public in 1938 in the middle of the Great Depression, the finished Museum resembled a French Romanesque abbey, while not replicating any one particular Medieval building or setting, but instead designed to evoke the general architecture of the later Middle Ages. The Cloisters creates an integrated and harmonious context in which visitors can experience the rich tradition of medieval artistic production, including metalwork, painting, sculpture, and textiles.

THE THREE CLOISTER GARDENS

The Cloisters is also renowned for its three Cloister Gardens – Cuxa, Bonnefont, and Trie. Designed as an integral feature when the Museum opened in 1938, the Gardens enhance the setting in which the Museum's collection of medieval art is displayed and create an understanding of medieval life.

Planted in the reconstructed Romanesque and Gothic cloisters, each of the three Gardens re-creates those that provided sustenance and spiritual refreshment within a traditional Medieval monastery. The Judy Black Garden in the Cuxa Cloister is designed in the typically Medieval plan with a fountain set at the center of crossed paths which divide this Garden into quadrants, each with a grass plot and a pollarded crab apple tree.

The "Medieval pleasure garden", with its borders of plants chosen for beauty and fragrance, is the ancestor of present day ornamental gardens. In winter, the arcades are glassed in, and the interior walkway becomes a conservatory filled with tender plants such as date palm, orange, rosemary, and bay.

The raised beds of the Bonnefont Cloister Herb Garden hold one of the most specialized plant collections in the world. The foundation of its plant list is a 9th Century edict of the Emperor Charlemagne designating 89 species to be grown on his estates. This list has been supplemented by herbals and monastic records, as well as archaeological evidence. The Cloisters' collection is based on the more than 400 species of plants known and used in the Middle Ages, some of which were grown in gardens, while various herbs were gathered from the wild, and exotic spices such as black pepper and ginger were imported in dried form. Plants in this Garden are also grouped and labeled according to their Medieval use, whether in cooking, medicine, art, industry, housekeeping, or magic. Near the south wall of Bonnefont Cloister Herb Garden, is an orchard of lady apples and other medieval fruits such as medlar, quince, currants, and elderberries. Orchards were associated with monasteries, manor houses, and parks, and were often enclosed to keep out thieves. The third of the three Met Cloister Gardens, Trie Cloister Garden, evokes the idealized gardens and landscapes of the Middle Ages. The joy the Medieval world felt upon the return of the Spring season each year was expressed in their verdant, millefleur tapestries, allegorical poems, and paintings. The plantings in this "Medieval fantasy garden" are inspired by that much-loved Medieval setting, the enameled mead or flowering meadow. Much more reflective of the wildness of nature, the Medieval world's exuberant vision of nature is evident in this Garden as well as in the famous Unicorn Tapestries' myriad of flowers and fruits which is part of The Met's Collection.

In 1974, The Met Cloisters received City Landmark Designation from the City of New York. The most recent renovation of the Museum, completed in 2009, has been of the Late Gothic Hall, which included the conservation of windows from the Dominican monastery in Sens and the return to public view of a monumental tapestry from Burgos Cathedral.

Primary Sources: metmuseum.org/The Cloisters; nylandmarks.org; Cloisters Archives Collection

ANNUAL SEPHARDIC AUTUMN AND INTERNATIONAL SEPHARDIC MUSIC FESTIVAL IN CORDOVA, SPAIN CELEBRATE CENTURIES OF SPANISH JEWISH HERITAGE AND CULTURE©

2024-07-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

There is evidence that Jews have been residing in Spain since the 2nd Century C.E. The most prolific and peaceful existence for them may have been during Ummayad's Caliphate in the 10th Century C.E. while Cordova was under Moorish rule. At that time, Cordova was the capital of the Caliphate, making it one of the most important and advanced cities in the then-Western world -- and the reason that there was a large Sephardic community living in the city.

Historical documents exist which reveal that in 10th Century Cordova, the overall population was approximately 500,000 people, among which inhabitants included around 10,000 Jews, most of whom were intellectual, educated people who spoke several languages, and who included very well-known philosophers, doctors, and commercial vendors in various trades.

Visiting Cordova today reveals the centuries of Sephardic Jewish history in Spain and the pre-Spanish Inquisition mode and quality of life of Jews sharing the city with other cultures and religions.

The old Synagogue, its interior pictured above, dating back to the Medieval period is still extant -- one of only three synagogues remaining in Spain from prior to the commencement of the Spanish Inquisition in the late 1400s.

EVOLUTION OF SEPHARDIC AUTUMN IN CORDOVA

On September 3rd each year, the European Day of Jewish Culture is celebrated. This Day of Awareness about Jewish Heritage and Legacy was first instituted in 1996 in France under the formula of "Open Doors", an initiative that was joined by the Red de Juderias de Espana "Caminos de Sefarad", the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain "Ways of the Sephardic".

In 2005, the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Heritage and Culture (AEPJ) was created to coordinate the "Open Doors" project at a more inclusive international European level. The country of Spain stood out at the international level with 145 activities in 24 cities with the participation of 35,000 people. In Cordova alone, 50 entities participated, 77 activities were presented, and 8,265 people attended -- making this project in Cordova an absolute success.

Further, due to the international consolidation of this project, the European Day of Jewish Culture has been extended from occurring only on September 3rd of each year now to include more designated days with the incorporation of the Sephardic Autumn programming that takes place during the first two weeks of September every year, and with the International Sephardic Music Festival which either overlaps with, or immediately follows, the last few days of Sephardic Autumn every year.

Otono Sefardi (Sephardic Autumn) has evolved over the years to currently include guided tours of the Jewish Quarter, gastronomic classes about Sephardic food, education workshops and conferences, concerts and other performances of Sephardic music, special art exhibitions, kosher wine tastings and other activities celebrating Spain's acknowledgment of Jews as part of its rich and vibrant history and culture.

In 2024, Sephardic Autumn in Cordova overlaps with the International Sephardic Music Festival occurring September 11-15, 2024, now in its 22nd year.

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(Primary Sources: EventourCordoba; Cordoba Department of Tourism; Cordoba City Council)

THE OLD GLOBE THEATRE IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A SHINING STAR AMONG USA REGIONAL THEATRES©

2024-06-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

The Old Globe is California's oldest professional theatre. Following the closure of the California Pacific Exposition in 1937, a nonprofit organization called the San Diego Community Theatre was formed in order to lease the land and adjacent buildings from the City of San Diego in order to renovate the Theatre for permanent use.

On December 2, 1937, the renovated Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of John Van Druten’s 'The Distaff Side'. The ticket price of admission was 35-cents.

Modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego's historic Balboa Park was built in 1935 for the presentation by the theatrical troupe then known as 1935 Globe Players of abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays as part of the California Pacific International Exposition.

The Globe Players had moved to San Diego from Chicago where they had performed edited versions of Shakespeare’s plays in an Elizabethan-themed “Merrie England” Exhibit at the 1933-34 Century of Progress Exposition. The format of abbreviated Shakespeare productions fit nicely with a great array of attractions in Balboa Park's Exposition.

The only years between 1937 and the present date during which the OldGlobe "went dark" for any substantial period of time were from 1942-1947

during World War II and immediately thereafter. When Pearl Harbor was

attacked on December 7, 1941 precipitating the United States' entranceinto World War II, the Navy took over all buildings and groups of Balboa Park

due to San Diego's strategic location and port harbor on the Pacific Coastline.

During the "War Years", the Old Globe was primarily used for military training

purposes; however, lectures and entertainment were offered, including

Bob Hope who entertained the troops there.

Additionally, the core Community Theatre leaders in San Diego

Additionally, the core Community Theatre leaders in San Diego kept the Old Globe alive by providing theatre for its many fans through the auspices of the USO. Between 1942 and the end of the war in 1945, the Old Globe troupe, under the USO, presented shows at various San Diego military installations. Finally, in 1947, the US Navy returned the Old Globe theatre to its original occupants. The opening production in 1947 was William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life,”

The year 1949 was marked by the launch of the Shakespeare Festival, a collaborative undertaking by the San Diego Community Theatre/ the Globe Theatre and San Diego State College. Two Shakespeare productions in each Summer were successfully performed between 1950-1952 of 1950, but in 1953, the production of the enormously popular Broadway hit “Mr. Roberts” was mounted for the entire summer, temporarily supplanting the Shakespeare Festival.

The Shakespeare Festival resumed in 1954, by then belonging entirely to the San Diego Community Theatre/Old Globe. The number of productions increased to three, 15 performances each, in repertory style rotation, and the Festival grew in prestige and production quality in the following decades.

Rebuilt after a devastating arson fire in 1978 which destroyed the Old Globe, the immediate need for a space to produce that Summer’s San Diego National Shakespeare Festival resulted in the construction of the Festival Stage adjacent to the physical site of the Old Globe.

In January 1981, the Theatre’s board of directors established the Globe as a year-round professional company, and in 1982, the new 580-seat Old Globe Theatre opened with a production of Shakespeare’s 'As You Like It'.

For almost 90 years since its inception in 1935, The Old Globe "has been home to the most acclaimed national artists, designers, directors, and playwrights in the theatre industry. More than 20 productions produced at The Old Globe have gone on to play Broadway and Off Broadway, garnering 13 Tony Awards and numerous nominations".

In 1984 the Globe was the recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre for its contribution to the development of the art form.

The Old Globe annually mounts 15 productions from all periods and styles, ranging from Shakespeare to an ongoing emphasis on the development and production of new works, along with the annual family musical Dr. Seuss’ "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

"With a current operating budget of approximately $30 million, the Globe is one of San Diego’s largest arts institutions, its leading arts employer, and among the nation’s top-ranked regional theatres. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s arts engagement programs and outreach services."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: To find out more about San Diego's historic Balboa Park where The Old Globe is located, link to my Blog article herein published on May 30, 2023, entitled, "BALBOA PARK: THE BACKSTORY OF SAN DIEGO'S ENCHANTING, ECLECTIC HISTORIC CULTURAL ARTS VENUE©" at: https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2023/05/balboa-park-san-diegos-enchanting.html

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(Primary sources and photo credits: The Old Globe; Darlene Davies’s article, "80 Years in the Making", Ranch & Coast Magazine, published April 27, 2015)

THE ANNUAL PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN: A LEGACY OF DESIGN SUPPORTING PHILANTHROPY©

2024-04-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

The 2024 Pasadena Showcase House of Design

THE PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE LEGACY OF PHILANTHROPY

For 59 years, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, the annual fundraiser of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) held during the Spring season, has provided financial support that benefits the Los Angeles musical arts through the creation of diverse music programs funded primarily by gifts and grants. These programs for decades have successfully nurtured the study and appreciation of music, provided music as a vehicle toward health, healing and music education, and underscored that music enhances other academic subjects as well cultural enrichment for both youth and adults.

This philanthropic legacy first began in 1948 when the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee made plans to raise money for the Continuance Fund – later named the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (LAPA) – to help pay for the series of concerts performed in the City of Pasadena by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

The original founding members consisted of 18 women who met their early fundraising goals with a series of traditional "society" social events -- a shipwreck party, a casino night, an assortment of bridge tournaments and gatherings around a popular new fixture in their homes in the 1950s, the television set. The TV parties were particularly popular because they provided an added attraction for guests who often "dressed up" as their favorite TV stars such as Lucy and Desi, The Honeymooners, Matt Dillon, Perry Mason, "Kookie" and Joe Friday. During those early years, these social events brought in $3,000 to $5,000 annually -- which amounts to between $32,000 and $54,000 in today’s dollars -- and which went a long way towards LAPA's philanthropic endeavours in the 1950s.

Students arriving at Walt Disney Concert Hall
for the Pasadena Showcase House Youth Concert

The Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition has awarded over $500,000 in prize money since it began in 1985. The Competition is open to string, woodwind, and brass musicians ages 14 through 19 years of age who are full-time students and who reside and attend high school in Los Angeles County, who compete for individual prizes that range from $500 to $4,000 to further their education. The judging panel includes members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and prize monies for the Instrumental Competition are drawn from the proceeds of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts’ annual fundraiser, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.

Now in its 59th year, due to the dedication of PSHA members, the countless hours they volunteer, the talent and financial commitment of the designers and so many others who donate their time, services, products and money, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design has become one of the oldest, largest and most successful home and garden tours in the USA. Since its inception, it has raised over $25-million in support of its dedication to cultural enrichment through the furtherance of music education and performances.

Grand Foyer
Amy Peltier Interior Design & Home
2018 Pasadena Showcase House

HISTORY OF THE PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN

The idea for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design was suggested in 1965. This idea turned out to be brilliant and fortuitous, not only because it utilized local resources, local mansions and the many local area interior designers, but also because it appealed to the rapidly-increasing number of newly-married Baby Boomer housewives in the Greater Los Angeles area who were interested in ideas for beautifying their homes and gardens. It was no surprise that when the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee, later known as Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA), opened the doors to the first Showcase House in 1965, that the public showed up in droves.

Responding to the collaboration of imagination and hard work from the Committee and the participating local creative resources, community support was immediately enthusiastic and generous. More than $11,000. was raised that first year, which is approximately $110,000. in 2024 dollars. Admission to the first Showcase House was $1.50 per person, which included coffee and cookies. Approximately 7,500 people attended. Street parking in Pasadena predictably was in short supply, so automobiles often camped on a neighbor’s lawn. (By contrast, today’s tickets range from $35.00 to $65.00, and visitors are shuttled to/from the Showcase House by chartered buses serving several nearby locations.)

