Elaine Molinar: Wizard of Oz, Savannah, and Eggs

City: Rome - the ancient, medieval, and contemporary peacefully and violently coexist in the most beautiful ways.

Building: Taj Mahal. Its masterful siting and approach create a place where architecture and emotion are seamless.

Book: Now: A Burglar’s Guide to the City (Geoff Manaugh), a fascinating way to understand design and the city. Always: To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) for its beautiful writing and flawed characters.

Film: I have many favorites but this one was my first and it still terrifies me! The Wizard of Oz.

Public Space: The squares of Savannah, Georgia. A beautiful approach to city planning, where human interaction in the public realm is daily, for everyone, and natural.

Architect (that is also a woman): Julia Morgan and Lina Bo Bardi. Julia Morgan was a trailblazer and her work is a beautiful example of the revival styles and Arts & Crafts sensibility. Lina Bo Bardi’s Glass House is a beautiful emersion of living in nature.

Restaurant: “Rules” in Covent Garden is London’s oldest restaurant (1798), and I love the character of the place and the history on and in the walls.

Artist: “Artist Unknown” folk art (otherwise, Joseph Cornell, Vermeer, so many others…) The prevalence of folk art proves how important art and craft is to our daily existence, there are so many treasures to discover.

Memory: Sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen helping her make tortillas.

Object: An egg. They’re perfect.