Monday, August 24, 2015

Decorated Utility Box: Girl & Sandcastle

Girl & Sandcastle
Artistically Decorated Utility Box
Ocean City, NJ


N 39° 16.774 W 074° 34.445



Short Description: 

A beach-going girl and  a sandcastle decorated a utility box on the corner of 8th Street and Central Avenue in Ocean City, NJ.




Long Description:

This 8' high by 6' wide utility box is painted by experienced muralist Susan Rau. On the sidewalk side of the utility box is a large and intricate sandcastle that wraps around one side. The sandcastle is complete with towers that are flying banners and set against a blue sky with three clouds. In the sand are a pail, shovel, sea shell, and bead necklaces.

The other side has a dune fence, dune grass and a laughing gull flying overhead. The street side has a girl headed for the beach with beach accessories: a sun hat, polka dot swimming tube, sunglasses, pail, and an over the shoulder accessory bag. The artist signed her work on a pair of clam shells at the bottom.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Decorated Utility Box: Greetings from Ocean City - Ocean City, NJ

Greetings From Ocean City
Artistically Decorated Utility Box
Ocean City, NJ


N 39° 16.626 W 074° 34.425




Short Description: 

A postcard themed utility box is located by the post office on Ocean Avenue and East 9th Street in Ocean City, NJ.



Long Description:

Nancy Palermo painted this 8' by 6' utility utility box to resemble a postcard. The street side contains the decorated wording GREETINGS FROM in red and OCEAN CITY in ornate pictorical lettering that wraps around three sides of the box against a background of four layers of waves. N.J. appears in black lettering below the Y in CITY The sidewalk side of the box is painted tan and has a wavy line postal cancellation containing the number 1936.

The decorated utility box is part of a Ocean City's Community Arts Project. It was painted by Nancy Palermo during the week of July 9 - 13, 2012. It is one of many such painted boxes in Ocean City.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Decorated Utility Box: Electric! - Eashampton, MA

Electric!
Decorated Utility Box
Easthampton, MA


N 42° 15.918 W 072° 40.153



Short Description: 

A painted utility box at 50 Payson Avenue is entitled "Electric!" by the artist.

Long Description:

Easthampton City Arts has commissioned Amy Johnquest to paint this utility box, which was completed in August 2015. In a bit of whimsy, her design represents what is inside the box. The utility box is painted in bold colors and is suggestive of a circus poster. The front of the utility box is painted with a stage with curtains. A large orange banner has the word ELECTRIC in bold white letters. Below a red circle proclaims ALIVE . Yellow lightning bolts surround the circle.



The curtain and stage continues on both sides. The street closest to the street contains a single large yellow lightning bolt striking the stage. The back shows the stage and a blue backdrop for the pun POWER TO THE PEOPLE . Yellow lightning bolts radiating from the message.



The meter side has the meter painted as a clown face. On the left the word ZING is written in lightning bolts. The artist has including the following message:



ANOTHER JOLLY NOVELTY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
AMY "BANNERQUEEN" JOHNQUEST
WITH LOVE AND THANKS TO
EASTHAMPTON CITY ARTS & (♡ BURNS!)
MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL,
& TO MANCHESTER HARDWARE - for helping
provide the paint

AUGUST 2015


See you
in
Electric
Lady
Land
XOXOXO

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Fountains: Beaver Fountain - St. John, NB, Canada

Beaver Fountain
St. John, New Brunswick
Canada


N 45° 16.478 W 066° 03.393



Short Description: 

The Beaver Fountain is located in the Old Loyalist Burial Ground in St. John, New Brunswick.

Long Description:

One of the symbols on the coat of arms of St. John is the beaver. It symbolizes the industrious and innovation of the people of St. John, NB. The image of a beaver recurs throughout the Old Burial Ground.



The Beaver Fountain has a sculpture of a group of beavers as its centerpiece. Four bronze beavers are busily at work creating their lodge in the center of a raised circular pond. The sculpture was created by British sculptor Michael Rizzello, O.B.E. Pond water flows over the rim of the beaver pond down along the raised wall of the fountain into a circular basin at ground level. The fountain wall is constructed of dark granite from Quebec. The wall surrounding the fountain is granite quarried at Hampstead and cut in Sussex.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Figurative Sculpture: The Moosehead Challenger - St. John, NB, Canada

The Moosehead Challenger
St. John, New Brunswick
Canada


N 45° 16.364 W 066° 03.815



Short Description: 

The Moosehead Challenger is a bronze sculpture of a Bull Moose located south of Market Square and opposite King Street in the waterfront section of St. John, New Brunswick.

