San Francisco Travel - Discover the Mission District's Murals

Written by Jed Clark


With over 600 murals, San Francisco streets are a parade of vibrant and radiant murals that are painted on building walls and facades, fences, garage doors and more. The colorful Mission District isrepparttar epicenter of San Francisco murals withrepparttar 147369 greatest concentration of murals in San Francisco. The San Francisco Mission neighborhood's love affair with murals stems fromrepparttar 147370 Mexican roots ofrepparttar 147371 Mission District community. The Latino community began to move into inrepparttar 147372 Mission neighborhood inrepparttar 147373 1950s and 60s. Early inrepparttar 147374 1970s, resident muralists started followingrepparttar 147375 traditions ofrepparttar 147376 great muralists ofrepparttar 147377 1920s and 30s, perhapsrepparttar 147378 most famous of which was Diego Rivera. Discoveringrepparttar 147379 murals ofrepparttar 147380 San Francisco Mission District is discoveringrepparttar 147381 hopes and passions, joys and tribulations ofrepparttar 147382 people. The Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center (located at 2981 24th Street) is a great place to begin your exploration ofrepparttar 147383 murals inrepparttar 147384 San Francisco Mission neighborhood. The Precita Eyes visitors center offers three guided mural tours on Saturday and Sunday for between $10 and $12 for an adult. You can arrange private group mural tours in advance. In addition,repparttar 147385 Precita Eyes Visitors Center has a Mission mural map of nearly 90 murals that you can use to explorerepparttar 147386 neighborhood on your own. At Precita Eyes, you can purchase mural-themed items, such as post cards, candles, posters and books. Precita Eyes also sells mural arts supplies in case your are inspired to paint your own personal mural on your living room wall. For more information, contact Precita Eyes at http://www.precitaeyes.org/ or (415) 285-2287. Located a block from Precita Eyes between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street, Balmy Alley has a concentration of more than 30 vivid murals painted on fences, building walls and garage doors. Inrepparttar 147387 neighborhood densely packed with murals, Balmy Alley is atrepparttar 147388 center of it all. Muralists began working in San Francisco's Balmy Alley as early as 1971. Many ofrepparttar 147389 original murals are still there as well as many murals that have been painted overrepparttar 147390 intervening years. The Balmy Alley murals are very diverse both stylistically and inrepparttar 147391 subject matter. Some ofrepparttar 147392 murals feature cartoon-like illustrations that playful and juvenile. Other murals along Balmy Alley grapple with difficult subjects, such as a memorial to people who have died from AIDS or depictions of political strife and war in Latin America. Another mural honorsrepparttar 147393 great muralist Diego Rivera and his wife,repparttar 147394 painter Frida Kahlo. And another is a tribute to women muralists ofrepparttar 147395 Mission District. One colorless mural, depicts two men and a woman jumping through a barbed-wire fence lined with keys. The woman has her hand held high, makingrepparttar 147396 peace sign.

Happy Birthday Las Vegas - you've come a long way baby!

Written by Joan Ewart


Las Vegas is celebrating its 100th Birthday this year.

What would it take to entice people to an arid, dusty, brown spot ofrepparttar country? A land auction started it off, in May of 1905 you could buy a parcel of Clark's Las Vegas Town site for $200.00, these were exceptionally far-sighted people if you ask me. First of all can you imagine being in Las Vegas inrepparttar 147358 early 1900's without air conditioning? This was not a deterrent to these "hardy" pioneers. Just one-year later Miller's Hotel was built andrepparttar 147359 rush was on, because after all now people had a place to stay. Miller's was onrepparttar 147360 corner of Fremont and Main. Today, renamed The Golden Gate Hotel, in deference torepparttar 147361 earthquake that nearly destroyed San Francisco in 1906 still stands onrepparttar 147362 corner of Fremont and Main and they still serve their signature "99 cent shrimp cocktail", which is a much better bet that it was in those days.

Las Vegas was incorporated in 1911, gambling, drinking and prostitution were declared illegal...but divorce was not and inrepparttar 147363 1920's dude ranches started popping up around Reno,repparttar 147364 rich and famous could establish residency for six weeks and get "unhitched" from whatever mate they may have had. This wasrepparttar 147365 publicity that started to put Nevada intorepparttar 147366 limelight.

Another big attraction occurred when gambling was legalized inrepparttar 147367 early 1930s. The government started work on Hoover Dan and brought thousands of workers torepparttar 147368 area. Just think about being stuck inrepparttar 147369 middle ofrepparttar 147370 desert with nothing to do with your money, so bars and casinos were thoughtfully provided.

Inrepparttar 147371 early 1940s, what would become know as "The Strip" was a 3 mile stretch of Highway 91, onrepparttar 147372 new road to and from California. El Rancho wasrepparttar 147373 very first casino to open in 1941 on what would later become know as "The Strip". Their address was Highway 91, Las Vegas Nevada with their "Opera House" theater restaurant, and "Monte Carlo" casino...and also in 1941, El Cortez opened in what is today downtown Las Vegas. El Cortez advertised that they were "Big enough to serve you - Small enough to want to". How's that for an advertising slogan? They also touted a Coffee Shop, Casino, Cocktail Lounge and Bar, and Complete Dinners from $2.95 Inrepparttar 147374 meantime, back on "The Strip",repparttar 147375 New Frontier opened in 1942 and The Flamingo, Bugsy Siegel's dream opened in 1946. Las Vegas was on its way.

The next major milestone for Nevada was Atom Bomb Testing, this brought scads of tourists to Vegas inrepparttar 147376 1950s, they also discovered Las Vegas, along withrepparttar 147377 mushroom clouds. Vegas Vic,repparttar 147378 neon cowboy on Fremont Street would just wave them on in.

The 1960s wererepparttar 147379 glamour days in Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis andrepparttar 147380 Rat Pack ruled supreme. The days of cigarettes and martinis (notrepparttar 147381 glorified watered down ones of today) butrepparttar 147382 real stuff, where even a drop of vermouth might be too much! Everybody dressed in beautiful clothes; it wasrepparttar 147383 order ofrepparttar 147384 day, no jeans, no shorts, just elegance and sophistication. No kids either! Sinning was in full gear, maybe not out and out, as it was to become inrepparttar 147385 1970s, but perhaps more exciting than even today. The lounge lizards were out in force as well, nothing could top sitting inrepparttar 147386 lounges afterrepparttar 147387 last headliner show and watchingrepparttar 147388 likes of Louis Prima, Keeley Smith or Sam Buterra. It was truly a special time in Las Vegas history. Beforerepparttar 147389 mega hotels or resorts, beforerepparttar 147390 corporations. Great deals on food and rooms.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use