Juneau, Alaska

Postcard US-4015824 to France shows an illustration of steps of all sizes, shapes, and colors weaving between hillside houses in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Located on the Gastineau Channel in the Alaskan panhandle, it is the second largest city in the United States by area, larger by area than both Rhode Island and Delaware.

There are no roads connecting Juneau to the rest of Alaska or to the rest of North America due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city, although automobiles can reach the city by ferry service. Planes and boats are more important transportation methods than cars.

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.

Under One Big Roof

Postcard US-3898447 to Tennessee, USA shows 大厝顶 which literally means "big roof", a traditional rural dwelling found in Fujian Province, China where members from an extended family, build, and later extend when the size of family grows, their living units all under one big roof in the same household. The postcard was published by SkyPixel with a drone photo taken by Yuanfeng Zhang (张元锋) using a Phantom 3 Professional.

Kenmore, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Outgoing postcard US-3208612 to Germany was a vintage card showing Kenmore, a plantation house built in 1752 at Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is a beautiful specimen of colonial architecture with ornamented ceilings and mantels designed by George Washington. It is home of Col. Fielding Lewis and his wife Betty, the only sister of George Washington. George Washington sent two Hessian prisoners to carry out his artistic conception.

The house was added to National Register of Historic Places on June 4, 1969, and was declared a National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970.

There are similar cards from the Tichnor Brothers Postcard Collection at Boston Public Library.

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.

House of Christopher Columbus in Genova, Italy

Postcard IT-251822 from Italy shows the house of Christopher Columbus in Genoa, reconstructed in the eighteenth century, where he lived in his youth.

Christopher Columbus, born between October 31, 1450 and October 30, 1451 in the Republic of Genoa and passed away on May 20, 1506, was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he carried out four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to discovery of the New World.

Now a museum of the City, the house is located not far from the Gates, just outside the ancient medieval walls . Historical records indicated that Christoper Columbus lived there between 1455 and 1470 .