A Change In Scenery

23 September 2013

a box of photographs.... part 3

"1958 Leonard Barnett"

"May 30, 1964 Jean, Ellen, Doris, Doug. Sunny Side Cemetery, Sorento"

"Hollywood Beach, Fla. March 28, 1954"

"Crazy Horse Monument, S. Dakota. July 1965. Doug + Steve"

"Wisc. Dells, June 1956"

"Las Vegas, Nevada"

"Steve, Henri, Doug at cottage owned by [Henri], July 1961"

"Badlands, South Dakota. July 1965"

"June '52 Doug + Nelson"

"1958 Doris + Frank + '55 Buick"

"1958 Doug + George"

"Grand Canyon, Arizona. June 1960"

Venture back to a box of pictures, part 2 and a box of pictures, part 1, if you wish.

21 September 2013

postcards, part 2

A few more postcards from my collection this morning, the last morning of summer.

front

back, postmarked April 13, 1908, Syracuse, Indiana

front

back, postmarked August 14, 1946, Los Angeles, California

front

back, postmarked July 2, 1948, Hastings, Nebraska

front

back, postmarked December 27, 1926

In case you missed it, here's postcards, part 1.

19 September 2013

the Los Angeles Natural History Museum

The Los Angeles Natural History Museum turns 100 years old this November. I don't go for the dinosaurs, I tend to enjoy the quiet areas of the museum and surrounding park. The spaces that make me feel like it could be any moment of those 100 years, it doesn't have to be right now.

Below are a handful of photographs I've taken during my trips to the museum.

This summer's visit included a trip through the butterfly pavilion, the edible garden, and the recently completed "Becoming Los Angeles" exhibit. The exhibit features pieces from early Hollywood including Mack Sennett's movie camera, Walt Disney's original animation table, and the Chaplin costume below.

Charlie Chaplin's costume from "City Lights".
© Monika Seitz Vega, 2013

The museum's edible garden, which houses both plant and wildlife.
© Monika Seitz Vega, 2013

U.S. Works Progress Administration scale model of downtown Los Angeles in the 1930s.
Seeing this in person is worth the price of admission alone.
© Monika Seitz Vega, 2013

17 September 2013

postcards, part 1

I've been collecting postcards nearly my entire life. I had family all over the country, and my parents and I traveled quite a bit when I was young. Postcards were (and still are) an inexpensive souvenir from a visit to somewhere new, and convenient for a quick "hello". Since I was a kid I've loved sending postcards to friends, and am excited when I get them in return.

What began as correspondence between myself and friends + family turned into a enthusiasm for interesting or rare graphics, correspondence between people I've never met, images of places I know from another era, and an overall love of the art of the postcard. A few months ago I conquered the daunting task of organizing my collection. My postcards are now in archival sleeves, labeled when necessary, and easy to access. I'm looking forward to sharing them here, beginning with this iconic block lettering theme.

front of postcard

back of postcard, with reference guide

front of postcard

back of postcard

30 August 2013

Orange Empire Railway Museum

If I ever go missing, it will be because I ran away to live on the grounds of Perris, California's Orange Empire Railway Museum.

The OERM is a magical place with an extraordinary history. I couldn't even begin to describe in detail the impressive work the volunteer-run museum does, so I'll leave my contribution to the photographs (please click on captions, as I've added links where applicable).

If visiting the OERM in person isn't possible, please visit the museum's highly informative, wonderfully detailed website.

The recently restored PCC Streetcar #3100

Los Angeles Railway type-H streetcar, #1201

The #1201 from the front

My sweetie takes train photographs, too

The Grizzly Flats barn, taken from a moving train with my 1950s bakelite Imperial camera

The imagineers at Disney visited Orange Empire when designing Buena Vista Street
and used the red trolley cars (like #665 here) as reference to create their own scale versions,
even using the same trolley numbers as the ones at the museum.

The replica red trolley cars on Buena Vista Street at Disney California's Adventure (above)
represent the era during which Walt Disney arrived in California with only "a suitcase and a dream".