Author: re_nakaba

Arizona, US | Martian Landscapes

190 million years ago, one of the greatest geological formations began to take shape.

In the Coyote Buttes ravine, some 5,225 feet above sea level, stands Arizona’s Wave Rock. Wave Rock has a remarkable undulating appearance, with massive sandstone structures stretched like taffy, and cinnamon color strata domes. It is, in a way, a geological snapshot in time, a still shot of the effect natural forces has on the environment.

The Wave is comprised of Navajo Sandstone dunes that have calcified vertically and horizontally, turning into hardened, compacted rocks over time. The peculiar and unique fluctuating stratum was created by slow wind and rain erosion. The Wave remained basically unknown until the 1990s when it was largely advertised in German travel brochures and shown in the 1996 movie Faszination Natur. Small groups of Europeans visited the area, and its popularity grew; tour guides confide that it is still largely a European population that visits, though Americans have definitely begun to take notice of the landscape.

Many describe walking through the dunes as an intensely strange experience, surreal and vertigo inducing, or in several cases, described as being like a drug induced walking dream. The rock is certainly a photographer’s delight, where professionals and amateurs strive to take the perfect mid-day shot when not a single shadow eclipses the Wave, or go for the more dramatic effect of morning or near-twilight that comes with the high domes casting stark shadows on the land.

While the rocks have been hardened, they are still susceptible to damage. Only 20 visitors a day are allowed to walk through the ravine, and permits are required. The permits are issued through online and in person lotteries, and tour guides are available for hire.

San Francisco, California | Inspired Inventions

The Lowell Battery Chamberlin was named after Civil War hero Lowell A. Chamberlin, who served with distinction as an artillery officer until his death in 1899. The Lowell Battery was designed and placed to protect the San Francisco coast during war time, this specific gun functioning throughout World War I and World War II.

The battery itself was originally armed with four six-inch guns on disappearing carriages, in which the gun recoiled into a protective bunker after being fired. Built in 1904, the battery was the last fortification constructed at Fort Winfield Scott, and protected the underwater Main Channel minefield that was laid outside the Golden Gate during wartime.

The guns can fire approximately two rounds per minute, and the battery itself is reinforced with over 12,000 pounds of steel. Dismounted in 1917 to be used in World War I, the guns were transported to France the next year. The battery was further altered in 1920 to mount two six-inch guns on barbette carriages, a type of circular armor built around the gun. The guns remained in storage in Aberdeen until World War II when they were manned by the Sixth Coast Artillery Regimen. The corp was deactivated after the war, resulting in the disarmament of the battery and the scrapping of the guns in 1948.

The National Park Service came into ownership of the Number Nine gun and carriage (donated by the Smithsonian) in 1977. Both are the same type that were previously used at the Number Four at Battery Chamberlin in San Francisco’s Presidio, and the mounted six inch rifle gun is now on display for the public. It is one of the few guns remaining of this era, as many others were cut up for material resource before and after the war.

San Francisco, California | Commercial Curiosities

Running away to the circus was the threat that rambunctious young folks would threaten their parents with… at least in the 1930s. Today, you can fulfill childhood dreams of running away to the circus as well as following a career— specifically, at the San Francisco Circus Center, the only professional circus training facility in the United States. It’s also the only year-long circus clown training program in the United States, offering many classes to children and adults.

The Circus Center began as the Pickle Family Circus, founded in 1974 by Peggy Snider and Larry Pisoni. As part of a special project for the Pickle Family Circus, the San Francisco School for Circus Arts was established in 1984, with a first class comprised of 16 children. Famous Chinese acrobats such as Lu Yi of the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe and other artists from his troupe were hired to help train aspiring acrobats, and in 1996 Yi founded the San Francisco Youth Circus, designed to provide young students with the opportunity to perform what they were learning.

Not just for acrobatics, the Clown Conservatory started up in 2000, the same year the school purchased the New Pickle Circus. The New Pickle Circus returned to the performing roots of the Family Circus, and now stages annual professional shows in San Francisco, participating in multiple productions throughout the year.

A wide variety of circus-related classes are available to children as young as 18 months, and any adult willing to learn. The Center emphasis safe training and understanding body movement, working from the ground up to develop strength, control, and flexibility. More advanced students also have a place in the many Level II and Level III classes.

