"A university town is only as strong as its independent bookstores.  They assist in the exchange of intellectual thoughts." - Kim Tanzer                 "The independent bookstore - you know we're almost dinosaurs." - Carl Kroch                It was a beautiful morning.  My girlfriend Jess and I decided to take a bike ride around the neighborhood.  We didn't have any particular place to go, so we went down to Butch and Nellie's, our local coffee shop, to grab a cup of joe and discuss the nature of our ride.  My first thought was the California Railroad Museum, but the little woman wasn't feeling that.  Thus ended the charade that our ultimate destination would be anything besides lunc

Urban Design, and more specifically infill design, has become one of the most desired types of development in the central city and surrounding residential neighborhoods. With continued concerns about the city's design review process, lack of neighborhood support and a host of other issues, architects often find it challenging to fully expressing themselves through their architecture. After living and practicing architecture in Sacramento for several years, David Sarti of Flex Architecture will reframe this discussion, focusing on his "Little Red House" and discussing the opportunities created by building small, asking the question: "Why is Sacramento so slow to embrace modern Architecture

Sacramento architecture can and should be designed for the city's climate, architect and green builder Matthew Piner said Wednesday. With its temperate Mediterranean climate, Sacramento usually experiences hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Its location on two rivers in a valley between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Pacific Ocean contributes delta breezes to cool off most summer nights, he said at a monthly architectural design forum, Design Dialogue, sponsored by the Urban Design Alliance of Sacramento. Builders here — the same as builders throughout the world — once worked with Sacramento's natural climate to keep people comfortable when they sought shelter inside houses and

From the moment Chris Lango laid eyes on it, he had to have it. The interior wasn't even built yet — just an empty shell in a rundown old building designed in 1924 to showcase motorcars. But he knew this loft on the alley would be everything he wanted in urban living -- creative, a bit rough, hidden away in the middle of the city. An exterior remodel, part of an adaptive reuse, was well underway. He was captured by the history of the building and the story of its architect. "I was blown away," said Lango, 45. "I've always liked unique living spaces. If you like city living, I guess living in an alley is the most urban. Certainly, the most gritty." Lango was living in an apartment over

A 3-day designer grand slam is coming up, Pecha Kucha Night, brought to you by Ottolini & Associates, Architects. Come see and hear, dozens of the regions best designers, artists, architects and photographers talking about their work. Co-sponsored by Capital Creative Collective and Urban Hive. Music by Alex Trujillo. Thursday, Nov. 5th, The Level Up Lounge - Outdoor Plaza, 8:20-10pm Friday, Nov. 6th, The Urban Hive - 8:20-10pm Saturday, Nov. 7th, MARRS Building - 8:20-10pm What is Pecha Kucha Night? "Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest l

A group interested in shaping Sacramento's architectural future had quite a challenge Wednesday night: discussing how to design urban infill in a city whose buildings are viewed as largely mediocre. Figuring out where to go from here is the whole point of the Design Dialogues, sponsored monthly by the Urban Design Alliance and the Sacramento chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). On Wednesday, 40 design and planning professionals, community residents and others met at the AIA offices to discuss how to move the city's structural landscape forward despite the architectural challenges of designing infill projects. The 90-minute dialogue was a give-and-take between participa

We have alot of history here in Sacramento -- so much that it might seem daunting to narrow it to a manageble list. Here is an attempt to do just that: seven "must see" places you can pedal to in about the time it takes to sit and watch a movie.  1. The State Capitol Following less-than-satisfactory assemblies of the state Legislature in San Jose, Vallejo and Benicia, Sacramentans successfully bid to make their city the permanent site for such high-level meetings. Ground was broken in 1860 and the neo-classical dome of the California Capitol was completed in 1874. The lower level is made of granite quarried in Folsom; the upper levels are made of brick plastered and painted to look like

"It's Tuesday night inside de Vere's Irish Pub, and a majority of its patrons are scribbling on napkins with Sharpies.  It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that these scribblers are architects, interior designers, graphic artists, photographers and other creative individuals who meet as a part of Capital Creative Collective. Capital Creative Collective is a creative group that has been around for almost a year. They meet on Tuesday nights once a month for what is known as Designer Pint Nights at de Vere's in Downtown Sacramento to socialize, make friends and have a drink. CCC is also a blog. "Capital Creative Collective's Designer Pint Nights was created to help the hippest, hottest

Disclaimer: the contributor of this and his wife run Movies on a Big Screen, Sacramento’s weekly screening series of documentaries, general independent film, classics and cult titles. The following is blatant self-promotion of a MOBS event and the Sacramento Old City Association. On Friday, March 20, 2009, at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM, Movies on a Big Screen is pairing up with the Sacramento Old City Association to present the documentary, “Preserve Me A Seat.” Local author and historian (and commenter here at Sacramento Press) William Burg will be in attendance to speak following the 7PM screening of the film, and he might be bringing along some others, too.  MOBS will show it again at 9:30 f

Level Up Lounge felt like more of a housewarming party than a bar on a Thursday night. The crowd had settled into the chairs and couches as if their body imprint had stayed waiting for them to nestle back into the nook from the last PK Night. Excited chatter filled every corner, wine swirled in glasses as Gloria Taylor from Todd Taylor Wines gave tastings, Suleka Sun-Lindley made her way around the lounge greeting and entertaining her guests before the show started. The anticipation reached a crescendo as the clock neared 20:20 and the lights went off. The first presentation had some technical difficulties, but the rest of the night went smoothly. Aaron Young, R&B and hip hop artist, pu

 Dennis Dong is a seasoned presenter at Pecha Kucha Night in Sacramento. Here he shares his experiences in an interview, as told by Colleen Belcher. This text is taken from an interview, it is in first person, however, it has been constructed in writing below by Colleen Belcher. I first heard about Pecha Kucha Night by reading about it in various magazines architectural magazines and it sounded like a real neat thing. I saw a little clip that they were starting an organization in Sacramento and I sent Claire Obenson, the Sacramento chapter's organizer, an e-mail asking her what's required and what's needed to be able to sign up for a presentation. She e-mailed me back and said "Well, Pe

  Pecha Kucha Night — while it may be a mouthful to pronounce — is very much a visual stimulus, a party for your eyes, so to speak. The idea started five years ago with two architects, Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, who wanted to create an event for designers to network and show their work. Since 2003, the concept has spread to over 100 cities around the world - Tokyo, Bangkok, Tijuana, Melbourne, Madrid, Barcelona and as of last year, Sacramento joined the list. Pecha Kucha means 'the sound of conversation' in Japanese. And the presentations are meant to spark conversations about creative endeavors. What does it take to be a presenter? The rules are very simple: each presenter gets 20