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Architecture
05/24/13 2:00pm

New Blog Alert: Los Angeles’ Valley Blahg

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San-Fernando-Valley-Los Angeles-Valley Blagh-1924

Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley map in 1924, from Valley Blahg

For fans of the Brooklyn blog, F’d in Park Slope, the founder, Erica Reitman, has transplanted herself across the country to Los Angeles and launched Valley Blahg, dedicated to showcasing unique real estate in the “Valley” through an architecture and design lens. We’re of course also fans of Erica’s dual NYC-LA mindset in general, since Untapped Cities has just arrived to LA too.

Some favorite posts so far from Valley Blahg:

VALLEY HISTORY: What Things Looked Like In 1924

Hollywood Legends Hanging Out In Their San Fernando Valley Homes

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY: Joseph Eichler & The Balboa Highlands Tract in Granada Hills

As Erica tells us about the Valley,

There are so many unique little neighborhoods, different styles of homes, indoor/outdoor living, and different terrains like mountains, valley). But I also want to ensure that we are looking at all the interesting historical aspects of what’s going on–featuring fab architecturally significant houses, unique neighborhoods and architect profiles. I also have a hardcore love for interior design, so I’m excited to share inside scoop as I explore all the amazing LA flea markets and vintage stores.

Check out Valley Blahg!

Get in touch with the author @untappedmich. 

Arts & Culture
05/24/13 1:00pm

Berlin’s Stattbad: A Former Pool Repurposed as Cultural Center

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Stadtbad_Wedding-019

Designed by the renown German architect Ludwig Hoffmann, Stattbad (formerly Sadtbad Wedding) – which has nothing to do with marriage but refers to a public swimming pool in one of Berlin northern districts – hosts something that is quite different from its original conception. Built in 1907, the building was supposed to meet a sanitation need for a poorly-equipped workers neighborhood nearby. The architectural design consisted of two pools, officially called “large” and “small.” The first one was strictly dedicated to men’s bathing, whereas women were only admitted in the second one. (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/24/13 12:00pm

Celebrate Local Talent at San Francisco’s Offside Music Festival

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UntappedCities_SanFrancisco_JackieSpear_SFOffsideLands
You do not have to be a jazz aficionado to appreciate the workings of San Francisco Offside Festival’s co-founders – musician Alex Pinto and local music presenter Laura Maguire. Rather, at its core, the festival is about expanding the awareness of unique, local talent. The plethora of talented musicians all share the commonality of having cultivated their art in the Bay Area. Underscoring these sentiments, the festival’s founders exalt the local San Francisco music scene in their mission statement – “Our hope is that the San Francisco Bay Area ultimately gets the recognition it deserves as home to a rich, diverse, and exceptionally talented jazz community.” (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/24/13 11:00am

The Art of Style by Kit Mills 023: Summer Colors

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Contrary to what the Starks up at Winterfell would have you believe, summer is coming. For those of us who feel exposed and uncomfortable without a scarf and blazer on, this is a tragic time of year involving a lot of forlorn sweating, sunburn, and gin-and-tonics with a very high ice-to-tonic ratio. On the plus side, not everyone is a total curmudgeon about putting away their collection of wool sweaters until September, which means there are cute people everywhere enjoying their breezy summer duds in the great outdoors. People-watching is better in warm weather, for obvious reasons, so one of my favorite low-intensity things to do is put together a good summer playlist (usually a lot of the White Stripes, Violent Femmes, and Van Morrison) and go for a walk.  (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/24/13 10:00am

Untapped Cities Instagram “Pic” of the Week: Brooklyn Bridge

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This shot was submitted to the Untapped Cities photo pool by @brooklynpoets via Instagram. www.instagram.com/brooklynpoets

This shot was submitted to the Untapped Cities photo pool by @brooklynpoets via Instagram.

Introducing the Untapped Cities Instagram “Pic” of the week. We’ll be pulling images from our Untapped Cities Photo Pool, which you can submit to simply by hashtagging #untappedcities in your Instagram and Twitter photos.

