(For the View From Your Window contest, the results below exceed the content limit for Substack’s email service, so to ensure that you see the full results, click the headline above.)
Some highlights from this week’s write-up:
The funniest street name in the state, according to Reader’s Digest, and lots of ribald ones.
Cocktails in solid and liquid form, including the Vesper Martini.
James Bond in a chase scene with a “skiing” car.
A sleuth who traveled to the scene of the VFYW: “Since the location is not all that far away from me, I packed my orthopedically-challenged doggo into the car on Sunday morning and made the drive down to do some amateur photography for your write-up.”
Yay!!! Thank you. I would love the book please. I was a runner-up for a couple of really hard contests, so to finally win is really awesome.
From the sleuth who submitted last week’s view from Grand Ledge:
I enjoyed the heck out of the write-up; I have a huge smile on my face. I’m always amazed at the interesting stories and connections people provide. That, and your wonderful editing skills to tie it all together!
A few follow-ups I couldn’t resist:
How cool that the Alaska sleuth’s dad was a Comet! I’m a 1995 grad.
I was delighted by the garage band info, so I didn’t want to pass up the chance to share a recording from my best friend’s dad’s band, The Assortment. Here’s “Bless Our Hippy Home”:
I’m glad the Park Avenue mixologist went with a Michigan Mule, but he should definitely check out the Spirit of the Maple from Sanctuary Spirits. They make a Maple Mule with that delightful spirit distilled from maple syrup. Possibly a unique spirit offering from Grand Ledge?
My favorite mural is just over the bridge from the “The Ledges” at Riverfront Park. And, it features Mudge’s Folly:
Grand Ledge has a real sense of humor about Mudge’s Folly, hosting a (mostly) annual vaudeville style show called Mudge’s Follies. My great-aunt used to perform regularly!
After a brief intermission:
I had to step away for a bit to get two dozen baked potatoes in the oven to serve to my favorite band — the Grand Ledge Marching Band!
While one of your sleuths mentioned the football team, I feel like Grand Ledge is much more well-known locally for our amazing arts programs. The town annually hosts a marching band exhibition that brings many local marching bands for a well-deserved appreciative audience, which most schools don’t get from the Friday night football crowd. The event closes each year with a performance by the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band. Super cool.
This year’s performance:
I’m a proud mom of one of those sousaphone marchers!
My son pretty much HAD to be in band, since I was one of the Drum Majors in ‘93-’94 and ‘94-’95:
Thanks again for choosing one of my photos, and for putting Grand Ledge on the VFYW map!
From a sleuth who enjoyed that spotlight:
I used to live in Okemos, which is near Grand Ledge. Its downtown has that Music Man look, like so many little Michigan towns I’ve had the pleasure to explore (my wife and I are history buffs and antiquers). I wonder if many states have the number of preserved mill villages and postage stamp farm towns that Michigan has. It may have something to do with peninsular Michigan being one big detour, not on the way to anywhere: America’s leafy cul-de-sac.
Chris, you noted that you were born in Alma, Michigan — which also happens to have a notable WPA post office mural, by Joe Cox (1915-1997):
Cox later became an abstract painter and teacher at NC State. I have an unsigned abstract watercolor sketch that I think is his, which I found in St. Louis, Michigan, but his dealer has seen it and disputes my intuition. I still believe I’m right.
Our time living in Michigan was great. The people were warm, welcoming, good-humored, and generous, although the instant familiarity was a bit startling to us reserved Minnesota Scandinavians. Raising our sons there gave them a great start, although our eldest once asked how we managed to find the most boring possible place to raise a family. Our answer: “Due diligence.”
It is a problem that the kids don’t stay. After leaving the excellent universities, they flee to Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and even Denver. But you hear many stories of some returning to raise families, rediscovering a state that feels like home after all.
Once again, Chris, another fine choice of window! I always enjoy the VFYW; it’s like a little vacation to a fascinating locale every week. And the contributors are the most remarkable guides.
One of the most creative guides is praised by the UWS super-sleuth:
I just want to add a quick shout-out to the super-sleuth in San Mateo for his latest (and fabulous!) “Reimagined” contributions. I was especially tickled with the ones in NYC. They are very, very far from reality: the cost of land is so high that station owners just take the money and run (and who can blame them)? That just makes the Reimagined views even more delightful.
I also love the one on the moon! Please let San Mateo know that he has at least one East Coast fan, and to please keep his creations coming. (And maybe let him know that the speed limit in Times Square is now 25mph — not that it’s possible to go that fast!)
Scroll down for San Mateo’s latest creation. But first, here’s our super-sleuth in Bethlum:
Last week’s write-up about the Lugnuts — the local baseball team in Lansing — reminded me of the naming of our hometown AAA ball team, an affiliate of the Phillies. I followed the naming process more closely than I might have otherwise, after working on the bonds for the stadium and the lease between the county and the team. I learned lots about minor league baseball during those negotiations.
