Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

Yes! Bette, There is a Downtown in Los Angeles!

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Los Angeles Conservancy’s Art Deco Tour conducted by Souvenir Building Collectors Society’s own Chris Spry!  Saturday, June 11.  One of the many highlights of this year’s SBCS Convention.   

Conventional wisdom is that there is no “there” in Downtown Los Angeles. Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica have often eclipsed the original city core in imagery of Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles, now often referred to as DTLA, has always been an important center in Southern California and grew exponentially during certain periods. One era when DTLA experienced growth was post World War I through the 1920’s and into the 1930’s. Many examples of urban buildings during that era currently exist in DTLA, though many were threatened by commercial and governmental growth in the late Twentieth Century.

Downtown Los Angeles
Eastern Columbia Building

Join us for a walking tour of several of the prime examples of the Art Deco genre of commercial and government buildings that have endured, clustered around the Pershing Square hub in the downtown area. The Los Angeles Conservancy has arranged this two-hour tour and was directly involved in facilitating preservation of many of the buildings through innovative reuse and rehabilitation strategies.

Downtown Los Angeles
Title Guarantee Building

We will take a chartered coach from our Convention Hotel, the Embassy Suites LAX North to Pershing Square and return after the tour. The cost is $30 per person. Chris Spry will be leading the tour. He has recently become a certified Los Angeles Conservancy docent for this tour.
Extra! Extra!
As this post was being prepared, TIMEOUT Los Angeles posted an excellent capsule of influential buildings shaping the Los Angeles architectural landscape. The post includes references to buildings we will see on our two tours, the Eastern Columbia Building and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House. They also mention father and son architects, John and Robert Parkinson, who also have buildings represented on the Art Deco Tour! Take a look by clicking here: TIMEOUT Los Angeles

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE 2016 SBCS CONVENTION THIS  JUNE IN LOS ANGELES

Upcoming event

Closer, Closer, CLOSER : Deadline for SBCS Convention Savings

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Love Los Angeles
Love Los Angeles

Where did the time go? It feels like we just got home from Orlando,
and now we’re seven weeks away from SBCS LOS ANGELES 2016.
Your convention team is excited, motivated, and starting to sweat, just a bit!

We’ve got a great program for you, an awesome hotel and fabulous tours.
I hope you’re as excited as we are!

Bring your quirkiest – newest – oldest, for the show-and-tell.
Bring a bunch of buildings for the raffle.
Bring your unwanted treasures for the freebie table.

Dates to remember…

MONDAY MAY 9 – Last day for early-bird registration. Save $20 ($155 instead of $175). Click here for Registration Form.  Follow this link for PayPal instructions: https://sbcsociety.com/sbcs-2016-convention-faqs/

WEDNESDAY MAY 18 – Last day to book hotel rooms at our negotiated rate. Remember that this convention rate is good for 2 days before and 2 days after the convention – BUT – you have to call the hotel directly at 310-337-6032 and speak with Solorio Irma for those rates on those dates. Otherwise, call 800-559-5179 or on-line at http://www.laxembassy.com and ask for Group Code “SBC”

TUESDAY JUNE 7 – California Primaries.
The Donald and Hilary (and Sanders, Cruz and Kasich, it they are still in the race) will leave town just in time for us to roll in.

FRIDAY JUNE 10 – Let the fun begin!

Registrations are starting to trickle in.
Let’s turn that trickle into a flood!!!!!

Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

Check It Off Your Bucket List! The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market

Bookend Collector

 

The 2016 Souvenir Building Collectors Society Convention weekend coincides with the monthly BIG-ONE, The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market!  Join fellow Souvenir Building enthusiasts as they scour the stalls for the smallest, oldest, rarest, biggest, most interesting souvenir building, monument, statue, landmark.  Who knows, maybe you’ll find one of these replicas of the Rose Bowl.

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The 2016 SBCS Convention is June 10 to 12.  The Convention Hotel is the Embassy Suites LAX North, a convenient location next to the Airport.  Click here for a link to the 2016 Convention Page.

Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, Upcoming event

California, Here We Come! June 10 – 12, 2016

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Logo for 2016 SBCS Convention in The City of Angels

Take advantage of Early Bird Registration for SBCS’ Annual Convention!  Register before May 10, 2016 and save.  Click here for the Registration Form and Instructions.

Special SBCS Convention Hotel Rates at the EMBASSY SUITES LAX North are available until May 19.  The special hotel rates are extendable for 2 nights before and after the Convention.  Such a deal!  Click here for the full information on the available rates.

CONVENTION SCHEDULE:

June 10, Friday:
Early Bird Optional: Hollyhock House Tour (afternoon)
Meet & Greet / Show & Tell (evening)

June 11, Saturday:
Business Meeting and Swap Meet (morning)
Optional Tour to L.A. Downtown Art Deco District (afternoon)
Dinner / Raffle / Auction (evening)

June 12, Sunday:
Rose Bowl Flea Market followed by a visit to a local collector.

Click here for the SBCS 2016 Convention Details.

