The Necessary Comprehensive View

Everyone is familiar with this view of Seattle. The picture was taken from a little park up in the Queen Anne neighborhood, which is one of Seattle's oldest neighborhoods. It's very cute and has a lot of character.

Lion In Seattle

Overall I liked the decoration around this door, but I thought the lion was a bit chuncky, and ornate. I like the ornate part, but not the chunky...

Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

It Looks Like It Will Topple Over...

I was quite shocked when I looked up and saw this building towering over my head because the base of the building is about 2/3's the size of the top of the building. I don't think I could adequately capture that with my still camera, so check out the video below to see how the building juts out at the top and is much smaller on the bottom.




This is Rainier Tower, which is in Rainier Square (5th Avenue) in Downtown Seattle, Washington.

Benevolent Protector?

I really do not get the feeling of a benevolent protector from this face. More like a jealous angry devil. I think it is a strange mixture of texture and form and lack thereof on the disk and the building itself. Interesting architectural element nonetheless.

Banana Republic building downtown, Seattle, Washington

Safeco Field

I would have to say this is my third favorite baseball stadium. Behind Miller Park, and Comerica Park, but I think I'm biased a little bit. This is a really nice park.

Safeco Field, Settle, Washington

Baseball Themed Decor

Does anyone have a baseball bat chandelier as part of their decor? Safeco Field does.

Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington

Wonderful Theatre

Look at the ornate detail! It was quite remarkable.

On 5th Street, Seattle, Washington.

Sara Bareilles at The Showbox

I know this isn't a picture of an architectural element. It is a picture of Sara Bareilles performing at The Showbox in Seattle. I highly recommend seeing a show there. Because of the way it is set up it is possible to see the performers no matter where you are sitting. I don't think I have ever been to this type of venue (one that does not have rows of seats) that is architecturally organized so everyone can see so well.

The only problem with it is that it is so big and spread out when you have someone performing who is not very well known yet such as Sara Bareilles everyone in the back is talking and laughing with their drinks. Usually with a more intimate venue people realize how rude they are being when they are loud.

The Showbox, First and Pike Streets, Seattle, Washington

My Favorite Element of All Time!

I would have to say this is the best architectural element that I have ever seen. I saw the walruses on my cab ride from the airport, and I knew right away I needed to walk wherever this building was to see it more closely. (No one ever told me that Seattle was sooooo hilly though.) I think it's hilarious and really interesting to have them on a building.

Does anyone out there know if a walrus has any symbolism? I'm interested why anyone would put them onto a building's exterior.

This building is on the corner of 3rd and Cherry in Seattle, Washington.

Of Strange Shapes and Reflections

The public library in Seattle is one of the most interesting buildings I have seen shape-wise and reflection-wise. It looks really cool when there are cabs and other colored cars driving down the street because everything is reflected all the way at the top of the building. It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

Here is a description about it from the website:
"His 11-floor, 362,987-square-foot library, a dazzling avant-garde symphony of glass and form, has many innovative features, including:

A "Books Spiral" that displays the entire non-fiction collection in a continuous run;
A towering "living room" along Fifth Avenue that reaches 50 feet in height;
A distinctive diamond-shaped exterior skin of glass and steel.

The new Central Library's unorthodox shape, unlike any other building in Seattle, is the result of its use of five platform areas to reflect different aspects of the library's program; its form indeed follows its function. It includes a 275-seat auditorium and parking for 143 vehicles." [Seattle Library History]

It's at the corner of 5th and Madison in Seattle, Washingon.

The Zigzag of Fire Escapes

I love the water tower and the line of the fire escape in this image.

The corner of 93rd and Broadway.

Village Lantern

This is an apartment door post just East of 6th Avenue on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village.

Nice Iron Work

I see a lot of hearts and lifeless swirls in the iron work around my neighborhood as I have mentioned before. This iron work is nice because there are a lot of interesting negative shapes. Also, the iron is symmetrically balanced without being boring, and it's not too chunky. In fact from a distance it looks like a lace table runner.

Winchester, VA

Church Details

I've seen this type of detail before, but I like the angle I have captured in the photograph.

Winchester, VA

R. F. K. Stadium

R.F.K. Stadium in Washington DC is actually the ugliest baseball stadium I have been too so far. It will only be in use for a couple more years, which is an aesthetically good thing. Parking there and driving out of there was very easy, which is a nice change from most stadiums.

The ball game was a good one though!

Faces and Swirling Columns

There is a lot going on in the architectural detail of this building. Not all the faux columns have faces on them. Some have just abstract leaves on them similar to the style in the second picture. I think it is very interesting.

It is on 93rd on the same block or two as many of my other posts.

Old Red Barn

There is something I have always loved about things that look old, which I guess is why I love the east coast. The wood on this barn has such character.

You can't get beauty and character like this in a new pole barn made out of corrugated steel, but then again this might fall down on your things inside...I guess it's a trade-off.

This is in Winchester, VA.

Iron Step

My first thought when I saw this was that it would be slippery in the winter, but then again Virginia winters are probably not as brutal as NJ winters. I do not believe I have ever seen a step like this, and if I have seen one like this it probably was before I was noticing small architectural details.

This is in Winchester, VA.