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glasgow: architecture

Scotland, Glasgow, Brunswick Street, R.W. Billings

As is the case with most European cities, religious buildings are some of the oldest remaining. Glasgow is no different. The cathedral has its origins in the early 1100’s with most of the exterior finished by the 1400’s. Not as large as I expected, the church’s unrestored façade is beautiful Gothic although the building is dwarfed by the adjacent Royal Infirmary. Glasgow Necropolis, on the opposite hill, offers some wonderful perspectives of the cathedral… as well as lots of architectural treats:

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mar del sur: boulevard atlantic hotel

Mar del Sur, Boulevard Atlantic Hotel

After finishing the Conquest of the Desert in 1878, the Argentine upper class began to develop all the land forcefully taken from the indigenous population. An extensive coastline, lined with pristine beaches, proved ideal for summer getaways from Buenos Aires. Escaping malaria outbreaks in the city also motivated the rich to leave the big city temporarily. Rail arrived in 1886 to Mar del Plata & two years later the Bristol Hotel opened, catering to all the major landowning families. National tourism was born.

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lisboa: cinema europa

[Some material for this post originally published as “keeping it reel 1” on 10 Oct 2007. Older photos from the Lisbon City Archive.]

Portugal, Lisboa, Cinema Europa, Antero Ferreira, 1958

Since movies with sound grew in popularity during the 1930s & 1940s, it was only appropriate that cinema architecture became a spectacle in itself. Grand productions were meant to be seen in grand theaters. Some of the most stunning Art Deco & Rationalist/Modernist buildings I’ve seen around the world are remnants of that era, but unfortunately they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

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buenos aires: ciae building list / inventario

CIAE, building map, 1931

A list of all buildings which once belonged to the Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad must exist somewhere in old company archives. But after being absorbed by SEGBA in 1979, it’s anyone’s guess as to where that list may be. And how many of those structures have been demolished since then? Reading & researching the CIAE’s crazy history over the past month, I also noticed that there is no online source dedicated to the CIAE. That needs to change.

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