New Bloch-Buster
Kansas City welcomes a massive art museum expansion.
 The popular Shuttlecocks once again grace the front lawn, and the construction barrels have been put away in Kansas City, Missouri. On June 9, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opens its $200 million expansion, the Bloch Building. Named for Henry Bloch, the chairman of the Nelson-Atkins board of trustees and a cofounder of Kansas City–based H&R Block, the building adds 165,000 square feet—a 71 percent increase in exhibit space to display the museum’s full 34,000-piece collection. Architect Steven Holl created an elongated, light-infused gallery to complement the Beaux Arts style of
the original structure. For further details, pick up Stone & Feather: Steven Holl / The Nelson-Atkins Museum Expansion by Jeffrey Kipnis (Prestel). Two new exhibits are scheduled to run for the rest of 2007. Developing Greatness: The Origins of American Photography, 1839–1885, features photography from the recently acquired Hallmark Photographic Collection, and Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters From the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection is a selection of 30 masterpieces. Admission to the museum is free (Tel: 816-751-1ART or nelson-atkins.org). —Diana Lamdin Meyer
Photography / © 2007 Prestel Publishing
Czech List for Beer Lovers
Make tracks to check out these bike and hike beer routes.
 Some visitors come to the Czech Republic in search of fairy-tale towns and historic castles or to follow in the footsteps of Kafka. Others come for the beer. Whether they’re looking for a deep, golden Pilsner or a dark, bold lager, in the country with the world’s leading beer consumption per capita, aficionados are in good hands. To explore Czech beer culture in depth, go beyond the tourist-packed pubs of Prague. Breweries are located throughout the bucolic countryside, and many are just off great cycling and hiking paths. The most famous routes are the Beskydy Radegast Cycling Track, a 53-kilometer (33-mile) circuit sponsored by the Radegast brewery (Tel: 420-558-602-175 or radegast.cz). The route is leisurely, and bicycle stands and information are provided at the 40 pubs and restaurants along the way. Another option is the network of South Bohemian beer routes. These sign-posted paths intersect eight breweries, including the famed Budvar brewery (budvar.cz), known for its battle with Anheuser Busch over the Budweiser trademark. Open to the public for tastings, the breweries often feature visitor centers, museums, and tours. After your excursion, recharge tired muscles at the Chodovar Brewery’s beer spa (Tel: 420-374-794-181 or chodovar.cz). The spa uses the brewery’s own dark lager as a healing agent in its treatments, which include beer soaking tubs in the historic cellars and beer massages. The brewery also features a hotel for guests who wish to relax a little longer. —Shann Fountain
Illustration / John Hersey
Space Ageless
Futuristic Googie architecture style is becoming revered as part of past.
 Early this year, the LA suburb of Downey, California, erupted in anger. The reason? The former Johnie’s Broiler restaurant, one of Southern California’s few remaining relics of Googie architecture, was largely demolished. The building’s many fans felt they had lost a historic gem. With a glass façade and a massive neon burger-eating boy on its roof, Johnie’s was a prime example of Googie style. Born in LA in the 1950s and named after a now-demolished coffee shop, Googie spread across the U.S., bringing the future with it, says architect Alan Hess, the author of the 2004 book Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture. “Googie’s signature elements were its upswept rooflines, neon signage that was a part of the architecture, and enormous plate-glass walls,” Hess says. Just about any building could adopt Googie elements—gas stations, supermarkets, bowling alleys. But it was restaurants that took the style to its greatest heights. “Looking out the glass walls, patrons could enjoy the parade of chrome-trimmed cars on the street outside,” says Hess. “For motorists driving by, the glass walls put the inside on display as a living 3-D billboard, showing that the place was a popular restaurant. That was the best advertisement.” Googie architecture was one of many reflections of the era’s fascination with the future. U.S. cars of the 1950s, for example, boasted popular rocket-to-the-moon tail fins, and The Jetsons TV cartoon, featuring a space-age family, was popular in the early ’60s. Googie’s influence spread, showing up in science-fiction movies such as Forbidden Planet. By 1970, the flashy style had lost favor to low-scale, unobtrusive roadside architecture. “When McDonald’s changed from neon-trimmed golden arches to woodsy, shingled-roof outlets,” says Hess, “that was the tipping point.”—Charles Lockwood
Illustration of Conrad’s Restaurant courtesy of Armet, Davis, and Newlove
For an interview with architect Alan Hess, click here.
