Building – Page 6

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

ARE YOU READY? CAN YOU DIG IT? – SBCS Convention June 10 – 12

May 22, 2016May 22, 2016 Bookend Collector

The 2016 SBCS Convention is almost here!

Locals are readying their collections for your inspection.

Swap Meet Masters are checking their inventories for those pieces they hope to make a deal with.

SBCS 2014 SWAP Meet

SBCS 2014 SWAP MEET

The FREE-4-ALL at the FREEBEES table where a selection of buildings from upgrading (or downsizing) or just generally generous members are giving everyone else a chance at those duplicates, or triplicates, etc. etc. etc.

Buzzing about the FREEBEES Table

The original Freebees table started by Bob Kneisel at the SBCS 2009 convention

Clever Collectors are planning their assault on the “Paper Bag Raffle” – Strings of Raffle Tickets decorate the landscape at the Saturday Evening Festivities.

All those Choices!

Want to Win one of those treasures!

Who knows what will be up for Auction at the end of the evening? Some past goodies have included the Travelers Insurance Co. Hartford, CT; The Peoples United States Bank, St. Louis; and a Mike Merwine re-cast of The Gotham Bank Building.

What souvenir or monument find are you bringing to share with the group?

If you haven’t yet registered for the convention there is still time. Click here for the details.

Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, Upcoming event

Coveted Souvenir: The SBCS Convention Commemoratives

May 15, 2016May 15, 2016 Bookend Collector

What will be the 2016 SBCS Convention Commemorative?

SBCS Convention Commemoratives are limited. They are distributed at the annual convention and are a coveted addition to everyone’s collection. There is still time to register for the 2016 Convention in Los Angeles, June 10-11-12. Here are some photos of earlier commemoratives:

2015 – Orlando City Hall

2014 – Parthenon, Nashville, TN

2005 – Masonic Temple

2009 – Pasadena City Hall

2010 – Citibank

1997 – Octagon Building

Click here to view a larger list of commemoratives and the locales of past SBCS conventions.

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

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

May 11, 2016May 11, 2016 Bookend Collector

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.

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.

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

Buildings, Events, Monuments, News, Upcoming event

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

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 Bookend Collector

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

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 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, Monuments, News, People, Upcoming event

Russell V. Keune, FAIA 1938-2015

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 Bookend Collector

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!

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 Bookend Collector

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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.

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

EXPAND YOUR COLLECTION: Sept 25 & 26 Auction

September 5, 2015September 6, 2015 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

Buildings, People, RECENT FINDS, WHAT IS IT?, WHERE IS IT?

SBCS Miscellany

July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 Bookend Collector

Cast Metal Model of the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel

Following the SBCS Convention tour of the Florida Southern College Architectural District, a collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, it was observed that a miniature of the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel had been created as a building fundraiser some time in the 1930s. Steven and Ethan C have a one in their collection. It was purchased about 2010 from a collector in Atlanta who would only part with one of a pair of bookends.

Photo of Annie Pfeiffer Bookend — Annie Pfeiffer Chapel bookend single. Width – 6 1/2”, Ht. 5 1/2”, Depth – 1 1/2”. Private Collection.

CHECK OUT THIS COLLECTION!

Photo of Community Collections marquee — Community Collections: A Sampling fo Souvenir Buildings. Photo courtesy of Anna Grant

Community Collections: A Sampling of Souvenir Buildings. View at the City Reliquary Museum. Exhibit closes in September 2015. Photo courtesy of Anna Grant.

The City Reliquary Museum in Brooklyn, NY is showcasing in their Community Collections exhibit: “A Sampling of Souvenir Buildings” from the collection of SBCS President Joe Kopitz. They can be viewed in person at the Museum, on the City Reliquary Museum Facebook page and on the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook page.

FACE BOOK Friend Days:

Of late, the Souvenir Building Collectors Society Facebook page has been hosting some lively discussions and a spate of interesting souvenir building photo postings requesting and receiving identifications. Carolyn C. kicked off these discussions on a Wednesday some weeks ago with a “Where Is It Wednesday?”.This has morphed into “Who Has It Wednesday?”, “and “What Is It Wednesday?” with resulting ID’s and pictures of the actual buildings.

Where Is It Wednesday? Identified as Dormition Church, Kondopoga.

Friday Finds: Resin Replica of Maine-Montparnasse Tower, Paris.

Added to this ‘Day of the Week’ conversation is “Throwback Thursday” and “Test Tarun Thursday” (Tarun V. having shown an unbelievable rapidity in identifying previously unidentified souvenirs). And Tarun has contributed another category, “Friday Finds.”

Become a member of SBCS and join the conversation. Click here for Membership Information.

Buildings, People, RECENT FINDS, Upcoming event

JOIN THE SEARCH! Los Angeles Souvenir Buildings

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 Bookend Collector

Photo of ARCO Center — ARCO Center, Los Angeles, Grey Metal on Marble, circa 1980

The first contribution toward building a checklist of souvenir buildings / monuments / statues located in Los Angeles or Orange Counties has arrived. Chris S. sent in this photo of the ARCO Center, ARCO Products Company Headquarters. He wrote, “This Arco Tower was a spec building built in the late 1980s prior to the office building bust in the 1990s. This was the ‘lesser’ ARCO building, not the more famous ARCO Tower that housed the oil company headquarters. This building housed the ARCO Products Division, the AM/PM Mini Marts. ARCO has ended their lease and taken the signage off of the building.” He speculates that this miniature was made as a souvenir for the initial occupancy or as a sales reward. Chris found it at the Mart Collective in Venice, CA in the fall of 2014.