Fine Art Photo Impressions: February 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Ferris Wheel Chicago

The first Ferris Wheel was designed by George W. Ferris, a bridge-builder from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He built the Ferris Wheel for the 1893 World's Fair, which was held in Chicago to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing in America. The Chicago Fair's organizers wanted something that would rival the Eiffel Tower.

Finding a suitable design proved difficult: Architect Daniel H. Burnham, who was in charge of selecting the project for the Chicago World's Fair, complained at an engineer's banquet in 1891 about having found nothing that "met the expectations of the people". Among the audience was George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., owner of a firm that tested iron and steel. He had an inspiration and scribbled the design for the Ferris Wheel on a napkin during the dinner.

The task was monumental. A structure of this size and shape had never been built, which meant that the science behind it had not yet been tested. In fact, the Saturday Afternoon Club, a group of engineers and architects of the time, called him a fool and proclaimed that he would never be able to build the giant wheel. He obtained permission in spite of this and began building. Ferris' wheel was considered an engineering wonder: two 140-foot steel towers supported the wheel; they were connected by a 45-foot axle, the largest single piece of forged steel ever made up until that time. The wheel section had a diameter of 250 feet and a circumference of 825 feet. Two 1000-horsepower reversible engines powered the ride. Thirty-six wooden cars held up to sixty riders each. The ride cost fifty cents and EARNED $726,805.50 during the World's Fair, which turned into a profit of $395,000 for the company that commissioned it.

After the expo, the wheel was moved to a new site in Chicago. However, it did not bring in the patrons they expected, and the company quickly went bankrupt. The wheel was sold at auction and transported piece by piece to St. Louis for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Here it brought in even less money, and on May 11, 1906, it was blown up. However, its legacy lives today in modern-day Ferris wheels. Today's wheels are not powered by steam, but the structure and turning mechanism are quite similar to the first one.

The Ferris wheel, once the laughingstock of engineers, stands today as the icon of Navy Pier on Chicago's Lake Michigan coast, and it owes its history to one brave engineer who was willing to think outside of the proverbial box. His name lives on, in the "observation wheels" that can now be found in virtually every amusement park in the world.

Order your "The Ferris Wheel Chicago" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
tombstone art
tombstone canvas prints
tombstone framed prints
tombstone acrylic prints
tombstone metal prints
tombstone prints
tombstone posters
tombstone greeting cards
tombstone photos

funeral art
funeral canvas prints
funeral framed prints
funeral acrylic prints
funeral metal prints
funeral prints
funeral posters
funeral greeting cards
funeral photos

headstone art
headstone canvas prints
headstone framed prints
headstone acrylic prints
headstone prints
headstone posters
headstone greeting cards
headstone photos

Monday, February 25, 2013

American Flags - Navy Pier Chicago

A Chicago trip would be less than perfect without a stroll to the end of the Navy Pier - a conglomeration of tourist attractions, exhibition halls, museums, amusement park, harbor cruises, theaters, sculptures, shops, restaurants, etc. Kids love the carousel, Ferris wheel, live music, and eclectic entertainment such as jugglers, comedians, and contortionists.

The Navy Pier is a great place to walk along. You could call it a tourist trap, however, you really do not need to spend in order to enjoy Chicago's Navy Pier and its amazing views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Chicago Navy Pier Headhouse

Despite its name Chicago's Navy Pier was not designed to be a military center. It was created for shipping and recreational purposes. In 1909, Daniel Burnham, the most famous Chicago city planner, wanted Chicago to have several piers for shipping and entertainment. Only one was built however, and that one was placed at the mouth of the Chicago River. Construction of the formerly named Municipal Pier began in 1914, and after $4.5 million in building costs, the pier opened to the public in 1916.

While the shipping part of the pier was doing okay, the entertainment aspect was thriving. In the late 1910s, a streetcar line, a theater and restaurants was built on the pier, and Municipal Pier experienced its best years in 1921 and 1922, when Chicago Mayor William H. Thompson's "Pageants of Progress" draw nearly a million visitors during 15 days of events.

The good times would not last, however. During the Great Depression freight and passenger traffic declined, but cultural and recreational use of the pier continued.

After WWII, from 1946 to 1965, what is now known as the University of Illinois at Chicago used the pier as an undergraduate campus. In the 1950s, Navy Pier was the primary convention center for Chicago, with 12-16 trade shows or exhibits held annually.

McCormick Place, which was built in 1960, destroyed by fire in 1967, and re-opened in 1971, became the city's main convention center, and in the early 1970s Navy Pier fell into disuse.

