When one of our team members, Monica Arrache, told me she was traveling to visit her hometown of Boston (one of my fave cities) I hounded her asked her nicely if she would photograph anything Fauxology-ish in order to share with the readers. She finally had enough of my begging kindly did so with not one, but two amazing spaces.
Emerson College came upon the closed and dilapidated Art Deco-styled Paramount Theatre and commissioned it to undergo a $92 million dollar renovation to transform it into The Paramount Center. The renovation was overseen by Elkus Manfredi Architects. The interior theater has been restored to look like the movie palace that opened in 1932, complete with gold figurines, murals and restored historic finishes. It now houses classrooms, offices and several state-of-the-art performance spaces for Emerson College. There are guided tours for the public as well. Here are some of Monica’s images…
...and they do mean, ANYBODY...
559 Washington Street, Boston, MA
I found an excellent article on its history and current interior design. Additionally, there is a 5-minute video from The Emerson Channel in case you’d like to see further into the space:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into the new Paramount Center and that it inspires you to visit it while traveling in Boston. I’d like to send out a special Thank You! to Monica for the images and information. I’ll have the second location up soon. Have a great day!
Whenever I mention I live in Orlando, the first thing that comes up is “theme parks”. Yes, they are exciting, but there’s also beautiful neighborhoods and non-touristy areas to enjoy as well. One of these is the city of Winter Park, FL. The Hubs and I recently spent a Saturday in that area. Well, I just lied — it really was a few months ago. There was tons of pics to whittle down, fix and then write a post around them…you see where procrastination would rear up, right? Right. So, on that recent day, we spent it walking, seeing the architecture, taking a scenic boat tour and finally ending up at a wonderful local restaurant.
FROM OUR WALK
Winter Park began its start as an art and literary colony in 1881, according to the Winter Park Historical Association. Today, it is home to museums, lakes, canals, parks and a charming shopping district. I like how the roads differ and the exteriors, too — as well as little shots of color from stairwells, arched entrances and tiles.
The old Alabama Hotel -- now condominiums. Would be nice to come home to an ivy covered residence, no?
I don't believe this is faux...
FROM OUR BOAT
We took a pontoon ride on Lake Osceola from Scenic Bout Tours and had a chance to see another side to Winter Park. We passed the Kraft Azalea Gardens, Rollins College (gorgeous Spanish-Mediterranean architecture on campus) and the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. They gave a great history of the city and what I remember most is that they noted that Mr. Rogers was inspired to write his signature song while living in Winter Park, FL. (He has a music degree from Rollins.)
The Pontoon
(above) I find it amusing (and yet so admirable) to design the boathouse with the architecture of your home. Click on them to zoom and you’ll see how beautiful the effect is.
A final view of one of the canals.
Hope you’ve enjoyed Winter Park, FL — and that you’ll consider taking a detour from the theme parks the next time you happen to be in Central Florida. Have a wonderful day!
My brother, Jason, is a total Foodie. So when I hear him in rhapsody over a restaurant, I know it’s going to be a phenomenal experience. Case in point: the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, FL. Columbia is the oldest Latin restaurant in Florida and one of its Top 25 restaurants overall. It opened in 1905 and has since been named an All-American Icon — only one of 50 restaurants in the country to have the honor as bestowed by Nation’s Restaurant News. The food is influenced by the cuisine of old Spain and on certain nights, even have extraordinary flamenco shows to complete the experience.
After attending a NY Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays game this past Sunday, the Hubs and I decided to stop by. Jason had also told me that the decor was as outstanding as the food. I thought he was talking about the interior but lo and behold, I found these tiled beauties on the exterior of the building.
One image just a bit closer
(above) Click to Zoom
A smaller tiled mural is right next to this bigger one.
There were also several beautiful elements in the interior design. They have fifteen (15) dining rooms in total and each is as interesting and different as the previous one. The restaurant itself is 52,000 square feet. Click here for more information and to read about their fascinating history. Below are images I took and some pulled from their website.
