Access to Giants

I don't travel enough in these days of tight money and less time. So this blog isn't often about the wonders of the world or the bright lights of the great metropolitan areas.

 But as spring takes hold here in Northern California there is more time for walking during the lunch hour, for enjoying the sights of downtown Sacramento. I confess to loving this accessible old city. The founders had a good appreciation of classic Greek and Roman forms - and filled a lot of the downtown grid with powerful pillars, domes and columns.

Even an average guy out walking, or waiting for the #66 bus back home after a day at the office, can feel part of something bigger and richer than himself. I don't own these buildings or negotiate important deals inside them. But I can walk alongside them and be moved by their grandeur and classic elegance. I can feel the excellence they represent a century after they went up, and how well they speak of a time now gone.

It's a little hard to explain. But this is the great perk of working in a city with some classic architectural stature. Even the simple act of taking a stroll leads to a powerful sense of having access to giants. I do often have this feeling of being in awe of my surroundings. Sometimes it is a small lovely street scene, and sometimes the way the sun strikes the 25th floor windows of an office tower.  Surely, the designers of this classic, timeless beauty - all of them long gone now - would appreciate these small words about great work enduring. These are more than buildings for work and commerce. These are monuments.

Update July, 2011: One recent Friday afternoon I found this building opened for an event. It was my first time seeing the interior. I am guessing a wedding. Check out this ceiling! You have to go to Europe to see this kind of work. Access to Giants, indeed.