The designated Showcase House has historically been open to visitors during the Spring season from mid-April through mid-May, including on Mother's Day when a special catered Brunch is offered along with other celebratory activities.

In 1970, “Art Sales,” provided by two local artists, was added to the event. Now called "The Shops at Showcase", features around 25 vendors situated on the landscaped grounds of the Showcase House who come from throughout California and who have been carefully selected to offer visitors unique designer jewelry, a selection of gourmet food items, clothing that ranges from avant-garde to classic, garden items, and an assortment of housewares from practical to luxurious, inter alia.

Refreshments initially evolved over the years from free coffee and cookies to lunches provided by PSHA members. Next came a cafeteria, and thereafter a full-service restaurant, a Gourmet-to-Go station, al fresco dining, wines and pubs. Celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck have even provided the catering.

What does it take to be a Showcase House? There is no ideal house that meets all the criteria; however, having two staircases is at the top of the must-have list, along with a wide road for the shuttles, sufficient space on the grounds for Shops at Showcase, porta-potties, trash, and the like, are the practicalities that influence the selection. Over the years, houses selected have also been located in nearby neighboring communities such as La Canada Flintridge in the foothills north of Pasadena where many homes pre-date those in Pasadena, and where Louis B. Mayer had his very first motion picture production facilities prior to his establishing M-G-M Studios in Culver City.

Sometimes there are grand mansions and other times charming homes on a smaller scale are chosen. No matter the amount of the interior square footage, each estate is renovated from top to bottom by leading designers using the latest concepts and materials.

Dining Room
Samantha Williams Interior Design
2019 Pasadena Showcase House

Also, there are additional considerations. If the house is occupied and not for sale, the owners have final say over the choice of the Master Colour Palette. If the house is vacant and for sale, there is greater flexibility for the Showcase House Committee regarding selection of the Master Colour Palatte and the materials used by the designers and landscape architects. New fixtures and design features such as built-in bookcases, etched glass window panes in the kitchen, stenciling painted on the wooden floors of hallways, fireplace mantels, for example, which are permanently attached to the house and its exterior stay with the house after the event, paid for by the owners, whereas removable fabric window treatments, chandeliers, and artwork are generally removed unless purchased by the owners or by visitors during the annual Showcase House event. Additionally, if the house has a local or other historic landmark designation, there are parameters by law relevant to renovation and updating both the interior and the exterior of the house which require compliance in order to maintain its heritage preservation landmark status.

THE 2024 PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN

Featured as a Showcase House twice previously during the past 59 years, in 1975 and 1996, the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House of Design may look familiar to many since it has frequently been a setting for movies, television shows and advertisements. “Eleanor and Franklin,” “Foul Play,” “The Christmas Box,” and “Bachelor Party,” are some of the movies it has appeared in, while television shows include “McCloud,” “Falcon Crest,” “Quantum Leap,” and “Remington Steele.”

The stately English Tudor Revival Style home boasts a significant historic background, several storied owners and even a prestigious designation as a Pasadena City Landmark. It was once named “El Roble” by one of its prominent residents, a Spanish translation in honor of a stately oak tree that once graced its magnificent front lawn. Commissioned by Gertrude Potter Daniels, wife of a wealthy Chicago businessman, the home was originally built in 1902 by Joseph J. Blick, one of Pasadena’s pioneer architects, as a “winter home” for the Daniels and their two young sons. The graceful, shingle-style structure cost $15,000 to build, a significant amount for that time.

Just three years later in 1905, the home was sold to Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes, again to serve as a winter home. Mrs. Holmes gained fame as the “Silver Queen” after her late first husband named Emery, had struck it rich in Utah organizing the Silver King Mines. Upon her acquisition of the house, and with no expenses spared, a new set of distinctive architectural changes were made. The Holmes' entertained lavishly in their winter home for many years and in 1922 decided to make it their sole residence. Inspired by her European travels during the years, Mrs. Holmes hired the Postle Company of Los Angeles, builders of the now-famous Pasadena Playhouse, to completely remodel the home into the English Tudor Revival Style mansion that exists today, at a cost of $37,000 -- the equivalent of $680,000 in US dollars 102 years later in 2024. Although the home bore little resemblance to its former version, it was one of the most impressive houses in Pasadena.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Visiting the Pasadena Showcase Houses over the years has always been a favourite annual Spring activity of mine. I personally attended the Opening Ceremonies of at least 15 of the Showcase Houses while living in Los Angeles, stood right in front of Merlin Olsen as he cut the ribbon for public entry on the first Sunday of Showcase, and even had a client who was one of the selected Interior Designers -- during the "animal print", "painting/stenciling of rugs on the upper hallway floors" and the "etched glass kitchen window panes of Charlie Chaplin" years. The Showcase Houses are "etched" fondly in my memory.

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(Primary Source: Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts)

THE CHINESE (LUNAR) NEW YEAR COMMENCING IN FEBRUARY, 2024 CELEBRATES THE YEAR OF THE WOOD DRAGON WITH LAVISH, COLOURFUL FESTIVALS IN MANY USA CITIES©

2024-02-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

2024 is the Lunar Year of the Wood Dragon. It is anticipated to be a very powerful year, starting with celebrations and parades in its honour.

Sometimes called the "Chinese New Year", the Lunar New Year is a more inclusive term that includes other East Asian countries which celebrate the Lunar calendar, such as Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The date of the commencement of the Chinese New Year changes from year to year, depending on the Lunar calendar. In 2024, it falls on Saturday, February 10. Celebrations, however, will take place before, during and after.

The origin of the Chinese New Year festival dates to a mythological ancient battle against a monster called the Nien, which comes each year to eat livestock and people and create mayhem. To scare it away, people show red paper, burn bamboo, light candles and wear red clothes. Not only do these traditions continue into the 21st Century, but also today's festivals include giving money in red envelopes.

Traditionally, people clean house around the beginning of the new year to “sweep away” the previous year’s bad luck and to honor their dead ancestors by giving them food before the living themselves eat at the reunion dinner. Firecrackers are used to scare away evil and to prepare for good things in the new year, while the lion and dragon dances also bring prosperity to the new year. Superstition instructs on essential things not to do on New Year's Day, such as sweeping the house, so that happiness and prosperity are not swept away but instead will be abundant in the coming year.

Cities around the USA -- some having historic Chinatown areas -- are world-renown for their festivities, parades and special events during the Lunar New Year celebrations. Herein below are a few.

SAN FRANCISCO:

San Francisco has the largest, most vibrant Chinatown of any city in the USA. Celebrations have been taking place there for more than 160 years, since the 1860s. Its Chinese New Year Parade is one of the few remaining illuminated night parades in North America, and is the most extensive parade for this event outside of Asia. The 2024 parade date is on February 24th.

NEW YORK CITY:

Second only in size and scope to San Francisco, the biggest and best offering on the East Coast can be found in Manhattan in New York City. Additionally, there are other Lunar New Year celebrations happening the New York City and its various boroughs -- especially Queens, where a large Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese community resides. Chinatown is located in Lower Manhattan The event has a street party vibe, with performance artists and vendors keeping everyone energized.

CHICAGO:

Chicago welcomes the Year of the Dragon with a parade on February 18, 2024. Planned by the Chicago Chinese Community Foundation, the parade will feature the traditional dragon and lion dancing teams, colorful floats, marching bands and other performing groups.

LOS ANGELES:

Los Angeles will celebrate the Year of Dragon on February 17, 2024 with its 125th Golden Dragon Parade. Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to gather and line the streets in the five block radius spanning North Broadway and Hill street in Chinatown. Families, friends and children of all ages will be cheering on the marching bands, kung fu performers, lion dancers and the newly crowned Miss Chinatown Los Angeles.

PHILADELPHIA:

Numerous events celebrating the Chinese New Year are scheduled, commencing on February 10th at various venues around the city, including traditional performances, special cuisine, and the exchange of lucky red envelopes symbolizing good wishes and prosperity in Chinatown, Dilworth Park, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The 43rd annual Lunar New Year CultureFest! will be held at the Penn Museum, and will feature vibrant Asian traditions with a full day of festivities, including storytelling, art-making, live music, and dance performances, ending with a traditional Lion Dance.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY:

The celebration of the Lunar New Year is intermixed with Eastern and Western music performed by the New Jersey Symphony. This annual tradition, which takes place the night of February 3, 2024, was the brainchild of music director Xian Zhang and rings in the new year with action onstage inside a warm concert hall rather than with a parade outdoors.

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(Primary Sources: timeout.com; Chicago Chinatown Community Foundation)

MUSEUMS WORLDWIDE ARE ADDRESSING ISSUES OF MISAPPROPRIATION AND PROVENANCE IN THEIR COLLECTIONS AS NEWLY-ENACTED LAWS TAKE EFFECT AND OLDER LAWS ARE RECONSIDERED©

2024-01-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

New Federal Regulations effective in 2024 affecting USA Museums, coupled with an increased acknowledgement by Museums worldwide regarding issues of provenance and misappropriation of antiquities, artifacts and works of art, is leading to major, often dramatic, changes in the display and exhibiting of their Collections, and bringing the matter of repatriation to the forefront.

The increased attention calling for, and efforts demanding, repatriation of artworks and artifacts having questionable histories and provenance have become more widespread in recent years, primarily due to advances in research techniques, a rise in interest in art looted by the Nazis during World War II primarily from Jewish families, and a renewed focus on the practices in the art world that were allowed, and/or ignored, during the period of Colonialism particularly prevalent in the early 19th Century in Africa.

The ways in which museums and private collectors respond to these issues are likely to create major changes, and have a profound and lasting effect, upon current and future exhibitions and displays of artworks, artifacts and antiquities that have a questionable provenance, history and method of acquisition.

Herein below are recent stories in the news about several of those major changes by Museums both within and outside of the USA.

PRESS RELEASE: USA MUSEUMS ARE CURRENTLY REASSESSING AND REMOVING FROM DISPLAY THEIR COLLECTIONS OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ARTIFACTS DUE TO NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE IN JANUARY, 2024.

Hall of the Great Plains
in New York City's American Museum of Natural History
Photo Credit: Jeenah Moon/The New York Times

In January, 2024, new US Federal regulations governing the holding and display of Native American heritage and cultural items that were enacted to hasten returns, give institutions holding these types of artifacts 5 years to prepare all human remains and related funerary objects for repatriation, and also give more authority to Native American tribes throughout the process. The new Federal regulations require museums to obtain consent from Native American tribes before displaying or performing research on their cultural items.

In many instances, the original acquisition of Native American artifacts occurred during "an era" when museums in general were less concerned with "the values, perspectives and shared humanity of Indigenous peoples".

Several museums affected have already undertaken action in compliance with these new regulations.

"The result has been a major shift in practices when it comes to Native American exhibitions at some of the country’s leading museums — one that will be noticeable to visitors.

Per The New York Times article by Julia Jacobs and Zachary Small titled "Leading Museums Remove Native Displays Amid New Federal Rules", published on January 26, 2024, "The American Museum of Natural History [in New York City] will close two major Halls exhibiting Native American objects in a dramatic response to these new Federal regulations."

Additionally, the article stated that "[m]useums around the country have been covering up displays as curators scramble to determine whether they can be shown under the new regulations. The Field Museum in Chicago covered some display cases, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University said it would remove all funerary belongings from exhibition, and the Cleveland Museum of Art has covered up some display cases.

"Exhibiting Native American human remains is generally prohibited at museums, so the collections being reassessed include sacred objects, burial belongings and other items of cultural patrimony . . . . . A top priority of the new regulations, which are administered by the Interior Department, is to finish the work of repatriating the Native human remains in institutional holdings."

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PRESS RELEASE: NEW LEGISLATION REQUIRING NEW YORK MUSEUMS TO PROMINENTLY IDENTIFY NAZI-LOOTED ART ON DISPLAY AS HAVING BEEN LOOTED BY THE NAZIS DURING WORLD WAR II HAS BECOME EFFECTIVE IN NEW YORK STATE.

By legislative act signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on August 10, 2023, artwork that has “changed hands due to theft, seizure, confiscation, forced sale or other involuntary means” must be accompanied, when publicly displayed, by a prominently placed placard or other signage that acknowledges this provenance.

By the State of New York’s count, the Nazis looted some 600,000 paintings from Jewish people during the War, as part of the Nazi party’s crimes committed to wipe out Jewish identity and culture.

In a statement issued by New York State Senator Anna M. Kaplan, "[A]rtwork previously stolen by the Nazis can be found hanging in museums around New York with no recognition of the dark paths they traveled there”.

The new State law in New York comes at a time when museums around the world are increasingly dealing with the question of looted art in their Collections, and museums within the USA are taking steps to comply with new US Federal Regulations effective in 2024 which require repatriation of misappropriated Native American artifacts to various tribes.