Workshops are offered in addition to the weekly classes, and a summer camp program for children ages 7 to 15 teaches acrobatics, juggling, clowning, the trampoline, and more. Some of the courses offered during the “winter semester,” which lasts from the beginning of January until the end of March, are: acrobatics, aerial skills (such as the trapeze), circus arts (juggling, tumbling, unicycle, tight wire), contortion, general stretching and conditioning, the trampoline, climbing silks and ropes, acrodance, clown therapy, and acting for clowns.

China, Asia | Outsider Architecture

Massive ice sculptures loom over visitors bundled up against the -15 degree Celsius weather, paired with giant snow carvings a few miles away looking down on the festivities of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.

An annual event, the Festival is one of the world’s four largest ice and snow festival, holding the 2007 Guinness Record for largest snow sculpture: a two part piece of Niagra Falls and a Crossing of the Bering Strait (a migration of the First Nations, the population residing in Canada prior to European colonization) that totaled 250 meters long, 8.5 meters high, and composed of over 13,000 cubic meters of snow.

First organized in 1963, the Festival was often interrupted over the years due to the Cultural Revolution. It picked up again, this time as an annual event, in 1985. The official starting date is January 5th, lasting until February 15th, though weather permitting, the exhibitions often open a week earlier and run until March.

Each year has a different ‘theme,’ past themes including the Beijing Olympics, Chinese tourist sites, ‘Prosperous China and High-Flying Longjiang’, and ‘Friendship between China and Russia.’ The Great Wall (doubling as an ice slide), pyramids, sphinxes, terra cotta warriors, a Disney castle, towering pagodas, enormous Buddhas, and gardens are only a handful of the creative sculptures and carvings to have been a part of the Harbin Festival.

It is a competitive event, with teams coming from all over the world-the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, South Africa, France etc. During the nights of the month-long festival, lights from inside and outside of the sculptures brilliantly illuminate a variety of architectural styles, fanciful castles, mythological and historical figures, ice lanterns and slides.

Fireworks light up the sky on various evenings while the dazzling multicolored ice sculptures light up the entire ground. The ice is procured from the surface of the frozen Songhua River, then intricately carved, many of the sculptures receiving a douse of deionized water to produce an entirely transparent look. Swimming in the Songua River, Yabuli alpine skiing, an ice-lantern exhibition, ice golf, and ice archery are just some of the featured activities popular of the Festival.

U.K., Europe | Mazes

The Hampton Court hedge maze is the oldest surviving hedge maze in the United Kingdom, a multicursal (unlike a labyrinth which is single path or ‘unicursal’ in a maze which is ‘multicursal’ a visitor must make decisions) puzzle maze baffling and delighting visitors since the 17th century.

While it isn’t nearly as large as modern day mazes, it still provides a challenge and remains an important historical structure. The original design has since been modified due to gaps in the hedge, offering more ways to the center and more wrong turns, some of them ending in loops. It is constructed on a third of an acre, with half a mile of paths, within 60 acres of riverside gardens.

Planted by George London and Henry Wise for William III of Orange in 1690, evidence points towards the current maze having replaced an even older one, possibly devised for Henry VIII or Thomas Cardinal Wolsey. The maze is now the remnants of what was once the many winding paths of William III’s ‘Wilderness Garden’. Initially comprised of hornbeams, the maze has since been repaired over the years and was completely replaced with yew in the 1960s.

A project to restore hornbeam to the maze has been introduced, with hornbeam recently planted in the center to ascertain its viability in modern day wear-and-tear conditions. Unique at its time of development, the Hampton Court Maze provides multiple path choices and dead ends, whereas research shows that previous hedge mazes were unicursal, with only one path leading to the center.

There are several accounts of people losing themselves in the maze, both in literature and reality. One of the most popular, if exaggerated, accounts of navigating the labyrinth is given by 19th century British humorist Jerome K. Jerome in his 1889 novel “Three Men in a Boat.” He describes one character studying a map of the Hampton Maze, announcing it should hardly be called a maze, as it is so simple. The three men proceed to haughtily navigate the puzzle, only to become lost and circle around the center repeatedly until they had to call for the groundkeeper’s help.

