Over the summer, my family and I had the opportunity to go to Lebanon where our ancestors immigrated from in the 1920s. We were the first of our family to ever return to Lebanon and see where our family originally lived in Zahle, Lebanon. After a cool day of touring around we eventually headed to Baalbek which is most known for the Temple of Jupiter. These ancient Roman ruins are among the largest in the world and dates back to circa 16 BC. The design and attention to detail in every piece of stone really stood out to me as well as the functionality and endurance of the architecture despite multiple civil wars occurring around the monument. Our day spent at the temple is something that I will never forget and it works to tie together our Lebanese heritage. 

Since 1912 Fenway Park has been home to the Boston Redsox. Located near Kenmore Square is Boston, Massachusetts, it is one of the oldest and most notable ballparks in the MLB. Over the years the park has undergone massive renovations including the addition of the infamous “Green Monster”, a large 37.2 foot high left field wall. When people think of Fenway, they think of the “Green Monster”. Fenway Park is an important place for me not only because I have a passion for Red Sox baseball but also because Boston is where my father went to law school. For two years, my mother, brother and I would get to fly out to see him for weeks at a time and we would always go to Red Sox games. Apart from that, the ballpark itself is extremely immersive and creates a great atmosphere to enjoy a game.

1. Located in Crown Heights, Oklahoma City, Westminster Presbyterian was where I went to elementary school and where my family and I went to church. The outside of the building is not much to write home about however the large double doors lead you into a beautiful chapel where my family and I would celebrate Easter and Christmas almost every year. As far as education, Westminster was one of the best schooling experiences I could have asked for and introduced me to teachers, subjects, and friends I will never forget. 

During my sophomore year, my high school completed construction on this new fine arts building that cost upwards of $50 million. I remember being in awe when I walked in for the first time after the building was completed. The modern interior had a very different feel than the building we were in previously. And as someone who was very involved with photography in high school, the new photo studio inside was otherworldly. We always had our weekly assembly in the theater in this building and we had our baccalaureate ceremony there as well. This is the building that most comes to mind when I think of my high school. So when I see it, it brings back memories of both the good and bad experiences I had as a high school student.

This billboard in downtown Dallas is what everyone sees when entering downtown from I-35. Even people who have only visited Dallas once are familiar with it. A lot of people call it “the beer waterfall”. Growing up, I always knew we were downtown when I would see this billboard and it always served as a landmark in my brain. A couple of years ago, my dad actually moved into the apartment building you can see behind the billboard in the image above. This was really cool to me because now I’m in close proximity and get to see the billboard up close when I go visit my dad.

This is Globe Life Park, where the Texas Rangers played from 1994 until this year. The park just completed its final season, and as a lifelong Rangers fan, I’m sad to see it go. I’ve been to countless games in this ballpark and feel like I grew up in it. Some of my earliest memories were going to games with my parents and even as I grew older, I still enjoyed going with my friends. Throughout my life, it’s been something of a refuge to escape from the chaos of my normal, everyday life. The Rangers are getting a new stadium with a retractable roof next year to mitigate the heat for both the players and fans. Even though I’m excited for the new stadium, this ballpark will always hold a special place in my heart. Despite the heat, it was a great place for a kid to fall in love with baseball.

This was by far my favorite portion of my trip to Europe and, subsequently, also my favorite building during my Bavarian encounters. This is a church called St. Blaise’s Church and is located at the bottom of a cliff in the quaint little town of Salzburg in Austria, famous for being the location of the events portrayed in The Sound of Music. This happened to be the last leg of our journey abroad and this location proved to be an excellent way to wind-down in preparation to our final trip home.

I have always been fascinated with nature and man’s effect on it. However, so often it is seen that highly metropolitan areas developed in the United States during the 20th century show little to no incorporation of nature into the elements of man. This building does just this, though whether it was intentional or not I am unaware. The climbing ivy coupled with the overall relative simplicity of the exterior walls create a sense of balance between man and nature, a concept that I find poetic and that, I think, should be the purpose of all architecture. Not only did I get to witness such a building, but I was fortunate enough to have been able to see it at such a time as autumn where the reddening ivy is made more beautiful by nature’s ever-changing seasons.

The architect of this building is unknown.

The Gathering Place is a public park in Tulsa Oklahoma. I enjoy going here to just relax and hang out with my friends. Also, this is the place I go to, so I can spend quality time with my nieces and nephews. Tulsa definitely needed a place like this, and I am beyond glad this park was able to be built. It has positively influenced my life.

Mátyás-Templom, or Matthias Church, in Budapest, Hungary was a very different experience that what we had encountered in Munich. I could not find very definitive information on who designed the church originally, but this structure has been around since the 13th century, though it has been reconstructed many times since. The version that we see today is thanks to the reconstruction efforts by Samu Pecz and Frigyes Schulek.

This building is definitely something to see. What stuck out most about it was the highly intricate tile-work that adorned the roof of this massive church. This place was one that seemed to project colour into all aspects of what it came into contact with, even on such a gloomy day as when I visited.

Not only was this building impressive, but the entrance to this area from Halászbástya, Fisherman’s Bastion, accentuated it quite well with its dull color-scheme  leading into the vibrant building above. Such contrast truly does this magnificent building justice.

The Devon Energy Hall is the place that I used to go study at when I was a freshman. I love the architecture inside because of how the windows let in so much light and the main part of the building is a huge open space. When I first went to this building, I was amazed because this is the first building that I’ve encountered like this. Since I’ve discovered this building, I have been coming here to study because I feel like the open space allows me to think. This building is my favorite building on campus.