Fortunately, Chicago declared Navy Pier a landmark in 1977, and in 1994 a $150 million Navy Pier redevelopment project was commenced. On July 12, 1995, the new Navy Pier re-opened, with year-round shops, restaurants, attractions and exhibition facilities.

Order your "Chicago Navy Pier Headhouse" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
flap art
flap canvas prints
flap framed prints
flap acrylic prints
flap metal prints
flap prints
flap posters
flap greeting cards
flap photos

waving art
waving canvas prints
waving framed prints
waving acrylic prints
waving metal prints
waving prints
waving posters
waving greeting cards
waving photos

nation art
nation canvas prints
nation framed prints
nation acrylic prints
nation prints
nation posters
nation greeting cards
nation photos

Friday, February 15, 2013

Giant Tecolote Ranunculus - Carlsbad Flower Fields, CA

For ten weeks each spring, on coastal farmland in Carlsbad, California, 50-plus acres of Giant Tecolote® Ranunculus flowers bloom and transform the landscape into a solid expanse of vibrant, banded color. For those living in the region, color in The Flower Fields® signifies the beginning of spring - a reliable and welcome rite of renewal and regeneration. Carlsbad is ideal for growing ranunculus, as this Southern California coastal region provides a mild winter climate, dry summers, and a well drained sandy soil.

Ranunculus (meaning 'little frog' in Latin because they live near water like frogs) is an umbrella term that encompasses about 600 species of plants including buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. This large, poppy-like flowers which bear a resemblance to peonies are often confused with roses, and understandably so, as the large, crepe paper-like flower can resemble a rose in full bloom. As a point of fact, ranunculus were very popular in Europe, considered the flower, before roses took over that distinction (thank you Empress Joséphine). The Tecolote Giant Ranunculus® is one of the finest strains of ranunculus plants in the world. This giant gems' exquisitely layered crepe-thin petals and ethereal hues of crimson red, snow white, apricot pink, marmalade orange, plum purple and sunshine yellow is so delicate that at first glance it looks like they are made of tissue paper. This strain of ranunculus, the Giant Tecolote hybrid, was originally a single-petaled flower until Edwin Frazee of California carefully bred in the double form.

The Flower Fields have a lot of history going through a succession of owners starting with the Frazees and now the Ecke's. Surprisingly, the place is not a huge profit maker and was nearly sold off to developers. Land in Carlsbad is very valuable these days, especially 50 acres right near the coast. The city and the Coastal Commission intervened preventing the sell-off and creating a fund to save this spring time treasure for future generations.

For about 10 weeks starting in March, the 50-acre dazzling rainbow of beautiful ranunculus flowers set on a hillside that overlooks the striking California coastline is a feast to the eye. A visit to the Carlsbad Flower Fields will surcharge your entire perception of living in So Cal. It's a worthy trip to make for anyone that can appreciate flowers.

Order your "Giant Tecolote Ranunculus - Carlsbad Flower Fields, CA" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
flower fields art
flower fields canvas prints
flower fields framed prints
flower fields acrylic prints
flower fields metal prints
flower fields prints
flower fields posters
flower fields greeting cards
flower fields photos

garden flowers art
garden flowers canvas prints
garden flowers framed prints
garden flowers acrylic prints
garden flowers metal prints
garden flowers prints
garden flowers posters
garden flowers greeting cards
garden flowers photos

spring flowers art
spring flowers canvas prints
spring flowers framed prints
spring flowers acrylic prints
spring flowers prints
spring flowers posters
spring flowers greeting cards
spring flowers photos

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

"Roses are red, violets are blue ..."Who hasn't heard or read this phrase at least once. The rose has come to stand for love, death, rebirth, memory, foolishness, beauty, grace and - among a litany of other things - just plain old flowers.

Considering the heavy literary weight that these beautiful budding plants bear, it's no wonder that scholars have spent hundreds of years publishing papers about the rose.

There is the memorable moment in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when the young Capulet professes her love for the Montague son by pronouncing, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet..." In fact, the line has become so ingrained in public consciousness, that a common misquotation reads "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Publications about roses range from the superficial paperbacks at local garden outlets to the latest coffee table "takes" on the exhaustively explored subject of these flowers; from excellent reprints of sentimental Victorian and Edwardian collectors to wonderful contemporary examples of notable scholarship, and on to the heights of such rare masterpieces as Redoute's original folios for the Empress Josephine ... all the unfolding stages of knowledge and appreciation.