The Hampton Court Maze takes an average of 30-45 minutes to complete, and though it is an ‘island maze’ which contains separate sections causing this technique to not normally work, the hedges are grown in a fashion where placing and keeping one’s right hand along a wall will lead them to the center.

A recent addition to the maze is the audio exhibit entitled Trace. Spread across the hedges is a gentle ‘soundwork’ composed of music fragments, snippets of conversation, the rustle of fine silks, and tantalizing laughter that disappears upon turning corners; aimed at luring visitor’s down certain paths, Trace is a permanent art installation that will eventually incorporate one thousand generated sounds.

Florida, US | Incredible Ruins

Close to the St. Augustine airport, behind a run down barbed wire fence that implies (though doesn’t out right state) that the land behind it is private property, rests at least eight decaying airplanes. Strewn throughout the overgrown flora, the skeletal remains of these hulking planes are slowly losing the battle with nature, painting a picture of technology overtaken.

The planes themselves are 60s and 70s naval bombers, specifically Grumman S2 Trackers. A first of their kind, they were designed to combine detection with armament for the search and destroy of submarine vessels from an aircraft carrier. These specific planes, the S-2Cs, were also equipped to perform photo reconnaissance.

They are currently owned by a man who lives in the area, and have reportedly been in the field for at least fifteen years. He stripped most of their parts, removing engines, propellers, wings, electrical devices, seats, etc. to sell back to the Grumman Corporation, then left the planes in the large yard where they have since been slowly consumed by encroaching plants.

Vines have grown through broken windows, entangling themselves with tendrils of hanging clumps of electric wires; dead leaves have taken the place of seat cushions, and the removed nose of some of the planes offers a gaping view of the field floor. Tires, wing pieces, control boxes, scraps of the plane, and the occasional beer can litter the area surrounding the decaying metal shells. Though benign enough, one can’t help but feel the sense that something very wrong happened here in order to have so many abandoned and gutted planes and parts laying about, the eerie displacement is too curious to ignore.

It is illegal to enter the premises, but a relatively easy-to-find opening in the fence has yet to stop photographers and curious passersby alike. The property is surrounded by a small neighborhood though, so caution is advised when visiting these relics.

France, Europe | Small Worlds and Model Towns

Many of France’s greatest monuments are compactly spread across 12 acres in a western suburb of Paris. A meandering road leads visitors through this France Miniature, an outdoor park mirroring France that allows guests to traverse the country and delight in its landmarks in less than a day. With 116 of the most notable structure at a 1/30 scale, the France Miniature offers a strange but delightful Lilliputian view of the country.

The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Chateau at Versailles, Lourdes, the Chateau of Chambord, La Rochelle, L’abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel, and the Amiens Cathedral are just a few of the monuments placed almost exactly relative to one another in their real life locations. Carefully chosen music complements select monuments to enhance the roughly three and a half hour trek. Nearly 150 regional landscapes sprawl across this miniature map, intersected with 3.5 kilometers of railroad lines consisting of 13 animated trains.

Additionally animated by planes, cars, and ships (over 100), visitors can steer model boats on ‘Atlantic Ocean’ and ‘Mediterranean Sea’ lagoons that border the park, or admire the hand painted figures that fill the Stade de France. An indoor area showcases the interiors of 50 more prestigious places, faithfully reproduced to the most minute detail.

It took nearly fifty model makers and landscape architects to create this interactive downsized country, complete with 60,000 figurines and 20,000 dwarfed trees, 5 rives and estuaries, and 5 acres of ‘sea.’ A small theme park is also located in the area, offering more appropriately sized rides. A 9 meter slide, roller coaster, twirling swing, rise and drop tower, small gondola, slip-n-slide climb, and go kart driving are available to both children and adults.

France Miniature is owned by the same company, Grevin & Cie., that operates the Parc Asteriz, an amusement park notable for its collection of unique roller coasters.

United Kingdom, Europe | Instruments of Science

For over 170 years, the Oxford Electric Bell (also known as the Clarendon Dry Pile) has been chiming almost continuously, the composition of its power source uncertain. Currently located in the Clarendon Laboratory at the University of Oxford, the Bell is an experiment consisting of two brass bells each stationed beneath a dry pile battery, with a metal sphere (or ‘clapper’) swinging between them to produce a ring that has occurred on the order of 10 billion times.

