GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Places

  • Tony’s DownTown Project, 2013-2014

    We moved to Las Vegas to be closer to our parents, but the timing worked out perfectly for me to get a job with Bunnyfish Studio right as Tony Hsieh was pouring funds into the improvement of the East Fremont District via his DownTown Project.

    I only met him once, briefly at our office in the Emergency Arts Building. He was swinging through and dropped by to say hello the principals. However, I can personally attest to the veracity of those stories of an unassuming billionaire with a backpack walking around town, at least during the day.

    I could have met Tony more often, however we had moved to Vegas to be closer to family and to start our own, so I did not indulge in the tech startup nightlife. From everything I heard, it was a heavy mix of working hard, and partying harder, (for good and ill).

    During my time in the middle of the East Fremont district, I worked on two major renovations, the John E. Carson Motel and the Bunkhouse Studio. Both were glorious extravaganzas where we were asked to dream big and allowed to achieve some of it.

    As with any client, it wasn’t all unicorns and roses, and ultimately I decided that I could not bet my career on a single patron. I changed firms after eighteen months, a week after the Bunkhouse opened, but a few weeks before DTP announced a big round of layoffs.

    Ironically, I was working on yet another DTP project with my new firm. It was not completely surprising when we found out that even the largess of a billionaire has limits. But saying the magic had faded implies that there was some magic in the first place. And those of us lucky to be in the middle of that scene certainly felt it during that time.

    A couple years later, I worked on the project that replaced the maze of artist galleries and offices at the first floor of the Emergency Arts Building with a couple chain restaurants. During demolition, I walked by the our old office. The mural the bosses had commissioned as a backdrop to our tiny room was still there, patiently waiting its turn to be turned to dust. This building wasn’t owned by DTP, but the Beat Coffeeshop was the nexus of that exciting time. As I grow older, I’ve come to realize the fleeting nature of these moments. It was bittersweet to play a hand in the final erasure of that time on East Fremont.

    This Friday, we found out that Tony Hsieh passed away due to injuries from a house fire in Connecticut. The news of this tragedy brought back a rush of memories. As any good architect, I have sharp opinions about everything, but 2013 and 2014 around Downtown Project really was a special moment, and I was fortunate to have played a small role during that time.

    Last year, the renovated Ferguson Motel finally opened up with a new massive sunken courtyard punctuated by a coffee shop. It was a completely gratuitous gesture that was half a decade late, but when this pandemic ends, I’ll go down there and buy Tony an espresso. Maybe I should have done it before he passed, but it’s too late for that, so this is the least I could do.

    Rest in peace Tony, I hope you found it.

  • Trapped in paradise

    My in-laws have a peach tree in their back yards, and to keep the birds from eating all the peaches, they wrap it in a net.

    The net got compromised and three birds ended up dying in the summer heat before we realized what was happening.

    There are many colloquialisms for what just happened.

    But mainly it’s sad.

    And a warning to the rest of us about life in general.

  • Whoo…

    So our girl stoically walked into school yesterday morning.

    But I had a hard time seeing her go.

    You’d think all that practice with preschool would prepare me for this. But I had puffy eyes all day.

    Letting go isn’t easy, even if it’s just for six hours and twenty one minutes.

    But she enjoyed her first day. On to day two!

  • Fox Hill Park

    We watched the fireworks at Fox Hill Park last year and this year for July 4th. It’s a bit far from the action but you have a panorama of the city.

    There were a bit more folks this year around, presumably because it more people know about it, so there was a nice energy in the park.

    Adding to the festivities, the local Las Vegas Tribe decided to have their drum circle on a knoll by the parking lot.

    Next to us was a family that tried to have a birthday party at the park, but the day was so hot, apparently nobody came.

    I feel for the parents and the kid, but they did seem to appreciate the cosmic compensation of being invaded by a bunch of hippie hand drummers.

    Friends are hard to come by in this world, but friendly accidents abound around us.

  • A piano in the dark

    About eight months ago, a woman broke into our house while we stayed with our in-laws.

    She got to live out of the cold for about a week before I found her sleeping on some sofa cushions in the living room.

    Aside from breaking into the back door, she did no damage to the place, and was quite good at making sure the neighbors on both sides had no idea she was there.

    However, she did take the risk to hook up our little casio keyboard and presumably played it a little.

    I can’t say I’m fond of the incident, but it’s odd what your memory will latch onto months after an event. I hope she will get a handle on whatever demons are keeping her on the streets.

    We all should have a little music in our lives.

  • Disney on the Cheap

    While our girl still prefers to go to Disneyland, I’ve noticed that she and her brother seem to get quite a bit of joy playing around the house or in our small excursions around town.

    If my eyes aren’t lying to me, rolling around the backyard in a plastic wagon garnered as many laughs and giggles as hanging around the magic kingdom.

    Going to a neighborhood park is not an all encompassing “total experience” like going to an amusement park, but in the moment, I don’t think it’s that much of a dropoff for the kids.

    Not that I plan on shortchanging the kiddos on resort experiences that we can afford, but I don’t think the marginal ROI is nearly as much as the marketing hype would like us to believe.

  • Suddenly

    Our daughter caught a cold and was exiled to the guest bedroom for a couple night.

    She went from barely filling out a cradle to comfortably fitting out a twin sized bed.

    Life moves fast.

    Or maybe it’s just the change in context that makes you aware of what done happened.

  • Discovery Museum, Las Vegas

    The other day, we went to a free event at the Discovery Children’s Museum.

    A couple years ago we had a membership to this museum, so it was intensely nostalgic to watch our daughter in the same space we used to frequent regularly, just a couple years older.

    It seems to be a frequent theme on this blog, but it’s worth repeating. Single days crawl slowly, but time disappears fast.

    As for the trip, the girl had just as much fun as before, but we found the place equally boring as before. We still prefer Springs Preserve.

  • Chase Bank Parking Lot, Arroyo Crossing, Las Vegas

    When you live in an area for an extended period, mundane places begin to pick up the residue of various experiences.

    Last year (just around this time) we sold our little Mazda that we owned for nine years. I met the buyer outside of this bank because he was pulling his cash out from this branch.

    This year, I met my new tenant to sign the lease and transfer the rent and security deposits between our two accounts.

    Looking at it, you’d never anticipate major exchanges would happen in this little parking lot.

    Until it happens.

    Twice.

  • Therme Vals, Switzerland

    We once visited the Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals which is a free standing structure spa in the Swiss mountain side.

    Which is technically true.

    But its also in the middle of a little resort town and surrounded by boring old hotel towers on all sides.

    The photographs of the building are honest, this is an gorgeous structure, interior and exterior. But if the camera was shifted even a millimeter one direction or the other, the exterior shots wouldn’t look nearly as pretty.

    Razor Thin.

    Hanging out at the baths felt like standing on a mountain vista with litter in the foreground. However awesome the expanse, you are also burning a little mental energy to not think about the messy context.