Part IV: Why Not Buildings?

I know ... you thought I forgot about my whole SERIES about my thesis didn't you! While I have had some interruptions, I haven't forgotten about the series or the THESIS for that matter ... so on we go ... in case you can't remember where we left off ... click here and refresh your memory.

Ready?

Okay.



“WE RECYLE NEWPAPERS BUT NOT BUILDINGS?” This is the exact phrase that came into my mind one day while on my way home from work. As a result of riding the D.C. Metro to and from work twice a day, five days a week, on average I was walking by eight newspaper recycling bins a day. Also in my daily commute of two years to the American Historical Association, I walked by almost a mile of historic row houses through the Capital Hill Historic District. Having grown up in one of the most rigidly planned cities in the nation, encircled by the suburban sprawl of Orange County, I marveled daily at the variety, individuality, and endurance of historic architecture. I began to wonder why we recycled small things like newspapers, soda cans, and glass bottles fervently in the name of “saving the earth” only to demolish entire buildings with seemingly no thought of the environmental impact. Not to mention the resulting impact on entire communities. I continued to ponder this seemingly incongruous connection, to no avail. I simply could not grasp the logic behind it and even started to wonder if the connection I had drawn between recycling and buildings made much sense.

As I researched and studied the field of architectural history and historic preservation and regularly walked the Southeast and Northeast Capital Hill Neighborhoods (which I came to discover were on the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Districts), I began to ask myself questions. Out of these experience grew a desire to not only preserve the past but to be a good steward of both environmental and cultural resources. In 2006 I was not yet able to articulate the connection I instinctively felt between historic preservation and sustainability. As far as I was concerned, preservationists were missing a huge opportunity to use the chic new concept of “green building” as a way to promote the preservation, restoration, and reuse of historic buildings. All I knew at this point was that reusing a building HAD to be “greener” than tearing one down just to build a newer more “green” one – it just seemed that obvious to me."

A few photos of beautiful old buildings in various stages of restoration and ultimately adaptive reuse ... its a beautiful thing! No one builds with brick anymore ... at least not like this.







PART V (the final installment) coming soon ... I promise it will come sooner than this post did!

PART III: Connections are Made

"The context of my personal awareness of, and interface with, environmentalism has merit in understanding how my academic and professional experiences have led me to pursue this specific thesis topic. I came to graduate school specifically to write a thesis like this one. I choose the University of Oregon because of its orientation to environmentalism, as well as what the program had to offer. Its location within the Pacific Northwest, widely regarded as the leading region for sustainable practices in the United States, solidified my acceptance of attending the UO. However, before the thought of graduate school to pursue a Masters of Science in Historic Preservation and before the idea behind this thesis had fully taken root, I had the beginnings of the idea planted in my mind simply by paying attention to how I felt in particular places. I am certain that I have a heightened sense of self-awareness due to my anthropological training and thus I began to notice my feelings as I walked around the historic Capital Hill Southeast Washington, D.C. neighborhood that I worked in.



Specifically, I noticed the differences I felt at home (in a high rise apartment building in Northern Virginia - the middle of what seemed to be corporate America) from how I felt as I walked to work from the Capital South Metro station through Southeast DC. I couldn't help but notice the irony that I went from home/corporate America to work/historic neighborhood. Isn't that backwards - a commercial living environment to a domestic working one - I was all confused. I worked in two old row houses that had been renovated into one and our neighbors were all residents ... these were there homes. As mentioned previously, I have always loved old things and thus it came as no surprise that I enjoyed the walk past historic row houses everyday. I noticed the variety of shape, style, and condition even though I had no real knowledge or formal training in architecture. What I did know was this: I felt something different when I walked through a historic neighborhood. I felt a sense of richness, depth, and stability. As a deeply religious and spiritual person, I quickly developed a sense of moral obligation to understand these buildings and neighborhoods and the role they played in people’s lives and in their surrounding communities."

Part IV coming soon!

Since I brought it up - let us fondly reflect on DC and the Capital Hill area ... I miss it so. Some of these pictures I am sure I have posted before ... but they really capture the area ...

