I came across this two-in-one ghost sign combo at 798 Eddy St. just off Van Ness Ave., San Francisco’s old “auto row.” The Pioneer Motor Bearing Co., with its jaunty arrow, is fairly straightforward. The older sign? I think it says Stark Motor Co.
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Water Writes is a series of collaborative murals about pressing water issues. It’s an initiative of the Estria Foundation, a Honolulu-based organization that creates public art in order to raise awareness and inspire action to resolve human and environmental issues.
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Gift Guide For: The Kids: our 10 Seed Bombs with Slinger gets some love from Ivanka Trump herself!
Gifts That Give Back: more love from The Citizenry.
Cincinnati Gift Guide // A Few Of My Favorite Things…: plus, Cincinnati love from VB.
Northside Photo Show: worth checking out in Cincinnati tomorrow at Chicken Lays an Egg in Northside.
How to Make Transit Succeed in a Sprawling City: Calgary versus Dallas.
Urbanists Need to Face the Full Implications of Peak Car: on traffic levels in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
Detroit by Air: crazy photos.
Just down the street from the New York Times HQ is this massive ghost sign for a travel agency called P-something. Sea, air, and then places: Las Vegas, LA, Mexico, Miami, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Bahamas, Mediterranean, Middle East, and Greek Island Cruises. Do travel agents even exist anymore?
Recently, I had the chance to take a guided bicycle tour of Oak Park, the Chicago suburb where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and practiced for a number of years. The 2-hour tour includes 22 structures designed or renovated by Wright, scattered throughout the town.
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Metanoia: You Are Here, ArtPrize 2014: my friend and awesome Cincinnati artist Jenny Roesel Ustick is raising funds for an ambitious installation at Art Prize in Grand Rapids.
Spaceworks and Its Privatizing Space Grab of the Libraries: a convoluted exposé of some convoluted dealings in NYC, but traces of this situation can be found in other cities as well.
Chasing Neon: Documenting Our Historic Americana: a campaign to fund “a four month cross county expedition to artistically document vintage signs one photograph at a time.”
America’s Leading Design Cities: “New York and LA aren’t the only epicenters for graphic designers, architects, and fashion designers.” Nope, Cincinnati makes a decent showing.
Painting with the City’s Invasive Plants: fascinating artwork by Brooklyn-based Ellie Irons.
Brick Fetish: the entire history of LEGO for your virtual perusal.
Shot from the Gut: cool NYC street photography.
Built in 1931, the gorgeous Art Deco Omaha Union Station by LA-based architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood is located at 801 South 10th St. It now houses the Durham Museum. But we don’t care about that; we just want to ogle the interior!
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Mayor Cranley: A Soapdish Progress Report: 100 days in, a frank assessment.
Filming in Over-the-Rhine: earlier this week, OTR was a stand-in for 1950s NYC for the filming of Carol starring Cate Blanchett.
The Gangsta Gardener of South Los Angeles: guerrilla gardening in an urban food desert.
What to Do If You’re Falling Out of Love With New York: great advice even if you’re not falling out of love with NYC.
New York City Doesn’t Love You: funny because it’s true.
The Making of Neon Signs: an awesome video [in Cincinnati, you can see this process in person if you visit the American Sign Museum on a weekday].
20 Ways Not to Be a Gentrifier: just that.
4 Days in Cincinnati: during the recent polar vortex, Cincinnati hosted a visitor from LA who shares his observations on the Queen City.
America’s 25 Craziest Cities: these lists are pretty silly and based on data of dubious relevance, but Cincinnati tops this particular one.
Too Poor for Pop Culture: truth to power, straight out of East Baltimore.
Updated Vignelli Subway Map Colorfully Connects NYC & NJ: in honor of the first mass transit Superbowl, an updated version of Massimo Vignelli’s famous/infamous 1972 NYC subway map, this time showing the MTA, NJ Transit, Metro-North, PATH, Long Island Railroad, and Amtrak.
Horrified Man Suddenly Realizes He’s Putting Down Roots in Charlotte: LOLness from The Onion.
Cranbrook: tons of pretty photos of my alma mater.
Scout Leaders Who Toppled Ancient Rock Formation Are Charged: WTF; don’t mess with nature…
Located on the roof of 20 Jay St. in DUMBO, Brooklyn, Watertower by Tom Fruin is part of The Water Tank Project, an initiative by Word Above the Street, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering environmental and social advocacy through art and technology.
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Department of Everyday Visualingual 