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OTHER CONTENTIOUS COLLECTIONS:

Museum collections in Europe are also facing criticism and calls for the return of artwork, artifacts and human remains looted during wars or obtained in other ways while these nations ruled colonial empires across the world. Among these are the famous Benin Bronzes at Paris’ Quai Branly Museum, a collection of bronze sculptures looted by French forces in 1892 from the Abomey Palace located in the Kingdom of Benin in what now is modern-day Nigeria.

Other contentious collections include the Maqdala Collection, taken from Ethiopia in the 1800s, as well as the human remains of more than 6,000 people, including Egyptian mummies.

In an article published in Forbes Magazine on October 27, 2021 written by Carlie Porterfield, titled "Europe's Museums, Collectors are Returning Artifacts to Countries Amid Fresh Scrutiny", it was reported that Cambridge University’s Jesus College had recently held a ceremony to return to Nigeria a bronze statue of a rooster that was taken from Benin by British troops in 1897 which had been on display in the College's dining room until 2016 when students protested to demand it be returned.

The same article cited herein above also highlighted the following:

A 4,250-year-old gold ewer from what now is modern-day Turkey that was on long-term loan by a private collector, and on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, was returned to Ankara after researchers found it was likely illegally looted and smuggled out of Turkey unbeknownst to the late donor, whose Trust had agreed to hand it over.

A French private collector turned over an ancient Mayan stela during a ceremony in Paris after the artifact was flagged by Guatemalan authorities in 2019 as being a piece that disappeared in the 1960s from Piedras Negras, an archeological site in the country’s northwest.

A court in Amsterdam ruled the city’s Allard Pierson Museum must return to the Ukraine a trove of objects from Crimea, a region of Ukraine that was seized by Russia in 2014, despite pressure from Russian authorities who said they would appeal the decision.

One of the most contentious group of artifacts currently displayed in The British Museum are the Parthenon Sculptures, a collection of 2,500-year-old marble sculptures that a British diplomat personally removed in 1806 from the Parthenon temple in Athens. The sculptures have become the subject of an ongoing diplomatic acrimony between the United Kingdom and Greece which contends they were looted. In November, 2023 Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis canceled a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after he ruled out changing a law that bans their return to Greece. After the Museum’s announcement on January 25, 2024, Reuters reported that Mitsotakis renewed calls for the return of the sculptures, stating “Only by being seen together, in situ, in the shadow of the Acropolis, can we truly appreciate their immense cultural importance".

In another article covering the subject of museum collections of questionable appropriation and provenance, titled "British Museum Lends Ghana Looted Gold Artifacts -- Here's Why It Won't Fully Return Them" written by Zachary Folk, published on January 25, 2024 in Forbes Magazine , it was reported that two museums -- The British Museum and The Victoria and Albert Museum -- both located in the United Kingdom, have been confronted with the issue of looted artifacts in their respective Collections. The British Museum has announced that it is temporarily returning looted gold and silver to Ghana which the Museum acquired following a war which occurred in the 1870s, but only for a limited time due to several currently applicable British laws enacted in the mid-20th Century that prevent, or severely impede, permanent repatriation by British museums of looted and/or misappropriated artifacts in their Collections.

"The artifacts include 17 items from the Victoria and Albert Museum and 15 items from the British Museum, including dozens of gold items looted while the British Army raided the Ashanti royal palace that were auctioned off to the museums in April 1874.

"The Exhibition will not permanently remain in Ghana—the pieces are only on loan for three years, and will return to the U.K. in 2027.

"Several British laws also prevent the museums from outright returning these artifacts to Ghana: The British Museum Act of 1963 bans the Museum from removing an artifact from its collection unless it is a duplicate, is damaged or is deemed 'unfit' for the collection.

"The National Heritage Act of 1983 prevents the Victoria and Albert Museum from legally returning the artifacts as well, the Museum told Forbes, and noted they have not received any formal requests for repatriation for the pieces being lent."

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(Primary Sources: The New York Times; The Art Newspaper; Forbes Magazine)

CHRISTMAS IN PROVENCE, FRANCE: CENTURIES-OLD TRADITIONS AND CELEBRATIONS ROOTED IN FRENCH HISTORY©

2023-12-17T02:01:00.000-08:00

With the Holiday Season underway all around the world, my thoughts turn to one of my favourite places, Provence, located in the south of France. It is particularly charming and beautiful at this time of year, and includes many unique traditions -- some of which are centuries-old.

Christmas Decorations along Cours Mirabeau
in Aix-en-Provence
Photo Provenance unknown

In Provence, the Christmas Season is called “La Calendale“. It starts on the 4th of December, the day of the patron Sainte Barbe, i.e., Saint Barbara. (SIDE NOTE: the French calendar attributes most days of the year to a different patron Saint.) The overall Season ends on the following February 2nd at Candlemas, although Christmas observances and festivities in Provence culminate on the 24th and 25th of December.

According to tradition, the Provençal Christmas season begins on December 4th every year, the day of the patron Sainte Barbe, Saint Barbara’s Day. This is when families fill three small dishes—three representing the Trinity—with wet cotton balls sprinkled with wheat or lentil seeds. These seeds are kept moist in the hopes that they will sprout. Twenty days later, on December 24th, if the wheat or lentil shoots have grown straight and green, the young shoots are wrapped in yellow and red ribbons, and the finest crop is placed on the Christmas table and believed to be a sign that there will be a good harvest or a positive financial outlook the next year. On the following day, Christmas Day, the wrapped shoots are used to decorate the Nativity scene, remainging there to thrive until Epiphany in January. Thereafter, the sprouted shoots are planted.

Towns all over France have Nativity Scenes called crèches, but in Provence they are uniquely different because they don't depict Jesus, Mary, and Joseph surrounded by the Wise Men. Instead, the "crèche provençal" is filled with santons, which are adorable little figurines that depict characters from village life like the baker and the fishwife. This is because the display of crèches, like much of religious life, was banned during the French Revolution which forbade public nativities.

Consequently, “private” nativities developed in Provençal homes. A clever artist from Marseille, Jean Louis Lagnel, a native of Marseille, invented "santons" in 1800 and turned the crèche into a village scene using his figurines instead of the usual Biblical characters. These miniature figurines originally were made from moulds and used crustless bread. This tradition was passed down from father to son with a great deal of secrecy from the 19th Century onwards. Ironically, the anti-religious zealots of the French Revolution somehow missed the fact that the word santon means “little saint.” Today, the santons are generally made from either argyle or earthenware and are painted and dressed. The profession of Santonnier is now recognized as a traditional Provençal craft.

Parades take place all over Provence during the Christmas season, with songs played on fifes and tambourines and townspeople in traditional dress. Especially popular is the lady’s Arlésienne outfit, a long, flowing dress with scarves over the shoulders, and hair pinned up. One of the most entertaining parades is La Bravade Calendale of Aix-en-Provence which originated during the mid-13th Century in the year 1256 instituted by Charles 1st of Anjou, Count of Provence, upon his returning from the Crusade with his brother Saint Louis. It marks the Winter Solstice (St. John the Evangelist), the longest night of the year. Very close to Christmas, the "Winter Saint John" celebrates the passage to the new year. Parade participants are dressed in colourful costumes, some prance about dressed as dancing horses, young men with huge flags spin and hurl the flags in the air like jugglers, and the procession includes music, games and dances.

This event is also a reminder of the custom of The Offering, when in the past on Christmas Day, groups of musicians would go around to the town's authorities, offering them, to the tune of music, the "Christmas oil pump" that the Provençals are so fond of, and using a multitude of more than 200 actors from all over the region performing in the Provençal tradition with blunderbusses and who enliven the Aix with splendour and colour.

La Bravade Calendale
in Aix-en-Provence

The traditional Christmas Dinner in Provence, known as Le Gros Souper, The Great Supper, occurs on Christmas Eve. The Dinner concludes with Les Treize Desserts (The 13 Desserts). Like many Christmas traditions, it is full of religious symbolism—13 representing the number of people at the Last Supper -- Jesus and the 12 Apostles. Before the Midnight Mass, this meal is served on three white tablecloths of different sizes, with three candelabras on the table representing the Holy Trinity, and three wheat saucers filled with the spouts from the seeds planted on Saint Barbara's Day, twenty days earlier on December 4th. The composition of the desserts varies according to region, canton, city and even family, and generally includes fresh and candied fruit, nougats, and fruit pastes. It is traditional to set an extra place setting for the poor man (le pauvre) which refers to someone who has died, but it can also be a beggar who passes by and asks for alms. The poor man’s share is a reminder of the story of the Holy Family, who found no one to welcome them that night.

Traditional Provence Christmas Eve Dinner Table
with the 13 Desserts
Photo Credit: Véronique Pagnier

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(Primary Sources and Photo credits: Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Tourism Board; Provence Days; French Moments; Véronique Pagnier; The Good Life France; Perfectly Provence; aixenprovence.fr)

"THE WALLIS": CELEBRATING ITS 10th YEAR AS THE PREMIER PERFORMING ARTS VENUE IN BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA©

2023-12-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

In 2014, we published our first Snobby Tours® Travelblog article on The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, more often referred to as "The Wallis", shortly after it opened to the public in October of 2013.

The Wallis, the first performing arts center to be built in City of Beverly Hills, transformed an entire Beverly Hills city block near the Civic Center into a vibrant new cultural destination with TWO distinct, elegant buildings -- and was completed in time for its 2013-2014 Inaugural Season to correspond with Beverly Hills' Centennial Celebration marking the 100th birthday of the City's incorporation.

The most notable of the two buildings is the much loved historic 1933 Italianate-style Beverly Hills Post Office built as a WPA project during the Franklin Roosevelt administration. For decades some of Beverly Hills' most recognizable residents from film and television kept post office boxes there, such as Fred Astaire and Jimmy Stewart.

Also in 2013, the City of Beverly Hills designated the Beverly Hills Post Office as a historical landmark, under the City's new Historic Preservation Ordinance. The building had previously received designation on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of the Interior.

Seven years later, in 2021, we "revisited" The Wallis in an update for our Travelblog, and explored its interesting architectural additions to the original Post Office building.

A striking 70,000 sq. ft. building, The Wallis itself is an excellent example of "constructivism architecture", a futuristic-looking style which developed in the 1920s and 1930s in the former Soviet Union that combined technology and engineering, and applied a 3-dimensional Cubist vision to entire abstract non-objective constructions by adding a kinetic element.

Although this movement in artistic expression borrowed ideas from the Cubism and Futurism movements, the interpretation in architectural expression for The Wallis superimposed ideas from the Bauhaus, Suprematism and Neo-Plasticism movements.

The façade of The Wallis, comprised of fiber cement, is evocative of envelopes being sorted -- an homage to the historic Post Office on the same site.

During the past 10 years, The Wallis has garnered six prestigious architectural awards, including a Los Angeles Architectural Civic Award and an AIA California Council Merit Award for Design in the Adaptive Reuse/Renovation/Historic Preservation category. The original 1933 Post Office building contains eight towering fresco murals which are one of two sets of WPA frescos remaining in the entire California Federal Building system.

Additionally, The Wallis has come to be recognized as a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 400 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, comedy, performance arts, and family entertainment programs, boasting nominations for 79 Ovation Awards, and for 9 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards.

NOTE: "The Wallis" is included in our "Los Angeles Architecture -- An Eclectic Landscape"© custom-designed itinerary. For more information about this unique and comprehensive heritage and cultural tour covering L.A.'s architectural history from "early settlement to the present", visit us at http://www.snobbytours.com/EclecticLAarchitecture.html

Reservations close on February 15th of the specified calendar year that we offer this Tour.

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(Primary sources and photo credits: thewallis.org; stageandcinema.com; archdaily.com; spfa.com; John Edward Linden Photography)

THE PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM: ONE OF THE USA'S OLDEST, CONTINUING OPERATIONAL MUSEUMS AND LOCATED IN ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS PLACES IN AMERICAN HISTORY©

2023-11-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Located in Salem, Massachusetts in Essex County, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) origins date back to the 1799 founding of the East India Marine Society (EIMS), an organization of Salem captains and supercargoes that had sailed beyond the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. The Society’s charter included a provision for the establishment of a 'cabinet of natural and artificial curiosities' -- what we today refer to as a 'museum'.

The East India Marine Society built the East India Marine Hall in the 1820s to house its Collection of "curiosities" acquired by the Salem sea captains on their oceanic excursions. The Marine Hall, which now is a National Historic Landmark, is an integral part of PEM's facilities.

East India Marine Hall
circa 1909

Salem was also home to the Essex Historical Society founded in 1821, which celebrated the area’s rich community history, and the Essex County Natural History Society (ECNHS) founded in 1833, which focused on the County’s natural wonders. In 1848, these two organizations merged to form the Essex Institute which represents the “Essex” in the Peabody Essex Museum’s name.

The Collection located in the Marine Hall was acquired in 1867 by the Peabody Academy of Science, later renamed the Peabody Museum along with the Marine Hall building which continued to serve as a museum space through these mergers and acquisitions.

Salem, Massachusetts, however, is more often associated with the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s during a period of great misguidance and superstition which led to false accusations of witchcraft levied at women, men and children of the community by a number of Salem's citizens. Ultimately, 25 innocent people were put to death.

"Examination of a Witch"
Thompkins H. Matteson, 1853.

