Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – Monday, July 16th & Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Moving onward, our next stop is in the Italian Market in Philadelphia.
Ralph's Restaurant is claimed to be the oldest family owned Italian restaurant in the country.
Mural for the Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese.
Mural of Frank Rizzo, mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. Unfortunately it's in need of some restoration work.
Anthony's Chocolate House
I had a mixture of blood orange and lemoncello sorbetto.
Anthony's Chocolate House interior
The Italian Market history
This area is perhaps most internationally famous as the backdrop for the Rocky movies.
Cake shop. Not sure why it has a Spanish name...
Scanning through a vinyl record collection... dear god is that more mosaic?
When I think of Italian grocers I think of hand-painted windows. This shop is proud to keep the stereotype alive.
Part of the "Four Seasons" public murals in Philadelphia. This mural is obviously for winter; there are three others scattered around the city for the other seasons. Given the heat this would have been a nice world to momentarily escape into.
Not only were we still not done with mosaic buildings, but the biggest had yet to come...
Three-story mosaic
In case you're wondering, all of these mosaics were designed by the same person, a guy named Isaiah Zagar. He's been at it since the late 1960's, and has installed over 130 of these murals around Philadelphia, primarily in the South Street area.
Mosaic detail
Mosaic garden
"Art Is The Center Of The Real World". Throughout these mosaics are snippets of poetry written by Zagar.
Busy hands are happy hands...
Gateway to The Magic Gardens, Zagar's largest project.
Zagar began work on the Magic Gardens in 1994, and it took him until 2008 to complete. It spans three city blocks with labyrinthine passageways and a fully tiled indoor space. Theme park fans in particular might find this area a real treat. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go in; admission is $7.00.
The Magic Gardens incorporates a fair bit more than just glass and ceramic tiles.
"The painter as portrayed by himself, must not be reduced to a subject of history, but must be shown, by his pictorial gaze, to be individual & timeless."
"Giving Them Structure"
The Magic Gardens
Looking deeper into The Magic Gardens
Last shot of The Magic Gardens
Time to leave the fanciful world of Isaiah Zagar behind...
Yellow or Green? The world may never know...
I’ve read all of this 9 pages photo journal. Some photos look familiar to me though I’ve never been there. I love the scattered ironic humor of your writing style. I wanted to visit the city, anyway, I’ll have chance. Thanks for sharing! I love you~