Category: Before & After

  • Mile High City Hall

    Mile High City Hall

    This has always been my favorite building in Denver. When I lived in Colorado as a kid, and my family would visit the city, I always wanted Dad to drive the loop around the Civic Center. Then, as we passed on Bannock Street, I’d look out the window and crane my neck to watch the…

  • Smoke signals

    Smoke signals

    Tomorrow is my fifth anniversary of living in Washington state—so in honor of the occasion, the next few posts will highlight the Pacific Northwest. It’s been fascinating to see all the faces and incarnations of Mt. Rainier in my time here (so fascinating, in fact, that I did a whole book about it). But I…

  • Deerest love

    Deerest love

    The White Stag sign is the jewel in the Northwest’s neon crown. By day it frames patches of the Portland skyline; by night it’s a diamond-bright beacon of riotous flashing color. And in the holiday season, the stag masquerades as a certain reindeer we all know. I think this just might be my favorite thing…