The church building on the corner of 3rd and A St?

(work peeps - help me remember!)

Jimmy T's


The Capital Building


My first Thanksgiving in DC ... this was my 2005 Christmas card
(wow has it been that long? Sheesh I am getting old)


In between the capital building and the National Mall-
the sculpture is so dramatic - i love it!


One of my favorite things to take pictures of -
the Library of Congress Jefferson Building -
this picture is my desktop ... has been for a few years now.

Shots Ring Out in the Memphis Sky

I can't believe I never posted this picture ... it is from last year in DC on Martin Luther King Day. I lived by the African American Civil War Memorial on U Street and fittingly there was a service going on there. These boys were so cute ... trying hard to keep up the paintings while the speech went on and on. So sweet.

On this day of remembrance ... this is a good video to sum it all up. Typical I know, but it always gives me chills thinking about how brave and amazing he was. Really, I feel honored to share his birthday (Jan. 15th for all those wondering what the real day is).

For those who do not know, there is a National Monument planned for Martin Luther King, Jr. The National Capital Planning Commission and The Commission of Fine Arts approved the site location for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. December 1999. They broke ground in November of 2006.

This is what it is going to look like:


And this is the future location - between Lincoln and Jefferson right on the title basin:


Its funny because I still feel like I will be back to DC ... I don't know how or when or what ... but I feel like my time is not over in DC ... maybe I am in denial still ... maybe this summer?? I hope!

keep on truckin

so i guess that i don't totally stink at this graduate school thing ... although my mind may change next week after I have another mid-term and 4 papers due (yeah its going to be a GREAT weekend). i did really really well on my first real paper in graduate school and it was just what i needed to keep my head in the game. i needed a little positive reinforcement for all my crazy ideas and views on preservation and sustainable communities. on the flip side, however, i am not necessarily rockin my exams these days ... never was that great at tests in comparison to papers. but i wonder how i am going to feel when i realize it translate to a B- or a C+. right now i don't much care ... which is the problem. i have forgotten how to study and hold large amounts of information in my head for art history tests and that is exactly what i need to do right now. maybe i will have to have a tough semester before i really get my stuff together. who knows ... until then i will keep on truckin.

Wish the FedEx truck would keep on truckin ... all the way out of my picture!

This is a building outside of the Foggy Bottom Metro Station in DC

I am sure some preservationist don't like this idea ... its facadism (keeping the facade of an historic building only) but I say its clever, witty, and keeps the character of the town homes while providing office space. Plus the are no bones about what part is modern (hint, its the dark glass parts) and what part is OG (original gangster ... or original building in this case). I also like how the concrete echoes and incorporates the scale and style of the original building, while being suspended in the dark modern glass.

sick days should always be this fun

A few weeks ago my sister and mom came to visit me. I should have posted this earlier, but I got distracted by the opportunity to see Senator Reid speak. Plus I called in sick to spend time with them and I didn't want to blog about it while I was still employed. But since I no longer work - I feel like its ok to show photographic evidence of my sick day. The photo is not dated or anything, hehehehe. Not the greatest photo of us, but family is so great that its still worth posting.

Mom, Sarah, Bethany ... taken in the reflection of the Vietnam Memorial.

It was my sister's first time out to DC and she got to visit without kids! It was a fun vacation for us all, even though we were reminded of how very very different we are. Its funny how siblings can be so different. But diversity (even in the family) makes the world go round and I am thankful for our differences. I hope one day it won't feel like they are so big, but until then I hope we continue to love each other for all those little things we each bring to the table independently. I am really glad I got to share this city with my big sister and mom for a few days ... it was great!


(Lets see how long it takes for my sister to actually realize that I posted this ... she doesn't read my blog much and I get on her case about it all the time)

Shot Through The Heart ...

And Your to Blame, honey you give love ... a BAD NAME ...
I play my part and you play your game ...
you give love a bad name.