In the following centuries, the Salem Witch Trials have become known as an infamous part of American history that has forever associated Salem. Massachusetts with intolerance and injustice. The personal tragedies and grievous wrongs of the Salem Witch Trials continue to provoke reflection, reckoning and a search for meaning by residents and visitors to Salem.

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) holds one of the world’s most important collections of objects and architecture related to the Salem Witch Trials. Through exhibitions, research, publishing and public programming, the Peabody Essex Museum is committed to telling the story of the Salem Witch Trials in ways that honor the victims and amplify the teachings of wrongful persecution that have current relevancy.

From 1980 to 2023, PEM’s Phillips Library was the temporary repository of the state’s Supreme Judicial Court collection of Witch Trial documents. These legal records were returned in 2023 to the Judicial Archives following the expansion and modernization of the Massachusetts State Archives facility,

The earliest formal recognition of a library was by the East India Marine Society, founded in 1799. Among the first documented acquisitions of the EIMS were “The Art of Medicine Among the Chinese,” dated 1741, and copies of voyages by Cook and La Perouse, as well as other maritime-related materials.

Concurrently during the early 1800s, the Essex County Natural History Society (ECNHS) had been operating in relative obscurity; however, in 1848 when it merged with the Essex Historical Society, the new entity took the name “Essex Institute,” combining both the museum and library Collections. Over the next 20 years, the library Collection grew to approximately 50,000 bound volumes. In 1867, the East India Marine Society became the Peabody Academy of Science, later known as the Peabody Museum of Salem.

The Phillips Library Collection is the result of the merger more than 100 years later in 1992 of the James Duncan Phillips Library of the Essex Institute with the Stephen Phillips Library of the Peabody Museum of Salem which resulted in the consolidated Peabody Essex Museum. The present Collection at PEM covers a broad range of subjects, in both print and manuscript form, serving researchers from around the world.

Early Territorial Map in the Phillips Library

Also included in PEM's Collection is local historic architecture located within three historic city blocks on the PEM campus in Salem where there are buildings, gardens and varying architectural styles spanning three Centuries. The Peabody Essex Museum has been a pioneer in the acquisition, relocation, restoration, and interpretation of historic environments. In 1865 the Museum reconstructed the Quaker Meeting House from beams thought to be original to the First Church. In 1910, under the direction of curator and early preservationist George Francis Dow, the Museum moved the John Ward House — split in two and rolled on ox-drawn logs — from its original site three blocks away. In 1911 the Ward House opened to the public, becoming the first outdoor museum of architecture in the country. Since then, the Peabody Essex Museum has grown to include more than twenty pre-Civil War buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks and many properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Ropes Mansion
in the McIntyre Historic District
Architect: Samuel McIntyre (1757-1811)

Today, PEM's Collection is very extensive, containing over one-millions works of art and culture -- many that are the first to be collected by any museum in America. Included are Japanese, South Asian, European, African, Native American, Maritime Art and History, Fashion and Textiles, Oceanic Art, Photography and Natural History, among others. According to PEM, "deep and far ranging, the Collection opens windows onto how people live, work and celebrate".

Currently on view in PEM's James Duncan Phillips Trust Gallery is the Special Exhibition, "Let None Be Excluded: The Origin of Equal School Rights in Salem", which celebrates Salem's abolishing racially separate public schools in 1844. "Salem was one of the first US municipalities to do so. A decade later, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would become the first US State to pass a law forbidding school committees from classifying students by race."

This Special Exhibition "features documents that capture the impassioned activism of young Black leaders, including Sarah Parker Remond and Robert Morris. These youth, as agents in their own education, sparked the national equal school rights movement by tethering education rights to democracy and racial equality."

This Special Exhibition continues through April 28, 2024.

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(Primary sources and photo credits: Peabody Essex Museum; libraries.org)

AVIGNON, FRANCE: A CHARMING ANCIENT CITY WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF ANNUAL CULTURAL FESTIVALS©

2023-09-28T07:42:00.954-07:00

Avignon, located in Provençe near the Rhône river in the South of France, was once a Greek trading post and dates as far back as the 6th Century B.C.E. In the 2nd Century B.C.E., it became part of the Roman Empire and was designated as a Roman colony by the Emperor Hadrian. Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century C.E., Avignon became a base of Christian worship which at that time was Roman Catholic. During the late Middle Ages, from 1378 to 1417,C.E., it was the location of "The Great (Western) Schism", when France's Roman Catholic leadership broke with Rome and established the center of is own Papal power in Avignon's Palais des Papes, i.e., Palace of the Popes.

15th Century miniature of the
Palais des Papes and city of Avignon

Today, evidence of Roman occupation as well as of its time as a Papal City, still exists, even though Avignon has become a charming bustling city filled with eclectic historical architecture spanning various centuries and styles, and well known for its vibrant cultural scene with festivals occurring all year round.

With so much history and cultural arts available, Avignon thoroughly enchanted me when I first visited it almost 30 years ago, and has continued to do so ever since.

Among its annual cultural festivals is Festo Pitcho in April dedicated to families and young audiences, the famous Festival d’Avignon and Festival Off in July, Tremplin Jazz d'Avignon in early August showcasing both emerging and established jazz musicians, Parcours de l’Art in October focusing on contemporary visual artists, the Festival of Comics and Comic Strips in November, the contemporary dance festival Les Hivernales during the early Winter months into the Holiday Season, and the Résonance electro music festival in heritage venues -- to name just a few.

Three of these festivals are highlighted herein below in this article.

Festival d'Avignon, held in July each year, was created in 1947 by a man named Jean Vilar, shortly after World War II. For 17 years, between 1947-1963, the Festival reflected the work of this one man and his vision who is credited with attracting a young captivated and fresh audience through a type of live outdoor theatre encompassing dance, cinematic and musical performances that were different from what could be seen in Paris at that time. His goal was to "renew" theatre and collective forms of art by providing a more open space for their expression and enjoyment.

The result was the revitalization and decentralization of French live theatre which inspired other theatre directors around France outside of Paris in what were then considered "cultural deserts", such as Saint Etienne, Toulouse, Rennes and Strasbourg, to do the same. The Festival d'Avignon became a meeting place for these stage pioneers and at the same time, an eagerly-anticipated annual summer cultural event in France.

Photo Credit: Cour d'Honneur du Palais des Papes, 2015

Over the years, Festival d'Avignon has evolved in both its programming and outreach. Since 2013, the direction of the Festival has focused on showcasing artists from all over the world, on creating a viable means of serving public cultural policy, on diversifying its audience, on perpetuating the historical legacy of Avignon, and on becoming a Festival with a unique international reputation welcoming to all. In July of 2023, it celebrated its 76th year.

Parcours de l’Art has been supported by the city of Avignon for almost 30 years, since 1994. The goal of this annual festival is to cultival and support contemporary art and to address all audiences. whether locally-based or from places worldwide, whether new to contemporary art or longtime contemporary art fans -- while paying particular attention to the youngest attendees.

Held in October each year, Parcours de l'Art takes over heritage sites around Avignon in order to present contemporary art works in different forms: paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs, videos, installations, performances, and the like. Free access, freedom of movement, and tailor-made mediation encourage dialogue between artists and the public, making the event accessible to everyone. In 2022, the four heritage sites used were the Célestins church, the Cloître Saint-Louis, the Cordeliers chapel and the Maison Jean Vilar.

Maison Jean Vilar
Avignon heritage site for 2022 Parcours de l'Art
Photo credit: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Parcours de l'Art creates excitement around current art in the heart of the city through exhibitions but also by offering complementary activities: children's workshops, conferences and debates, readings and film/video screenings.

The theme of the 29th annual presentation of Parcours de l'Art is "Ricochets", being held October 6-22, 2023. Avignon's heritage sites are the showcases for contemporary works selected around the theme of water. At a time when water is becoming a rare and precious resource on Earth, it has come to be a subject that is timely, relevant, "political and poetic, powerful, inspiring, [and] universal". Therefore, Parcours de L'Art's artistic journey in 2023 is built on the Avignon water cartography.

Additionally, for the first time since its inception, Parcours de l'Art is organizing an artist residency in 2023. The original frescoes from this first residency will be placed on the walls of the city of Avignon as this festival prepares for its 30th year in 2024.

Tremplin Jazz d'Avignon, held in annually in August, is a jazz festival featuring young artists. Over the course of an entire week, each evening is devoted to well-known jazz musicians and bands from all around Europe. The location is the Carmes Cloister which provides a setting within stone walls that is conducive to enjoying jazz.

Created 31 years ago in 1992 by a few jazz enthusiasts, the Tremplin Jazz d'Avignon Association, aimed to promote jazz music and support young musicians as part of an annual competition. Thereafter, from year to year, concerts have been organized around this mission.

Over the years Templin Jazz organizers have remained faithful to its objectives: to encourage mixing cultures through the discovery of jazz music, to offer a programming mix of free concerts where the young, European jazz scene competes in talent, and to provide outstanding concerts which present established artists -- all covering a range of jazz styles and spanning the generations.

The venue for Tremplin Jazz d'Avignon is Cloître des Carmes, more commonly called Carmes Cloister, a former monastery consisting of a cluster of buildings which were constructed commencing in 1267 C.E. when the religious Order of the Carmelites came to Avignon. This was approximately 125 years prior to the Great (Western) Schism, and a time when many monasteries were being built in the city. Avignon had become the official residence of the Catholic Popes and the Catholic Church headquarters within the Palais des Papes, both of which had recently moved from Rome to Avignon.

Interior courtyeard of Carmes Cloister
Photo credit: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

The Convent itself is outside the first city wall, between the gate of Matheron and the gate of Nurses. The Senate is in the northern part of the Church structure which is in the Romanesque and Gothic architectural style popular in the 13th Century.

Not only is Carmes Cloister the venue for Tremplin Jazz each year in August, but also it was the first site in Avignon in 1967 to become a theatre and dance venue during the Festival d'Avignon discussed herein above. The acoustics within the Medieval stone walls are particularly favourable for live performances, and an open-air stage which extends under the arcades can accommodate approximately 500 spectators.

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(Primary sources and additional photo credits: parcoursdelart.com; Avignon Tourisme; festival.avignon.com; templinjazzavignon.fr; laprovence.com; minube.net)

BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: THE WORLD'S FIRST CHILDREN'S MUSEUM©

2023-07-28T20:58:00.359-07:00

Inspired by the energy and multi-cultural diversity existing in the New York borough of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) is known for creating experiences that ignite curiosity, celebrate identity and cultivate joyful learning.

The Museum was founded following a proposal from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) on December 16, 1899, in the Adams House. It initially operated under the direction of the Brooklyn Institute and received approximately $70,000 in funds from New York City each year to supplement the donations it received. It is the first Children's Museum in the USA, and is believed also to be the first Children's Museum in the world.

In 1975, the BCM moved to an award-winning new space, housed underneath Brower Park in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,at St Mark's and Brooklyn Avenues, following the demolition of the Victorian-era houses that had served as its prior home. This location is considered unusual because it is in a predominantly residential area. Housed in a multi-level underground gallery following the 1975 move, the underground gallery has provided the ideal venue for arranging evolving exhibits.

In 1996, the Museum was once again renovated and expanded at a cost of $7-million to include miniature amphitheaters and a number of new galleries.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) is New York City’s largest cultural institution designed especially for families. It serves 300,000 children and their parents/caregivers annually by providing them with unique and engaging exhibits and educational programs grounded in visual arts, music and performance, natural science, and world. cultures.

The Museum's Collection and exhibitions reflect its long history as well as the changes in children's educational needs over time and the changing environment. Its original focus was the presentation of natural science to children raised in an urban environment, but following World War II, technology and cultural awareness became more important. Children regularly contribute extensively in the planning of museum exhibits, and have done so for a significant part of its history.

In keeping with its original underlying philosophy, BCM seeks to foster a culture of inclusion that promotes mutual respect, celebrates diversity, and facilitates intercultural exploration and collaboration. The exhibits and programs of the Brooklyn Children's Museum are rooted in the following:

Interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning grounded in BCM's extensive Collection which encourages children to explore their world from multiple perspectives.
Sensory learning through hands-on, immersive interactive experiences.
Development of an appreciation of culture and community, with a focus on "socio-emotional learning" and interpersonal relationships.
Substantive engagement of parent-child dialogues and ongoing availability of family resources.
The encouragement of children to think of themselves as active participants in effecting community change who can inspire responsible and civic engagement.

In all of its work and business practice, BCM commits to its Brooklyn community by:

Serving all families regardless of their ability to pay.
Building community for parents and children.
Reaching beyond its physical site into schools and other neighborhoods.
Using local vendors and supporting small businesses.
Employing Brooklyn residents and supporting their families by paying 100% of the health premiums for staff, their spouses and dependents.
Providing space for, and sharing resources with, other Brooklyn-based and community-based organizations.

In 2005, BCM was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20-million grant from the Carnegie Foundation which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In the same year, work began on the $43-million expansion that would ultimately nearly double the size of the museum, and handle more than 400,000 visitors each year. As part of its commitment to environmental integrity and energy efficiency, the institution has taken credit for being the first New York City museum to use geothermal wells for heating and cooling purposes. After the BCM underwent this expansion and renovation to double its space, upon its reopening on September 20, 2008, the BCM became the first "green museum" in New York City.

