The Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, CA

The Hsi Lai Temple

1st arch before you enter the temple proper.  A beautiful view of the  San Gabriel Valley.

A lion guarding the entrance.

This a view of the temple and university from the landing just in front of the front door.

A spectacular view of the arch entrance and the San Gabriel Valley.

Oh, this was an interesting water garden.

I liked this view of the temple

This was a very strange rock garden.  There is a small bell hanging over a waterfall that visitors tried to hit with a penny, nickle, dime, or quarter.  Most of the coins land between the white rocks and not in the cascading waterfall.

The architecture was neat.

The Streets of San Gabriel, CA

Roosevelt Elementary School.  With all of the tall gates, this place looks like a prison, a government cage.  Poor kids.  Administrators and district heads will tell you and tell me that it is for their security.  Security from what?

Roosevelt Elementary School entrance on Walnut Grove.

Better shot of the bars.

Roosevelt Elementary School.

Nothing says "Good morning, children" like iron gates that are taller than you.  

This is the playground on the south side of the school.

California Mission Inn-Rose Manor, Rosemead, CA.

An undeveloped area of off Grand Avenue in Rosemead.  

This is the Mission Lodge Alzheimer/Dementia Center that has been in business for over 100 years.  This is a private manor located on Gladys Avenue north of Grand Avenue in San Gabriel, CA.  It looks like a peaceful and quiet residence for individuals enduring cognitive impairment. 

Abandoned businesses?

San Gabriel Blvd. just south of Broadway.  

San Andell Swimming Pools and Supply & Service shut its doors.

Here they are finally demolishing the San Andell Pool Services.  

Temple City, CA Dental Services: Jack von Bulow

Von Bulow's site is impressive.  Has a Youtube video with calming images of waterfall and friendly assistants.  Dentists, in general, make me nervous.  They do things that people don't always understand.  People don't really understand dental health to begin with, which might be why dentistry is such a good business to get into.    

My Morning Constitution on the Main Boulevard Through Temple City, July 20, 2011

Facing west while walking home on Las Tunas in Temple City.

Temple City Civic Center and police station.

Temple City Community Park.  During the summer they often host concerts, and the park gets filled up with spectators.

Facing east at about 6:40 am on Las Tunas in Temple City.

At the intersection of Las Tunas and Kauffman in Temple City at 6:40am on Wednesday morning, July 20, 2011.  

I liked the way that this street, Loma Avenue, looked at 6:45 in the morning.  The cool shadows cast by the morning sun  were evocative of some of my best and favorite mornings growing up with my family in Duarte.

This sign made me laugh.  By inverting the two words "Temple Liquor" to "Liquor Temple," you kind of get why it made me laugh.

The corner of Rosemead and Las Tunas that has been vacant for close to 5 years now.  There was a great movie theater here and a barber shop and a terrific parking lot with large eucalyptus trees.  All that is gone.  This may be a good example of the real estate bubble cleaning itself up.  Nobody's buying or building.

A stunted and lonely eucalyptus tree marks the only remnant of the lot's former glory. 

New listing agents?  By the area code, it appears that the agents are from Los Angeles.

Sharon Tsai does a good real estate business in Temple City.

Mosaic mural.  I believe that Home Savings used to commission these pieces all around the Southland.  This Chase Bank used to be a Home Savings years ago.  I don't even think that Home Savings is in California any more.

Another vacant lot on the south side of Las Tunas.  The developer or city tore down the  buildings belonging to small businesses.  This lot is adjacent to the New Century Ford structure that was built, stocked, and sold.  Now a finance company operates out of the Ford building.

The abandoned New Century Ford show room.  Cars came and went within a year.