Reception (left) and the view — with painted columns and ornaments — from our table (right)
Cafe Dining Room
The Red Dining Room with an allover design on the walls
The Kings Room -- love the tiled chair rail.
Oh, yes. You may be wondering about the food. Although we did not have the 1905 Salad (rated one of America’s best salads by USA Today), we did have amazing tapas, paella, sangria and decadent desserts. [And hey, thousands of Facebook fans can't be wrong.] Our fantastic waitress, Megan, practically had to roll us out of there with both our stomachs and eyes happy. What could be better?
While perusing pics from my trip to Italy in 2005, I found images of a finish I stumbled upon in one of the hotels. Wish I could tell you which hotel or even which city but I neglected to note that. However, I think it is an interesting technique and one that looks easily achievable with tinted plasters, a grate with a pleasing pattern and a trowel to mess some of it up while still wet. It looks as if they applied, troweled or rubbed some sort of metallic wax or overglaze over some of the finishes when done.
The finish was applied around the room entrances and elevators. Below, you will see Reds & Golds in one area and Blues in another. Isn’t the blue color movement just so visually pleasing? All my closeup shots of the blue are fuzzy. Argh!
Here’s the closeup of the Red & Gold, though…
This one is in ochre tones — there’s a closer look.
The Red & Gold combination continues but here it is paired with beautiful greens.
I love the “messiness” of the finish and the goal of it being not so perfect either.
The artisans in Italy always think in such exciting colors! I really enjoyed the results. What do you think?
A building and history that fascinates me is The Library of Alexandria. The Libary of Congress has also had its share of woe — it has been the victim of fire not once, but twice. After the first, Thomas Jefferson made a gift of his own personal library: 6,487 books. The gift was controversial because he owned books on all subjects and in different languages — some thought a government library should have its limits. Thomas Jefferson said about the controversy “There is, in fact, no subject to which a member of Congress might not have occasion to refer.” He was prophetic. Unfortunately, the second fire destroyed 2/3 of those books. Today, the library is offered additions to the collection at the rate of 20,000 books and items per day. Let’s take a look at more of the artistry.
(below) There are mosaics…
(above) Mosaic niche mural called Minerva of Peace by Elihu Vedder. Here’s a closeup.
(below) Marble, iron and wood have been turned into ornamental beauties as well.
(below) More decorative painting in side corridors.
(below) The artisans had fun: see the closeup figure on the 23K gold leaf band on the right. Notice the hidden switchplate?
(below) Even the flooring was not forgotten.
The library is not limited to just research books. They also have sound recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music and manuscripts numbering in the multi-millions. I also found a good online pictorial of the artistry or you can take a virtual tour. I hope you’ve enjoyed the D.C. series and this two-day look into the Library of Congress. I did let them know that if they ever planned on selling, to give me a call first. Hey, a girl can dream.
As you tour the different buildings and museums in D.C., you notice that it might have all begun with the seriousness of the brothers Government and Knowledge but they each ended up marrying the fun-loving Art and Architecture sisters. A wonderful example of this is the second building I visited, the Library of Congress. [click on pics to zoom.]
There are roughly 32 million books in over 470 languages, amongst other holdings. Anyone can reserve the materials and upon your slotted date, the staff will have your requests ready in an area just for you. When they told me that, my heart practically jumped out of its chest, like in the cartoons. Only legislators can actually check out the materials but imagine — hundreds of design, ornamental and art history books at your fingertips.
They have begun scanning and digitizing the books into the World Digital Library in the hopes that one day, people who do not have the means to travel to D.C. can still have access to the research online. It’s ingenious since it also preserves the materials.
(above) I wonder if the security staff in the right pic ever look up and think of just how wondrous all the ornamentation is. Here’s a closeup of the 23K gold leaf work.
(above) Elevators also adorned. Doors (L), ceiling (R) – to see a fuzzy full view, click here.
(below) The Italian Renaissance-style exterior. It’s my version of the Willy Wonka factory.
