Visual Entertainment from Near and Far
December, 1983
Hi
So far so good – we took a city tour this am & a tour up to Rigi Kaltbad and Lucerne this aft. !! They both were good tours and we all enjoyed them. It was snowy and cold but sunny up on Rigi – skiing and beautiful sights of the alps.
So good to visit with you Christmas – I’ll call after we get back – we’re supposed to return Sun. (I’m pushing for Sat.) Bill goes to Bali on Jan. 4 for 4 days.
Love
Photo of our family business made into a postcard around 1942.
Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre et la funiculaire I love this photo, one of my most favorite places in Paris.
June 1973
Dear Mom
Can’t remember when I last wrote!! We saw this last Monday and it was great. Tues. we went to Versailles – the garden there was beautiful!! Yesterday we saw Notre Dame and a lovely little church – Saint Chapelle. Also spent some time in the Louvre. Saw Venus de Milo & the Mona Lisa. It rained in the morning, but cleared up and is lovely today. We’ve been so lucky with the weather. Everyone is fine. We go to London tomorrow by rail and hovercraft across the Channel. The Gambles are flying to Madrid tomorrow and then to Portugal for a week. We’re having such a good time.
Love
(aside) On that trip we also went to the Rodin Museum which is housed in a lovely rococo mansion built in 1732. Rodin moved in in 1908 and it became a museum in 1919. It is surrounded by gardens and more sculpture.
Pershing Square, Los Angeles
Postcard courtesy of Western Publishing and Novelty Company.
In 1866 the area known today as Pershing Square was dedicated as a public square called La Plaza Abaja (the lower plaza) by Mayor Christobal Aguilar. A year later people started calling it St Vincent’s Park since it was across the street from St Vincent’s College (now Loyola Marymount University). The name changed again in 1870 to Los Angeles Park and in 1886 it was 6th Street Park when it was redesigned by Frederick Eaton. It became Central Park during the early 1890s and had a bandstand pavilion.
In 1900 a statue of a Spanish-American War veteran was dedicated. In 1910 the park was renovated again by John Parkinson and featured a fountain by sculptor Johan Caspar Lachne Gruenfeld. In 1918, a week after the end of World War I, the park was renamed once again to Pershing Square to honor General Pershing. I believe this is the iteration pictured above.
The park went through many other iterations over the years including being demolished in 1952 in order to build an underground car park. By 1984 when the Summer Olympics were in Los Angeles, it had become so neglected, the city spent $1 million for temporary renovations.
Once again, in 1992, the park closed for a $14.5 redesign and renovation by Ricardo Legorreta and Laurie Olin. It re-opened in 1994 with a bell tower, fountains, a walkway, and concert stage. This design remains today. In 2000, a monument was dedicated to a highly decorated local Korean War veteran by the name of Eugene Obregon.
Vitalis (VI century) – Empress Theodora with her Court
I went to Ravenna to see the mosaics in 1973 and I bought a lot of postcards because when I returned to school I had to write a paper on them. I thought it would be easier with visuals to remind me.
This Mosaic is in the Basilica of San Vitale. It shows Empress Theodora of Byzantium (b. 490 d. 548) and her offerings to Christ (you can see the Three Kings at the bottom of her skirts). Her two sisters are beside her. She was known for her beauty and here her tiara is dripping in jewels.
October 1992
We have just toured Graceland. Amazing and most interesting (a bit commercial but quite well done). Had dinner on Beale St last night with music. Were in St Louis the 1st night out. Saw lots of cotton yesterday in the field.
Love
April 2000
Well I took a vacation to Portugal. Turns out should have come in March. It’s rained most of my 10 days. But it’s beautiful. Definitely not the US of A. We are so young aren’t we.
Hope you are well. I thought you would have an email address – not? Sorry it’s taken so long to write. Thanks for the Xmas present.
Love
June 1981
Hi
It’s hot here but not too bad. The drive thru the countryside along the river from LaCrosse was just beautiful. We ate a yogurt-fruit lunch along the Wisconsin River. First concert is tonite.
Love
View of Victoria about 1860 from the Collection of the City Hall Art Gallery, Hong Kong.
Postcard courtesy of the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong (1950’s?)
September 1975
Dear
We got here ok – everyone seems to be visiting London – plane was full, London airport jammed mostly with Americans. We are in a very nice hotel, are pretty much caught up on sleep. Going to the British museum today, just will take it easy, off to Rome at noon tomorrow.
Love
Postcard Buzz 