Croatia was part of the political and cultural mish-mash of the former Yugoslavia, and for years toiled under a restrictive, and often punitive, dictatorship. It’s hard to believe in such a closed and suppressed society, that art could flourish — but it did, and recent years have brought both the art and artists to the attention of people around the world. The Croatian Naive Art Gallery & Museum collection opened in St. Petersburg (Florida) recently, exclusively featuring the intricate Croatian reverse glass paintings. I’ve seen these painting before, and always thought that they were Russian, but never really understood the art medium. Think of this as painting in reverse. The artist paints with oils on the reverse side of a piece of glass, doing everything backwards from a typical painting. The paintings is done in stages, and in the reverse […]

Across from the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia (which I previously wrote about ), is Independence Hall. Although it was originally built between 1732-1756 as the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania, it became better known for other events that occurred there: George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the Assembly Room (1775) Declaration of Independence was adopted (July 4th, 1776) American flag design was approved (1777) Meeting place for the Second Continental Congress, except during the time Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army (winter of 1777-78) Articles of Confederation were adopted (1781) U.S. Constitution was drafted (1787) The tour begins in the East Wing, and offers a close up view of what is considered classic Georgian architecture. Great pains have been taken to restore the building, inside and out, to its original […]

The city of Portland has as sordid an underground history as my home city of Seattle does, and, like Seattle, it makes for a fun walking tour. There were plenty of nefarious deeds going on above ground, but the underground was where the really fun stuff was happening.  In the subterranean world of Chinatown, you can still see impressive architecture from years gone by, looking nothing like the modern city in the photo.  Below ground you’ll find the “Shanghai Tunnels.”  The tunnels originally connected the basements of most of the downtown hotels and bars to the Willamette waterfront, and were used to expeditiously move goods.  They later became the site of many kidnappings called “crimpings” and known to us today as shangaiing.  During the years of Prohibition, a different kind “goods” were moved through the tunnels, and many bars were set up […]

Today is Admission Day for Maine, our 23rd state, admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820. Maine is located in the northeastern part of the United States, in the New England area of the country, and joined the Union as part of the Missouri compromise.  It ranks 39th of the 50 states in geographical area, and 40th in population. Although the origin of the state’s name is debatable, the most probably theory is that it came from the English settlers who lived on islands off the coast.  They would talk about “going over to the mainland,” which soon became shortened to “going over to main.”  The name seems to have stuck. The state is probably best known for its scenery.  From rugged coastlines (charming fishing villages, lighthouses) to wooded interiors (nearly 90% of Maine is forested), from mountains to […]

Today is Admission Day for Florida, our 27th state, admitted to the Union on March 3rd, 1845. Florida is located in the southeastern part of the country, with the Atlantic Ocean flanking one side, and the Gulf of Mexico the other.  Ponce de Leon named it, and many believe that it was in Florida that he claimed to have found his fountain of youth. Before the formal declaration of Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union, and became a founding member of the Confederate States of America.  Full representation was restored in 1868. For much of its existence, Florida was the least populated southern state.  By the mid-20th century, however, many residents were leaving the frigid weather of the northeastern US, looking for the temperate climes found in Florida.  Today, Florida is the second most populated of the southern states […]