The artistry is as a result of more than fifty (50) American artists including Henry Oliver Walker, John White Alexander, Gari Melchers, George Barse, Jr. and Elihu Vedder. To read more about the history and artistry, click here. Tomorrow, there will be additional images of the Library of Congress, including mosaics and more decorative painting. I thought of putting it all into one post, but really it’s just too much. Even while there, I missed quite a few sights according to a pamphlet I read back at the hotel. (You better believe there was cursing upon the discovery of that.) It will definitely take another D.C. trip so I can continue soaking it all in. What a hardship.
I recently took a weekend trip to D.C. to visit The Gorgeous Hubster while he was there on business. As it turns out, he needed to work during the day so that Saturday, I put on my walking shoes, armed myself with a map and toured the town. This was my third trip to D.C. and there is always something new to explore — it’s a town where great monuments and museums are on every block. Literally. My friend, Jeff Huckaby, had suggested I take in the Brumidi Corridors in the U.S. Capitol and that’s where I headed first.
The U.S. Capitol is an easy enough building to find — you will see the rotunda on the skyline. The Statue of Freedom sits atop of the dome facing east, so that freedom will always be there when the sun rises. (Everything is symbolic in D.C.) On the lower right, you will see the guards that told me I would have to walk all the way around to the other side to enter the building. Let’s boo them shall we? Booooooooooooooooooo…
The Capitol is where Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) meets. At the info desk, I was informed that the Brumidi Corridors and other choice areas were only open Monday – Friday. After recovering from that disaster (seriously, they should put that on their website!), I decided to take the Capitol tour. NOT disappointing. First we enter the famous rotunda with the Constantino Brumidi fresco in the center, The Apotheosis of Washington. The architecture is American Neoclassical and has a height of 180 feet. George Washington is depicted in the fresco surrounded by symbolic figures (i.e., Commerce, Science, Agriculture). The fresco is 4,664 square feet and some figures measure up to 15′ long.
In the following images, you will see a closeup of the Frieze of American History and its position in the room. It is a trompe l’oeil panorama depicting some of America’s history. The frieze is the work of three artisans: Brumidi, Filippo Costaggini and Allyn Cox. You can click on the Frieze link above, but also this PDF link Death of “The Genius of the Capitol” is a fascinating read. Artist Allyn Cox also has his own corridors complimenting the Brumidi Corridors. In the third pic, you can see the view from the floor. You are surrounded by extraordinary paintings depicting various scenes of American history.
We then went through a maze (left, random ceiling) to get to the National Statuary Hall (right, ceiling). It is where the House of Representatives used to meet and the very cool thing is that it was made to have optimum acoustics. When you stand and speak in specific spots, all those in the room can hear you clearly because of the sound bouncing between the ceiling and floor. Not a place where you would whisper gossip.
I also spied this corridor entrance — it was roped off, one of those Monday – Friday tantalizers. Here’s a closeup of the shell and flowers.
At the end of the tour, I stood amongst others consulting my map to decide where to go next. A young child turned to me and said, “You should go to the Library of Congress. You’ll love it” and with that he walked off with his family. So, I did — and I kid you not, I think he was an angel. Because the Library of Congress is…well, you’ll see tomorrow.
I found our Book of the Month during my Bok Tower & Gardens excursion. My family and I stopped in the gift shop before we started and I spied Old Florida by Steve Gross and Sue Daley on the shelf. Only three copies left and scandalously on sale. I verbally acknowledged the plausible intelligence of buying the book and then hauling it throughout the whole day. Here’s what ensued:
RG: Only three copies left.
The Family: Regina. This fantasy that everyone is gunning for this book is all in your head. No one here today loves these books more than you. Do you see a stampede of finishers storming the shop?
RG: (grudgingly) No…
The Family: Then, relax. We’ll take the day, you can do your research, we’ll all have fun and at the end, you can pick up your book and then cart it to the car.
