San Francisco's Prettiest Ladies

Postcard US-4032025 to Germany shows an aerial view of  "Painted Ladies," a term in American architecture used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The card is one of those from Above San Francisco postcard book.

Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are battling in California on final day of campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders is ending the night with a get-out-the-vote concert in San Francisco featuring Dave Matthews, Fantastic Negrito, Fishbone and actor Danny Glover; Clinton stages her own closing musical event with stars Christina Aguilera, Andra Day, John Legend, Ricky Martin, and Stevie Wonder in the Los Angeles area.

Earlier, AP and other news organizations find Hillary Clinton has secured enough delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination, breaking a high glass ceiling for women.

Orton Hall at OSU, Ohio

Postcard US-3620809 to China shows Orton Hall, one of the oldest remaining buildings on Ohio State University campus. Opened in 1893, it was named after Dr Edward Orton, Sr. who served as OSU's first president, Professor of Geology from 1873 to 1899, and Ohio's State Geologist from 1882 until his death in 1899.

According to Wikipedia, the Hall is built of forty different Ohio building stones. In the outside walls, these stones are laid in stratigraphic order according to their relative positions in Ohio's bedrock. The capitals of the numbered columns in the entrance hall feature carvings of fossils, such as trilobites, as well as other objects such as the races of Man. The bell tower was dedicated in 1915 and contains 25,000 pounds of bells that can be heard regularly tolling across campus in the key of E-flat. Encircling the top of the tower are 24 columns with gargoyle-like figures which are restorations of fossil animals. Orton Hall was placed into the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1970, along with University Hall and Hayes Hall. It presently hosts the School of Earth Science, laboratories of Paleontology, Historical Geology and Sedimentology, the Orton Geological Museum, and the Orton Geological Library.

Peking University Library, Beijing, China

Outgoing postcard US-3368775 to Ohio shows the Peking University Library at the Peking University's main campus in Beijing, China. Its predecessor, the Imperial University library, was founded in 1902. Peking University, along its library, moved from downtown to the former Yenching University campus during the university re-grouping in 1952. The main building opened in 1975 at the center of the campus. A new building, shown on the postcard, was added in 1998. It holds 5.3 million books, among of which are 1.5 million ancient books and 170,000 rare books and special collections.

Peking University, a major research university and the first modern national university in China that was founded as the "Imperial University of Peking" in 1898, celebrates its 117th anniversary and the Homecoming Day on May 4th, 2015.

Wasserburg am Inn, Germany

Postcard DE-3983228 from Germany shows a map of Wasserburg am Inn, a town of 12,000 in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany.

Wasserburg am Inn is one of the most historic towns of Old Bavaria – somewhat older than Munich. It was claimed to be first mentioned in a document  in 1137 while Munich first appeared in historical records in 1158. because it's location at the junction of the main overland route with the main water route, Wasserburg am Inn was the most important trade hub with the Balkans, Austria and Italy. Its bridge was the only crossing of the River Inn for 30 km in both directions. In the early days, salt produced in Berchtesgaden or in the Saline (saltern) at Bad Reichenhall was transported from there by cart to be loaded on ships travelling on the Inn River.

The historic center is seen on a peninsula formed by the meandering Inn River. Many symbolized buildings on the map are Medieval structures that remain intact.

State Street, Chicago

Postfcard US-3133042 to Russia was a linen vintage postcard with a view of State Street, Chicago, Illinois in the 1940s. State Street became a shopping destination during the 1900s. It was mentioned in the song "Chicago,"  made famous by Frank Sinatra where Frank sung "On State Street that great street, I'd just like to say: They do things that they never do on Broadway.They have the time, the time of their life." State Street is the location of many landmarks buildings.

Fujian Tulou

 

Postcard CN-1464982 from China shows a Fujian Tulou (福建土楼),  the most representative and best preserved example of the earthen houses in China. Located in the mountainous regions in Fujian Province, those houses exemplify a particular combination of communal living and defensive functions, with a harmonious building relationship with the environment. A group of 46 earthen houses built between the 15th and 20th centuries was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.

Fujian Tulou reminds me the elevated pit houses, pueblos, and cliff dwellings that Ancient Pueblo peoples built in the present-day Four Corners area in the United States.

Košice, Slovakia

Postcard SK-41685 was my first received card from Slovakia, showing Košice, the biggest city in eastern Slovakia.

Slovakia was first occupied between the 5th and 6th centuries. The first Slavic state was created as Samo's Empire around the 7th century. After the 10th century, the Kingdom of Hungary covered the territory of today's Slovakia, and later became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The present-day Slovakia and Czech were resulted from the peaceful dissolution of the mutual state Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993.

Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia with a population of 240,000, next to the capital city Bratislava. It was the European Capital of Culture in 2013, along with Marseille, France. The city has a well-preserved historical center with many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles. The St. Elisabeth Cathedral, as seen in the middle of the card, is Slovakia's largest church.

Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China

Postcard CN-1163302 from China shows a winter scene at Wuzhen (乌镇), a historic scenic town, in Tongxiang, northern Zhejiang Province, China. It is only lies 68 km south of Tongli, Wujiang county, Jiangsu Province, another historic scenic town that we featured before. Within the proximity of triangle formed by three major cities: Hangzhou (80 km), Suzhou (80 km) and Shanghai (140 km), Wuzhen is a small town that covers an area of 71.19 sq km or 27.49 sq mi, with a total population of 60,000, of which 12,000 permanent residents.

Wuzhen is noted for its historic buildings, stone bridges, stone pathways and delicate wood carvings, mostly from Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912).

Brackenheim, Dekanat

Postcard DE-2831814 from Germany shows a historical building at Brackenheim, a town in the Landkreis Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. Brackenheim is located 15 km or 9.3 m southwest of Heilbronn. With more than 800 hectare of vineyards, it is the largest grape-growing municipality in Württemberg.

The Protestant dean's office building was built in 1749 and had been in use until 1977. You can see more of its photo at Panoramio.