First displayed in 1840, it was constructed by instrument makers Watkin and Hill, and purchased by professor of physics Reverend Robert Walker. The sphere suspended between the two bells is 4mm in diameter, perpetually alternating between the bells by way of electrostatic force and producing an oscillation frequency of 2 Hertz.

As the sphere hits one of the bells, the corresponding dry pile battery gives off a small charge thus electrostatically repelling the clapper, causing it to be attracted to the opposite bell. The process repeats with only a tiny amount of charge being carried between the two brass bells, so while a high voltage is required to create the motion, it is only a small drain on the battery, so the dry piles have continued to ring the bell for nearly 170 years, making it one of the longest lasting scientific experiments in the world.

What is most interesting, and mysterious, about the apparatus is the internal composition of the ‘dry pile’ batteries. It is known that they have been coated with an insulating layer of molten sulphur in order to protect against atmospheric damage (i.e. moisture), then connected in series at their lower end to the two bells.

Their interior is suspected to be similar to that of Zamboni piles (an early electric battery invented by Giuseppe Zamboni in 1812), as records of popular curiosities of the same time period have been found. This indicates that the dry pile batteries are probably composed of alternating layers of metal foil and paper coated with manganese dioxide that may be several thousand layers, or discs, thick.

While devices such as these can be considered a novelty, at the time they helped to distinguish the now outdated scientific theory of contact tension (a theory that attempted to account for all known sources of electric charge) and the theory of chemical action (also known as ‘electrochemistry’ and involved the transfer of electrons between the electrode and electrolyte).

The Electric Bell is still ringing, though is barely audible as it is now encased in a glass bell jar two layers thick.

Singapore, Asia | Unique Collections

Flanked by office buildings and a coca-cola vending machine, the Singapore Philatelic Museum has a distinct colonial flair and a unique way of preserving some of Singapore’s cultural and physical history. With five permanent exhibits and a variety of traveling and themed temporary galleries, the Museum boasts files of every Republic of Singapore stamp issued, all available for the perusal of visitors.

Their mission is to help promote the use of philately (the collection and study of stamps) for educational purposes, as stamp design is often a great historical indicator of how the public, government, and culture as a whole related to internal and external events of the given time period.

The Museum was opened on August 19, 1995, housed in a building that was once part of the Anglo Chinese school dating back to 1906. Designed by Tomlinson and Lermit Architects, the building was commissioned by the Trustees of the Anglo Chinese School as an addition to the 1897 Oldam Hall. It was then used as a Methodist Book Room from 1970 until its restoration as the Singapore Philatelic Museum in 1995. The Museum is currently a fully owned subsidiary of the National Heritage Board.

Not just for stamp buffs, the Museum offers a view into the traditions and cultures of a multi-ethnic Singapore as captured on stamps throughout the decades, as well as demonstrates the process of stamp production through guest-interactive activities and exhibits. The main collection is the Straits Settlements Collection, displaying stamps and other postal archival material as early as 1854. Other exhibits include the importance of stamp collecting, the secrets behind folded letters and stamp designs, 18th century philatelic rarities, and a Heritage Room providing insight into lifestyles past.

Northern Ireland, U.K. | Mazes

The world’s second largest permanent hedge maze was designed to commemorate the peace and reconciliation efforts of Northern Ireland over the past century.

The hedge is comprised of 6,000 yew trees, many of which were planted by people all over Northern Ireland during December of 2000. It covers 2.7 acres (11,000 square meters) with a hedge length of over 2 miles (3,550 meters), a path length of 3,147 meters, and a hedge height of 1.5 meters, which is lower than the usual hedge maze height, done so to facilitate communication and interaction between visitors in different areas of the paths.

Planning for the maze began in 1998, the attraction officially opening on September 12, 2001. The original concept was created by anthropologist and landscape designer Beverly Lear, though input from nearly 4,000 schoolchildren was taken into account as part of an effort to encourage a sense of common ownership. The entire construction heavily reflects the steps being taken in order to help uphold the peace brought about by ending ‘The Troubles’, a period of harsh ethno-political conflict in Ireland during the late 1960s-1990s, strife which most say ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement.

