Americans and Europe

"Me Talk Pretty One Day," by David Sedaris is a series of short essays about the authors life, many of which take place during the period of time he spent living in France with his boyfriend. One of the essays, entitled "Picka Pocketoni," tells the story of his encounter with ignorant American tourists on a subway. In this story Sedaris is accused of smelling awful and being a pick pocket by tourists who assume they are the only people in France who speak english.

These stereotypical, 'bad' tourists are encountered in several of the other essays and Sedaris presents a unique perspective of them as an American native who resides in France. Sedaris explains constantly having to defend his native country from stereotypes, for example that Americans are pushy and overweight, always want to talk about money and avoid unpasteurized dairy products. In comparison there is a popular notion that the French are rude, which Sedaris dismisses as an equally false stereotype.

Unfortunately, i fear my parents may be slightly 'bad' tourists. On a trip to London a few years ago I experienced what can only be described as a fully loaded trip. In a matter of days we saw, The Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, Hampton Court, Big Ben, Kensington Palace and Gardens, went on the London Eye and (god help me) visited Madame Toussads among other attractions and shopping. Not that i didn't enjoy every one of these attractions, but each was crammed on top of the other and linked by visits to the underground which were made unnecessarily confusing. What seems most ironic about this trip is that the attractions were valued for their grandeur and elegance yet could not be truly appreciated as the experience was tainted by constant confusion.

(me being an obnoxious tourist)

Currently my parents are planning a trip to Italy which is intended to include visiting Rome and Venice... so far their 'artinerary' is pretty crammed and i just hope they can get by without knowing any Italian.

Metropolis Panarama

In comparing Chicago and Rome the design of the roads struck me as the most apparent difference.

This nighttime view of Chicago shows how most of the roads use a grid pattern:

Chicago was one of the largest cities at the turn of the century, which is extremely impressive considering it didn't exists at all a century prior. The quick growth of the city might account for the development of grid like streets, although they are common in  most Midwest states.

This picture of Rome shows much windier streets and patterns which reflect the slow growth which went into the city.

Now, because I have no self control, I will link this to Buffalo...

When one looks at the street design of Buffalo they notice that although Chicago and Buffalo began to flourish at the same time, Buffalo's streets do not follow a grid pattern. While Buffalo did exist before Chicago, this does not account for the difference in design...

Buffalo was artfully designed to promote flow between different areas of the city by park designer Frederick Olmstead (who also designed the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago). According to Olmstead, the design was much like the flow of the human body:

(I know we weren't supposed to use maps, but it got my point across best)

The panoramic views of both Chicago and Buffalo showed the popular use of Roman Architecture on "official" and centrally located buildings to suggest grandeur reminiscent of the Roman metropolis, as previously discussed in class.

loosely related:

marriedtothesea.com

Non-Buffalo Friends

During class several non-natives expressed little familiarity with the great city of Buffalo. It just so happens that I have exclusive access to  some great (and frighteningly accurate) videos which tour the Queen City.

The video included tours Downtown Buffalo, mainly the bustling Main Place Mall...

(** may be found mildly offensive)

Upcoming videos to include: Wegmans / the Beer Cooler, Beef on Weck, Sourkraut, Hot Dogs, and of course a sports special...

check out Paula's MySpace for access to all sorts of goodness.

Go Sabers and God Bless!

Architecture Scavenger Hunt

While I would regularly enjoy venturing into Buffalo to take pictures, my car is currently broken. I am trying to rely on pictures of local structure even though i cant get out there...

a really obvious example of classic style architecture can be found at Buffalo's Albright Knox Art Gallery. 

 The structure is surrounded by ionic columns and the shape of the roofs on the center and side sections are similar to that of the Parthenon. The Building also features grecian sculptures in front of the side structures (although they seem to be obscured by a tree).

The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society also has a Classic Design.

This structure also features columns and a similarly shaped roof, but also distinctive decoration on the tympanum.

A not so obvious comparison can be made of Buffalo State's Rockwell Hall. 

While this building features the ionic columns and decoration of other classically styled buildings, its body is made of brick and it has a tower. The combination of these different styles indicates that while classic style architecture often comes back it is also combined with different styles to make a whole different hybrid style of architecture!

An even crazier hybrid is the Buffalo City Hall, i think the source of inspiration is essentially:

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Some sort of Art Deco Classic combo? 

please note: Buffalo's City Hall is the tallest City Hall in the United States! (check out the video above)