RG: (worried) I guess so…
So, off we went. You know what almost happened right? Yup. At the end of the day, I happily go into the shop and I spy ONE COPY LEFT and a woman making her way to that aisle. I went running all Bionic Woman — with the theme song and everything — and I snatched it up and gave her a glare. I might have hissed. (Yes, I admit it. I’m not proud.) But, I purchased it and I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on it.
Old Florida visits “Florida’s Magnificent Homes, Gardens and Vintage Attractions” and both Steve Gross and Sue Daly wrote and photographed the book. They visited 35 of Florida’s architectural landmarks and explored the diversity of all the interior design as well — from kooky to magnificent. Here are some images (please make sure you click on them to zoom):
(Above) On the left you’ll find the gilded baroque columns in the living room of Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale. On the right is the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, featuring the Mediterranean style. The hotel opened in 1926 and during the early 90s, the hotel was closed with no sign of re-opening. My friends and I would try to sneak in because it was rumored to be haunted. A $40 million dollar restoration opened its doors.
(Above) Both of these pictures are from Mar-a-Lago (Sea-to-Lake) in Palm Beach. It is a national historic landmark and renovated by Donald Trump. On the left is the living room with a ceiling height of 34 feet. There is gold leafing galore — it is said that during construction, the State of Florida ran out of gold leaf and the head gilder was forced (forced! ha!) to travel to Europe for more. On the right, is the gorgeous stairway to the Seven Windows Room. (Ya’ll know how I feel about spiral staircases…)
I came across pictures of the Wieliczka Salt Mine and thought — beautiful design in the midst of an unexpected place. Take a look at the main chamber:
The Wieliczka Salt Mine is in Krakow, Poland and on the list of World Heritage Sites for UNESCO. It closed in 1996 because of the flooding danger to the mine shafts. The 3.5 km that the tourists visit is only 1% of the total mine. During the tour, you will see saline lakes, descend a very steep flight of stairs (or if not available, a rickety elevator) and historical and religious figures carved in salt. The artisans among those early miners carved the religious figures in underground chambers for help in watching over the men in such a dangerous job. ( In a documentary on silver mines, I saw the same thing and thought “What must they go through as they leave their families behind, poignantly pray and then walk into the relative darkness?” It takes a certain kind of bravery.) The caverns are always at 59 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is fairly brisk. The chandeliers you see hanging from the main chamber are actually made of salt as well that was dissolved and reformed into the relatively clear glass. If you manage to get hungry surrounded by the walls of salt, there is even the Grand Sal restaurant to visit. Here are some more images:
A film has been made of the mines called The Salt of the Earth, dedicated to the workers who worked the salt mines. With this post, I’d like to send good thoughts and prayers for those who lost family in both the tragic China and West Virginia mine collapses. Bravery, indeed. I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief foray into unusual Interior Design.
Images by: Fiction Science Reporter and Windows
Travel is one of the most satisfying pleasures in life. I haven’t done much of it recently, but hope to make up for it this year. In 2006, my sister, Suzanne, and I went to Italy — it’s one of those perfect memories that I will hold in my heart eternally. Thousands of pictures came out of that trip, but I did want to start with one that proved to be an immediate inspiration for a client’s home. (As always, please click on any pic to get a nice zoom close-up.)
Mantova (also called Mantua) is a city in Northern Italy. Suzy and I strolled the streets and we came upon this gem of a doorway (Left) and upon my return to the States, it inspired this entrance into our client’s wine cellar (Right).
Here are a few pics we took just by strolling around the streets of Mantova…
I remember arriving in Italy and upon check-in at our hotel in Verona, we immediately walked to a ristorante in a piazza to get our bearings. [Because great food and wine usually help, no? (nodding sagely)] I couldn’t get over the feeling that I was in the World Showcase in Orlando’s Epcot Center and it took a bit to start believing that all my surroundings were real and not a tourist destination created by artisans. What I find incredible is that while looking at all those distressed buildings, you realize that they were in full color at their zenith in time — incredible as they still are, THAT must have been quite the sight to see. Until next time!
