Tulips in Hibiya and Hyde Parks

Modeled after a European public garden, Hibiya Park is one of the oldest parks in the city. I love to come here, especially in the spring when there is always something in bloom. When we visited the other day, tulips were everywhere.



All different colors. Many different shapes and sizes. And the park was teaming with people, some picnicking, some painting and some promenading, just like us.





My mother loved tulips so much. In due course she turned the front lawn in Hyde Park into a magnificent tulip patch that people stopped to admire every spring.



Naturally, tulips were the flowers of choice at our wedding. My mother ordered a huge quantity of the potted flowers -- all yellow -- to decorate the house. Afterwards, she painstakingly transplanted each one outside. And for years after that they bloomed again each spring. A nice memory.

Chicago Metalwork

Located mostly at street level, Chicago's antique metal work is both decorative and functional. It is a beautiful counterpoint to the heavy stone and brick construction favored by those builders of yore. Such flourish! Such artistry! It is the perfect complement to Hyde Park's rich architecture. When Pippi and I saw these rails and grilles, it was hard for us not to get excited! We hope you will agree.


On Kenwood Avenue.


The Fischers' house next door. We used to have the same stair rails prior to our renovation in the 1960s.


Two views of the fence at Jackman Field: up close and ...


... from afar.


Window grille at Lilly House. A little creepy but full of character.


A grand gate near Botany Pond.


Somewhere on campus.


Not bad for a modern rendition.


A church north of 53rd Street. Isn't this splendid?

Doors and Windows in Hyde Park

We are now back in Tokyo, safe and sound but a little sad. I am very jet-lagged hence the (very) early morning post.

Hyde Park was a much needed antidote to our shaken state. It is so idyllic. So peaceful. So settled and comfortable. So teeming with life. And having Pippi with us was such a remarkable pleasure. Maybe it was my mindset or maybe it was the exquisite spring light that made me fall in love again with Hyde Park's architectural splendor. Pippi and I scouted all of these examples within a few blocks of our apartment. Here follows a selection of our favorite doors and windows.


A door knob on Kenwood Avenue.


A doorway under a Gothic-inspired, broken arch on Kenwood Avenue.


The matching windows.


An arched doorway on Kenwood with a shell-shaped transom. A music teacher of mine used to live in this building.


A rare double-hung window.


Verging on the Queen Anne style.


Victorian charm on Kimbark Avenue.


My parents' home on Dorchester Avenue.


Pippi inspects my favorite arched doorway of all.


Detail from my favorite doorway.

Tree of Heaven

While snooping around the back streets of Moto Azabu, Pippi and I encountered these leafy fronds. The spiked leaves emit a very distinctive, almost nutty, smell that transports me right back to my childhood as the same plants grow rampantly all over Hyde Park, the neighborhood where I grew up in Chicago. In fact, a huge version graces the front of our house on Dorchester Avenue. According to my mother, who knows about these things, this growth is actually a weed called "tree of heaven." I am always amazed to find the same fauna (even weeds!) living on different continents. How does this happen?