Sizzlin’ Fun
When the temperature soars, Arizona is still a cool place to visit.
 Life is topsy turvy in southern Arizona, where locals love winter and many
just tolerate summer. But smaller crowds and other compensations lure visitors when the
temperatures are intemperate. Status Sneaking / From Memorial Day through Labor Day, rates at top hotels and resorts in Greater Phoenix and Tucson plummet as much as 60
percent from their winter highs. So earn bragging rights with stays in the state’s poshest hotels. Top restaurants also dish out discounts, and spas relax their fees. Flashy Splashing / In addition to the usual array of watery summertime attractions, the resorts offer such poolside perks for kids as dive-in movies and ice cream sundaes. Adults encounter fruit kebabs, chilled neck towels, tropical drinks, free cabanas, and even a sunglass “butler” to keep
your shades sunscreen-free. Night Tripping / Southern Arizonans are nocturnal in summer. Organized after-dark adventures include Scottsdale’s Sonoran desert Hummer tours with night-vision goggles and Phoenix’s guided moonlit hikes in South Mountain and White Tank parks. Critter encounters are guaranteed on Friday nights at the Phoenix Zoo and Saturday evenings at Tucson’s Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. The more culturally inclined may prefer the twilight tours at Scottsdale’s Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s former digs and architectural school. Hill Heading / The “sky islands” in the mountain ranges near Tucson provide heat relief, eco-zone exploring—you go from desert scrub to pine forest in a single ascent—and great bird-watching. In July and August, lightning storms illuminate the mountains. —Edie Jarolim
Illustration / Dan Williams
Flights of Fancy
A swarm of family-friendly gadgets is creating a big buzz this summer.
 Toys. The higher their tech, the greater their pull on kids and grouwnups alike. In time for summer, here are the hottest new toys the entire family will love. If you’ve got the bug to become an R/C pilot but aren’t ready to invest $500 in a plane, Wowwee Ltd. has an elegantly ornithoptic solution: the Flytech Dragonfly ($49.99; wowwee.com). This indoor/outdoor radio-controlled insect looks cool, flies well, and definitely stands out in a swarm. It’s no surprise that the Nintendo Wii ($249; nintendo.com) video-game console appeals to longtime gamers. What’s notable is the fun it’s delivering to those who’ve never before picked up a controller. The Wii is the toy to have in 2007, with a motion-sensitive gamepad; a batch of wacky, family-friendly games not available on other systems (including Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy); and a “Virtual Console” Internet service that lets players purchase and download classic games. Oakley Thump Pro sports sunglasses ($349.99; oakley.com/thump) not only look cool; they sound cool. Able to store 240 songs on their 1-gigabyte hard drive, Thump Pro sunglasses have an MP3 player and fully articulated, six-way earphone speakers built into their sweat-resistant frames. Optional iridium-coated lenses are available for fun in the sun. When it comes to teenagers’ tastes, nothing can compete with iPod for chic; for ’tweens and below, there’s Disney. Disney Mix Max ($89.99; disneyshopping.com) is a portable media player for the Peter Pan crowd. It plays a limited assortment of prepublished Disney hits and also works as an MP3 player/iPod Jr. —Steven L. Kent
Photography / Mark Wagoner
For Little Literati
Traveling kids will get miles of good times out of these pages.