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(Primary Sources and Photo Credits: brooklynkids.org; Simon Watson (September 2001). "Heart of Brooklyn", Gotham Gazette; Media related to Brooklyn Children's Museum at Wikimedia Commons; Miscellaneous archival articles published between 1905-2008 by The New York Times)

CELEBRATING THE FABULOUS PASADENA PLAYHOUSE©

2023-06-12T12:44:00.006-07:00

Last evening, it was announced at the 2023 Tony Awards that the Pasadena Playhouse, one of my all-time favourite regional theatres literally for decades, has received the coveted 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award -- a great honour which is also accompanied by a generous $25,000 grant.

Back on July 31, 2021, I published an extensive Blog article herein about the history and current story of this much loved, venerable "grand dame" in the theatre world.

Founded in 1917 and located in what was then a very upscale yet still somewhat bucolic Pasadena, California, the Pasadena Playhouse is a survivor, and has not only become a "local treasure" with world-wide recognition, but also has been designated as the Official State Theatre of California. https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-much-loved-pasadena-playhouse.html

We salute the Pasadena Playhouse as it embarks upon its 2023-2024 Season and continues its mission of excellence in the live theatre performing arts. https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/

BALBOA PARK: THE BACKSTORY OF SAN DIEGO'S ENCHANTING, ECLECTIC HISTORIC CULTURAL ARTS VENUE©

2023-05-30T12:41:00.203-07:00

When I first visited Balboa Park in San Diego, California one Summer evening several years ago to attend a performance of a Shakespeare play at its Old Globe Theatre, I was totally captivated as I entered the Park, driving over a bridge dotted with vintage street lamps flickering in the early evening.

It was magical and exceptionally beautiful -- memories which have lasted to this day.

Balboa Park is an integral part of the history of San Diego. What started out as barren land only a decade after California achieved Statehood in 1850, and following the end of the American Civil War in 1865, was developed by the town's civic leaders in 1868 into what gradually became the exceptionally beautiful cultural arts location and wonder of design that it is today, 155 years later.

Vintage Photo of Balboa Park
circa 1915

The development of Balboa Park is particularly remarkable when one considers what the town of San Diego was like in 1868, and its prior history.

What became San Diego Bay was first discovered by the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542 who claimed the area for the Spanish Empire. This became the basis for the later settlement of "Alta California", some 200 years later. In 1769 the Mission San Diego de Alcala and the Presidio were founded, becoming the first European settlement in what now is California.

Vintage Photo of Mission San Diego de Alcalá

In 1821, after a conflict between Spain and Mexico, San Diego became part of the Mexican Empire, and in 1823 it was re-formed as the First Mexican Republic. Following the Mexican-American War in 1848, California became a U.S. territory, and Statehood followed in 1850. During the American Civil War from 1861-1865, California sided with the Union, sending troops into the conflict and being the site of a couple of skirmishes even though it was geographically remote.

It is, therefore, rather remarkable, that only 3 years after the Civil War, San Diego's civic leaders had the foresight to develop barren land into a city park -- particularly since the population in 1868 was around 2,000 people -- AND San Diego was considered at the time to be a "backwater town".

Downtown San Diego, 1887
Photo taken by Herve Friend for
Douglas Gunn's book "Picturesque San Diego"

The San Diego Tourism Authority published earlier this year a well-researched, extensive blog article about the history of Balboa Park entitled "Balboa Park, History of San Diego's Magnificent Cultural Center" which is well worth reading and is set forth herein below.

"Balboa Park is central to the story of San Diego. In 1868, civic leaders took the audacious step of setting aside 1,400 acres of a scrub-filled mesa, an area that now overlooks what is downtown San Diego. While San Diego was home to just 2,300 residents back then, its leaders had the vision and desire to create an iconic park that would serve its citizens and its visitors for years to come. In fact, San Diego was the second city to dedicate a large urban park behind only New York City’s Central Park. In 1870, the state legislature passed a law stating that the lands would be held in trust for a park forever.

"For many years, there was little development of "City Park" as it was then known. A high school, which later became San Diego High School, was built and several gardens were created by various private groups. Then in 1892, local horticulturist and botanist Kate Sessions leased 36 acres for a nursery. In exchange for using the land, she agreed that the nursery would be open to the public and that she would donate hundreds of trees and plants to the city every year for its beautification. Sessions, who would become known as "the mother of Balboa Park," is credited with bringing in many of the different varieties of native and exotic plants to the park, and many of her original trees are alive and visible today.

Vintage Photo of Palm Trees
planted in Balboa Park

"In 1910, with preparations already underway to hold an expo to coincide with the opening of the Panama Canal, the park was named for the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to cross Central America and see the Pacific Ocean. Several of the buildings as well as much of the present-day look and feel of the park can be attributed to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Built in the Spanish Colonial-revival style, the park’s highly ornamental style was the first of its kind in the United States. Scheduled to last only one year, the 1915 Expo was extended for a second year, and more than 3.7 million visitors came to the expo during its run.

Aerial Photo of 1915 Panama California Exposition
in Balboa Park

"Twenty years later, San Diego hosted the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition to boost the local economy during the Great Depression. Additional structures and landscaping were added to the park, including the Old Globe Theatre, International Cottages, and Spanish Village, all of which are still in use today.

Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park
circa 1937

"In 1977, Balboa Park, and historic Exposition buildings from 1915 and 1935, were declared a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Landmark District, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places."

Today, visitors from all over the world enjoy Balboa Park, not only for its various annual visual and performing arts events and the exhibitions at its various museums, but also for its spectacularly beautiful architecture. Recognized by the State of California as one of its 14 "cultural districts", Balboa Park continues in the 21st Century to serve its community as the epicenter for the arts and culture in San Diego.

Museum of Natural History
in Balboa Park
Photo credit: Mark Osterbloom

San Diego Museum of Art
in Balboa Park

Museum of Man
in Balboa Park
Photo credit: Bernard Gagnon

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(Primary Sources and Photo Credits: San Diego Tourism Authority Blog Article, "Balboa Park, History of San Diego's Magnificent Cultural Center" ©2023; sandiego.org; theoldglobe.org; sandiego.gov; missionsandiego.org)

UPDATE: THE RACE AND THE CHALLENGES TO REBUILD NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL©

2023-04-02T08:08:00.062-07:00

In our December 2021 Blog article, we last visited the status of the ongoing reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following the devastating and destructive fire in April of 2019.

The WGBS Educational Foundation aired on the Public Televsion series "NOVA" a comprehensive video update in December of 2022 on the reconstruction as it races towards completion in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

That video is described as follows:

"Following the April, 2019 fire that almost destroyed Paris’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, a team of engineers, masons, and timber workers set out on the daunting challenge of restoring France’s historic landmark. The program traces the dramatic human and technical challenges of the project’s first three years, going behind-the-scenes with carpenters shaping lumber for the new roof and spire, stone masons repairing gaping holes in the vault, and artisans who use traditional techniques to restore stained glass windows. A symbol of the nation’s identity and resilience, Notre Dame gradually rises from the ashes, thanks to a restoration project like no other." Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:10 The Aftermath of the Fire of Notre Dame 05:25 Current Efforts to Rebuild Notre Dame 07:13 Rebuilding the Roof of Notre Dame 14:12 Recreating Notre Dame’s Spire 19:40 The Use of Iron in the Structure of Notre Dame 26:00 Studying Notre Dame’s Stained Glass Windows 33:47 Hazards of Restoring the Burnt Cathedral 36:20 Cleaning the Limestone Vaulting 41:41 Carpentry Practices for Roof Restoration 45:06 Historic Changes to Stained Glass Window 49:47 Racing to Complete Notre Dame Before 2024 © 2022 WGBH Educational Foundation

The link to the above referenced video, which copyrighted by WGBS Educational Foundation, is provided herein solely for educational and informational purposes: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/rebuilding-notre-dame/

(Primary Sources and Photo credits: WGBS Educational Foundation; https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/rebuilding-notre-dame/; Wandrille de Préville, Wikimedia Commons)

THE KENNEDY CENTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. CELEBRATES ITS 50th YEAR, ALBEIT BELATEDLY© - Part 1 of a 2-part Blog article

2022-12-26T18:20:00.529-08:00

2021 marked the 50th year of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., but the celebration was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID pandemic.

Initially, the idea for a "national cultural center" dates back to 1933 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt discussed ideas for the Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administration to create employment for unemployed actors during the Great Depression. Congress held hearings in 1935 on plans to establish a Cabinet level Department of Science, Art and Literature, and to build a monumental theater and arts building on Capitol Hill near the Supreme Court building, but nothing materialized for more than 15 years thereafter.

Finally, in 1950, the idea for a national theater resurfaced when US Congressman Arthur Lewis Klein of New York introduced a bill to authorize funds to plan and build a cultural center. The bill included provisions that the center would prohibit any discrimination of cast or audience.

In 1955, the Stanford Research Institute was commissioned to select a site and to provide design suggestions for the center. Between 1955 to 1958, Congress debated the idea amid much controversy, particularly about the location; however, ultimately a bill was finally passed in Congress in the summer of 1958, and on September 4, 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the National Cultural Center Act which provided momentum for the project -- marking the first time in history that the US Federal Government assisted in financing a structure dedicated to the performing arts.

From that point in time, the process moved forward. The first step in the creation of the Kennedy Center was its authorization by the 1958 National Cultural Center Act of Congress, which requires that its programming be sustained through private funds. Consequently, the Center's financial support has, and continues to, come from partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

On December 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson initiated the groundbreaking ceremony of the new National Cultural Center, which had been renamed for President John F. Kennedy, a strong advocate for the arts prior to his assassination in November of 1963.

The building was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone. The preliminary l architectural concept was curved, but was ultimately not used. The building immediately drew criticism about its location along the Potomac River, and also for cosmetic reasons. Conversely, at the time time, the Kennedy Center drew high praise for its acoustics, which were designed along with the auditoriums, by Cyrus M. Harris. A major concern affecting the interior design and acoustics is that a significant number of aircraft fly along the Potomac River and over the Kennedy Center, as they take off and land at the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and also helicopter traffic overhead. To address and eliminate the noise factor, the Center was designed as a box within a box, which has given each auditorium an extra insulating outer shell.

The total cost of construction was $70 million. Congress allocated $43 million for construction costs, including $23 million as an outright grant and the other $20 million in bonds. Donations also comprised a significant portion of funding, including $5 million from the Ford Foundation, and approximately $500,000 from the Kennedy family. Other major donors included J. Willard Marriott, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and John D. Rockefeller III, as well as many corporate donors. Foreign countries also provided gifts to the Kennedy Center, including a gift from the Italian government of 3,700 tons of Carrara marble from Italy worth $1.5 million in 1971, (the equivalent of $10,5 million in 2022), was used in the construction of the building.

The first performance was September 5, 1971, with 2,200 members of the general public in attendance to see a premiere of Leinard Bernstein's "Mass in the Opera House" in the Opera House".

The Center's official opening took place on the date of its dedication, September 8, 1971, with a formal gala and a performance of the Bernstein "Mass", attended by Rose Kennedy, Senator Edward Kennedy, and other members of the Kennedy family.

In 2013, after the Kennedy Center required expansion, a competition was held, at which time architect Steven Holl was selected to design the project called "The REACH", which project commenced thereafter. over the next six years

in 2019, the campus of the Kennedy Performing Arts Center grew 4.6 acres with the opening of its new REACH area on September 7th. REACH is the Center’s first expansion since premiering in 1971. Designed by Steven Holl Architects, the $250- million project roughly doubled the Kennedy Center’s outdoor space, bolstered its public areas by 20%, and added 72,000 square feet of interior space across the three pavilions near the Potomac River. For more information about REACH, read Part 2 of this Travelblog article, published in January, 2023.

Today, the Kennedy Center consists of several performing arts venues, ranging in size and utilized for specific purposes. There are three main theatres -- the Concert Hall, the Opera House and the Eisenhower Theatre -- which allow for seating ranging from approximately 1,100 to 2,500 attendees. Additionally, there are five smaller venues each seating less than 500 attendees, which have been adapted for use by artists-in-residence and for video screenings, ongoing performances, educational programs, and the Kennedy Center Jazz Club.

CBS Sunday Morning extended belated birthday wishes in a segment which aired on Christmas morning, December 25, 2022.

The tribute in that segment says it all, and serves as the focus of our December 2022 Blog article herein.

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Primary Sources: Meersman, Roger (1980). "The Kennedy Center: From Dream to Reality". Records of the Columbia Historical Society; dc.curbed.com; kennedy-center.org)

STATUS OF CONSTRUCTION OF BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER©

2022-11-30T18:43:00.028-08:00

The Barack Obama Presidential Center, currently under construction in Jackson Park on the South side of Chicago, will be a "new take" on the customary Presidential Library.

The Museum and the Library will be headed by the nonprofit Obama Foundation with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) tasked with creating the very first digitized Presidential Library.

Instead of one building housing both a Presidential Museum and an archived hard copy Research Library, the site is designed to be a community gathering place and civic center consisting of a complex of four separate buildings with different functions, situated in a park-like setting.

Obama Presidential Center
Artist's Rendering

After years of protracted delays due to several factors, including concerns of residents of the surrounding residential area and also increased budgetary considerations leading to an estimated $830-million cost, the groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 28, 2021, and construction began.