And then there's always 20th century poet Gertrude Stein's contribution - "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

The literature of the Rose is a formidable territory. Encompassing sublime ancient poetry as well as pragmatic modern prose, it spans the arc from pedestrian to transcendent. Each old and new viewpoint has an angle to offer, another lens through which this flower can be seen.

Order your "Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Photography lovers who liked this also liked:

valentines day art
valentines day canvas prints
valentines day framed prints
valentines day acrylic prints
valentines day metal prints
valentines day prints
valentines day posters
valentines day greeting cards
valentines day photos

rose garden art
rose garden canvas prints
rose garden framed prints
rose garden acrylic prints
rose garden metal prints
rose garden prints
rose garden posters
rose garden greeting cards
rose garden photos

subtle art
subtle canvas prints
subtle framed prints
subtle acrylic prints
subtle prints
subtle posters
subtle greeting cards
subtle photos

Friday, February 08, 2013

California Beauty

Southern California is home to thousands of plants, including many species of cactus. Some are native, but other types are from areas such as Mexico and Arizona. However, both native and non-native cacti thrive in Southern California due to the vast amount of sun throughout the year.

The cylindrical Fire Barrel Cactus - Ferocactus pilosus - a Cactaceae with bright red spikes - grows well in Southern California�s Mediterranean climate - one that is only shared by five regions on the planet. These cacti are drought-tolerant desert dwellers and can cope with some frost and intense heat. The "fishhook" spines and the armored web of spines enclosing the cactus body in many species of this genus are adaptations which allow the plant to travel to more favorable locations. During flash floods, the hooked spines allow the plants to be caught on waterborne debris, uprooted and carried to areas where water tends to accumulate. Their skin thickens with age, making older cacti more fire resistant.

Cacti are a fascinating blend of tough spines and delicate flowers, much like roses. Most of their stems have evolved to store water and the spines are actually modified leaves to protect the plant from foraging animals, provide some shade and protect against water loss as it evaporates from the plants tissues.

When the first European botanists first encountered these plants, they were bizarre and previously unknown in the Old World. They applied the Greek word 'kaktos' meaning 'thistle'. The demand for cacti was immediate. Today, collectors annually strip tons of cacti from North and South American deserts to sell in souvenir shops and nurseries. With many species now threatened or nearly extinct, we are loving our native cacti to death.

As principle, please make sure the cactus you buy wasn't collected from the countryside. They belong in nature!

Order your "California Beauty" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
landscaping art
landscaping canvas prints
landscaping framed prints
landscaping acrylic prints
landscaping metal prints
landscaping prints
landscaping posters
landscaping greeting cards
landscaping photos

still life art
still life canvas prints
still life framed prints
still life acrylic prints
still life metal prints
still life prints
still life posters
still life greeting cards
still life photos

natural environment art
natural environment canvas prints
natural environment framed prints
natural environment acrylic prints
natural environment prints
natural environment posters
natural environment greeting cards
natural environment photos

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Premier Destination Chicago

From its humble beginning and growth of a city to the devastation of the fire of 1871, and it's rise from the ashes, Chicago always has been a city of contrasts. It has been at the forefront of architectural progress for more than a century.

The devastating Fire jumped a river and cleared the way for visionaries of plate glass and structural steel. Chicago's ambitious business leaders in the late 1800's (after most of the commercial district had been erased by the Great Fire) faced a quandary. Hemmed in by water on three sides and a rail center to the south, they knew that if the city were to grow - it would have to grow up. It had to be done ... and Chicago solved that problem spectacularly.

It is no accident that in the 1880s Chicago produced a group of architects, now known as the "First Chicago School," whose work would have a profound effect upon architecture. Its matchless tradition of technical prowess and aesthetic boldness would surface again in Chicago in the 1930s with the arrival of the Bauhaus, and in the following decades in the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his disciples - building higher and sleeker - and it has soared in the 21st century with audacious new steeples such as The Trump Tower and Jeanne Gang's Aqua Building.

Chicago is justly celebrated for its restaurants and writers, its movies and music, its cultural breakthroughs - even its way with words. But nothing defines the city more than its architecture, a creative and technological discipline in many ways responsible for Chicago's identity and very existence. This is where architecture lives, and history is still being etched upon the sky.

