Standing where ocean meets earth, lighthouses hold a certain meaning for anyone I think. My wife loves the architecture and scientific aspects of Fresnel lenses, weather patterns, geology and wildlife. I like to let my imagination play with the same, especially when I picture these places after dark. I’ll give you two guesses at who fixes stuff around the house, like the sink or the toilet.
The lighthouse at Point Bonita holds its charms in a very dramatic and beautiful setting, accessed via a tunnel carved through rock and a narrow bridge over a steep drop.
I got up this morning planning on making a post to the blog as I neglected to make one yesterday. Instead, I wound up wearing my computer tech hat and trying to find out why my browser kept crashing. I turned the air blue and even the poor kitties went into hiding. Instead of accomplishing that, I downloaded another browser. Terrible Tuesday was terrible after all. Ok, no one died. The kitties are well and have had extra scritchings and everything. There was still a lot of cursing and gnashing of teeth.
Sooooooo, here are a few photos from one of our outings in The City. We wandered over to the old shipyards on the South East side of town. There are plenty of old abandoned buildings that might be considered urban blight, but I think they have character.
SmokestackIslais Creek Grain TerminalIslais Creek Grain TerminalIslais Creek Grain TerminalRazor wire
While we were out, we went over to India Basin.
Pampas grassAmerican Avocet wading near the shoreRust and rocks
We try to slip out to catch the sunrise, but sometimes we leave much earlier. The very early morning hours are usually calm, beautiful and full of wildlife. Late last year we went to the Legion of Honor to take pics and watch for wildlife. While we didn’t get any photos of wildlife, we did get a few of the museum.
Legion of HonorGuardian lionLegion courtyard by LastechRodin’s The Thinker by LastechArch over the entrance by Lastech
Lately, we’ve been getting up well before sunrise, so I took advantage of it and tried for a few night shots. That was the same trip where we found the owls.
Legion of HonorEntry gate with The Thinker in the courtyardDetail of the arch
An American example of Beaux-Arts architecture, it is located in Lincoln Park in the Northwest corner of The City. It was built to honor the soldiers of WWI and is home to a beautiful collection of fine art. The museum houses about 4000 years of ancient and European art. It also has a fine Rodin collection.
Street lampThe main courtyard and Rodin’s The Thinker
Adjacent to the museum, The Holocaust, a memorial sculpture by George Segal can be found.
The Holocaust by George Segal
The museum wasn’t open when we were there, but that’s because we arrived at sunrise. Instead, we were treated to the sight of a coyote trotting through the golf course and a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge just after sunriseCity coyote running through the park
In our travels around the city of San Francisco, we have come across wonderful examples of architecture.
This temple is said to be one of the first Hindu temples in the Western Hemisphere. Built in 1905 it served as a temple until 1959 when it outgrew the small building and was replaced by a much larger temple a few blocks away. The old temple now serves as the headquarters for the Vedanta Society of Northern California.
Vedanta is the source of one of the world’s oldest major living religions, Hinduism. It is based on the philosophical books known as the Upanishads, which form the concluding portions of the ancient Indo-Aryan scriptures, the Vedas. The word “Vedanta” is, in fact, another word for the Upanishads. It means, literally, the end (anta) of the Vedas; it also means the culmination of spiritual knowledge (veda).
The history of the temple begins at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893. The fair held a World Parliament of Religions. Swami Vivekananda visited San Francisco after attending the conference. Here, he attracted a good many people to his lectures. They formed the Vedanta Society in 1900.
Swami Vivekananda
An early pamphlet published by the Society noted that the Temple
“…may be considered a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque and a Hindu …monastery.”
In 1907-08, the temple was topped with four domes and a crenelated tower. On Webster Street, the crenelated tower represents Christianity. On the corner, is the double bulb. This one is patterned after a Hindu temple in the Bengal region of India.
The front of the temple on Webster Street. The crenelated tower (left) and double bulb (right).
On the Filbert Street side starting on the left (East end), is a two-stage octagon. It’s patterned after a Shivite temple in India. Interestingly, it’s topped with an Islamic crescent, which, in turn, is topped with a trident. The next dome looks like Heshey Kisses. It is a miniature replica of a temple in Benares, India. The dome on the end is a copy of the architecture of the Taj Mahal.
The Old Vedanta Temple with all the domes and tower visibleThe crenelated tower, double bulb, and two-stage octagonThe two-stage octagon and Hershey Kisses dome
