as was the architecture. I was pleasantly surprised to find
a building we had learned about in History of Arch. IV on
Penn’s Campus – that being Louis Khan’s Richards Medical
Center. I warmed up my pens, stretched my fingers, and
exercised my drawing hand, making sure there would be no
sore muscles for the upcoming school year. While I’m not
going to get into the fascinating architecture of Khan, the
way you can realize and appreciate his adherence to
geometric organization and manipulation of natural light as
it dances across the façade of the building. I will say it
felt good to look at a good piece of architecture. It was a
refreshing drink after a long, dry summer.
After exploring around Penn’s campus, checking out their
great bookstore, I headed over to West Philly for a huge
flea market I had read about (they listed bike parts, and I
needed some). The event was at Clark Park, a beautiful park
at 43rd and Baltimore Ave., and as suggested by the flyer,
it was lined with vendor upon vendor selling odds and ends
that they no long has a use for. At the same time, one of
the West Philly Farmer’s Markets was taking place, and the
very first thing I noticed was a sweet jar of apple butter.
Certainly anyone who has family in Lancaster County –
similar to me – will appreciate the amazingness that is
apple butter. After roaming around the assortment of foreign
objects – old cookware, Michael Jackson T-shirts, tattered
copies of Homer’s Odyssey, I purchased a peach and sat and
watched others be amazed by the many weird things for sale.
It was a good way to end summer, and hopefully made for a
good, final entry. Classes will start for the fall, and in a
short six months I will - hopefully – be on a plane to South
Africa to study architecture at the University of Cape Town.
I thank everyone who stopped by to read and hope that I have
provided a little insight into what summer is like in
Philadelphia. I could try to sum it up, but I know I will
come short of anything that matches the affinity I have for
the City.
Read on Readers (and come visit),
Andrew |