Buildings, News, People, Upcoming event

VOLUME 1 to 22 of The Journal of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society now Available

Bookend Collector

All past issues of the Journal of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society are now available in the Members Only section of this website. All you need is a clicky finger and a password. Click here to reach the list of newsletters from Vol. 1, No 1 through Vol. 22, No. 3.   Future issues will be added as they are published.

Having the newletters available makes it easier to put up short, informational posts that remind us of and/or extend the stories encompassed within the newletters themselves.

Photo of Vincenzo Vizzari
Vincenzo Vizzari and his welcoming display of David Savanyu’s pre-ordered buildings.

For instance, in Vol. 22, No. 2, David Savanyu detailed his discovery of the shop and then the friendship with Italian architect and artisan, Vincenzo Vizzari, in Palermo. Now you can view David’s short videos  here and refresh your memory of the article without leaving the website. In this instance, the 3 videos of Vincenzo Vizzari’s City of Clay are available to whom-so-ever visits this website. In the future, other media like the newsletters may be only available to SBCS members.

Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, Upcoming event

CALLING ALL Southern California Souvenir Building Collectors !!!!!

Bookend Collector
Photo of Los Angeles Map
Southern California portion of Home Federal Savings and Loan Assoc. Map poster. Copyright 1973

The SBCS Convention 2016 will be held in Los Angeles. Here is your chance to share your passion for miniature buildings, monuments, statues and landmarks with others who are just as nutty as you are about these little gems. The event organizers are looking for local Southern California members, past members, or future members who are anxious to share their collections with Souvenir Building Collectors Society convention attendees.

As one convention organizer put it, “ Though I had been a member of SBCS for many years, I had never been involved until the last local Convention which was held in Pasadena in 2009. I was hooked, and have attended every annual Convention since.”

This year’s event will be held on June 9 -10 -11, 2016. Our base of operation will be the Embassy Suites hotel near LAX. One of the main draws for many attendees is the opportunity to see other SBCS Members’ collections. We are looking for Members who would be interested in showcasing their collection by being part of a Progressive Collection Tour around the Los Angeles area.

If you are not centrally located in the Los Angeles area, but would be interested in showcasing highlights from your collection, other arrangements such as displays at the Convention hotel or at other Members homes might be arranged. We have done this successfully in the past.

If you have interest in showcasing your collection please send the organizer an email letting us know of your interest. 

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Buildings, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

Russell V. Keune, FAIA 1938-2015

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Russell and Ingrid Keune in
Russell and Ingrid Keune in 2011 at the SBCS Washington DC convention.

Russell V. Keune, F.A.I.A., of Arlington, Virginia died at home on December third at age 77. He is survived by Ingrid Christina Keune to whom he was married for 47 years, their son Eric who lives in Chicago, Illinois with wife Kubinne Kim and their son Alexander. A graduate of the University of Illinois with both Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Architecture, he worked for the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the U.S. Committee on Monuments and Sites for the U.N., and the American Institute of Architects as the Director of International Affairs. His work led him to pursue a lifelong love of collecting miniature buildings, amassing a collection of more than 800; along with two antique Packard automobiles which were an ongoing source of engagement.

Family and Friends will gather to celebrate his life at a later date. In lieu of flowers contributions should be made to the National Building Museum in the name of Russell V. Keune memorial fund.

A treasured member of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society, Russell’s own recollection of his journey in life can be read at the following website:  http://www.adventfuneral.com/services/russell-v-keune.htm

Buildings, Monuments, News, Upcoming event

Souvenir Building Collection for Sale!

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Above are just a few of the souvenir buildings included John Beasley’s collection.  Check out the collection being offered as a whole by John Beasley in the Sales/Classifieds by clicking here.

This SBCSociety website is a forum for selling or exchanging whole collections or individual buildings among collectors of miniature buildings. It is a good way to upgrade your collection or give others the opportunity to build their collections.

Upcoming event

Say “Goodbye” to a Miniature Buildings Exhibit

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Joe Kopitz has issued an invitation to all those interested in miniature buildings and monuments, “Please try to join me at the closing reception for this wonderful exhibit this Sunday, September 13th from 3 – 6 PM at the City Reliquary Museum, 370 Metropolitan, Brooklyn, NY.”

A small portion of the miniature buildings to be see.
A small portion of the miniature buildings to be see.

If you cannot make it this Sunday for the reception – the exhibit will still be on display for the next 2 weeks (till the end of September). The museum is open Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 6 PM.

This closing reception is shared with the opening reception for: Ascenzi Square, The Sons of Williamsburg, A Photographic History.

Photo of Reception Flyer
Reception Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, at City Reliquary Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

EXPAND YOUR COLLECTION: Sept 25 & 26 Auction

Bookend Collector

Here’s your chance! That one special building or many sought-after pieces from noted SBCS member Howie Gelbtuch’s collection and other consignors! All you have to do is have a winning bid!

The bricks-and-mortar auction will be held in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Click here for the four-page flyer (pdf) from BP Auctions.

Catalogued items can be viewed now by clicking on these links for LiveAuctioneers: September 25. September 26.

BP Auction, Sept. 25-26, 2015
Page 1 of four page flyer for BP Auction of Banks and Souvenir Buildings