On the site will also be a branch of the Chicago Public Library serving the residents of Chicago's South Side, as well as a Community Activity Center. Landscaping will include walking paths, a long pedestrian promenade connecting the four main buildings, lagoons, and a sledding hill. It is anticipated that the Plaza area will host public gatherings and be a venue for cultural arts performances and the display of public art projects.

The Museum building, designed by architects Todd Williams and Billie Tsien, embodies the concept of ascension upward from grassroots. Its form is inspired by the idea of four hands coming together symbolizing the many hands it takes to shape a place.

At the current time, as construction continues in its second year, the focus is on the casting and building of the perimeter walls of the Museum.

Completion of the entire project is anticipated to be in 2026.

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(Primary Source: obama.org)

THE RESTORATION OF HISTORIC TEXAS COURTHOUSES -- A WORK IN PROGRESS AND A LABOR OF LOVE©

2022-09-25T16:04:00.837-07:00

There are 254 Counties in Texas. Each boasts with Texas pride that it has the most beautiful, the most iconic, and, perhaps, the most authentically historic, Courthouse -- generally still situated in the center of the oldest part of town, in the middle of a "square" around which communities eventually grew, family-owned commercial businesses meeting the needs of the community were created -- often long-standing and having themselves evolved "with the times" -- saloons provided "libations and "entertainment" for local cowhands and cattle drovers passing through, and residences, schools, a local sheriff's office with a small jail, and houses of worship were built.

. . . . . typical of what we generally think existed in the "Wild West", adjacent to territories not yet States prior to, or through the first decade of, the 20th Century.

To put things into perspective: Texas' independence from Mexico was won in 1836. Admission into the United States as the 28th State came in 1845. Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 less than two months prior to the beginning of the American Civil War (1861-1865), aka the War Between the States, and became part of the Confederacy. Texas was re-admitted to the Union in 1870, during the difficult and lengthy recovery period known as "Reconstruction". 1870 also marks the establishing of The Chisholm Trail, the herding of cattle to market from Texas to Kansas which helped to bolster Texas' floundering post-Civil War economy.

Parker County Courthouse
in Weatherford, Texas
Architect: W. C. Dobson
Architectural Style: Second (French) Empire
Originally completed in 1886
Rededicated in 2002

Therefore, it is part of the "Texas story" that some of its Courthouses date back to the mid-1800s and were among the first permanent structures not made entirely of wood in many of its Counties. Considering the geographical size of Texas, it is not surprising that Texas has more historic Courthouses than any other US State.

Among Texas' 254 Counties, 242 of its historic County Courthouses are still actively in government use. With their brick and stone towers, ornate cupolas, soaring domes and varying styles of 19th and early 20th Century architecture, they represent an impressive and eclectic collection of public buildings.

The oldest of these Courthouses still in active use is the Cass County Courthouse located in East Texas in Linden, Texas (pop. 1,825), approximately 45 miles southwest of Texarkana, Texas. It is also the only Antebellum courthouse in Texas, its construction having commenced in 1859 prior to the American Civil War, and completed in 1861. By 2022, it had been continuously in use for 161 years.

Cass County Courthouse in Linden, Texas
Builders: L.W. Lissenbee and J.T. Veal
Architectural Styles: Greek Revival
with Federalist design elements
Originally completed in 1861
Rededicated in 2012

With over a century of use in many instances, most of Texas' County Courthouses had significantly deteriorated due to inadequate maintenance, design modifications in subsequent years which were incompatible with the original architectural style, and/or weather-related damage.

Because Texas courthouses are among the most widely recognized, used and appreciated assets which are the centerpieces of their communities, the Texas Historical Commission instituted in 1999 what has become its nationally-recognized and award-winning Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP) which has turned around the trend of disrepair and begun restoring these treasured historic landmarks.

While some of the Courthouses have required structural repair due to damage from weather-related issues such as hurricanes, the most frequent repair work has been to cement or ceramic tile floors, the roofs, often very elaborate masonry, the electrical and plumbing systems, wood furniture, staircases and furnishings, and the installation of central heating/air conditioning. Effort has also been made to restore the original colours and decorative design elements used for both interiors and exteriors. In some instances, there has been removal of additions made during the intervening years which have negated the integrity of the original architectural design. Also, the Courthouses, being governmental buildings used by the public, can require Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant retrofitting.

To date, the THCPP has funded 74 Texas County Courthouse restorations. An additional 29 County Courthouses have undertaken emergency or planning work with grant funds. Further, 25 grants have been awarded for the purpose of updating approved preservation Master Plans.

As of the date of publication of his Blog article, 74 Texas County Courthouses of varying architectural styles have been successfully restored and rededicated since 2002 through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.

Herein below are photographs of several more of the 74 restored, re-dedicated Texas County Courthouses -- these being originally completed between 1886 and 1932, representing a sampling of the architectural styles popular at the time they were designed and constructed, from Victorian Gothic Revival to Art Deco, and including the architectural provenance of each.

Potter County Courthouse
in Amarillo, Texas
Architects: Townes, Lightfoot & Funk
Architectural Style: Art Deco
Originally completed in 1932
Re-dedicated in 2012

Williamson County Courthouse
in Georgetown, Texas
Architect: Charles H. Page
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical Beaux Arts
Originally completed in 1912
Re-dedicated in 2007

Harrison County Courthouse
in Marshall, Texas
Architect: J. Riely Gordon
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical Beaux Arts
Originally completed in 1901
Re-dedicated in 2009

Lamar County Courthouse
in Paris, Texas
Architects: Sanguinet and Staats
Architectural Styles: Classical Revival
combined with Romanesque design elements
Originally completed in 1917
Re-dedicated in 2005

Goliad County Courthouse
in Goliad, Texas
Architect: Henry E. M. Guidon
Architectural Style: Second (Franch) Empire
Originally completed in 1894
Rededicated in 2003

Ellis County Courthouse
in Waxahachie, Texas
Architect: J. Riely Gordon
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
with Italian hand-crafted stone masonry
Originally completed in 1897
Re-dedicated in 2002

Denton County Courthouse
in Denton, Texas
Architect: W. C. Dodson
Architectural Style: Blended Romanesque
and Second (French) Empire
Originally completed in 1896
Re-dedicated in 2004

Dallas County Courthouse
in Dallas, Texas
Architect: Max J. Orlopp,Jr./Orlopp & Kusener
Architectural Style: Richardson Romanesque
Affectionately called "Old Red"
Originally completed in 1892
Rededicated in 2007.

Bosque County Courthouse
in Meridian, Texas
Architect: J. J. Kane
Architectural style: Victorian Gothic Revival
with Italianate design elements
Originally completed in 1886
Re-dedicated in 2007

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(Primary and Photographic Sources: The Texas Historical Commission/Photos by Wayne Wendel; Texarkana Gazette)

THE NEW ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: DEDICATED TO FILMS AND FILMMAKING©

2022-08-27T13:53:00.599-07:00

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (AMMP) officially opened to the public on September 30, 2021, after decades "in the making" throughout the history of moving pictures -- known in their earliest days over 100 years ago as "the flickers".

A press release issued prior to the Museum's completion stated that "[t]he building's design is inspired by the museum's mission to turn the dream factory inside out and give visitors unprecedented opportunities to peer behind the screen and into the creative, collaborative world of moviemaking".

Interestingly, the 7-story part of the Museum is not a new building, but instead is a remodeling and repurposing of the building once occupied by one of Los Angeles' leading department stores, The May Company.

Heralded upon its completion in 1939 as the western gateway to the area along Wilshire Boulevard from Fairfax Avenue eastward to La Brea Boulevard, known as the "Miracle Mile", the May Company building was, and still is, often referred to as Los Angeles' grandest example of Streamline Moderne architecture.

The curved Streamline Moderne golden architectural feature on the southwest corner of the building -- seen in the photo herein above -- which faces the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue at an angle, has always been evocative to many residents, including myself, of a fancy lipstick case sold in the May Company's cosmetics department for decades.

May Company Department Store, circa 1940s

Over the years, however, rain, pollution, and ground movement caused by various earthquakes prevalent in the Los Angeles area resulted in extensive cracks in the building's granite and limestone. By 1992 -- the year that the May Company building was named a Los Angeles Historical Cultural Monument -- many of the immediately recognizable, iconic features of the building had become damaged or severely deteriorated.

In 1994, after having been vacant for the previous two years, the May Company building was acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), located one block to the east, for use as additional exhibition space called "LACMA West". The May Company's display windows along Wilshire Boulevard were used for huge posters promoting LACMA's current and upcoming special exhibits.

Adaptive Use of the May Company Building
as LACMA West, circa 2000

The building remained LACMA West for the next 20 years until 2014, when the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures signed a lease costing $36.1-million for the next 55-years for both the May Company building as well as its adjacent parking lot to be developed into museum and theatre space. The May Company Building was renamed the Saban Building in recognition of philanthropist Cheryl Saban and entertainment executive Haim Saban's $50-million donation to the Academy Museum in 2017.

DESIGN

The Academy Museum hired Pritzker Prize-winning and world-renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, who has also designed the Piano Pavilion at the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas, the new Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the Auditorium of the Parco della Musica in Rome, Italy, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA and the Resnick Exhibition Pavilion -- the latter two structures which coincidentally happen to be located on Wilshire Boulevard just one short block east from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, as can be seen in the photograph below.

Piano was also commissioned to design an adjoining building connected by a glass-enclosed skywalk, now called the "Sphere", a domed structure visible along Fairfax Avenue behind the Saban Building. The Sphere houses the two screening theatres, the Geffen Theatre and the Mann Theatre, and is topped by a terrace under a curving glass roof.

REPAIR, RESTORATION AND REPURPOSING PROCESS

In February of 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hired international experts from John Fidler Preservation Technology to develop and implement conservation protocols not only for rehabilitating the exterior cladding of the May Company Building for repurposing and new adaptive use as the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, but also to ensure that the building retained its distinctive Art Deco architecture, its Streamline Moderne design elements, and its historical significance.

The entire renovation and adaptive use process would ultimately cost approximately $480-million.

The original seven floors of the May Company building now house the Academy Museum’s exhibition spaces, education and special event spaces, a conservation studio, a café, and a museum store.

In addition, the Museum’s 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, both located inside the Sphere, each present a year-round calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, family programs, and symposia.

David Geffen Theatre

Ted Mann Theatre

With the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, another world-class museum joins the nearby Los Angeles Museum of Art and the Petersen Automotive Museum in this area along Wilshire Boulevard known for decades as the Miracle Mile, but which now more accurately might be called the "Museum Mile".

Side view of the completed AMMP along Fairfax Avenue,
including a view at the extreme right of this photo
of the front and side of the Petersen Automotive Museum
located across the street from the AMMP on Wilshire Boulevard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, along with the Los Angeles Museum of Art and the Petersen Automotive Museum, are included in our "Los Angeles Architecture -- An Eclectic Landscape"© custom-designed heritage and cultural escorted group tour Itinerary. For more information about this unique and comprehensive heritage and cultural group tour covering L.A.'s architectural history from "early settlement to the present", visit us at http://www.snobbytours.com/EclecticLAarchitecture.html

==========================================

(Primary and Photographic Sources: academymuseum.org; oscars.org; dezeen.com; structureanddesignzim.com; Fisher Marantz Stone; Los Angeles Times; Variety discoverlosangeles.com; interiordesign.net; thewrap.com; Los Angeles Magazine; archpaper.com; architecturalrecord.com; Architectural Digest; objectsmag.it; The Post Internazionale)

2022-07-29T10:37:00.727-07:00

In 2022, the Empire State Building in New York City became the #1 attraction for US travelers, and #3 attraction in the world overall, according to the coveted Travelers Choice® Awards. It is perhaps the world's most famous building.

The building's iconic Art Deco architecture, in addition to its height, is immediately recognizable in the skyline of New York City, but since the building's history is lesser known, we will delve into that history here.

BACKSTORY

In 1928, the location were the Empire State Building now stands on Fifth Avenue was occupied by the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a carry-over from New York City's late 19th Century "Gilded Age".

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel's original building from 1893 was demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building following the sale of the property to Bethlehem Engineering Corporation for approximately $20-million in 1928 -- the equivalent of approximately $323-million in 2022.

In 1929, former General Motors executive John Jakob Raskob, along with NYC movers-and-shakers Coleman and Pierre S. du Pont, Louis G. Kaufman and Ellis P. Earle formed the underlying corporation, Empire State, Inc., and appointed Alfred E. Smith, former Governor of New York, as its Chief Executive Officer.

Designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates and with the building process under the direction of Starrett Bros. & Eken, the Empire State Building would be the first 100+ story building in the world. Its exterior and interior Art Deco architectural and design elements are generally associated with the 1920s at the height of that style's popularity.

Today, the Empire State Building stands at 1,454-feet tall, inclusive of its tower and its broadcasting antenna, and has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It remained the world's tallest building in New York City until 1970 when its height was surpassed by the World Trade Center.

CONSTRUCTION

The construction of the Empire State Building was part of a competition in New York City with 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building for the “world’s tallest building” .

It surpassed both.