This is most strongly recognized by the maze’s two distinct halves, which must be crossed in order to escape the maze. In the center lies the Peace Bell, which visitors ring to indicate they have solved the puzzle. There is no specific monument denoting who planted which tree or where, as the Yew was specifically chosen for its connotations of peace and natural longevity; the physical maze and its message of peace will outlast those who planted it and exist for future generations.

The maze cost roughly 570,000 pounds to build, 75% of which was funded by the European Union Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland, with the remaining 25% coming from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as the Down District Council. The Peace Maze held the record of Largest Permanent Hedge Maze until 2007, when the Pineapple Garden Maze in Hawaii expanded to a total path length of nearly 4,000 meters.

The average completion time is 40 minutes, and the ringing of the center bell is encouraged upon finishing.

United Kingdom, Europe | Musical Wonders

The Singing Ringing Tree is aptly named.

A 3 meter tall wind powered musical sculpture made of galvanized steel pipes, it stands high above the English town of Burnley. The pipes swirl to form the shape of a tree bent and blown by the wind, and produce an eerie, melodious hum as the constant wind on Crown Point drifts through them.

The Singing Ringing Tree’s pipes are used for both aesthetic qualities as well as for tuning, with their sound varied according to length and added narrow slits on the underside of specific pipes. The sound produced by these twisted metal trees covers several octaves and is said to be simultaneously discordant and melancholy, and intensely beautiful.

Completed in 2006, the Tree was designed by award winning architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu as part of a project created by the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network to build a series of landmarks over the countryside. The site at Burnley was once that of a re-diffusion transmission station, complete with a run down brick building and unused telegraph lines. The station was dismantled and lines cut down to be recycled, to make way for the Tree to stand out against the stark, rolling landscape of the Pennine mountain range.

One of four “panopticons” scattered throughout Lancashire, the chosen panopticons (a term coined by late 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham meaning ‘a space or device providing a panoramic view’) include the Tree, The Atom of Pendle, designed by Peter Meacock and Katarina Novomestska; the Colourfields in Blackburn, designed by Jo Rippon Architecture and artist Sophie Smallhorn; and the Haslingden Halo, designed by LandLab architect John Kennedy.

In addition to the name describing exactly what it is, its nomenclature is also supposedly a nod to the 1960s/early 1970s BBC television series of the same name. The rather uncanny noises extracted from the pipes seem to match the mood of the TV series.

Described as one of the world’s weirdest and creepiest shows for children, the “Singing Ringing Tree” was an East Germany import program that followed a princess, her prince, a six foot tall dwarf, and a myriad of talking, magical creatures. Done in a Brother’s Grimm style, it became a cult classic that both terrified and obsessed a generation of British children.

Originally a complete film, it was divided and aired as a 3 part television mini-series voted in 2004 by a Radio Times poll as the ’20th spookiest TV show ever’.

Japan, Asia | Astounding Timepieces

Passing along Route 9 through the Japanese beach town Nima, six large glass and steel pyramids rise out of the hillside, beautifully reflecting the sky in every panel.

These glass pyramids are home to the Nima Sand Museum. The Museum was publicly opened on March 3, 1991 by the local mayor in order to feature the strange property of the Kotogahama sand on the nearby Kotogahama beach, which he thought to be an ideal tourist attraction. It is said to ‘sing’ when walked upon, but it vocalizes more of a squeaking noise than any melodious notes. The museum features a collection of artwork utilizing the acoustic sands. (Singing sands are found in only a few dozen locations around the world. One other such location are the dunes of Badain Jaran Desert.)

The largest of the six pyramids also holds another curious item, the world’s largest hourglass. This massive functioning sand timer, takes exactly one year for the sands in the upper globe to empty into the lower. Every December 31st the hourglass is carefully flipped over at midnight to help celebrate and mark the New Year.

The pyramid containing the hourglass is 21 meters high, resting on a base whose four sides are 17 meters long each. The hourglass itself is 5 meters in height with a 1 meter diameter, filled with one ton of the singing sand (sifted to ensure each grain is roughly 0.13 millimeters) to flow continuously through a nozzle measuring 0.85 millimeters in diameter.

The architect for the Museum was Nima-born Shin Takamatsu, and is said to have designed the tallest pyramid to be visible from his mother’s grave site. The interior of the pyramids is are as interesting as their contents, with sleek steel beams crisscrossing madly and the hourglass contained within a large circular contraption.

