Oregon State Capitol at Salem

The Oregon State Capitol, located in the state capital Salem, OR, houses the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the State of Oregon. Outgoing postcard US-3202770 to Austria was a vintage linen postcard, published by E. C. Kropp Co., showing "Pride of the city of Salem, community center of the verdant, prosperous mid-Willamette Valley valley region, and pride of all Oregon - is the majestic new capitol building. A tribute to the achievements of the past as well as to the forward vision of present day Oregon, this building was erected when fire destroyed the original edifice in 1935."

Constructed from 1936 to 1938 and expanded in 1977 as the third state government buildings in Salem, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Silent Night

It has been 195 years since "Silent Night", a popular Christmas carol, was first performed at St. Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. The song was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber to the lyrics by Joseph Mohr. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in March 2011. 

Postcard US-2529926 to Thailand arrived just before the Christmas, showing three owls with Christmas hats. Maybe they will join the carol? 

Open Happiness

I sent out Postcard US-2436388, titled "Open Happiness", to Austria today. It shows a specialty store "Everything Coca-Cola" on the Las Vegas Boulevard South near the MGM Hotel and Casino. There is a giant glass coke bottle built in the front of the building. It has a lot of Coca-cola branded merchandise, including postcards. You can also have your picture taken with their 7 ft or 2.1 m tall Coca-Cola polar bear in front of a green screen. Photos are available for purchase with various polar landscapes added during the post-processing. On the second floor, there are soda fountains where you can order the "Tastes of the World" trays that offer 16 international coke flavors.

Originally a Coke museum called "World of Coca-Cola West" in 1997, mirroring many of the extensive exhibits popular in Atlanta's World of Coca-Cola attraction. However, the museum was closed in 2000 and replaced by a full scale specialty store.