Ahhhhh - soooo good. A few of my closest friends came out Saturday night to help me live up some of my last days in DC. If you know anything about me, you know I love to sing in the car, on the sofa, in the gym, really anywhere there is some good music to sing along too. And as mentioned before, I love 80's ballads - they are especially great to karaoke to. Thanks to all the fabulous ladies that came out to support - you know who you are! It was soo fun, I only wish we took some more pictures!

In case you are wondering, some other songs I sang at karaoke besides Bon Jovi?

• Shoop - Salt N Pepa
• Faith - George Michael
• Black Velvet - Alannah Myles (I think this is her only hit - but it is a HIT)

And those were only the songs I stood up to sing with the microphone with my fabulous girlfriends. There was a lot of singing from our table, as you can see here:


And here we REALLY get into it ... we don't just sing ... we have hand gestures and everything because THAT is how you rock out and really mean it.


These are the girls from work - three of my best friends in DC - they put this whole thing on and really made it a rockin good time. Thanks for everything ladies! Truly you are gems.


*pictures courtesy of Lis and her amazingly sneaky photo snapping - thanks!

the last day

Today is my last day at work ... which means its the start of the countdown ... 11 or 12* more days left in the District ... 11 or 12* more days living on the East Coast .... I don't know how to feel.

Re-cap of DC to come.

* 11 or 12 because I still don't know exactly what day I will be flying out to LA.

this one's for april (and her brother)

US Holocaust Memorial Museum - July 2007

April's little brother is serving a mission for our church in Latvia ... I thought of them both when I took this picture.

I Heart Harry Reid

Senator Harry Reid spoke at BYU's Barlow Center last night. It was pretty good. I like that he is no non-sense and says what he means. You'll remember how excited I was the first time to meet him, so you can only imagine how ecstatic I was to get a picture with him!


In the question and answer portion of the night, someone asked Senator Reid why he was a Democrat ... he responded with the following reasons:

• Upbringing - his father was affiliated with unionized labor
  
• He wants to help people from the bottom up because he does not believe in the "trickle down" theory. Society must be improved and helped from the bottom up.
• The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer in America - "its not right"
• He believes in government and that it needs to be improved and not denigrated
  

I thought it was interesting too that he made some very strong statements against Republicans and in favor of the Democratic Party:

"The economy is always better under Democrats"

"Republicans are more concerned about the rich than they are about the poor"

It was good for me to hear his convictions behind the democratic party. The issues that he mentioned are things that I often find myself turning to when people in the Church make me second guess my political feelings and their alignment with the principles of the gospel (not necessarily on purpose, but just by being themselves). I really liked how he said that there are issues more important that gun control and abortion ... that is definitely how I feel.


The saddest statement he made of the night had to do with how members of the church often treated himself and his family. He said in response to a question on how his religious convictions were received by other politicians or dignitaries, "the most un-Christian and hurtful comments are made by members of the church". Sigh. Very sad. When relaying the details of the night to my father (who is extremely jealous of my interaction with the Honorable Harry Reid) we had to remind each other that the knife cuts both ways ... when we say negative things about Orrin Hatch's politics its just as bad as when conservatives say negative things about Harry Reid's ... its important to not become the very things you are fighting against.

Reflections and Transparency

Tourist Silhouette

I feel like the photo above needs to stand alone, but I wanted add some words of explanation and some additional photos as well ... so I will try to separate the Tourist photo from the others with words. These were taken on July 2nd when my mother and I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The structure itself is very dynamic and provocative. I particularly enjoy the combination of brick, steel, and glass. Very industrial, yet warm and solid. I really like the way this photo came out. I knew it would be good when I was quickly snapping this fellow tourist/photographer before he moved or noticed. Its like self-documentation. I like how the man is a shadowy figure and the glass is simultaneously reflective and translucent. I also like all the different lines, angles and layers that are going on. The photo below also captures those same elements but adds perspective and dimension.

