Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland

Postcard US-3118723 to Hong Kong was a 1960 vintage linen postcard showing Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by William Lee Stoddart in the French Renaissance style, the 22-story 289-feet or 88-meter tall hotel opened on December 30, 1928. The hotel has a brick veneer over a steel frame and a tower featuring a mansard roof of copper on the top.

The Lord Baltimore Hotel was noted for its voluntary ending of its restrictive guest policies in 1958 after the Baltimore City Council's failed attempt to pass an ordinance prohibiting racial segregation in public accommodations.

The original Lord Baltimore Hotel closed in 1982, and re-opened in 2014 as an independent hotel after a series of ownership changes. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Under the current ownership of Rubell Hotels of Miami, Florida, it had undergone a total renovation of guest rooms and restoration of the building's public spaces.

ARCHELON

Postcard NL-2619878 from the Netherlands was a produced by ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, showing a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), an endangered species protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Founded in 1983, ARCHELON aims to protect sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through research, public awareness campaigns, and restoring habitats. It operates a rescue center built in 1994.

In my previous blog the World Turtle Day, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) in Florida was featured for their work in rescuing those new sea turtle hatchlings disoriented by the street lights. You can still help by becoming a supporting member or joining a rescue walk in the 2014 season that lasts from May to October.

Take Pride in America

Postcard US-2849038 to Texas was a 14-cent postal postcard issued by USPS in 1987. It features a mountain-lake scene with brilliant blues and rich greens at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. It was part of the "Take Pride in America" national public awareness campaign to encourage people to take pride in the nation's natural and cultural resources.

According to an AP Newsfeatures article in Lawrence Journal World on September 20, 1987, "launched by President Reagan in his 1986 State of the Union message, 'Take Pride in America' has been a major campaign to ensure the wise use and stewardship of our public lands - natural resources that belong to all Americans."

The National Elk Refuge was created in 1912 to protect habitat and provide sanctuary for one of the largest elk herd in the world. The refuge is home to an average of 7,500 elk each winter. and receives nearly one million visits annually.

The domestic postcard rate, according to Akdart.COM, was 14 cents between February 17, 1985 and April 3, 1988. Yet, another stamped postal postcard issued in 1980 also had a 14-cent postage when the domestic postcard rate was 10 cents.

On an unrelated note, USA team was edged out by Belgium 1:2 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in a Round of 16 match at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil on July 1, 2014, but not without a fight. The USA Team exceeded the expectation as many did not believe it would make into the Round of 16. "Man of the Match" Tim Howard, who set a World Cup record by making 16 saves, said before the match: "we’re proving critics wrong." We are still proud of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, and are optimistic about their future despite of a loss.

#451566972 / gettyimages.com

"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.

Piccadilly Circus, London

Postcard GB-498496 shows Piccadilly Circus, a public space of the famous West End in the City of Westminster near London. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping area of Piccadilly by a "circus",  which means "circle" in Latin, i.e. a round open space at a street junction.

Since the Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas in the West End. It is noted as a public meeting place and a major tourist attraction. According to Wikipedia, "the Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of Eros. It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre." As someone living in the self-centric America, I can't resist the idea of labeling it as London's equivalence to Time Square in New York City.

Directly beneath the Piccadilly Circus lies the London Underground System.

Harry Potter and Stamp Collecting

Postcard US-2545660 is going to India to a Harry Potter fan. It comes with a newly issued Harry Potter stamp by the USPS. However, the decision to issue those stamps is controversy as the USPS has bypassed the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee that has been charged with researching and recommending subjects for new stamps, The panel was dismal on the Postal Service's marketing department that has placed mass appeals and commercial values over stamps' culture values.

Inspector General David Williams at the USPS is asking for public input over the controversy:

• Should the Postal Service market stamp images that focus on a younger audience in hopes of reaching beyond traditional collectors and generating sales?
• Should the Postal Service be allowed to develop themes and images that do not focus on American heritage for the sake of sales?
• Or, should stamps be works of art and pieces of history and not based on fads or celebrities?
• What stamp images would you like to see?

If you have strong opinion on this topic, you can let your voice to be heard by adding comments to this blog.

Model Car for Chicago "L" Train

Postcard US-2375509 has a template to make a 1:160 scale model car for the Chicago "L" Train - Red Line. Chicago's "L" Train was first built as an elevated steam line to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and later evolved into a public transit system with 1,100 cars and 290 miles of track. The Red Line is the busiest route in the city, running through Chicago from north to south and under a subway tunnel downtown.

Wuppertal Suspension Railway

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn

Postcard DE-2357046 came from Germany as a self-made photo card. It shows the Wuppertal Suspension Railway, a unique suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars that was built in between 1897 and 1903 with the first track opened in 1901.

The railway is still used as a local public transportation system. The route runs 13.3 km or 8.3 mi; the tracks are elevated at a height of about 12 m or 39 ft over the river and about 8 m or 26 ft over the ground. The entire trip takes about 30 minutes.

Paintbrush Gateway

This card US-2168207, with a dimension of 5.5 inch x 8.6 inch , is an informational card about a public art project located in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District in Downtown Las Vegas. The Paintbrush Gateway consists two brushes that located on the intersections of Casino Center @ Charleston Blvd and Fourth Street @ Charleston. The brushes lean toward each other so that the searchlight beams from each brush cross paths. "The Paintbrush Gateway projects a stroke, 2,000 feet log, going into darkness, thus echoing an artist's excursion into the unknown", as Dennis Oppenheim, the artist who designed it, explained. The search light beam was produced by an 850 watt HD lamp while the aluminum brush bristles are decorated by flexible LED color-changing string lights with 144 nodes. There are 20 color changing spots inside the steel brush handle as well.

The Paintbrush Gateway was dedicated two years ago on June 2, 2011.