Author Archive: Bob Barzan

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Save The Depot

Save The Depot

If the current plan is accepted by the city council, our 114-year-old depot will lose much of its historic and architectural integrity. The plan is to remove most of the interior waiting room walls including the historic women’s waiting room, creating one large open space.

By October 30, 2019 0 Comments Read More →
Architecture Is Fun

Architecture Is Fun

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Who Knew Architecture Could Be So Much Fun? There is something inspirational, informative, and fun for everyone of every interest and age at this year’s Modesto Architecture Festival: more than 120 tours, exhibits, international movies, bike rides, workshops, speakers, installations, interventions, children’s activities, and special events with dozens of community partners. […]

By September 6, 2014 Read More →
ArchitectureView – Park(ing) Day

ArchitectureView – Park(ing) Day

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Reclaiming Urban Space I moved back to Modesto in December 2001 after decades living away in several cities, some much larger and some much smaller than Modesto. One of the first things I noticed when I started my frequent trips downtown was how easy it is to find parking at all […]

By August 6, 2014 Read More →
ArchitectureView – Building Restoration

ArchitectureView – Building Restoration

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Owner Vandalism and Building Restoration I’d like to think that the days of covering the façade of a Victorian house with asbestos shingles or the brick walls of an early 20th century building with stucco are long gone, but this type of owner paid for vandalism continues today. Owners, especially with […]

By July 8, 2014 Read More →
ArchitectureView -Artistic Bike Racks

ArchitectureView -Artistic Bike Racks

Architecture View Bob Barzan Artistic Bike Racks Bring a Touch of Beauty to the Design District Watch for more design changes in the coming months on the streets of the Modesto Design District and the Graffiti Cruise Route. The Downtown Design Group has selected three artistic bike rack designs for the area and they are […]

By June 1, 2014 Read More →
ArchitectureView – Modesto Design Week

ArchitectureView – Modesto Design Week

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Modesto Design: the city is our collection, the neighborhoods are our galleries Over the last eight years, the Modesto Art Museum has uncovered our awesome architectural heritage. Everyone had forgotten that the city once had a national reputation in building and landscape design, a reputation that was more celebrated away from […]

By May 5, 2014 Read More →
ArchitectureView – New Courthouse

ArchitectureView – New Courthouse

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan New Courthouse Will Recreate Downtown Modesto will get a new courthouse. The building will be between 9th and 10th and G and H, about one block from the current courthouse and less than a block from the temporary make-shift courts in the old city hall building and in the Tower Building […]

ArchitectureView – New Parklets

ArchitectureView – New Parklets

ArchitectureView Bob Barzan New Parklet for the Design District Over the last several months, we have seen many changes in downtown Modesto. Some we have already noted: the reopening of 10th Street between J and K, several new handsome murals, and two popular parklets at the intersection of 10th and J Streets. Last month, another […]

ArchitectureView

ArchitectureView

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Bike Racks and Movies for Modesto Design District The Modesto Design District is already home to a few pieces of publicly displayed art and has several bike racks, but not near enough of either. The Modesto Art Museum is planning to increase their number with three artistic bike racks and this […]

By February 3, 2014 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView – Public Art Worth It?

ArchitectureView – Public Art Worth It?

Architecture View By Bob Barzan Photo is Forma X, 1969 by Arnaldo Pomodoro, at 1700 Standiford. It is an amazing piece of publicly displayed art that most people don’t know exists. How it got here is a story. Photo 2 is ’57 Chevy Painted by Aaron Vickery FASM by Classic Community Murals Is Public Art […]

By January 7, 2014 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView -Endangered Buildings

ArchitectureView -Endangered Buildings

Architecture View By Bob Barzan Endangered Modesto Buildings Last month I asked people to nominate buildings for Modesto’s first endangered buildings list. These are structures or landscapes that have become part of Modesto’s identity either because of their design or history and are in danger or threat because they are under used, abandoned, vandalized, not […]

By December 1, 2013 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView-Save a Building

ArchitectureView-Save a Building

ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Nominate an Endangered Modesto Building You can make nominations for the list of endangered buildings, structures, and landscapes being compiled by Modesto Heritage, the local preservation group. What buildings in Modesto do you want to see maintained, restored, preserved, and/or reused and that give Modesto its unique identity: the McHenry/Brewster or […]

By November 3, 2013 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView

ArchitectureView

Architecture View Modesto Modernism By Bob Barzan In the middle decades of the 20th century, the Modernist architecture of Modesto, California, was on the cutting edge of environmental and artistic design and it received national attention. In the 1940s, the New York Museum of Modern Art published three books featuring Modesto architecture and a photo […]

By September 6, 2013 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView

ArchitectureView

August ArchitectureView By Bob Barzan Breaking News: All Modesto International Architecture Festival events and activities this year will be free. Festival organizers are securing enough sponsors so that everyone can enjoy the more than 70 activities over nine days, September 14-23. The festival opens on Saturday with exhibits, tours, and an opening night reception, then […]

By August 2, 2013 0 Comments Read More →
ArchitectureView-Modesto Heritage

ArchitectureView-Modesto Heritage

Modesto Heritage The Cote d’Oro, Shannon Mortuary, Fire Station #2, Hotel Covell, the Chuck Wagon, Hughson Hotel, the Strand Theatre, and Modesto Steam Laundry – the list of Modesto buildings destroyed over the last few decades goes on and on. Some were torn down for good reason; Modesto is a living city that has always […]