Architecture Addiction, The Official Blog of

My boyfriend and I went to San Diego for Memorial Day weekend. I have pictures to show you. I also realized that I had to create a new category: “My Travels.”

Today we’re going to take a look at the San Diego Mission.

This is a special place to me; it was the first church I ever entered at a ripe old 11 years of age. I remember my mom yelling at me for running around, excited over all the stuff to look at. And boy did I get it when discovered the holy water and stuck my whole hand in it. My family is not Catholic and has been staunchly so since we were kicked out of France in the mid-1700’s. But 12 years after plunging my hand into the holy water, I ended up converting. (My mom didn’t like that either.)

If you can make out the little font by the door on the left side of the church, that’s where I essentially baptised myself.

This is some kind of palm in the courtyard. Is there such a thing as a Birds of Paradise palm? Because that’s what it looks like.

I love covered walkways (I don’t think it technically qualifies as a portico).

Stay tuned for Part II when we take a look at Balboa Park.

I went to go see the Gamble House in Pasadena a couple of weekends ago. I have pictures for you.

You know you’re an architecture student when you take pictures of steps.

The front door

An outdoor lamp

A Recurring Joinery Motif

Aside from the sleeping porches, this is probably my favorite part. The beams are strapped together with cast iron bands so that, in an earthquake, the beams will slide a little rather than break.

Pictures don’t do it justice. And also, interior pictures are not allowed. You are doing yourself a grave disservice by allowing yourself to be satisfied by my pictures alone. You should go to Pasadena. Pay the $10. And prepare to be astounded.

The Gamble House in Pasadena, California, is an outstanding example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. The house and furnishings were designed by Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company. The house, a National Historic Landmark, is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California and is open for public tours.

I just saw this article by Andrew Farrell on Forbes.com called “The Billionaire Universities.”

For every one opening at Harvard’s undergraduate college, there were 14 hopeful high school applicants. Despite the daunting odds, there’s good reason to try to win one of those coveted acceptance letters.

Harvard is consistently ranked as one of the top schools in the country. Its $35 billion endowment makes it the best-funded college in the United States.

Oh, and there’s this: Harvard students are more likely to become billionaires than graduates of any other college.

Of the 469 Americans on Forbes’ most recent list of the world’s billionaires, 50 received at least one degree from Harvard. The school has produced 20 more current American billionaires than No. 2 on our list, Stanford University.

Harvard’s billionaire alumni are an accomplished group. They include Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and media tycoon Sumner Redstone.

Which is good news because I’m not so much into this poverty thing.

Read the whole thing.