Ladder

The time of day lent for some interesting lighting on the top floors of the steel and glass walkways. I took the opportunity to take a self-portrait because I was wearing such a brightly colored shirt and the whole window/mirror/reflection-thing in pictures is so trippy. Photographing yourself and you watch yourself doing it. Funny. I wish it wasn't so light and washed out and that some of the shadows were in better places but that's the way it is.

See-through Reflection

The exhibit was also very moving and though provoking, however the summer crowds make the emotionally charged exhibitions difficult. I was much more affected by the exhibition on the bottom floor (the one you didn't have to wait with a ticket for) titled - "Give Me Your Children: Voices from the Lodz Ghetto" which documented the German's invasion of Poland and the life of children in the subsequently created ghettos. This exhibition presents their voices—preserved in letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories—as well as historic photographs and original documents. I had to choke back the tears more than once. It is shocking and extremely saddening to see what people can do to each other.

Coming to America

In case you can't tell in the terrible picture above - that is Tony Danza. Yes, the Boss from Who's the Boss ... he was the master of ceremonies at the concert on the capitol. This pictures was taken at the run-through given the night before - Tony was charming as ever.


The fourth of July is one of the best holidays for reasons so very accurately pointed out to me by a friend of mine - its a holiday that is celebrated by gathering with friends and loved ones eating BBQ, playing outdoors, talking/laughing ... and it does not require decorating or gift giving. And there are FIREWORKS. I love fireworks. They are soo fun.

Having lived in Utah and now DC/Virginia and away from California for some six years now, its interesting to see just how Country music is so integral to the 4th celebrations. I never knew this growing up in the OC. Ever concert given in UT/DC is heavy on the country music and this year was no different. People I have never heard of were playing twanging music and everyone was just bouncing around lovin it. They did however play a cover to a song I am familiar with - Neil Diamond's America.

Everywhere around the world
They're coming to America
Every time that flag's unfurled
They're coming to America

Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America
America - Neil Diamond

Me and a few thousand of my closest friends

celebrating the birth of America on the National Mall

HAPPY 4th of JULY

Sunset Boat, 2006

This was the surprise of the day when I went walking through the National Botanical Garden's public garden.
Who knew there was an original Dale Chihuly there???
Its amazingly beautiful.

(photo grouping #1) Equestrian Statues

Do you ever take a look through your pictures and realize that you forgot that you took some pretty cool shots? I did that tonight. I also noticed that I tend to shoot similar subjects and so I have decided to group some shots. I will be posting my photographic realizations these next few days.

To begin with we have equestrian statues ... lots of big, old cities have them. It was a big thing to depict men (usually - see DC's one exception here) on horseback, very honorable or something like that. Often the horses and their riders are high up, so that is the main reason I like to take pictures of them - they offer an interesting angle. The funny thing is that I don't even particularly like horses.

Anyway - here is a random sample of equestrian statues I have photographed in multiple countries (it feels cool to say that, I am not gonna lie). The more I look at them, the more I like them. I'm glad I snapped these photos.

Outside the Louvre

Elgin Marbles - British Museum

Washington, DC

Beacon Hill - Boston, MA

Washington, DC



Library of Congress - Washington, DC

Outside Buckingham Palace - London, England

Ok, so this last one is actually a lion but I think it still fits.

Pineapple Welcome

Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

Beacon Hill
Boston, Massachusetts

I always knew that the pineapple was a symbol of welcome and I found two great colonial examples of how early America influenced that. I love it! I would love to find an antique brass door ornament like these above and put it on my house one day! Check out what I learned:

"Today the pineapple is known as a universal symbol of hospitality and welcome. It suggests to all a sign of friendliness, warmth, cheer, and graciousness.

Since the 17th century, the pineapple has been a favorite fruit of the wealthy. In colonial America, families would set fresh pineapple on their tables when visitors joined them, and it would be served as a special dessert. This was the utmost symbol of welcome. Often, when visitors stayed the night, they would be given the bedroom with pineapples carved in the bedposts or headboard."

