The Arcades - Cleveland, Ohio

 

If only modern shopping malls could be so attractive. The Superior Arcade in Cleveland was built in 1890 and was one of America's first indoor shopping malls. The arcade was designed by John Eisenmann and consisted of two 9-story towers connected by a 5-story atrium. We have reason to rejoice, because the arcade has been preserved. Today, it houses a Hyatt Regency Hotel and shops and restaurants. Here's what it looks like today.

Here are a few more shopping arcades in Cleveland:

 

Zara, Turkey

Zara is located in the Sivas Province of Turkey and currently has a population of about 20,000. Sivas is an Anatolian Province and is the second largest province in Turkey. The province is noted for its thermal springs.

From Otto to Siegfried - Würzburg, Germany

It appears that Otto was practicing his English on this card to Siegfried, who was spending his Summer vacation of 1905 at a spa resort. Bad Elgersburg is a scenic area known for its curative baths. The artist Edvard Munch came to Bad Elgersburg later the same year to recover from various ailments.

The message reads:

Dear Siegfried!

Thanks for your postal. I have sent the letter, if you have not got it, it was stolen from the person who opened it! Who was that? If this person publishes it in an amerikan tiding or journal he may get much money for this  art "Kunstwerk." I shall tell you more, when we meet again. Herzl. Gruss your friend Otto   Beg for answer! rapidly!

The front of the postcard shows the Käppele, a small Baroque/Rococo chapel by Balthasar Neumann in Würzburg, Germany. You can still visit it today. The City of Würzburg is still very beautiful despite the fact that it was bombed more completely than even Dresden at the end of World War II. On March 16, 1945 an estimated 90% of the city was destroyed by British bombers. Thousands of residents died and the medieval town center was destroyed. The fact that Würzburg still looks so beautiful today is due in large part to the painstaking efforts of survivors who sifted through the rubble and reconstructed buildings over the following twenty years.