 We’ve got the word on products children will love during summer vacations. If e-mail fails, keep up with friends via pen and paper. Eeboo’s stationery sets come in sturdy, triptych-style folding kids and are exquisitely designed by noted children’s illustrators Kevin Hawkes and Lizzy Rockwell ($9.95; eeboo.com). Husband-and-wife team Indigo Tyler of Austin, Texas, produces a zany series of picture guidebooks starring two enthusiastic, talky penguins named Cha-Cha and Zee. In Cha-Cha and Zee Explore Our Nation’s Capital, readers travel with the penguins to the National Mall, the Metro, top Washington museums, and more. Just out in the series is a tour of San Antonio, and more cities are on the way ($16.95, hardback; tkpublishing.com). The new ABC Travel Guides for Kids, by Matthew G. Rosenberger, localize the alphabet and bring out cities’ distinctive personalities. You won’t find “A is for ‘apple’; B is for ‘ball.’” In the Philadelphia guide, for example, A is for “Avenue of the Arts” and B is for “Betsy Ross House.” With room to jot down reactions to each sight, the books make great mementos. Rosenberger also features Manhattan and Atlantic City, New Jersey, with other locales in the works ($7.95, paperback; kidstravelguides.com). Mapmaker Rand McNally relieves road-restlessness with the Backseat Books activity series, including a Kids’ Road Atlas that incorporates U.S. cartography and geography into dot-to-dots, crosswords, and more ($3.95, paperback; randmcnally.com, click on “store”). —Kelli Rush
Photography / Mark Wagoner
For more children’s travel books, click here.
Fashionable Antwerp
Celebrated for its artistic heritage, this Belgian town boasts modern wearable masterworks.
 It is the hometown of one of the world’s most illustrious artists, and his genius and verve—and accessorizing skills—define it still. The handsome features of Peter Paul Rubens topped with a broad-brimmed black hat worn at a rakish angle are now the symbol of Antwerp, the classy Flemish town in the north of Belgium. Antwerp is certainly no cultural relic, and its fashion sense is as strong as its artistic credentials. The city’s interest in fashion morphed into a full-scale phenomenon in the 1980s, when a group of talented, young designers— known as the Antwerp Six, among them Dries Van Noten and Marina Yee—caught the fashion world’s eye and inspired a crop of local successors. Follow a recommended “fashion walk” around Antwerp’s elegant streets (a booklet from the Flanders Fashion Institute will guide your steps; Tel: 32-3-226-1447 or ffi.be) and you’ll find a host of boutiques with trendsetting clothes, shoes, and accessories. Fashionistas also should stop in at Nationalestraat 28 to visit Momu, the Fashion Museum, to see great displays of vintage clothing and designs by students from the city’s renowned Fashion Academy. But be warned: Allow yourself to be tempted by the local chocolates and cakes, which are works of art themselves, and you may go up a few sizes. When you’re stocked up on clothes, head for the city’s diamond district (Antwerp is the world’s largest diamond-trading center) for some hardware to set off your new wardrobe. And if all that shopping puts you in a romantic mood, take note: Anyone buying an engagement or wedding anniversary ring from Diamondland gets a free night’s accommodation, which, of course, means extra time for shopping. —Diana Bentley
Photography / Mark Wagoner
Coming Up Cupcakes
Breeze in for a gourmet cupcake at these sweet Chicago emporiums.
 Finally, cupcakes have their day in the Windy City. From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. every Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (160 East Pearson Street; Tel: 312-266-1000), inside its glass-walled Greenhouse restaurant on the 12th floor, cupcakes are king. Executive pastry chef Marjorie Hyland helped kick off the Saturday Night Cupcake Buffet, which has acquired quite a few fans. Guests sip martinis, French-press coffee, hot chocolate, and herbal tea while sampling from a cupcake cornucopia ($18). Tiered platters hold flavors such as tiramisu, coconut très leche, blackbottom cake, and raspberry sacher, each with inch-thick buttercream frosting and an artful arrangement of chocolate wafers on top (above). Last November, four friends with an affection for sweet stuff opened Swirlz Cupcakes (705 West Belden Street; Tel: 773-404-2253 or swirlzcupcakes.com), a tiny but cozy space in Lincoln Park with chocolate-brown walls and four tables. One recent visit revealed a line at dinnertime and lots of decisions to be made: red velvet or white-chocolate pistachio? Grand Marnier white chocolate or lemon twist? You can even grab some “pupcakes” for the dog. Cupcakes (613 West Briar Place; Tel: 773-525-0817 or chicagocupcakes.com) opened in summer 2005 with eight different flavors each week, drawing from a batch of more than 100 choices. With all-natural ingredients and a sense of whimsy (the Cupcakes logo depicts a flying cupcake), customer favorites include hot chocolate and blood orange mimosa. Expect to order yours to go; there is only one table inside. —Kristine Hansen
Photography / Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton
Classic Car Commitment
SoCal’s Nethercutt Collection is a little-known treasure worth a special trip.
