The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture

A ticket to the Riverside Art Museum grants you access to The Cheech. “The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture opened in June 2022 as a public-private partnership between RAM, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin—one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art.”

It has a very different feel than the Julia Morgan building.

It’s much larger and more modern. The art is quite colorful.

I was happy to see that Vista del Valle’s former principal, Ley Yeager, along with his wife, Ofelia, was a major force behind the opening of this museum and center. Upon doing a little research for this blog post, I was saddened to read that his wife, Ofelia Valdez-Yeager, recently passed. They had been married for 54 years.

Riverside Art Museum

Before I started blogging (were there even blogs in 1997?), we visited the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. That’s when I learned about the architect for that compound – Julia Morgan. In 1904 she was the first woman in California to receive an architecture license.

Among her 700 buildings in California, a number of them were YWCAs. The one she designed in Riverside is now the Riverside Art Museum.

It’s a small space with four exhibition areas. The interior courtyard is lovely.

Lots of archways.

These walls are lined with artwork from middle school students.

HMC Math Art

I do not have enough information on this sculpture that has appeared at Harvey Mudd College.

But I do have photos. A student told me that it was a math project. I also see that it is made up of HMC colors – black, gold, and white.

When you get close, you can see that it is held together with binder clips on the inside.

There are more photos on claremontography’s Instagram.

Great Horned Owl Nest

My friend asked me to get a picture with my long lens of some Great Horned Owls. They had taken over a raven’s nest in the clock tower at CGU.

It was a good excuse to get out my Canon and telephoto lens. At first I only saw the mother owl.

Later in the day, I looked on the other side of the tower to see the mom and two babies.

Someone pointed out to me that the father was in a nearby tree.

A few days later, the owls were no longer in their nest. Someone told us, as we walked by, that an owl had swooped down on her. We assume that it was protecting a baby that was on the ground. Besides the woman had a dog with her.

We have not seen the owls in the next since.

Nosy Neighbors

This cute little coffee and donut shop

on Harvard and Bonita, recently moved to Yale Ave.

Next time it’s not rainy outside, I’ll try out their patio in the back.

Pomona College Filming Location: Monsters Season 2

We often receive a heads-up about filming in Claremont, but the other day, as I was walking down College Ave. I saw these vintage cars

and a phone booth.

I knew something was up. I asked a security guard what the project was. He said it was for Netflix’s second season of Monsters. This one is about the Menendez brothers.

Filming is often inside, but this scene was outside, so I stopped by to watch for a bit. I heard someone yelling “background! Reset!” Then “Action!” The person riding the bike would come by, the couple seen in the foreground walked toward Little Bridges. People were throwing a football, and groups of people were standing around. They did this a number of times.

Oklahoma Redbud Trees in Bloom

I would not normally note these trees, but now that they are in bloom, they are hard to miss. I found out that they are Oklahoma Redbud trees.

Easter Brunch Church

Claremont UCC has started to offer Brunch Church on Sundays at 11:15 in the Refectory (also known as the basement). Come have a full brunch, listen to music, enjoy the company of others, then listen to the sermon. This is perfect for those who want a little edification, sustenance, and a little sleeping in on Sundays.

We tried it out yesterday for Easter.

Art Along Route 66

Between Mills and Indian Hill Blvd. on Foothill (aka Route 66), I snapped some shots of the new bus stops and painted utility boxes. I’m not sure why the bus stops are not also functional as protection against our occasional rain, but they are nicer to look at than just a sign. If your behind is not oversized, there is a small place to set it.

These two utility boxes are especially beautiful.

The Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago: AKA The 606

We were lucky to have great weather for our trip to Chicago. I read about a relatively new elevated park/walk/bikeway that runs through Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park. Officially it’s called The Bloomingdale Trail, but its nickname, the 606, comes from the Chicago area code.

Having walked the High Line in NYC and the Promenade Plantée in Paris, we are fans of revitalized former rail lines.

For fortification before our stroll, we got our caffeine buzz at Ipsento Coffee which is about ⅓ of the way in from the eastern end of the trail. I can highly recommend the coffee here.

Near this point along the trail, the EL tracks cross over.

Along the 2.7-mile trail are several pieces of street art.

Near one end is this art:

Halfway through is this sign.

Here is one view from the trail. There are more photos at claremontography’s Instagram.

Though not as picturesque as the other two trails, we did get to visit neighborhoods that we had not yet seen.

For a time-lapse video of the entire trail, click here.