Excavation of the site began on January 22, 1930. Actual construction of what at that time was called "the world's most ambitious building project" commenced on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1930, during the height of the worse economic Depression in USA history.

Although the project put men back to work, those who laboured on the steel beams hundreds of feet above the City, were constantly at great risk to life and limb. The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly European immigrants, as well as hundreds of Mohawk iron workers. Despite an astonishing lack of safety regulations, only 5 workers died during construction.

The steel frame literally grew before the eyes of New Yorkers at the astonishing rate of 4-1/2 stories per week, ultimately "topping off" at 102-stories after a record-breaking 13 months and 15 days -- completed on April 11, 1931, almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

It was the talk of the town. When President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 1931 officially opening the building, the lights on the Empire State Building were turned on for the very first time.

WORLD-WIDE ATTENTION

Being the world's tallest building, the Empire State Building quickly became a well-known attraction for both locals and tourists from around the world who flocked to it, paying their hard-earned 10-cents just to peer through one of its telescopes at the sprawling New York City urban landscape below. During one 6-month period in 1931, the building collected more than $3,000 in nickles and dimes -- the equivalent of approximately $57,000 in 2022.

The film industry permanently immortalized the Empire State Building by making it the focal point of one of cinema's most famous films, "King Kong", which debuted on March 2, 1933. This film would become the first of many memorable and pivotal "roles" that the building would play in the movies, firmly establishing it as both an important location integral to a movie's story, as well as an enduring icon of pop culture.

PRACTICAL USES

Corporate Headquarters

By 1948, just 17 years after its celebrated opening, the Empire State Building had become one of the world's most profitable buildings, and one of the world's most recognizable and loved architectural structures.

It was the headquarters for several major USA and international corporations, and a number of nonprofit charitable organizations, with a combined total of approximately 15,000 people employed there walking through its 5th Avenue Lobby every day. Visitors used a separate entrance on West 34th Street solely accessible by elevator to the Observatories for almost 90 years, until 2018.

Among the residents of the Empire State Building over the years have been the YWCA of the USA, The King's College, The National Film Board of Canada, Federal Deposit of Insurance Company (FDIC), Linkedin, and various international airlines.

Radio and TV Broadcasting

Broadcasting began at the Empire State Building on December 22, 1931, when NBC and RCA began transmitting experimental television broadcasts from a small antenna erected atop the building's mast, with two separate transmitters for the visual and audio data. They leased the 85th floor and built a laboratory there.

In 1934, RCA entered into a cooperative venture to test an FM system from the building's antenna. This ultimately resulted in the installation of the world's first FM radio transmitter which commenced transmitting from the antenna in 1940. After some time, the 85th floor became home to RCA's New York television operations as well, initially as an experimental station. Commencing in 1941, the station evolved into a commercial station which eventual became WNBC Channel 4. NBC retained exclusive use of the top of the building until 1950 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the exclusive deal be terminated so that other television broadcasters and sister FM stations could broadcast from the a single dedicated broadcast tower that was completed in 1951. Other television broadcasters gradually joined RCA in the Empire State Building on the 81st through 83rd floors, resulting in six broadcasters agreeing to pay a combined $600,000 per year for the use of the antenna. A new 222-foot, 60-ton broadcast tower was completed in 1953.

ACCOLADES AND MILESTONES DURING THE FIRST 50 YEARS

The 1950s also saw the American Society of Civil Engineers select the Empire State Building as one of the seven greatest engineering achievements in America’s history, ranking it alongside the Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal.

In 1956, as a symbol of welcome and freedom to visitors, four large beacon lights are installed at the foot of the building's tower. These beacons, which could be seen across the city, were known as “The Freedom Lights".

In 1961, Lawrence A. Wien, Peter L. Malkin, and Harry B. Helmsley purchased the Empire State Building for $65-million (the equivalent of approximately $557-million today). The price, which did not include the land, was the highest ever paid for a single building anywhere up to that point in time.

In 1976, The Empire State Building Observatory received its 50 millionth visitor -- marking the beginning of its drawing millions of visitors from all over the world each year thereafter.

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Primary and Photographic Sources: Empire State Building Archives; historycollection.com

2022-06-30T05:36:00.953-07:00

There must be "something in the water" in Tennessee for that state to have not one, but TWO, major cities -- Nashville and Memphis -- that have such strong connections to music in their history and culture that when either of their names are mentioned, people all over the world immediately think of specific types of American music.

This Blog article will focus on Memphis, often referred to today as the "Home of the Blues". Memphis was THE place for musical artists to be in the post-World War II early days of the music production and distribution of sound recordings of Blues as well as other mid-20th Century quintessentially American musical genres which were gaining popularity around the same time, specifically Soul, Gospel, and especially Rock and Roll.

Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River, Memphis dates back to 1819. Much of the city's history is inextricably tied to the pre-Civil War rural American South, creating a culture which, from its earliest days to the present day, has been heavily influenced thereby.

Memphis, circa 1850s

The music born during the existence of slavery prior to 1865, and thereafter following the American Civil War in the late 1800s during the hard times in the decades of economic depression and ongoing racial discrimination, marginalization, disenfranchisement and violence, gave rise to what is known today as "the Blues" and "Soul". Additionally, the influences of Gospel music coming out of Black churches, and the Blues reflecting life's hardships, have been acknowledged as being at the roots of the Rock and Roll of the 1950s that was propelled into worldwide popularity by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and others.

I first had the opportunity to visit the various music museums in Memphis that I am highlighting herein when I was asked by a school district in Texas to plan and escort a Civil Rights Heritage/Cultural Tour for a group of multi-ethnic middle school students accompanied by teachers and school administrators who were their chaperones. The itinerary included Memphis and other cities important to the Civil Rights Movement. For most of the students, it was their very first time to go somewhere outside of their hometown. Because music is such a significant part of Memphis history and culture, we added the then-existing Memphis music museums to the Itinerary.

Over the years, as additional music museums have been created and opened in Memphis, we have incorporated both the older and the newer museums into our Itinerary because they themselves have reached iconic status, collectively becoming a destination focus of visitors to the city.

W.C. HANDY HOUSE AND MUSEUM

William Christopher Handy (1873-1958) is considered to be the "Father of the Blues" and an influential songwriter.

Born in Florence, Alabama, he apprenticed in carpentry, shoe making and plastering. Handy was deeply religious, and his musical style was influenced by the church music he sang and played as a youth. His music was also influenced by the sounds of the natural world. He cited as inspiration the sounds of "whippoorwills, bats and hoot owls, the sound of Cypress Creek washing on the fringes of the woodland, and the music of every songbird and all the symphonies of their unpremeditated art".

In 1893, he played coronet at the Chicago World's Fair and joined a touring band the same year. Over the next three years, the band traveled to Chicago, throughout Texas and Oklahoma to Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, and on to Cuba, Mexico and Canada. In 1902 Handy traveled throughout Mississippi, listening to various styles of popular Black music. The state was mostly rural and music was part of the culture, especially in cotton plantations in the Mississippi Delta. Musicians usually played guitar or banjo or, to a much lesser extent, piano. Handy's remarkable memory enabled him to recall and transcribe the music he heard in his travels.

When he moved to Memphis in 1909, he settled in a two-room house on Jeanette Place in South Memphis, where he lived with his family until 1917 when he moved his family and his music publishing business to New York City. The following years until his death in 1938 in Yonkers, NY were extremely productive and cemented Handy's legacy as a songwriter, musician, musicologist and influence on composers of various musical genre, including classical.

In the mid-1980s, Handy's Memphis home was relocated to Beale Street in downtown Memphis and restored. It is a relatively small, narrow Victorian-style clapboard house, aptly painted blue, and is surrounded by a white picket fence, with its floor plan laid out in the "railroad" or "shotgun style" popular in that era where there was no central hallway but instead with each room leading into the next room.

Now a museum, the W.C. Handy Home features photos, personal memorabilia and archival artifacts, including the desk at which W.C. Handy wrote many of his most famous songs, such as "The Memphis Blues," "St. Louis Blues," and "Beale Street Blues."

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Stax Records and American Soul music.

Located on the original site of the Stax Records Studio, the Museum pays special tribute to the artists who recorded there, as well as to other legends of American Soul. Containing a rare collection of more than 2,000 items of soul music memorabilia and artifacts, the Stax Museum also features interactive exhibits, films, stage costumes, musical instruments, vintage recording equipment used at Stax, vinyl records, photographs and both permanent and changing special exhibition galleries.

The evolution of Stax Records reflects the determination of its founder Jim Stewart, who had been inspired by the success of Sam Phillips, a radio technician who had gone "out on a limb", had started a music production company, had first recorded Elvis Presley, and who had made a small fortune therefrom.

Stewart initially founded Satellite Records. He was a banker by day and a country fiddle player by night. Nevertheless, he believed that he could be a music producer in spite of his not having either any experience in, nor any knowledge about, the recording industry. Satellite cut its first record in October, 1957, a country song with noticeably low production quality.

To help her brother produce sound recordings of a higher quality, Stewart's sister Estelle Axton mortgaged her house in order to buy an Ampex 350 console recorder for the studio, and in 1960, she refinanced her house to fund the studio's move to McLemore Avenue in Memphis. Satellite Records was renamed "Stax", combining the first to letters of each of Stewart's and Axton's last names.

For almost 20 years Stax Records continued to sign and produce performers who became widely known, such as Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, and Isaac Hayes; however, by the late 1970s, financial difficulties forced its closure. The original recording studio was demolished in 1989 and a historical marker was dedicated in 1991, but the lot remained empty.

By the late 1990s, the surrounding, once-vibrant African American neighborhood had fallen into economic and social decay. Nevertheless, not wanting to see the entire neighborhood swallowed by blight, a group of community leaders, philanthropists and former Stax employees formed the Soulsville Foundation to revitalize the area, one aspect of which was to open a museum that would tell the Stax story.

Today, the Soulsville Foundation is the parent organization of the highly-visited Stax Museum of American Soul Music -- and the revitalized area of Memphis where it is located is an urban success story.

MEMPHIS ROCK 'N' SOUL MUSEUM

The Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum is focused on the story of all the types of music which comprise the fabric of Memphis' history from the 1930s through the heyday in the 1970s.

The Museum is located in downtown Memphis, at the corner of the famous Beale Street (one of the most musically-significant streets in the world) and B. B. King Avenue (an extension of the legendary Highway 61, also known as "The Blues Highway").

The story of this Museum first began in 1990 as a traveling exhibition titled, "Rock 'n' Soul: Social Crossroads". It was developed by the Smithsonian Institution to commemorate its 150th anniversary. Upon completion of the traveling exhibition, the memorabilia was collected, and the Rock 'n' Soul Museum was established in Memphis -- the acknowledged birthplace of the Blues, of Soul, and of Rock 'n' Roll.

The Museum is proud to have been developed in unique cooperation with the world-renowned Smithsonian Institute and is the first and only museum to have ever been developed by The Smithsonian in collaboration with another museum.

Memphis Museum of Rock 'n' Roll provides visitors with a "comprehensive experience" -- introducing many to the music of the rural field hollers and sharecroppers of the 1930s in the Memphis area -- and continuing into the 1970s which marked the pinnacle of success for Memphis' local music producers and recording studios.

The integrity of the Smithsonian Institution is evidenced throughout the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. The exhibition is much more than just displays of guitars and autographed albums. Through the extensive research conducted and scripted by the Smithsonian Institution curators, it tells the story of how people of all races and socio-economic backgrounds broke through social barriers and racial prejudice to create America’s unique musical genres -- not only shaping a city’s profile, but also changing the world’s cultural landscape forever.

MEMPHIS MUSIC HALL OF FAME MUSEUM

The Memphis Music Hall of Fame organization, and its brick-and-mortar Museum, pay tribute to the lifetime achievements of the artists -- the songwriters and the performers of all musical genres initially popularized in the 20th Century and continuing to the present day, which have been part of, and who shaped, the Memphis music scene as well as music worldwide. In addition, to blues, soul, gospel, and rock-and-roll, other genre are included, such as jazz, R&B, rock-a-billy, country and hip-hop.

The Hall of Fame, established in 2012, holds an induction ceremony, generally annually, each time honoring several noteworthy people of significant importance to the music industry and to Memphis music history. Since its inception, approximately 60 persons have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, including the industry's earliest successful music producers Sam Phillips, Jim Stewart, and Stewart's sister Estelle Axton.

For a gallery of all of the Memphis Museum Hall of Fame inductees through 2019 -- the last time an induction ceremony was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- and as of the date this Blog article was published, link to: https://memphismusichalloffame.com/inductees/

The Hall of Fame is under the umbrella of the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. In August, 2015 the Memphis Music Hall of Fame Museum opened on the corner of Beale Street and 2nd Street. It features displays of memorabilia and archival materials, rare video performances, and interviews of the various inductees -- some presented interactively and which are almost as outrageous as the artists themselves!

BLUES HALL OF FAME MUSEUM

Opened in May of 2015, The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame Museum is a Memphis gem for both serious blues fans and casual visitors. With dynamic, comprehensive exhibits and in-depth history, the museum exposes, educates, and entertains visitors with all that is "blues culture" while highlighting over 400 inductees in five key categories: Performer, Individual, Album, Single, and Literature.