Long Description: 

A life-size bronze bull moose is a gift from the Moosehead Breweries Limited, a company based in St. John, to the people of St. John. The moose is facing east with his head at shoulder level. It was sculpted by Forest Hart and copyright in 2000.



A bronze plaque at the base of the bull moose is inscribed in English and in French:


DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF SAINT JOHN
OUR HOMETOWN SINCE 1918
WITH THANKS AND APPRECIATION
FROM MOOSEHEAD AND ALPINE.
BREWERS OF GREAT BEER SINCE 1867

EN HOMMAGE AUX RÉSIDENTS DE SAINT JOHN
NOTRE CHEZ-NOUS DEPUIS 1918
MOOSEHEAD ET ALPINE.
BRASSEURS DE BIÈRE DE QUALITÉ DEPUIS 1867
VOUS OFFRENT LEURS PLUS SINCÈRES REMERCIEMENT.

MOOSEHEAD
BREWERIES LIMITED

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Wood Carving: Timepiece - St. John, NB, Canada

Timepiece
St. John
New Brunswick, Canada


N 45° 16.373 W 066° 03.806



Short Description: 

Timepiece is a painted wood carving by John Hooper and Jack Massey which is actually a working clock. It is located at the entrance to Market Place Square in the waterfront area of St. John, New Brunswick.

Long Description:

"Timepiece" is a clock tower by a Saint John artist John Hooper in collaboration with Jack Massey in 1984. All of Hooper's wood carvings are related, in some way, to man's involvement with time. In this case , three life-size ordinary people are siting at the base of the clock. A Mother is holding a baby, a biker has his arms folded, and an old man with a cap is leaning on a cane. At the rotating top are four smaller figures, three men and a women, are engaged in various activities: men are using a sextant, telescope, and cell phone and the woman is looking at her wristwatch. At the very top four very small figures are siting at a card table.



The clock does not have a face or hands. A snake and the figures above it slowly rotate around the top so that the snake’s tail indicates the time on a numbered dial below. The clock was fully restored in 2011-2012.

From the link below: "All of the carvings, made of Honduras mahogany, are related, in some way, to man's involvement with time."

Monday, August 10, 2015

Wood Carving: People Waiting - St. John, NB, Canada

People Waiting
St. John, New Brunswick
Canada



N 45° 16.361 W 066° 03.752





Short Description: 

John Hooper's brightly painted wood carving grouping, titled "People Waiting", is located at the foot of King Street in St. Andrew’s Bicentennial Square in Saint John, New Brunswick.



Long Description:

About 1976 Canada Post commissioned English born, Canadian artist John Hooper to create "People Waiting". The wood carving was located in front of the Rothesay Avenue post office for 30 years until it was restored and relocated to its current site on King Street.

A series of eleven life-sized figures are depicted, seemingly waiting for something. The figures include, from left to right, three motorcycle riders, an old man sitting on a bench, a man standing with his hand in his coat pockets, two men and a girl with a pinwheel, a mother and her groceries sitting on a bench with an impatient child, a girl with a hand-held windmill, a mother and child (backwards) sitting on a bench and off to the side a man standing reading a newspaper.

From the link below: "All of the carvings, made of Honduras mahogany, are related, in some way, to man's involvement with time."

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Roadside Attractions: Hopewell Rocks - Hopewell Cape, NB, Canada

Hopewell Rocks
Hopewell Cape,  Bay of Fundy
New Brunswick, Canada





N 45° 49.270 W 064° 34.356

Short Description: 

The spectacular Hopewell Rocks where you can walk on the seafloor of the Bay of Fundy are located in The Rocks Provincial Park which is reached by Highway 114 in New Brunswick, Canada.