"It is hardly surprising that this communal symbol of friendship and hospitality also became a favorite motif of architects, artisans and craftsmen throughout the colonies. hey sculpted pineapples into door lintels; stenciled pineapples on walls and canvas mats; wove pineapples into tablecloths, napkins, carpets and draperies; and cast pineapples into metal hot plates. There were whole pineapples carved of wood; pineapples executed in the finest china kilns; pineapples painted onto the backs of chairs and tops of chests."

on the lighter side (first figuratively, then literally)

Today was the most beautiful day ... I just want to soak it all in before the terrible heat and humidity grabs hold of this city. I went on a walk around Capitol Hill today on my lunch break and found some new houses that I liked ... I want to own a house on Capitol Hill someday they are just so wonderfully old and strong and detailed and all DIFFERENT (that is my favorite part - the styles are so eclectic) ... sigh. Perhaps they just looked even more wonderful today because the cool breeze was blowing through my hair and I was taking it all in.

In other happiness I saw my first fireflies of the season tonight. I remember the first time I saw one in real life. It was my first time to DC in the summer of 2001. My parents and I were walking down by the reflecting pool, making our way to the Lincoln Memorial (this was before the World War II Memorial was built). It was dusk and the fireflies were just starting to come out! It was wonderful. I was so excited to see them in real life - how they suddenly light up and then just as quickly fade into the darkness. I had read books that mentioned them, but I had never seen them, such things don't exist in the west I guess or maybe they just don't exist in suburbia.

I still want to try to catch fireflies in a jar someday ... wouldn't that be fun? Ah, these are the good parts of summer ... if only I had a porch. And some fresh lemonade. One day - when I have my Capitol Hill house!

P.S. - did you know that the process of light production in fireflies is called bioluminescence. Its function in the adult beetles is primarily to locate other individuals of the same species for reproduction. Many species, especially in the genus Photinus (genus), are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search of females. Photinus females generally do not fly, but give a flash response to males of their own species (from wikipedia).

Of course the cool light action would have to do with reproduction ... figures.

a gem of a park ... unfortunately it is made out of pebbles

My last reflection that had been overlooked in the past month or so was my little excursion to a park in my neighborhood. Meridian Hill Park is a beautiful Italian style garden park with balustrades (which I love), alcoves, stairways, balconies, and a large stepped fountain. The design is just great! I have been meaning to take a walk through it since it is only 6 or so blocks from my house and now that the weather was getting nice, I decided to do it one Saturday morning.


This is the classic photo of the fountain that everyone takes. It is built on a hill so the water cascades down 13 different steps or basins. I was hoping for some more flowers around the sides of the pools ... sadly it wasn't living up to its glory at the moment.


Water is such an interesting thing to watch or photograph - catching the movement in one moment as it breaks over the edge!

My only other complaint about Meridian Hill park (besides the lack of up keep on cleanliness and on planting) is that the stunning architecture is composed of concrete aggregate ... apparently it was an experiment ... who thought that was a good idea?! I hate it. I want a clean smooth service ... it looks outdated, not classic like the forms it has been shaped into.

The over all view of the water feature ... cascading down the hill. Very beautiful. Can you believe that this is in the middle of DC?

I love that there were these banisters on the stairways - it makes the garden feel like a room or an extension of your living space. It feels very romantic, like a fairytale. Couldn't you just picture running down these steps in a ball gown and into the arms of prince charming? (Ok - I just lost half my readers in this moment - sorry, I am done now!)

I had to take a picture of the balustrades up close to show you how sad it is that it is made out of concrete aggregate! What a crime of aesthetics! In case you don't know - concrete aggregate consists of small pebbles specially selected for size and color from which forms are pulled while the surface is still susceptible to treatment. Wire brushing and acid washing are then used to expose the texture. YUCK!


Meridian Hill Park has the only female equestrian statue in DC - it's Joan of Arc of course. You all know by now how much I love oxidized bronze ... its so green, runny, and pretty. I like the angles I could get too of this statue since it was so high up.


This fountain is very much like the large fountains in St. Peter's Square in Rome outside the Vatican. The Italians are so good - I love how the large scale compliments the details found in everything.