Living in Orange County means sunny days for 300+ days a year. A lot of people love it, but I get tired of it. I grew up in the Bay Area where it actually gets cloudy during the fall and winter, and rains for more than a handful of times a year. I loved it! So when snow falls in Southern California within view, I relish in the winter views from UC Irvine.
The first shot is from my drive into work, and is my favorite of the set. Irvine is a pre-planned city, making it seem a bit “cookie cutter” sometimes, but the bend in the road here and the mountains in the background make the city seem less structured. I really like how the curve in the dirt path leads the eye to the mountains in the background. I could stare at those snow-capped mountains all day.
Irvine Barclay Theatre
I took this next photo at the bus loop outside Aldrich Hall. I like this shot for a couple of reasons. First, it highlights the Irvine Barclay Theatre, which is a really cool non-profit collaboration between the private and public sectors of Irvine. Although I haven’t seen a show there yet, I want to! Second, I like how there are little noticeable hints of UC Irvine. These include the bus loop itself, the “Top 10” banner on the left of the shot, and the walkway on the right that leads to the center of the Laurel L. Wilkening Rose Garden. The walkway continues to the bridge connecting the campus to University Town Center, where a lot of people go to have lunch, hang out, or by groceries.
The Rose Garden
I took the next shot on the bridge I just mentioned. I like the juxtaposition of the city life in the foreground and the wintry landscape in the background. For this shot, I tried not to include any identifying information about shops or restaurants while leaving enough detail that people frequenting this area would recognize the restaurants. Businesses in Irvine are typically on a lease contract, so they rotate a lot, making University Town Center a revolving door of businesses. For example, right now I recognize the Chick-fil-A sign, the exclamation point of Eureka!, and Mendocino Farms (which has amazing appetizers!). Who knows what businesses will be here later.
For the final image, I drove to the top floor of the Anteater Parking Structure. I came here because I knew that the parking structure is taller than most buildings surrounding it, and hoped to capture most of the snow-capped mountains. I was really happy with the view! Most of the City of Irvine is in the distance, and some dorms are in the foreground. One of the things I like the most about this shot is that the mountains almost seem to form a barrier at the edge of the city. I have always thought Southern California was a little bubble where Minhan and I (and now Booker!) have made a life for ourselves, and seeing the mountains in the distance reinforces that for me. Maybe that’s why I cherish the winter views from UC Irvine so much.
Anteater Parking Structure
A Bit of History of UC Irvine
UC Irvine was established relatively recently, and has grown in both size and prestige a lot in recent years. The original site for UC Irvine was sold to the University of California in 1959 for a measly $1 by the Irvine Company and was only 650 acres. Back then, it was called the San Joaquin foothills. In 1962, Daniel Aldrich Jr. was named the founding chancellor. He warmed up to the idea of building a university from scratch, and the campus opened in 1965. The enrolling class consisted of 1,589 people. UC Irvine’s mascot is the anteater – the idea came from two water polo athletes who got inspiration from the anteater in the “BC” comic strip.
In 1966, the first graduating class consisted of 14 students: 10 bachelor degrees, three master degrees, and 1 doctorate degree. UC Irvine did not enroll more than 10,000 students until 1979. Since then, the university has had many milestones:
- 1995: Professors Frederick Reines (physics) and F. Sherwood Rowland (chemistry) earn Nobel Prizes. Professor Reines discovered the neutrino and Professor Rowland discovered, along with a postdoc named Mario Molina, the contributions of chlorofluorocarbons to ozone depletion.
- 2004: Professor Irwin Rose (chemistry) earns the Nobel Prize for discovering ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.
- 2010: UC Irvine students break the Guinness world record for largest dodgeball game with 1,745 participants!
- 2014: President Barack Obama gives commencement address.
- 2017: UC Irvine is named a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the United States Department of Education.
Fun fact: UC Irvine was not originally named after a city, like most colleges, since the city of Irvine did not become incorporated until 1971 (six years after the campus was created).
As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome below!