Crystal Cathedral - Garden Grove, CA

Three structures by noted architects are located at the site of a former drive-in movie theatre turned drive-in church turned megachurch in Orange County, California. Located in Garden Grove (12141 Lewis St.), the Crystal Cathedral is the home base for the international Crystal Cathedral Ministries, including a congregation of over 10,000 members and the internationally televised "Hour of Power."

This is the bell tower of the oldest existing structure on the grounds. It was designed by Richard Neutra. The structure around the bell tower was designed so the preacher could preach simultaneously to an in-church congregation and a drive-in congregation - a walk-in/drive-in church. A glass wall could open to the outdoors, allowing the preacher to be seen in an elevated pulpit by persons in parked cars. In 1968, the 13-story Richard Neutra-designed Tower of Hope opened. With a 90-foot-tall neon-lit cross as its crown, the Tower of Hope was Orange County's tallest building for more than a decade.

The visitors center was designed by Richard Meier (note architectural similarities to the Getty Center). There is a gift shop, lounge, exhibit space, and restaurant in this building.

The Crystal Cathedral (a portion visible on right above) and nearby bell tower (left) have a complimentary style. The Cathedral was designed by architect Philip Johnson. The Crystal Cathedral spans a full 415-feet in length, 207-feet in width and 128-feet in height. The size of the Cathedral is enhanced by the all-glass covering that encloses the entire building. More than 10,000 windows of tempered, silver-colored glass are held in place by a lace-like frame of white steel trusses. These 16,000 trusses were specifically fabricated for this engineering feat. The sanctuary seats 2,736 persons including 1,761 seats on the main floor, 346 seats in the East and West Balconies, and 283 in the South Balcony.

On the tenth anniversary of the Cathedral, September 16, 1990, a 236-foot Bell Tower was dedicated. One of Orange County's tallest structures, the tower is comprised of highly polished, mirrored quality, stainless steel prisms forming a spectacular spire which catches the light from all directions. This Philip Johnson-designed completion of the Crystal Cathedral houses a 52-bell carillon. At the base of the structure is an intimate prayer chapel.

The Cathedral pipe organ is the third largest church pipe organ in the world. There are 287 ranks of pipes and over 16,000 individual pipes, all playable from two five-manual consoles. White oak cases hold the nearly 11,000 pipes in the chancel area. Included there is a rank of forty-four 32-foot pedal pipes. The South Balcony divisions of the organ contain 5,000 pipes, and in the East and West Balconies are 549 horizontal trumpet pipes-the largest collection of such pipes in the world. I can personally attest to the audio power of the organ. It is nearly impossible to talk over the sound of it when inside.

Philippe's - Los Angeles, CA

Philippe's (1001 N. Alameda St.) has been a Los Angeles dining tradition for over 100 years. It has been at its current location - one block north of Union Station - since 1951.

Philippe's "French Dipped Sandwich" is the specialty of the house and consists of either roast beef, roast pork, leg of lamb, turkey or ham served on a lightly textured, freshly baked French roll which has been dipped in the natural gravy of the roasts. Swiss, American, Monterey Jack or Blue cheese may be added. To accompany your sandwich they offer a tart, tangy cole slaw, homemade potato and macaroni salads, hard boilded eggs pickled in beet juice and spices, large Kosher style, sour dill or sweet pickles, black olives, and hot yellow chili peppers. Philippe's also prepares and serves close to 300 pounds of pigs feet every week. About 40 gallons of their own hot mustard is prepared twice weekly. They advise it to be used sparingly as it is a truly very hot French mustard.

The place was very busy over the weekday lunch hour when we visited. Several lines extend from the counter between long tables with stools. Sawdust covers the floor. Other tables and chairs are on the side or second level of the building.

Getty Center - Los Angeles, CA

The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The museum's permanent collection includes pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and 19th- and 20th-century American and European photographs". Among the works on display is the painting Irises by Vincent van Gogh. The Center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views. Besides the Museum, the Center's buildings house the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the administrative offices of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which owns and operates the Center.