Long Description:

A visit to Hopewell Rocks is an experience that should be on everyone's bucket list. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. At high tide this area of the bay is dotted with small islands, many topped with vegetation. At low tide, 6 hours and 13 minutes later, the water level has dropped from 32 to 46 feet, exposing the sea floor. The islands are now sedimentary sandstone monoliths, some 70' tall. Visitors can descend a wooden staircase to reach the exposed beach and walk among the rock formations.

You may enter the beach, during daylight hours, 3 hours after high tide and must leave 3 hours before the next high tide. Knowledge of the time of the incoming high tide is essential, since it is dangerous to be caught on the beach when the water comes back in. So, check the tide tables for that day. On two day visits, remember that the second day the tides will be about 50 minutes later.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Cave Entrance (Natural): Sea Caves - St. Martins, NB, Canada

Sea Caves
St. Martins, New Brunswick 
Canada




N 45° 21.458 W 065° 31.397

Short Description: 

The Sea Caves of St. Martins are located on the shore of the Bay of Fundy on the northern end of the village of St. Martins, New Brunswick



Long Description:

The Sea Caves of St. Martins are shallow caves carved into sandstone and conglomerate rocks that are are part of the Triassic Honeycomb Point formation by the erosive action of waves and tides of the Bay of Fundy on the coastal cliffs. They are part of the Stone Hammer Geopark system.

The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world, thus at high tide the caves are flooded. However at low tide the water retreats and the caves can be entered by land after walking across the exposed ocean floor and wading across a stream.

The tide rises and falls every 6 hours and 13 minutes, thus there are new times for high and low tides every day. Consulting a tide chart is important, as the tide changes of the water level can be up to 38 feet on the shores at St. Martins.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Official Tourism Attraction: Reversing Rapids - St. John, NB, Canada

Reversing Rapids at Fallsview Park
St. John, New Brunswick
Canada

Low Tide
High Tide


N 45° 15.871 W 066° 05.273

Short Description: 

The Reversing Rapids is a unique phenomenon created when huge tides of the Bay of Fundy's collide with the flow of the St. John River. It is best viewed from Fallsview Park in St. John, New Brunswick.

Low Tide
High Tide


Long Description:

The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. At Saint John, NB the Bay of Fundy tides rise 28.5' and completes a high-tide to low-tide cycle twice a day. At low tide the water of the St. John River, up stream from the mouth of the river, flows downstream normally over a 36' deep under water ledge and through a gorge between Fallsview Park and the Irvine Paper Mill across the river. This causes the water in the river to rush into a 175' - 200' deep pool, causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. At this point the tidal waters in the Bay of Fundy are 14.5' lower than the river.

Low Tide
High Tide


At slack tide the water level in the river is the same as in the Bay of Fundy and the same area, the rapids disappear and the river turns into a calm lake. From that time on water rushed in from the Bay of Fundy and actually reverses the flow of the river and the rapids begin to form again but this time in the upstream direction forming the phenomenon known as the Reversing Rapids.

Fallsview Park provided a great viewing area to observe this phenomenon. To fully appreciate the Reversing Rapids you should visit the same spot twice, once at low tide when the water is flowing downstream and again at high tide when the water is flowing upstream. At high tide you might even see some seals taking advantage of the opportunity to catch some fish or just play in the rushing waters.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Cruise Ship Port: Marco Polo Cruise Terminal - St. John, NB, Canada

Marco Polo Cruise Terminal
St. John, New Brunswick
Canada



N 45° 16.153 W 066° 03.734

Short Description: 

The Marco Polo Terminal is the cruise ship port in St. John, New Brunswick. It is locate at 111 Water Street.

Long Description:

St. John, New Brunswick is a convenient destination for foreign flagged cruise ships that sail out of United States ports and are required by law to visit at least one foreign port. Cruise ships dock at the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal near the business district of St. John. Marco Polo was not only a famous Italian explorer but also the name of a steamship, built in St. John, that was once the fastest ship at sea.



The Marco Polo Cruise terminal is a relatively new facility that was built in 2000. The red brick structure matches the surrounding waterfront buildings. The interior is trimmed with Douglas fir. A Great Hall has 35' high ceilings with Palladian-style windows which provide views of the harbor. The Assembly Hall has 20' ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows. Ample parking is available at the pier.

The terminal is located close to waterfront attractions such as Market Square, the Barbour's General Store, and many works of public art. From there it's all uphill to the central business district.