Frank Lloyd Wright
Marin County Civic Center

We went to the Marin County Civic Center, a renowned Frank Lloyd Wright building, after our walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a Saturday, so the only open area inside was the library. We entered the lobby through a tall wroughtiron gate to take the elevator up to the library; in that lobby were concrete tiers with plantbeds, a roped off escalator, and this old-time looking ticket booth. I felt like I was in a funky time warp: it felt simultaneously out-of-date and hip.

It was interesting to see all the functional, practical parts of the structure offset with strange, surprising ornamentation (see above gold globes, for instance--way too many to count). I wish I knew more about architecture to understand Wright's choices. I pretty much only have Ayn Rand's Howard Roark as my model from The Fountainhead. Mike, though, silently strolled the halls, leaned over ledges, hiked out to overlooks and read the building with his camera in hand. He'd seen other Wright buildings (in Pennsylvania? Illinois?) as an Architecture student at Washington University in St. Louis and was curious to take in this one. (To his credit, he explained concepts to me, but I've managed to forget the details. Should've written them down!)