Big boat crossing railroad tracks

Posted by James Turnbull, Thursday, 27th October 2005

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A large boat coming from lake Michigan passes through a railroad bridge, with a road bridge up ahead. It looks like it’s going to be a squeeze getting the boat through those narrow waterways. I wonder what it’s carrying?

Thanks: Nelson

Arboreal Typography

Posted by Alex Turnbull, Wednesday, 26th October 2005

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If you were going to use trees to graffiti the landscape with the name of your town, city, university or company… what font would you use?

Arboreal sign-writers agree that uppercase lettering is a no-brainer, as legibility is obviously impaired due to the decrease in the letter size… Here in Bismarck, North Dakota, the typographer has decided on a Grotesque sans serif face, not dissimilar to URW Grotesk Extra Light Condensed, and has chosen to set it at 261,354 point (approx.)

Bismarck Bismarck Font?

Over in Indiana, the Studebaker typographer has chosen a heavier typeface with tighter tracking, but a smaller size at only 216,850 point. Again the chosen face is a Grotesque sans serif, very similar (though not identical) to Franklin Gothic Heavy. What’s most interesting is the way trees have grown since their initial planting in 1937, creating some really nicely distressed letterforms.

Studebaker Studebaker font?

There’s about 5,000 pine trees in the Studebaker sign, so just imagine how many make up the 2,592,000 point Luecke sign…

Thanks to Tim, Jason Signalness, Ryan J, Mark Donnell & aard.

Fina’s Tree

Posted by Alex Turnbull, Tuesday, 25th October 2005

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This is Fina’s Tree which at 110 feet, is the tallest tree in the whole of Tucson, Arizona. The story goes that back in 1910 a storm hit the city, and uprooted the young Red Gum tree, which was discovered and replanted by a little girl named Defina Bravo. Since that day the locals have called it ‘Fina’s Tree’ in rememberance.

The Biggest Tree in Tucson, Arizona

Thanks to Jeff Burton.

Heartland Country Corn Maze

Posted by James Turnbull, Tuesday, 25th October 2005

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Please note that some or all of the objects mentioned in this post are no longer visible on Google Earth or Google Maps.

The 2002 design of the Heartland Country Corn Maze near Harrisburg was a coyote howling at the moon (with the letters USA in the lower right corner). This year they drew a 6.6 acre triceratops.

Thanks: David Thornton

Hexa Grace

Posted by James Turnbull, Sunday, 23rd October 2005

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The colourful tiled roof Hexa Grace is the artistic creation of Victor Vasarely, who is famed as the father of Op-Art. (Close-up photo.)

The green roofed building to the North West is the famed Casino Monte Carlo.

Thanks: Jeff Vinocur & George Berenschot