Order your "Premier Destination Chicago" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
blossom art
blossom canvas prints
blossom framed prints
blossom acrylic prints
blossom metal prints
blossom prints
blossom posters
blossom greeting cards
blossom photos

thorny art
thorny canvas prints
thorny framed prints
thorny acrylic prints
thorny metal prints
thorny prints
thorny posters
thorny greeting cards
thorny photos

bud art
bud canvas prints
bud framed prints
bud acrylic prints
bud prints
bud posters
bud greeting cards
bud photos

Monday, February 04, 2013

35 East Wacker Chicago - Jewelers Building

One of the most remarkably beautiful buildings along the Chicago River is the octogenarian at Wacker Drive and Wabash, the Jeweler's Building, or as it is now known just by its address, 35 East Wacker. The Jeweler's Building, designed in the Beaux Arts and Renaissance styles, and built in 1926, is highly ornamented, with a sort of neo-baroque feel to it. Clad in fire proof terra cotta, the Jeweler's Building is truly one of the Chicago River gems. There are exquisite details everywhere you look. Its complex elements, including cupolas, spires and arched windows, combine to offer an extravagant and pleasing appearance that has led to its designation as a Chicago Landmark.

35 East Wacker is a skyscraper that successfully manages to meld historical styles drawn from Greco-Roman and Gothic architecture. The building, completed in 1926 and designed by Giaver & Dinkelberg, was built as an high tech office tower to attract tenants in the burgeoning jewelry trade - commemorated by the initials 'JB' for Jewelers Building. The lower 23 floors were serviced by automobile elevators that, for security reasons, transported the tenant, their jewels, and their car directly up to the office floor.

The structure of this building is typical to others of the early twentieth century in Chicago architecture. However, with the Jeweler's Building, a tower of an additional 17 stories was placed upon the main block of twenty-four stories. The crowning belvedere that marks the top of the building was originally designed as a nightclub known as the Stratosphere. Toay the dramatic and large dome houses an architectural showroom for Murphy/Jahn Architects.

Recently, ownership initiated a multi-year, multi-million dollar renovation to bring the property up to contemporary Class A standards. The interior of the the Jeweler's Building is being entirely re-built on a floor-by-floor basis with only the historic facade and structure remaining in place.

Order your "35 East Wacker Chicago - Jewelers Building" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
blossoms art
blossoms canvas prints
blossoms framed prints
blossoms acrylic prints
blossoms metal prints
blossoms prints
blossoms posters
blossoms greeting cards
blossoms photos

thorns art
thorns canvas prints
thorns framed prints
thorns acrylic prints
thorns metal prints
thorns prints
thorns posters
thorns greeting cards
thorns photos

sting art
sting canvas prints
sting framed prints
sting acrylic prints
sting prints
sting posters
sting greeting cards
sting photos

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Lights - camera - action - Movie backdrop Chicago

Everyone is a critic, particularly when it comes to movies, and nowhere is that more true than in Chicago - after all, a television show with two guys arguing about films started here more than three decades ago and went on to become part of the national Zeitgeist. Chicago's gritty streets look back to a time when gangsters ruled. Its massive skyscrapers and overhead trains lend themselves to a perfect Gotham City.

Chicago is owned by the world and quite welcoming to Hollywood when it comes to filming movies and TV shows here. There are great landmarks and great places to shoot, such as beneath the L-train tracks right in downtown Chicago or beneath the downtown streets on Lower Wacker. Since 1980, more than 1100 feature films and television productions have been shot in Chicago contributing $2 billion in local revenue. Audiences around the world travel Chicago�s streets through its portrayal in filmed entertainment. Movies shot in town capture a piece of Chicago in some iconic, evocative, or magical way. These compelling images help to generate tourism, promote international business, and establish a new global awareness of Chicago's landscape and culture.

The Windy City of Chicago has had its fair share of films set within its city limits, many of them truly memorable. With Chicago as the backdrop, these films are already ahead of the film pack. Chicago is truly a remarkable city for filmmaking.

- Scene from Bollywood Movie 'Dhoom 3' shooting in Chicago -

Order your "Lights - camera - action - Movie backdrop Chicago" Print at Fine Art America
or directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Fine Art quality Photo canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, metal prints, posters and greeting cards - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD)

Art lovers who liked this also liked:
actors art
actors canvas prints
actors framed prints
actors acrylic prints
actors metal prints
actors prints
actors posters
actors greeting cards
actors photos

helicopters art
helicopters canvas prints
helicopters framed prints
helicopters acrylic prints
helicopters metal prints
helicopters prints
helicopters posters
helicopters greeting cards
helicopters photos

aircrafts art
aircrafts canvas prints
aircrafts framed prints
aircrafts acrylic prints
aircrafts prints
aircrafts posters
aircrafts greeting cards
aircrafts photos

Fine Art Photo Impressions

Pages