Alaska, US | Extraordinary Flora

While Alaska’s glaciers may have world wide renown, the Mendenhall Valley contains its own marvel lovingly crafted by Glacier Garden Rainforest Adventure owners Steve and Cindy Bowhay.

Dotted throughout the garden, upside down trees, known as the ‘Flower Towers’, have had their tops buried in the ground and their roots thrust up in the air, forming a basket that cradles brilliantly bright trailing flowers. Netting and mosses form a bed in the center of the root ball for flowers such as begonias, fuchsias, and petunias to bloom and delicately hang down from the tree.

The Mendenhall Glacier itself is a rarity, as it is one of the world’s few drive-up glaciers. In 1984, heavy rain and snow deposits caused a landslide that demolished much of the face of Thunder Mountain, uprooting nearly everything and destroying one of the main streams. The land was left destroyed and bare until 1985 when Steve and Cindy Bowhay purchased some six and a half acres, beginning a reclamation process that would end up with them acquiring an additional 44.5 acres of the area, much of it part of the Tongass National Rainforest.

Steve, a landscaper by trade, wanted to use the stream’s water for a hydro-electricity plant to power new greenhouses; settling ponds were designed throughout in order to slow the rate of water =erosion and provide a series of waterfalls on the Gardens property. Their plan for the rest of the land was to create a guided tour for visitors to enjoy both the beautiful landscape as well as the natural panoramic view of Juneau that the Thunder Mountain rock face cliff provides.

During the process of rebuilding the stream, stories have it that Steve accidentally damaged the moving equipment and, in a fit of frustration, used the machine to pick up a large fallen tree stump and slam it upside down into the soft mud. The image of roots hanging down like petunia vines apparently gave him the inspiration to repeat his action, inverting over 20 other dead Spruce and Hemlock trees in order to plant 75-100 flowers in the ‘root bowls’ each year.

Other flowers that flourish in the garden include Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Japanese Maples, Devil’s Club, Elderberry shrubs, Sitka Spruce, and Western Hemlock. The gardens are open from May through September, offering tours aboard their covered carts to cruise ship passengers and landlubbers alike.

San Francisco, California | Outsider Architecture

A veritable still life zoo, the Zeum Carousel in San Francisco’s Children’s Museum has been giving rides to delighted children and adults alike for over 100 years. Still operational, it has more than just the common carousel horse: leaping giraffes, ornamented camels, majestic rams in mid run, gilded chariots decorated with elaborate dragons, snakes, and gargoyles. Even the horses are remarkable, each one unique in its design and decorations. But perhaps even more remarkable then the animals which make up the carousel is its storied and well traveled history.

Constructed in 1906 by master carver and builder Charles I. D. Looff (who built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876, and went on to manufacture over 50 carousels throughout his life, in addition to California’s Santa Monica Pier), it was originally to be placed in San Francisco, but the 1906 fires and Earthquake caused it to be installed at the Luna Park in Seattle, Washington instead. Miraculously it was the only attraction to survive the 1911 Luna Park fire, and in 1913 moved again to its original destination of San Francisco. Installed at the ocean side amusement park Playland-at-the-Beach, where it remained until the close of the park in 1972.

It was then purchased by a private collector and held in Roswell, New Mexico until 1983, when it was transported back to California, set up by Marianne Stevens in Shoreline Village, Long Beach. The City of San Francisco finally purchased the carousel from Ms. Stevens in 1998 and returned it, fully restored and operational, to its current location at Zeum in the Yerba Buena Gardens.

Charles I.D. Looff was the father of the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving, catering and contributing to the vaudeville style attractions that were steadily growing more popular in the early nineteenth century.

Classic circus music plays cheerfully during the 2 for $3 rides, complimenting the character of the carousel. The animals reflect this bright, fanciful, carnival style. Horses are suited up in a saddle and blanket unique to themselves, gem studded with colorful patterns. Real horse hair tails and further elaborate designs adorn each piece. The camels, giraffes, and rams are equally magnificent and lustrous, fine attention to detail in both original and restored carving and painting evident.

The Zeum Carousel is a wonderfully well preserved and restored historical ride, hearkening back to a time when everything was new and exciting, and amusement park rides such as these were as much marveled inventions as they were public entertainment.

