"Moonrise" Over Privately-Owned Public Open Space

Postcard US-2615877 to Greece shows Moonrise March, one of three mottled aluminum heads entitled "Moonrise Sculptures: March, October, and December" by Swiss sculptor Ugo Rondinone, located at 555 Mission Street in San Francisco, California. The three sculptures are spaced apart by benches against a wall with suspended living green plants.

On the property, it has a 34-story high-rise office tower with green glass developed by Tishman Speyer in 2008. The plaza in front of the building is one of the privately-owned public open spaces (POPOS) under the requirement of the 1985 Downtown Plan, which also includes the “1% Art Program” that dedicates 1% of the total construction cost to public art for large projects with 25,000 square feet or more in downtown. Visit website of the City's Planning Department to learn more about POPOS and Public Art.

The photo on the postcard was taken on June 25, 2014.

California Natural Wonders

Postcard US-2380934 from my neighboring state - sunny California features many treasures of its natural resources. I was fortunate to visit Lake Tahoe, the Yosemite National Park, the Joshua Tree National Monument, and many famous beaches. Death Valley has been on my to-go list for a while.

The Largest Thermometer in the World

Baker, CA, 2010

The largest thermometer in the World is located in Baker, California, USA. It is actually an electric display rather than a tall thermometer since it does take the temperature by itself. It was built in 1991 to commemorate the record 134°Fahrenheit or 57°C temperature in the nearby Death Valley on July 10, 1913. It is 134 feet or 40.8 m tall and is capable of displaying a maximum temperature of 134°F. Both mentionings of "134" are a reference to the record temperature.

The photo on the postcard US-2293209 to China was taken on October 10, 2010 during my last lag of the JetBlue's second "All-You-Can-Jet" (AYCJ) program. I was driving from Portland, Oregon via Baker, California to Las Vegas, Nevada with a one-dollar-per-day one-way rental car deal.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

In comparison with Lake Baikal, Russia discussed yesterday, Lake Tahoe, located along the border between California and Nevada in the United States, is also a large freshwater lake. At a surface elevation of 1,897 m or 6,225 ft, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. With a depth of  501 m or 1,645 ft, it's the second-deepest lake in the United States. The deepest lake in the United States is Crater Lake in Oregon at 593 m or 1,945 ft; and the deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Russia at 1,642 m or 5,387 ft.

Lake Tahoe is ranked as the 26th by volume in the world at 151 cu km while Lake Baikal is the largest with a volume of 23,600 cu km. Lake Tahoe was formed about 2 million years ago. It is relatively young, compared to Lake Baikal's age at 25 million years.

Although Lake Tahoe is known for its great clarity, the clarity of the lake had been decreasing historically, with the rate of decrease slowing. Furthermore, the lake's clarity has increased from 2011 to 2013. We hope this trend will hold.

Postcard US-2193280 showing Lake Tahoe was received on April 25, 2013.

Happy 58th Birthday: Disneyland!

The Art of Disney: Imagination Stamped Postal Cards

Disneyland at Anaheim, California first opened on July 17, 1955.  it was built on a 160-acre orange orchard costing $17 million. The original park included Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Over the years, more attractions have been added. Now it grows into two parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. The newest attraction was the Cars Land opened last year with a massive mountain range in the Disney California Adventure Park, inspired by the 2006 Disney-Pixar film "Cars". The admission to Disneyland in 1955 was US$ 1.00. A 1-day one park ticket in 2013 is US$ 92.00.

The postcard US-2032235, sent to Poland and featuring Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie, was from "the Art of Disney: Imagination Stamped Postal Cards" with 27-cent pre-printed stamps. Those stamps are identical to the 42 stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service at Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim, California, on August 7, 2008.

California Volunteers Monument

California Volunteers Monument

My traveling postcard US-2293204 to Russia shows California Volunteers, Spanish-American War Memorial, located at the intersection of Dolores Street and Market Street in San Francisco, CA, USA.

Created by Douglas Tilden in 1903, the monument features Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, riding a Pegasus. It is dedicated to the Californians who fought the Spanish-American War in the Philippines.

The coordinates of the monuments are: 37°46'7"N 122°25'36"W. The photo was taken on June 23, 2012. You can purchase a copy of the postcard at Zazzle.com or see what's around the monument at Traveling Luck.

 

The Parade is Coming

San Francisco's Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest LGBT gathering in the nation, taken place over the last weekend in June each year. About one million people attended the event last year in 2012. My postcard US-2246692 to Netherlands shows a group of young men climbing onto a pole in anticipation of the incoming parade on June 24, 2012. 

In less than 12 hours, the 43rd annual San Francisco Pride Parade will start marching on the Market Street at 10:30 am on June 30, 2013. More people are expected this year due to the Supreme Court rulings last week. The theme for this year is "Embrace, Encourage, Empower". House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other elected officials will be in the event.

View SF Pride Parade Route in a larger map 

 

From Greenwich Village to Golden Gate: a Journey of 44 Years

Today is the 44th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that members of gay community protested against police raids at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village, New York City, in the early morning of June 28, 1969, It marked the beginning of the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.

Same-sex marriage resumed today in California after a federal appeals court lifted a hold on the lower-court ruling that struck down the state’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage, followed a US Supreme Court decision two days earlier.

This rainbow fist postcard symbolizes a 44-year's journey of struggle with determination, highlighted by the above bookend-like events. The postcard was purchased at Zazzle.com.

Over the Rainbow in Las Vegas

Rainbow over the Mirage

It seldom rains in Las Vegas. Measured at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport between 1981 and 2010, the average annual precipitation is about 4.19 inch or 106.4 mm. In average, there are 26.5 raining days per year; even during the wettest month in February, it has only 4 days of precipitation. It is the driest month in June when the average monthly precipitation is 0.07 inch or 1.78 mm with 0.6 raining days. (Interestingly, in English, plural "days" is used with zero or a decimal version of less than one instead of singular "day"). I used to live in West Palm Beach, Florida. In comparison, the average annual precipitation during the same period there is 62.31 inch or 1,582.67 mm with 136 raining days per year.

As a result, we rarely see rainbows in Las Vegas. Therefore, when it does occur, it's beautiful and magnificent. The postcard US-2276095 is currently traveling to Moldova featuring a rainbow over the Mirage Hotel and Casino.

On Youtube, you can watch "Over the Rainbow" from the 1939 movie "the Wizard of Oz", sung by actress Judy Garland.

Here are a few more postcards with rainbows over Las Vegas: US-2236311 with New York-New York Hotel and Casino to Ukraine and US-2205397 with Wynn Las Vegas to California, USA.

New York - New York Hotel and Casino

Wynn Las Vegas

SFMOMA: See You in 2016

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

I colored a copy of my postcard US-2165886 when I learned that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will be closed for renovations on June 2, 2013. Nearly 30,000 pieces of art are being packed up for the move. It is scheduled to reopen in early 2016.

During the closure period, some of its art  pieces will be loaned to other local museums including the Asian Art Museum, the Oakland Museum and the Palace of the Legion of Honor in the Bay Area. It will also exhibit some of its collections at other venues such as the City of Los Altos and San Francisco's Crissy Field.

SFMOMA is planning a  four-day celebration to kick off expansion and launch into off-site exhibitions and programs. The admission is free from Thursday, May 30 through Sunday, June 2, 2013

I visited SFMOMA in June, 2012 and bought those coloring postcards (US-2005787,
 US-2011378, and US-2165886)  and a copy of Above San Francisco Postcard Book by Robert Cameron.

So, SFMOMA: we will see you in 2016, bigger and better!