The Transamerica building was designed by architect William Pereira and completed in 1972. At 853 feet, it’s the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco. Four cameras at the top of the spire create a virtual observation deck with images sent to four monitors in the lobby.
An interesting site on Shelter Island in San Diego is the Yokohama Friendship Bell by artist Masahiko Katori. The citizens of Yokohama, Japan presented the Friendship Bell to San Diego in May 1958 as part of the establishment of a sister city relationship between the two cities, the first such affiliation on the West Coast. The bell has no clapper but is rung by being struck by the large suspended wooden ram.
Bill Pavlacka, aka “The Sandcastle Man”, hard at work on one of his creations at the Hotel del Coronado, in San Diego.
The Valley View Casino in Valley Center (near San Diego) has a 35-foot long (3,300 gallon) saltwater fish tank separating their Black & Blue Lounge/Steakhouse from the gambling area, which was featured on Animal Planet’s television show “Tanked” during their second season. The tank was constructed and installed by Acrylic Tank Manufacturing of Las Vegas, NV.
The Kelso Dunes are situated in the southwestern corner of the Mojave National Preserve, covering an area of 45 sq. miles, with the tallest part of the dunes reaching 650 feet in height. They are accessed down a 3 mile graded dirt road that takes off of Kelbaker Road, not far from the Kelso Depot/Park Visitor’s Center. Hiking is allowed.
Links: NPS previous related post
The Central Garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles was created by artist Robert Irwin. Its 134,000 sq. ft. contain over 500 varieties of plants and a stream that cascades over a stone waterfall into a pool with a floating maze of azaleas.
This giant sculpture of a sleeping human, by Michael Stutz, reclines on a 4th floor terrace above the western lobby of the W Hotel in San Francisco. It is constructed of annealed bronze strips welded together.
Links: Stutzart
Located about 45 miles northeast of San Diego, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park encompasses 26,000 acres and offers over 100 miles of trails to explore. The park includes 6,512 ft Cuyamaca Peak, San Diego County’s second highest summit. The park was heavily damaged in the 2003 Cedar Fire, as evidenced by the blackened tree trunks in this pic.
Links: CA.gov
Zabriskie Point is one of Death Valley’s most popular viewpoints, especially at sunrise and sunset. Located east of Furnace Creek on Hwy 190, it was named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, VP and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 1900’s when the company’s twenty-mule teams were used to haul borax from its mines in Death Valley. This location was used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars and was also featured in the 1970 film Zabriskie Point.
Links: NPS previous related post
When Jay Leno was host of The Tonight Show, he would drive a different one of his many classic automobiles to work (at the NBC Studios in Burbank) each day. On this day, he chose a 1906 Stanley Steamer, one of his rarest vehicles.
Links: Jay Leno’s Garage
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