Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
Address: 1100 Anacapa St.
Date:  Feb 2014
Website:  sbcourthouse.org

  If you find yourself in court, you could do far worse than the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.  The courthouse was built in 1926 and is a great example of Spanish Colonial Architecture.  We spent some time enjoying the building as well as the surrounding grounds during our visit.

  As you approach the courthouse, an archway states "Dios nos dio los campos El arte humana edificó ciudades".  This means "God gave us the country, the skill of man hath built the town."

  Two figures sit above the archway.  The figure in the photo above looks like a male version of the familiar Justice statue.  He appears to be holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other.

  Next to the archway is the Spirit of the Ocean fountain.  This is a hand carved replica of the original  courthouse fountain.  The original had deteriorated through the years and it was decided that it must be replaced.  The replica was unveiled in 2011.

The inside of the courthouse is equally impressive with its long hallways.  Even the "Quiet. Court is in session" sign is unique.

 

  Intricate mosaic tiles adorned benches and stairwells.  The courthouse truly is a work of art inside and out.

  One court room which is a popular wedding spot is the Mural Room.  All of its walls are covered with a giant mural.

  No trip to the courthouse is complete without a trip up the clock tower.

  Just before reaching the viewing area at the top of the tower is the clock room.  This houses a Seth Thomas tower clock which ticks away the time.

  You can also see bells hanging from the ceiling inside to save space. This way everyone can visit the top of the tower and enjoy the view.

 

 

 

  From the top of the tower you can see the red tiled rooftops of Santa Barbara. You can tell that the Spanish Colonial style is popular all across the town.  Behind the town you can see the Santa Ynez mountains.  Out across the ocean you can see oil rigs trying to hide behind the hazy sky.

  As you look straight down from the tower you are looking into the sunken garden on the courthouse grounds.

 

  We descended the tower and headed out into the gardens.  We were glad that we were only visiting as tourists. If we found ourselves on trial at this courthouse at least there would be many beautiful distractions.

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Map of Our World
Santa Barbara County Courthouse

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Post # 143

Dead Zone Gazebo

Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Address: Queen's Royal Park
Date: July 2016
Website:  www.notl.org/content/parks-recreation-faqs

   Niagara-on-the-Lake is a popular tourist destination.  The beautiful little town draws crowds year round.  One of the big draws is a gazebo that looks out over the lake from Queen's Royal Park.  The gazebo was actually built for the 1983 movie The Dead Zone and has remained in place ever since.  In the movie, Johnny (Christopher Walken) emerges from a coma to discover that he has the ability to see past and future events when he comes in contact with a person.

  Johnny touches the hand of a woman who has been murdered in the gazebo and suddenly he sees what has happened to her.  He sees the woman walking along the pathway that leads from King Street into the park.

  He sees the killer standing and looking out across the water towards Old Fort Niagara.  Old Fort Niagara is located in the United States just across the mouth of the Niagara River.  The fort has been there since the early 1700s.

  On a clear day, you can look across the lake and see the skyline of Toronto.  The distinctive CN Tower stands out above all of the other buildings.

  Johnny sees the killer call the woman up to the gazebo.  As the woman is attacked, Johnny tries to save her.  He is jolted out of his vision, but not before he sees the killer's face.  The killer is...

  We won't spoil the movie for you. You will just have to watch the David Cronenberg directed film or read the Stephen King novel on which it is based.  When you visit the gazebo you can be glad that it was only a fictional murder.  If that still makes you uneasy, you may also be glad to know that the original gazebo was replaced near the end of  2015.  What stands today is a much sturdier, wheelchair accessible replica.

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Map of Our World
Dead Zone Gazebo
Queen's Royal Park
Old Fort Niagara

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Post # 142

Las Vegas in the Fall

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Address: 3720 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Date: Nov 2012
Website:  www.simon.com/mall/the-shops-at-crystals

  Everything is larger than life in Las Vegas. That includes the leaves falling from the ceiling inside The Shops At Crystals.  The mall was still decorated for the fall season when we visited.

  Giant leaves hung from the ceiling and looked like they were about to land upon us.

  They looked as if you could reach out and grab them while they floated down to the stores below.

  Below the leaves were some pumpkin-headed figures who looked like relatives of Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas movie.

  Autumn was also the theme inside the Bellagio's Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  The Conservatory changes its displays seasonally throughout the year.

  The Conservatory was filled with bright displays featuring flowers and pumpkins.  There was also a water wheel turning in the middle of the displays

 

  Instead of pumpkin-headed gardeners, the Conservatory has a talking tree that greets visitors as they walk past.

  One tree was all sparkles and water and it reminded us that winter would soon be on the way.  When that happens the conservatory would be full of sparkle, representing ice.  The people of Las Vegas may even have to brave temperatures as low as 8 degrees Celsius.

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Map of Our World
The Shops at Crystals
Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

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Post # 141