Tag: architecture

Architecture

Deconstructing Humanities

Timothy Price42 Comments

Another cloudless dawn

The Duck Pond was renovated at UNM, and now there are no ducks, turtles, or fish.

Tearing down the old Humanities Building to build a new Humanities Building.

They de-paved A Parking lot to put an Art School on that spot.

My, that’s a big cracker you have there, Belafonte.

Food delivery robots

A place to read like royalty.

The hippo in the sky

Jake’s Big Adventure

Timothy Price47 Comments

While my car was in the shop for maintenance, Jake and I took a 3.8-mile (6.1 Km) walk down, up, and all around the Albuquerque flood diversion channel. I was surprised how much Jake liked running down and up the steep sides of the flood control channels. Whenever we came up to the top of a channel, Jake would hop onto the road and give whatever was in front of us a look of intense interest. It was like a game for Jake.

The route

Jake peed on a high-voltage transmission line pole. He thought it was electrifying.

Serious security: An electric fence behind the cyclone fence and barbed wire.

Needless to say, Jake was worn out after his big adventure.

Little House On The Lava

Timothy Price39 Comments

J Volcano

In 1947, students from St. Joseph’s College ignited a pile of tires in the J Volcano, causing panic in Albuquerque as some people thought it was going to erupt. Later attempts at the same prank failed to cause even a stir. Nowadays, the pranksters would be charged with multiple felonies, smacked with harsh penalties and prison time.

Little House on the lava with a volcano in the background.

A third volcano

Hotel Giles

Timothy Price51 Comments

Hotel Giles at night

At this time last week, we were staying at the Hotel Giles in Comfort, TX (https://www.hotelgiles.com/). We had driven 687 miles to Comfort to experience the total eclipse of the sun. Comfort, TX, was in the direct path of the eclipse, so we got around 4 minutes and 20 seconds of totality. Hotel Giles is a wonderful hotel that was perfect for viewing the eclipse with its large open space behind the hotel. The owners and staff were friendly and went out of their way to make our stay pleasant and memorable. They kept us informed on what was happening in Comfort, arranged for lunch, and made the guests dinner for a reasonable price on Monday since most restaurants were closed on Monday. A delicious home-cooked breakfast was included in the price of the room, and the coffee was excellent. If you are in the area, I highly recommend staying at the Hotel Giles.

The Hotel Giles was originally Hotal Faust, designed and built by architect Alfred Giles for Paul Ingenhuett in 1880. Alfred Giles was an English architect who moved to San Antonio, TX, in 1875 for health reasons and became a well-known and influential architect in San Antonio, southwestern Texas, and northern Mexico. He was also involved in ranching near Comfort. You can read more about Alfred Giles at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Giles_(architect).

The room we stayed in.

Interior stairway and the Parlor where guests gather. They have jam sessions on Friday nights.

This guy had been waiting for years for the eclipse.

The courtyard and gazebo at night.

The Cottage, a covered deck, and the Cabin.

The barn and a Tesla charging station out front.

The Big Crane

Timothy Price38 Comments

No Sandhill Cranes yet, just a big industrial crane. One of the five HVAC units on the roof of the office building went out a few weeks ago, and we had to replace it. Today was the day. Robert with ABQ Elite has been taking care of our HVAC for the past two years. He replaced the unit with the help of one of Gino’s cranes. They had to take off one of the iron grates that covers the HVAC units, lift out the old unit, and lift the new unit into place. Robert’s technicians, Gino and Mr. Willams, the crane operator, were a great team and had the roof grate off, the units replaced, and the roof grate back on in an hour’s time. Mr. Williams is a skilled crane operator, moving the equipment with great precision.

This video shows an hour’s work compressed into two minutes. There is music with the video.

Mr. Williams and Gino

The Big Crane