San Francisco, California | Repositories of Knowledge

Hidden in plain sight amidst the bustle of the San Francisco Financial District lies a quiet sanctuary. Complete with overstuffed leather chairs and rows upon rows of books, both old and new, it spans two floors of the Mechanics’ Institute building. Unlike its name suggests, the Mechanics’ Institute Library is not just for those technically inclined but houses over 60,000 volumes (with the ability to purchase roughly 3,000 circulating and reference items annually) on subjects ranging from finance and investment to the humanities and arts.

It is both the oldest library on the West Coast as well as the oldest chess club in the United States, with continuous chess play for over 150 years. The atmosphere preserved over the years is far different than one would find in the average public library: wonderfully quiet-absolutely no cell phone noise and only the murmur of hushed talking when need be, impeccably clean, books rarely missing or overdue, and bold ionic columns supporting the high ceilings.

Founded in 1854, the library collection was used to aide the technical and vocational classes being taught at the Mechanical Institute; the collection grew, expanding and eventually merging with the social sciences collection of San Francisco’s Mercantile Library Association in 1906.

The Great Earthquake destroyed most of the Library’s collection that same year, but the Institute was not to be deterred. They planned to build a larger, more expansive residence for the library and chess club, though 1907 president Lewis R. Meade originally proposed removing the chess room, favoring instead more rental space. The backlash was so harsh that original president Rudolph Taussig returned to presidency, promising enough space for all three: books, chess, and rentals.

Albert Pissis was hired as the Mechanics’ architect, and designed a steel framed, nine-story classical facade structure. The first floor would be used as profit-making rental space, the second and third for the library, the fourth as the chess room (which now screens movies as well), and the fifth through ninth floors as offices.

Staying true to its roots, the Library offers classes on Do-It-Yourself Investing, Computer Basics, Doing Business in North America, Filing Taxes in the 21st Century, and Research Strategies Seminars. They also welcome chess players of all ages and skill level, hosting competitions as well as classes. Additionally, they are host to over 50 author events annually, covering fiction and non-fiction, signings and readings.

Their ‘Special Programs’ include events such as the San Francisco Noir Literary Night, World Poetry Reading, Bloomsday, and a Bastille Day Celebration. On the same floor as the chess room is where the CinemaLit Film Series takes place, screening 35 films a year curated by film critic Michael Fox. Writing workshops are being planned to compliment the three writer’s groups that meet twice a month and provide encouragement and critic of original fiction and nonfiction.

A private library, it is open to the public for tours and viewing, but membership is required to check-out material and participate in chess events.

San Mateo County, California | Bizarre Restaurants and Bars

Founded in 1927 by eponymous restaurant owner Frank Torres, the Moss Beach Distillery was a former 1920s speakeasy that purchased boot legged spirits during the Prohibition and was frequented by silent movie stars, politicians, and mystery novelist Dashiell Hammet.

Built on cliffs above a private beach, its location lent itself to the merits of the illicit activities of Canadian rum runners, the illegal beverages being dragged up the steep cliffs under cover of darkness to be driven to, and sold in, San Francisco. While a good portion of the alcohol managed to find its way into Frank’s garage, Mr. Torres used his political and social influences to prevent the restaurant from ever being raided. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant was one of the most successful speakeasies along the San Mateo County coastline.

With Prohibition repealed in 1933, ‘Frank’s Place’ stayed in the food business. It managed to last the test of time and is now the Moss Beach Distillery, complete with a new legend.

‘The Blue Lady’ was apparently a young woman who met and had an affair with a handsome piano player. Always dressed in blue, she met with him at the bar and a hotel nearby the Distillery. Legend has it she died in an automobile accident, and now haunts the restaurant searching for her lover. Some reports even go so far as to detail the piano player’s unfortunate end: after having an affair with yet another woman (who, some say, threw herself off the cliffs), his body was found headless near the Distillery shores.

Stories surrounding The Blue Lady and her companion vary widely, but one thing remains common, and that is the reports by guests of her activity. Levitating meals and check books, disembodied weeping in the women’s bathroom, a face in the mirror, swinging chandeliers, telephones ringing with no one on the other line, slamming doors, and sightings by children and adults alike mark her presence.

But it seems there may have been another reason for the “haunting.” The mysterious noises, chandeliers, and the face in the bathroom were discovered to have been placed by the restaurant owner in order to enhance the experience.

