21c Museum Hotel
- 21c Museum Hotel | 2010 | Photo by Jen-Kuang Chang
21c Museum Hotel was opened in 2006 by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Five 19th century historical buildings, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, were renovated into a trendy space filled with a contemporary art museum of 21st century, a 90-room luxury hotel, and an up-scale restaurant “Proof on Main.” Cracking Art Group’s “Red Penguin” plastic sculptures, installed around the buildings, were eye-catching. The museum also featured some site-specific commissions, such as “Text Rain,” video projection software, by Camille Utterback and Romy Achituv.
The Muhammad Ali Center
- The Muhammad Ali Center | 2010 | Photo by Jen-Kuang Chang
After spending majority part of Sunday morning continuously embraced by 16 Fahrenheit ice-cold weather and light wintry mix while walking around the downtown Louisville, I was more than ready to transport myself to any place with warmer-than-glacial temperature. 12 o’clock. Doors of “Museum Row” in the West Main District of Louisville were finally unsealed and visitors began to emerge from hibernation to hunt down bits of history that the city has to offer. I quickly checked myself into the Muhammad Ali Center, a six-story building opened in 2005, featuring exhibitions centered on Ali’s six core values on respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, charity, and spirituality. For the next two hours, the Muhammad Ali Center was my personal Eskimos’ Igloo, filled with fascinating multimedia presentations, 65 Fahrenheit, and much-needed restrooms.
Frazier International History Museum
- Frazier International History Museum | 2010 | Photo by Jen-Kuang Chang
The Frazier International History Museum, found by Owsley Brown Frazier, is located in the “Museum Row” in the West Main District in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Formally known as the Frazier Historical Arms Museum, the museum’s exhibitions focus on historical arm collections, a collection from UK’s Royal Armouries, and a number of live costumed interpretations.
Frazier International History Museum
High Point Museum & Historical Park
- High Point Museum Historical Park | 2010 | Photo by Jen-Kuang Chang
On my way to downtown High Point, North Carolina to find tenor saxophonist John Coltrane’s bronze sculpture made by Thomas Jay Warren, I stopped by the High Point Museum & Historical Park on the edge of the town to explore the historical park adjacent to the museum. This well-maintained park featured the John Haley House, the oldest house in High Point built in 1786, the Blacksmith Shop, and the Hoggatt House, built in 1891 and was relocated to the park in 1973.
Interstate 77 & the middle Appalachians
- Interstate 77 West Virginia | 2010 | Photo by Jen-Kuang Chang
After a brief breakfast-rest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I began to drive toward the mountainous region of the middle Appalachians via the Interstate 77, slowly navigating through snow-infested Virginia and West Virginia. This section of I-77, blanketed in the snow, was breathtakingly beautiful. I unhurriedly drove through the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and then the East River Mountain Tunnel to reach the West Virginia part of the interstate. Before reaching Charleston, the capital of West Virginia, it felt like sneakily driving through one-thousand-and-one-snow-cones. Snow continued to weep, even the Abominable Snowman would hitchhike a ride instead of walking through it, I imagined.
February 18, 2010 : Aurora, Nebraska
February 17, 2010 : The Sunken Gardens & The Hamann Rose Garden
February 17, 2010 : National Roller Skating Museum
February 9, 2010 : The World’s Largest Time Capsule and Pyramid
February 7, 2010 : University of Louisville & Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur
February 7, 2010 : 21c Museum Hotel
February 7, 2010 : The Muhammad Ali Center