A slow slow week and so...only two
Friday March 09, 2012_David was dissatisfied with the idea that my PT Cruiser had leather seats while his very cool Mazda didn't so, he purchased a kit, made for his car naturally, that has turned his seats from mere cloth to the equal of mine. His friend, Scott, did the install and David is now---OMG PLEASE---happy with his car.
Saturday March 10, 2012_Downtown we went again to the Spaghetti Factory, but since I am personally tired of photographing the place, I took a photo of the pretty swell-looking and relatively new-ish condo complex that's location right across the street.
the flickr of our lives
Friday March 09, 2012_David was dissatisfied with the idea that my PT Cruiser had leather seats while his very cool Mazda didn't so, he purchased a kit, made for his car naturally, that has turned his seats from mere cloth to the equal of mine. His friend, Scott, did the install and David is now---OMG PLEASE---happy with his car.
Saturday March 10, 2012_Downtown we went again to the Spaghetti Factory, but since I am personally tired of photographing the place, I took a photo of the pretty swell-looking and relatively new-ish condo complex that's location right across the street.
the flickr of our lives
- Current Location:bay area
- Current Mood:
calm - Current Music:biomusique's redemption
Page Summary
Designed by 
yoksel
Comments
And the second one is beautiful, but it makes me wonder. I look at it and I think such a strong tower takes my breath away. Then I wonder how this architecture will affect viewers 75 or 100 years from now. I live in a city with many many big official buildings were built around the beginning of the 20th century and their ornate details speak to me of Victorian/Edwardian certainty of their own importance and the persistance of their works. What will our glass towers say in 100 years? FanSee
Man, you went all philosophical on me. First, I must tell you that I have to look at this building more for what it represents and less about its design, still, I know what you mean. I doubt thought that we'll be judged 100 years from now by certain buildings as much as by the texture and livability of our cities, for the very reasons you mentioned, and as long as we maintain 18th, 19th, and 20th century buildings (and maybe in your case 17th century building) we'll be judged fairly, I think. Frankly, I like glass buildings because of their ability to reflect what's around them and because they have a kind of lightness and color that many stone buildings can't achieve.
For instance, within a couple of blocks of this building there is the Saint Claire Hotel one way:
http://www.thesainteclaire.com/
and the Peralta Adobe and the Fallon House the other way.
http://www.historysanjose.org/wp/plan-your-visit/peralta-fallon-historic-site/
Of course, there's also a less-than-attractive, but not ugly 1980's parking structure and the old warehouse that The Spaghetti is housed in. A very cool mix.
What the building represents is a rebirth of San Jose's downtown, people actually living, working, shopping downtown. Twenty years ago, this would not have seemed possible. For a long time no one lived downtown except kids, like me and David, going to San Jose State or people too poor to get out to the suburbs where everyone wanted to be. Retail left, downtown died.
Now there are restaurants everywhere, theater, opera, clubs etc. mainly because tech moved downtown so people began working there. Now people want to live downtown because of buildings like this and a few others and the businesses that service residents are also showing up like grocery stores. Next, please, please, please, retail will come back.
Unlike the stability, I assume, of Philadelphia, San Jose has had a very checkered history, up, down and now up again with big blue glass buildings like this one meaning life returns.