The Blues Foundation was founded in 1980 in Memphis, Tennessee, generally-acknowledged as being “The Home of the Blues", by its first executive director, Joe Savarin. Over the next 40 years, The Blues Foundation Foundation grew from a small base of Memphis supporters who had presented the first National Blues Awards at the Orpheum Theatre on November 16, 1980 into an international membership of over 4,000 individuals and organizations.

The National Blues Awards were renamed the W. C. Handy Blues Awards in 1995, and then again renamed in 2006 as the Blues Music Awards -- the name still used today. The Awards were initially conducted by Living Blues magazine which polled a worldwide group of blues authorities, deejays, musicians, folklorists, record dealers, and producers.

The Blues Music Awards are now managed by The Blues Foundation staff. The Blues Hall of Fame has expanded considerably since its inception to the extent that today it includes individuals in Business, Production, Media and Academics. It has also come to include Classics of Recording in both the single-recording and album categories, and also Classics of Blues Literature. At the present time, there are a total of 443 Blues Hall of Fame inductees, of which 166 are performers.

In the early 2000s The Blues Foundation embarked upon a successful Raise the Roof Campaign to secure $3,000,000 in private donations in order to erect a physical building for the Blues Hall of Fame located in downtown Memphis. Construction was completed on schedule, and the Blues Hall of Fame Museum, located on South Main Street, opened its doors in May, 2015 in conjunction with that year’s Blues Music Awards. The Museum serves all four components of The Blues Foundation’s mission of preserving history, celebrating excellence, supporting education, and ensuring the future of the music. The Blues Foundation offices are also appropriately housed in the same facility.

The museum contains 10 individualized galleries with interactive touchscreen displays, along with three master databases where visitors can hear the music, watch videos, and read the stories of each of the inductees. In addition, each gallery houses one-of-a-kind memorabilia, including such iconic pieces as hard-to-find album covers and photographs, important awards, unique art, musical instruments and costumes, tour jackets, and other special items that can only be seen at The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame Museum. The upstairs Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise Gallery hosts traveling exhibits that rotate every four months, offering repeat visitors a new experience every time they walk through the front doors.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Celebrating Memphis' connection to American music history, and visiting several of the Music Museums of Memphis, are both included on the custom-created Itinerary of one of our two escorted Civil Rights Heritage Tours. This Tour is suitable for groups of any size, particularly multi-generational families, middle school/high school/college students on school-sponsored trips, historic preservationists, music societies and educators. This Tour can also be conducted any time of the year, per a Tour Group's preference. For more information, please contact us through our Website at: http://snobbytours.com/CivilRtsI.html

Primary and Photographic Sources: wchandlymuseum.org; Handy, William Christopher, Father of the Blues: An Autobiography, Macmillan, 1948; historic-memphis.com; staxmuseum.com; memphisrocknsoul.org; memphismusichalloffame.com; blues.org)

THE BOYLE HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD OF LOS ANGELES - Part 3 of a Series: THE LARGEST POPULATION OF JEWISH RESIDENTS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN THE 1930s©

2022-05-28T10:35:00.451-07:00

Celebrating Jewish Heritage Month in May, we focus our Blog article for May, 2022 on Los Angeles' Boyle Heights neighborhood.

By the 1920s, there were approximately 10,000 Jewish households in the area, which was about one-third of Los Angeles’ Jewish population -- the largest urban Jewish community in the United States located west of the Mississippi River. Boyle Heights was also one of the most diverse neighborhoods — home to many Mexican, Japanese, Armenian/Turkish, Italian, Russian and African American families.

Map of Boyle Heights Neighborhood in1921

For its "Jewish Histories in Multiethnic Boyle Heights" Special Exhibit, UCLA gathered archival materials, artifacts and personal stories to explore the rich history of the Jewish community in this neighborhood, while also observing how those experiences coincided with the other diasporic communities that lived there.

The first automobile ever to drive through Los Angeles did so through the streets of Boyle Heights on May 30, 1897. A New York civil engineer, J. Philip Erie, spent $30,000 to design, invent and build the first gasoline-propelled automobile carriage west of the Mississippi River. The drive started in downtown Los Angeles and ended at Erie’s home near Hollenbeck Park.

In 1908, a group of Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe founded Los Angeles’ first Yiddish organization, with the primary goal of establishing a Yiddish school so that Jewish parents could supplement their children’s public school education. In 1920, the Yiddish school's Board launched a fundraising drive to purchase a house at 420 N. Soto St., where the school would become a Yiddish cultural center.

The new school, known as the folkshul (“people’s school”), opened the following year with 120 students. In addition to being a Yiddish school, the folkshul quickly became a popular destination for organizations and events, hosting meetings of local Jewish clubs, for fundraisers and bazaars, and for an annual dress ball.

The "folkshul" in 1922

As the movie and aviation industries blossomed and grew in Los Angeles in the 1920s, Jewish residents of Boyle Heights became prominent as business entrepreneurs skilled in various professions and crafts. One such resident during the l920s was internationally-renowned businessman Max Factor, who settled in Boyle Heights with his family in close proximity to his store on South Central Avenue and to the local Jewish community on the eastside. He first formulated, tested and developed his cosmetics out of the garage of his residence, eventually establishing himself as the source for the makeup and cosmetic treatments which became a favourite among the Hollywood studios and celebrities.

The Max Factor House on Boyle Avenue was built in 1909 in the Craftsman style of architecture with wide eaves and exposed rafters beneath. During the time Max Factor and his family lived in Boyle Heights, his company car was often seen parked in the driveway because he never learned to drive, preferring instead the nearby public transportation. The Max Factor House, pictured below, still stands today, and is under the watchful eye of the Los Angeles Conservancy, a local historical preservation group.

Max Factor House as it looks today
Photo Credit: Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy

In the early 1920s, Jewish residents created a place where Boyle Heights’ multiethnic residents could socialize, learn and organize. They called it the Cooperative Center, a large, three-story building near the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Mott Street. There were several meeting rooms on the top floor, a large ballroom for lectures and social events on the second floor, and a bakery and café on the ground floor.

The Cooperative Center became a hub for neighborhood-based organizations and an important site of political organizing and social activities that blended consciousness raising, mult-cultural mingling, and fundraising.

About a half mile from the folkshul was the Soto-Michigan Jewish Community Center, referred to as "the JCC", in Boyle Heights. The Center’s director, Rabbi J. M. Cohen, wanted to “integrate the Jewish community with the general community and the individual with the Jewish community and society as a whole.” Cohen believed that by celebrating cultural pluralism, the Center would strengthen the Jewish identities of American-born children, foster integration and serve all of the neighborhood’s residents, including children of other ethnicities, such as of Mexican, Asian, Russian and African American descent.

The Soto-Michigan JCC’s three-story facility featured a lounge, game room and clubroom on the first floor and locker rooms in the basement. The facility’s most popular feature was the Stebbins playground, where there was a jungle gym, volleyball and basketball courts, swing sets and ping pong tables. As many as 1,000 people regularly visited the Soto-Michigan JCC just to use the playground, in addition to the 2,300 children and adults who used the meeting rooms and auditoriums every week.

SIDE NOTE: The two photographs below of the JCC and some of the neighorhood children were both taken in 1938 by Julius Shulman (1910-2009), an American architectural photographer who, over his lengthy career, became widely known for documenting and preserving the aesthetic of Southern California's Mid-Century Modern architecture.

Jewish Community Center
in Boyle Heights, 1938
Photos credit: Julius Shulman

During the early 20th Century, the Jewish community of Boyle Heights established several entities to take care of its residents -- especially the orphaned, the aged, and new immigrants who had fled the anti-Semitic oppression of generations of Jews being forced to live and starve in isolated, segregated impoverished ghettos (walled-off communities within European cities), and being repeatedly subjected to pogroms (violent massacres and forced relocations/removals through the expelling, uprooting and marching of residents of entire Jewish communities out of various European countries). Included among the caregiving entities were the Jewish Home for the Aged, the Mount Sinai Home for Chronic Invalids, the Jewish Orphans Home, and the Jewish Wayfarers Home.

Pictured below is Mount Sinai Hospital in 1928, during the time it was originally located in Boyle Heights. The origins of Mount Sinai Hospital can be traced to the 1918 worldwide flu pandemic, when a group of Jewish Los Angelenos provided kindness and comfort to the sick of all races, ethnic origins and religions.

The enduring legacy of Mount Sinai Hospital continues to the present day. In 1950, a new Mount Sinai Hospital was built on Beverly Boulevard a few short blocks east of Doheny Drive on 3.5 acres of land donated by a locally-based Jewish charitable foundation. In 1961, Mount Sinai Hospital merged with Cedars of Lebanon Hospital to form what has since become the world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center which currently occupies several square blocks between Beverly Boulevard and Third Street in the same -- albeit greatly expanded -- Los Angeles location adjacent to Beverly Hills.

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(Primary sources: Mapping Jewish L.A.Project/UCLA Newsroom article by Cheryl Cheng, May 25, 2021; Los Angeles Conservancy; Los Angeles Eastside History Museum and Cultural Center/Boyle Heights Studios)

2022-04-28T13:45:00.119-07:00

In browsing through this Travelblog, it becomes quickly apparent that I am a huge fan of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas -- so much so that I have published three (3) articles on its various components and unique attributes since it opened in 2011.

As it begins its second decade in 2022, Crystal Bridges has achieved worldwide recognition, and it has put the small rural town of Bentonville, Arkansas "on the map". What was once a quintessential rural town in northwest Arkansas located in the southern Ozark Mountains has been transformed into an artistic and cultural public art work-in-progress, filled with around 130 murals on buildings and sculptures in public spaces.

Recently, Crystal Bridges was featured prominently on "CBS Sunday Morning", showcasing its considerable expansion over the past 10 years. Its already-extensive private collection of approximately 1,700 works of art more than doubled during its first decade, with plans currently underway for an additional 100,000 square feet of exhibit space on the adjacent picturesque grounds

Rather than write about how much Crystal Bridges has evolved and expanded over the past decade, and revitalized Downtown Bentonville, the video herein below will literally speak volumes.

SIDE NOTE: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

is included as a featured stop in the Itinerary of

our custom-created escorted group heritage and cultural Tour,

For more information about booking this fun and interesting

heritage and cultural Tour during spectacular Fall Foliage

between the Ozarks and Southern Illinois

in October of 2022 or October of 2023, link to our Website at:

http://snobbytours.com/PrezLibMidwestFFChicago.html

===================================

(Primary Source: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)

2022-03-28T11:07:00.083-07:00

When people think of the Los Angeles of the first half of the 20th Century, they generally don't associate it with world-renown photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984).

Conversely, when people think of Ansel Adams, they generally associate him with his well-known black-and-white photographs of the Western USA, in particular of Northern California's Yosemite National Park, and also of his iconic "Moonrise" photo taken in New Mexico.

Few people, however, know that Ansel Adams spent time in the early 1940s in Los Angeles teaching photography and training military photographers at what is known today as the Art Center College of Design. During this time period, he photographed Los Angeles' "urban landscape", capturing for posterity the look and feel of the pre-World War II city which inspired so many dark, brooding movies in the 1940s which collectively came to be referred to as the genre of "film noir".

In 1940 Los Angeles had a population of 1.5-million people.

In 1940 the cost of gasoline was 10-cents per gallon.

In 1940 the average new car cost $700.

Also in 1940 the United States of America began re-arming for World War II -- and the prestigious Ansel Adams was commissioned by Fortune Magazine to photograph a series of images for an article covering the rapidly growing aviation industry in the Los Angeles area.

For the Fortune Magazine project, Adams took more than 200 black-and-white photographs showing everyday life in Los Angeles, including businesses, street scenes, aircraft factory workers at lunch, trailer parks, oil derricks in the middle of busy city streets, and a variety of other subjects.

When the article, "City of the Angels", appeared in the March 1941 issue devoted entirely to the aircraft industry, only a few of Adams' images were included.

Decades later, in the early 1960s, Adams himself rediscovered the photographs among papers at his home in Carmel, California and donated them to the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). At that time, he wrote in a letter: "The weather was bad over a rather long period and none of the pictures were very good... I would imagine that they represent about $100.00 minimum value... At any event, I do not want them back." (Excerpt from: "Ansel Adams Los Angeles" Exhibit at drkrm gallery during "Pacific Standard Time", an unprecedented collaboration in 2011-2012 of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California (SoCal) which had come together to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene.)

The video herein below was made in conjunction with the "Ansel Adams Los Angeles" Exhibit at drkrm gallery which was a component of the "Pacific Standard Time" city-wide exhibition in 2011-2012 at multiple SoCal cultural and arts venues.

In 2019, the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) featured a number of photos from the Ansel Adams Collection in an Exhibit at the Library entitled "On Assignment: Ansel Adams in Los Angeles".

The Ansel Adams Collection at the LAPL provides a time capsule of life in Los Angeles as the Great Depression was coming to an end, and as ominous clouds were on the horizon foreshadowing the impending world catastrophe that would catapult the United States into World War II.

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(Photo and primary sources: Los Angeles Public Library's Ansel Adams Collection; Video credit: MPH Productions for the 2011-2012 "Pacific Standard Time" Exhibit at the drkrm gallery)

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