 Southern California and cars are made for each other. If you have any doubts, check out The Nethercutt Collection, the best-kept-secret car museum in Sylmar, California, near Burbank. Housed in a specially built facility named San Sylmar (rarely publicized and off the tourist track), the marble floors, crystal chandeliers, massive butterscotch-hued marble columns, and mirrored walls re-create a sumptuous automotive grand salon of the 1920s and 1930s. Car buffs can inspect the perfectly restored, fully operational classic cars—one of the finest assemblages of rare and vintage automobiles in the country. Six are best-of-show winners of Pebble Beach’s prestigious Concours d’ Elegance. Specially trained tour guides are available to impart historical insights. Founder Jack Boison Nethercutt of Merle Norman cosmetics began his love affair with car collecting in 1956 with a 1936 Duesenberg Model JN convertible coupe. Then came a 1930 Du Pont town car—he bought it for $500 and spent $65,000 to restore it. The most recent restorations among the museum’s 175-plus cars include a 1931 Bugatti Dubos Coupe and a 1937 Talbot Lago Coupe. Before he died in 2004, Nethercutt said, “Collecting and restoring old cars is more than a hobby. It is a commitment to preserving the past for future generations. It is my intention that this collection will be available for the public, that it shall be preserved and perpetuated as far as the human mind can conceive.” nethercuttcollection.org —Valerie Summers
Illustration / Dan Williams
Poetry in Motion
Anniversary-year performances are afoot at the American Dance Festival.
 June 7 is a great day for dance. That date marks the opening of the American Dance Festival’s 2007 season, the first of a two-year celebration honoring the festival and school’s 30th year in Durham, North Carolina (2007), and its 75th season (2008) in operation. Betty Ford, a student at the school when she was still little Elizabeth Bloomer, was the first First Lady to become an honorary chairperson. Every First Lady since has done the same. Madonna was once a student of the Six Week School, as were many of the best-known choreographers and dancers of our time. Pilobolus, a dance group featured at this year’s Oscars, has been a festival favorite since 1973. Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey were teachers when the organization was founded as the Bennington School of Dance at Bennington College in Vermont. The school provides year-round education for dancers, choreographers, teachers, and critics; performances showcase well-known dance companies and choreographers. In addition to this season’s stellar roster of performances (see sidebar), events include Dancing for the Camera: International Festival of Film and Video Dance, which will screen dance films and documentaries and show how experimental and digital technologies extend the boundaries of the art. The NEA Arts Journalism Institute for Dance Criticism will help dance writers hone their analysis of performances. Anna Halprin will welcome people of all ages and abilities to participate in a group movement experience June 10. Experience the joy of movement yourself from June 7 to July 21 in Durham. americandancefestival.org —Denise Story
Photography / Shen Wei Dance Arts by Zhen Qian
Hawaiian Health
Why is Honolulu’s population living longer than other U.S. residents?
 Wish you lived in Honolulu? Here’s one more reason: It boasts an above-average number of centenarians. In a typical U.S. city, 10 people per 100,000 live to be 100; in Honolulu, the number is twice that amount. According to Dr. Bradley Willcox, a medical researcher who studies longevity at the Honolulu-based Pacific Health Research Institute, it’s because of the city’s small but significant number of Okinawans. Okinawans have the distinction of living longer than any other group in the world. “In Japan,” says Willcox, “20 people out of every 100,000 live to be 100. Among Okinawans, it’s 50 people out of 100,000.” The institute has been studying Japanese men from Japan, Hawai‘i, and the U.S. mainland for 40 years. Willcox has discovered that Okinawans have lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels and weigh less than others their age. They suffer significantly fewer heart attacks and have lower cancer rates than Westerners, as well. Part of this is because of good genes and lots of exercise, but diet also plays a significant role. Willcox found that Okinawans eat more healthfully than Westerners, and they also eat less. Lower caloric intake, he says, leads to a longer life. —Mike Markrich
Illustration / Laura Tarrish
|
|