San Francisco, California | Odd Accommodations

The Hotel Majestic is a charming, elegant hotel, useful for escaping the hustle and bustle of Union Square and the Financial District, though still close to San Francisco’s famous historical cable cars and the high-rises of downtown. San Francisco’s oldest continuously operating hotel, it also has another attribute: the fourth floor is said by many guests, and the hotel itself, to be haunted.

It is somewhat shocking the hotel is even still standing. Built in 1902 on the estate of California State Legislature member Milton Schmidt, and when Senator Schmidt moved in 1904, the building officially became the Hotel Majestic. Amazingly it managed to avoid damage from the 1906 Great Earthquake, the fires stopping only two blocks away from the hotel. The ghost said to walk the hallways of the fourth floor is that of a young woman. Long term residents of this Pacific Heights neighborhood believe it to be the daughter of the first owner Schmidt, who refused to leave the building after it was sold.

There are many personal stories regarding the haunted fourth floor. Common experiences include the bathtubs (the majority of which sport clawed, brass feet) mysteriously filling with water, the sound of footsteps and keys clanging along the walls outside, faucets turning on and waking guests in the middle of the night, and strange dreams or nightmares. Though many believe in the ghosts, skeptics point out that nearly all the phenomena can be explained by old plumbing and changes in water pressure.

The “Sweet November” production manager stayed in the Hotel Majestic during filming of the movie, and reportedly told one of the desk clerks that she felt her bed shaking in the night, thinking there was an earthquake-there wasn’t, and her experience remains a mystery.

A clerk who was delivering pillows to room 408, adjacent to room 407 which is often considered the ‘most haunted’ room, was frightened by a more uncommon event. When the woman walked in to set down the pillows, she felt two hands on her shoulders pushing her back. The hotel and many guests claim the haunting to be friendly, if cheeky and playful. The portrait of the young woman said to haunt the halls hangs downstairs in the lobby.

Surviving over a century, the Hotel Majestic has been surrounded by change over the years. It has, however, kept close to its original architecture, and the rooms reflect both turn of the century design as well as strong Victorian accents and an Edwardian styling. English and French antiques, old fashioned clawed-foot bathtubs, fireplaces, double sinks, bay windows, and Victorian furniture adorn three kinds of rooms: Standard Queen, Junior Suites, and One Bedroom Suites. Panel drapery and four poster beds preserve the romantic and from-the-past atmosphere.

San Francisco, California | Purveyors of Curiosities

Tucked between the Italian bakeries and laundromats of North Beach, San Francisco, Aria Antiques is a unique store, with an old world charm that matches its old world items.

Drawing up images of the kind of old school antique shops found more often in fiction than reality, Aria Antiques is a curio shop for all those interested in procuring European and Early American oddities ranging from old printer’s tiles to an extensive collection of antique biological and zoological charts. Enchanting in its eccentricity, the walls are filled with strange and beautiful pieces that can easily transport one to Parisian street markets past, the atmosphere heady with the music of Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, and Serge Gainsbourg.

Glass eyes, antique keys that don’t look as if they would fit any door, vintage wax mannequin arms, Edwardian doll heads, plates of doll hands, century old Dutch science classroom prints, old maps and globes, mysterious B&W photographs, hand printed menus, postcards and personal letters, watch faces, medicine boxes, astrological charts, and tins of small, unidentifiable objects are just a few of the relics that line the walls and are scattered throughout.

The owner, Bill Haskell, matches his store in storied uniqueness. A kind and fascinating man, traveling often during the year to Europe to obtain new items for his shop. Open to price negotiation and with an unerring eye for design, Bill is knowledgeable about every piece, able to relay at least some of its history and tell the story as to how he obtained it.

A gallery, a museum, a thrift shop – all these things and more describe Aria Antiques. Relatively affordable, the original posters and old natural history objects, though well priced, can still be quite expensive. Only cash and check are accepted.

If visiting, it is recommended that one call the shop ahead of time, as the hours of operation are somewhat erratic, and it can be closed for long periods of time when the owner travels.

Also, if one is looking for something specific and happens to catch him before another buying trip, Bill is known to accept a list of items to search for. While success is not guaranteed, knowing owner Bill Haskell, one might end up with a different object equally marvelous.