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Monday, September 3, 2012

321 Robinson




3 weeks ago Greg and I moved into our new home. Its right in the middle of Hillcrest, walking distance to almost everything you would need. Very city life. The building we moved into is kind of iconic for this city. it reminded me at first glace of a mausoleum, but maybe that's just in my family blood :). I put a picture on Facebook the day we moved in just to show it off, i did not expect so many people to respond and say they have always wondered about that building. My favorite comment was "It's not a scary Freemason castle, then." Since we are now residents in this building i thought i should do some research on it.

First Church of the United Brethren in Christ. 321 Robinson Avenue. This 1912 classic Greek Revival temple is a rare example of granite construction in San Diego. In 1950 the building became a Free Methodist Church. George Thackeray operated an art gallery specializing in Western and Indian art at this location from 1971 to 1988. Conversion to residential units was completed in 2003.

cork it

One thing i have collected for a while and now have asked friends and family to for Greg and my wedding is wine corks. Its nice that people who will be at our wedding are drinking towards our wedding! I have made corks boards for myself, my sister, and my dear friend Carolyn using a shadowbox. I also love the way they look in apothecary jars and big glass bowls. As i get more and more from people I have wondered where do they come from. Now some of you this question may be easy but for me i thought, is there cork plant? Is there a cork tree? Is it a by product of something? So i decided to do some research and tell you.

Just ­about every tree has an outer layer of cork bark, but the cork oak(Quercus suber) is the primary source of most cork products in the world, including wine bottle stoppers. These trees primarily grow in countries that run along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where there's plenty of sunshine, low rainfall and high humidity. The countries that produce the most cork include Portugal, Algeria, Spain, Morocco, France, Italy and Tunisia.

So, why does the cork oak have a thicker layer of cork bark than other trees? The tree evolved to protect itself from the harsh conditions of the forests near the Mediterranean. These forests experience frequent droughts, brush fires and temperature fluctuations. Cork is actually made of water-resistant cells that separate the outer bark from the delicate interior bark. It has a unique set of properties not found in any other naturally existing material. It is lightweight, rot resistant, fire resistant, termite resistant, impermeable to gas and liquid, soft and buoyant. It's these properties that make it ideal for stopping wine bottles and tile flooring. Let's take a look at how cork gets stripped from the tree and processed into consumer products.

Stripping the bark -- A cork oak must be at least 25 years old before its bark can be harvested. Its cork can then be stripped every 8 to 14 years after that for as long as the tree lives. The cork is stripped off during June, July and August using a long-handled hatchet to cut sections out of the bark. These sections are then pried away from the tree. Workers must be careful not to damage the inner layer of the bark, otherwise the bark won't grow back. 

Washing the cork -- The cork slabs that are cut away from the tree are boiled and the rough outer layer of the bark is stripped away. Boiling the cork also softens it, making it easier to work with. 

Punching Bottle Stoppers -- From the slabs of cork, holes are punched out to make bottle stoppers. This leaves the slabs full of holes. These bottle stoppers are then sorted and shipped to various destinations. The stoppers can at this time be printed or branded with names or logos. 

Uses for Scrap Cork -- Once the bottle stoppers have been punched out of the cork slabs, there is some leftover cork scrap. This scrap is ground up, molded into large blocks and baked in ovens to make other cork products, such as cork tile flooring and cork message boards.

Cork has been used as bottle stoppers for more than 400 years. It is possibly the best suited material to use as a bottle stopper because it contains a natural waxy substance, called suberin. This substance makes cork impermeable to liquids and gas, and prevents the cork from rotting.