(Satellite image from the web)

Richard Meier was the architect of the Center. The Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, after several delays. Although the total project cost was estimated to be $350 million as of 1990, it was later estimated to be $1.3 billion. The guide on our architectural tour said it was paid for with only the investment income of the Getty Trust; none of the principal was used.

Richard Meier has exploited two naturally occurring ridges (which diverge at a 22.5 degree angle) by overlaying two grids along these axes. These grids serve to define the space of the campus while dividing the import of the buildings on it. Along one axis lie the galleries and along the other axis lie the administrative buildings. The primary grid structure is a 30-inch square; most wall and floor elements are 30-inch squares or some derivative thereof. The buildings at the Getty Center are made from concrete and steel with either travertine or aluminium cladding.

The 134,000-square-foot Central Garden at the Getty Center is the work of artist Robert Irwin. Irwin was quoted as saying that the Central Garden "is a sculpture in the form of a garden, which aims to be art". A tree-lined walkway descends to a plaza, while water in a stream criss-crosses the walkway, continues through the plaza, and goes over a stone waterfall into a round pool. A maze of azaleas floats in the pool (see picture below), around which is a series of specialty gardens. More than 500 varieties of plant material are used for the Central Garden, but the selection is "always changing, never twice the same".

Admission to the museum and gardens is free of charge although there is a $15 fee to park. The museum has a seven-story deep underground parking garage with over 1,200 parking spaces. An automated three-car tram takes passengers to and from the museum.

A cactus garden anchors the south end of the complex. Visitors have views of Los Angeles toward the Pacific Ocean (above), Westwood (below, near) and downtown Los Angeles (below, in the distance). The campus consists of 24 acres on a 110-acre site in the Santa Monica Mountains above Interstate 405.

Time 4 Three

Time For Three (Tf3) was one of the featured groups performing with the Chicago Symphony in the concert I attended at Ravinia. Tf3 is a musical trio consisting of Violinists Zachary De Pue and Nicolas Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer. Their music has elements of classical, country/Western, gypsy and jazz. I was familiar with Zach having seen him at work as concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. This was my first time hearing him play with the trio. At the Ravinia concert they performed Concerto 4-3 with the orchestra, a piece written especially for them by Jennifer Higdon. She was also in attendance which was a nice surpise. The concert was conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. To hear more music by Tf3, check out their myspace page.

Ravinia Festival - Highland Park, IL

Ravinia Festival, the oldest outdoor music festival in the United States, is held at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois. It has been the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1936. A series of outdoor (and some indoor) concerts are held every summer from June through September.

Most attendees experience Ravinia on the 36 acre parkland and lawn. The unique setting allows for open seating and picnicking, where families and attendees can choose to use as much (or little) space as they need, with a powerful sound system broadcasting the live performance throughout the park. Most attendees choose to bring complete picnics and dinners to shows, with various lawn chairs, coolers full of food, blankets, candles, and lawn accessories in tow.

The Pavilion is a 3,200-seat venue where the park's major music events and concerts, including Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances, are held. Patrons can see the shows in a traditional concert setting in an open-air theater with state-of-the-art sound, video and lighting equipment or choose to sit in the lawn area and listen to the music while picnicking.

I chose to sit in the Pavilion for the concert I attended. This is the view from my seat! It was a little hard to see the musicians at the back of the stage but images from cameras filming the event were projected onto large television monitors. The music sounded the same!

Several restaurants (from fine dining to cafeteria-style) and food carts are located throughout the park. I opted for the caferteria-style Ravinia Market. While edible, the noodles and skewered chicken were far less memorable than the music performed at the concert.

I was impressed with the Ravinia experience and would definitely return. The lawn was packed with people at the beginning although most had left by the end of the concert since it had started to rain quite hard - a definite disadvantage of sitting outdoors. Lawn tickets are only $5 or $10 depending on the performance so it does make a high-quality musical experience accessible for anyone regardless of budget.