This week’s Untapped Cities “Pic” of the week, titled “Well Hello Little Bridge”, is by @brooklynpoets. Here at Untapped, we try to look for the view less seen, perhaps never before captured by a camera. We also look for unique angles of well-known places, such as this spot in DUMBO that frames both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. From the cobblestone street to the Brooklyn Bridge (happy birthday today Brooklyn Bridge!) peering through a break in the warehouses, elements like this are what make this the Untapped Cities Instagram “Pics” of the week.

To have one of your photo’s featured for the #untappedcities Instagram “Pic” of the Week, simply tag your Instagram shots with #untappedcities. Check outwww.untappedcities.com/live for our Photo Pool.

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Architecture
05/24/13 9:00am

The Historic Hotel Pennsylvania: Saved!

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Front entrance to the Hotel Pennsylvania.

Front entrance to the Hotel Pennsylvania.

Last month, the Hotel Pennsylvania Preservation Society finally breathed a deep sigh of relief. The historic Hotel Penn, across the street from Penn Station, has been denied landmark status several times in recent years and its owner, Vornado Realty Trust, planned to demolish it in order to build a new office complex in its place. After a five-year battle, however, Vornado gave up its plan to tear down the hotel and has launched an effort to restore the hotel to its former glory instead.  (more…)

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Architecture
05/24/13 8:00am

Daily What?! Watertower Hangout in Times Square

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Watertower_Hangout_8th Avenue_NYC

Today’s Daily What?! is this watertower “hangout” we found on 8th Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets. Normally, watertowers fly solo or in pairs, depending on the size of the buildings they serve. Sometimes watertowers come in unique forms, like the speakeasy watertower or the glass watertower by Tom Fruin.

But these watertowers in the Times Square Theater District are the social type, clustering in a group of seven. They also seem fond of unique architecture, situated in between The Paramount Hotel (which has a storied history), the Golden Theater and the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. We also like to think they look down scornfully at the parking lot next door. Looking at historical images, there’s has been a parking lot there at least as far back as 2001, a building that partially filled the lot was demolished around 2009.

Get in touch with the author @untappedmich. Have a quirky find you want us to publish in the Daily What?!? Contact us at info@untappedcities.com or submit to us on Twitter with the hashtag #DailyWhat.

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Arts & Culture
05/23/13 4:00pm

The Floating City: Architect Gia Wolff Rio De Janeiro Carnaval Floats

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source AP

Source: AP

The floats of the Rio Carnaval are one of the main spectacles that take over the city, in tandem with sparkling costumes, live music and samba dancing. The Rio festival is one of several carnavals that Gia Wolff, a Brooklyn architect and designer, will be researching via a Wheelwright Prize offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her winning proposal Floating City: The Community-Based Architecture of Parade Floats intends to investigate the tradition of carnaval parade floats and the performances of local communities in cities like Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Goa (India), Viarreggio (Italy), Nice (France) and Santa Cruze de Tenerife (Spain).

(more…)

Architecture
05/23/13 3:00pm

The New York that Never Was: The Gaudi Hotel

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This is a conceptual sketch of NYC’s proposed Gaudi Hotel, drawn by Juan Matemala. 

As one of the largest and most varied metropolises of the modern world, New York City is home to some stunning and interesting architecture. But it wasn’t always that way. Were it not for the dreams of enterprising architects, many of the buildings that have become beloved to NYC would never have graced the city’s skyline. And, unfortunately, many never did. In this column, we’ll showcase a different would-be NYC architectural dream, and tell you about the history behind the New York that never was.  (more…)

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Arts & Culture
05/23/13 2:00pm

Prints from the NYC Underground by Street Artist Flye Lyfe

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We ran into PJ O’Rourke II in the bowels of Grand Central Terminal, not surprising since he spends most days underground, not just hawking his art, but creating it there too. PJ, or Flye Lyfe as he calls himself, came to New York from Tulsa, Oklahoma “2.3 years ago.” Armed with pencil, ink and trusty Adobe Illustrator, he makes hats, shirts and prints emblazoned with caricatures in his signature trippy style. His subjects have included everyone from Bugs Bunny to the Wall Street bull, but they all seem to share a penchant for the controversial–and the absurd. Kind of like political cartoons on acid. Our favorites are his New York City sports teams (below). When not posted up in the Union Square and Times Square subway stations, you can often find PJ at Raw Space NYC, a Harlem art gallery, where he hosts events and open mic nights for other, less literal, underground artists.  (more…)

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