Lansing Art Deco

 
I'm going to introduce you to this building the way I discovered it. As I was crossing the Skywalk, I looked over and thought, "what interesting doors."



After I had made a couple of trips to get all my stuff from the car to the venue, I looked at the building a little more, and realized that the shapes of the windows followed the same design as was on the doors.


Then I realized that both of those were echoes of the shape of the entire building.



When I looked up what this was, I found out it's a rather famous example of Art Deco begun in 1937. It was originally the Ottawa Street Power Station and it had a big smokestack on the top. The colors gradate from a foundation of polished black granite (which you can see more closely in the door picture), through purple brick, then to red and tan. This is supposed to represent the combustion of coal.

Although Lansing still generates its own power, this facility ultimately became too small, and a larger power station was built. However the building was renovated and is now the offices of the Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. The building has its own Wikipedia entry.

And now, a big shout out to Joni and Ping-ping for hosting me while I was in Lansing. We didn't have time to hardly even visit, let alone take a little hike or anything, but it was a wonderful place for me to stay.



In other news: I chilled with Chuck and Sylvia for part of the day and then drove home. Haven't done much else. Better get back in the harness tomorrow.

See Lansing Street Art

Lansing Street Art

 
These are just some nifty colorful pictures from downtown Lansing. The first one is taken from inside the Lansing Center, a window at the end of the main concourse.



The rest of these were taken from the Skywalk.

This is a decorated column at the corner of the parking garage where it meets the Skywalk.



These windows are in the Anderson Office Building for the Michigan House of Representatives. Yes, you can see sky below the section of the building with the pretty windows. It spans Ottawa Street.


The final bit of art is quite transient. But I like it as much as the others. It is reflections in the black glass of another panel of windows in the Lansing Center.


I am safely back at Chuck and Sylvia's for tonight. We watched a movie and laughed a lot. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a brain again. I made a profit at the event, but not much for three full days of work.

See Grand River Scenes

Grand River Scenes

 
One of the neatest things about the part of Lansing we are in is the Skywalk. This is an enclosed walkway over the Grand River that connects the Lansing Center, the Raddison Hotel and a parking ramp. There are also several exits/entrances to the outdoors.



Today, I went early enough to take time to get some pictures of and from the Skywalk. Along the river front is a Riverwalk. This is a network of paved trails over 20 miles long. I liked how the snow cover emphasized the lines of the levels and the geometry of it all.



There were joggers out, even in the snow.



Just a couple more interesting cityscapes.




In other news: I have now broken even on expenses vs. sales, so tomorrow is profit, but I have to say that a 3-day show is a lot of strain. It doesn't look like I'll make as much as I'd hoped.

See Expo, Ka-POW