The naming of the team, formerly the Ottawa Lynx, followed a similar process as the Lugnuts, with thousands of publicly submitted suggestions, and then a public vote on a winnowed-down list. The winning name was the Iron Pigs — ironically (sorry!) submitted by a local named Michael Steele.
The name is a tribute to the long-gone steelmaking industry (pig iron), and the two mascots — which are, of course, pigs — are aptly named FeRROUS and Fefe, which my former chemistry-nerd brain appreciates.
We’ve seen lots of pork-related humor and foods over nearly 20 years, and the team has been a rousing success in the area — which means that the county’s gamble in courting the team and building the stadium worked.
A final followup comes from the super-sleuth in Riverwoods, who contributed some art last week:
Thanks again for posting my cultural addition to last week’s write-up. I am a newbie to contributing such an entry, and that was only my second. (The first was for the Melbourne contest regarding the Australian breakdancer, RayGun.)
It feels like a VFYW rite of passage to contribute a cultural entry. There is a definite sequence of experiences I assume most sleuths go through eventually:
curiosity; sideline sleuthing; giving a view the old college try and locating the city; euphoria from hitting a window; winning and becoming crowned; looking forward to your travels and hoping you have a good view so that you can submit; and last but not least, contributing a dash of culture to the weekly write-up.
I sometimes wish I could go back to Day One, but joining the VFYW family is metaphorical to growing up and maturing. I’m very grateful to you and Andrew for creating the VFYW.
We’re chuffed! On to this week’s view, our super-sleuth in Chicagoland wonders:
Are you running a back-to-school tutorial for views? Last week you featured one archetype: simple straightforward clues that, like breadcrumbs, lead to the window.
This week features another archetype: the needle-in-the-haystack view. However, it’s a sizable needle — the EōS Fitness gym — within a fairly small haystack; there simply aren’t that many EōS fitness locations (yet).
And once again, no red herrings.
From a first-time sleuth: “My guess is Madrid, Spain.” Another newcomer gets to the right country:
The 10/17/25 picture location could be Palm Springs, California, USA.
I currently receive your newsletter, but I don’t subscribe to Dish or VFYW.
Now’s the time! Another sleuth guesses “Dublin, California, USA.” From a previous winner in Alexandria:
Hi! This photo is like the epitome of my least favorite places to visit in the United States: desert, relatively new construction, and overly air conditioned — so you go from unbearable dry heat to ice cold interiors. Give me the humid summer heat and winter cold in the mid-Atlantic over that any day. Ugh — but I pressed on.
The Yakima super-sleuth runs through more clues:
Developed, mountains, arid, and palms all point to the southwestern US. But the blue building logo is the obvious entry point:
Some who live in that chain’s fairly large service area might recognize it on sight, but not me. I searched for E&S, E&B, E&etc ... with no luck. “Eco” with a superscore over the “o” didn’t pan out. I tried other small roundish letters in E__S, and found a couple hundred “EOS” logos (I particularly liked Evolution of Smooth, European Organization of the Sawmill Industry, and the NASA Earth Observing System satellites.)
One of them matched the color and font in the view:
An EoS press release describes it as “a leader in the fitness industry with its High Value, Low Price® gyms” with 1.5 million gym members and more than 175 locations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Southern California, Texas and Utah:
It’s a slightly smaller search constellation than Dollar General stores or Marathon stations, but still daunting. With all the palm trees in the view, I wasted a little time poking around EoS gyms in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and adjacent southern California. No luck.
A recent winner names the right region:
I’m officially addicted: this is my fourth entry in as many consecutive contests. I’m sure a view will come along soon that will stump me, from which point you’ll never hear from me again, but so far it hasn’t happened yet.
This window was overall not a very difficult one to figure out. First of all, the signage, street markings, and building style all indicate this is in the US. More specifically, the vegetation and scenery all point to the southwestern US. The best clue is the store in the back that simply reads “EōS”.
San Mateo reimagines that gym:
The key to solving this week’s VFYW was the blue EōS logo (even though the logo was quite small), the palm trees, and the desert climate. Given that, for the Reimagined, we’ll emphasize the logo and really emphasize the palm trees. While we’re at it, let’s make the logo “EöS” — with an umlaut — and much bigger. (EöS isn’t a standard German word; rather, it’s meant to be a stylized variant of Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn.)
He’s not done, of course:
Again failing to leave well enough alone, and upon further reflection, perhaps changing the logo in the Reimagined from EōS to EöS was a bridge too far.
So below is an alternative one with the conventionally-spelled EōS logo (still without Fitness) — which has, by the way, what’s called a macron over the “o”. The macron indicates a long vowel sound, and, not surprisingly, the “o” with a macron is technically called “o with macron.” And EōS, according to the company, is to be pronounced EE-ohs (or in the International Phonetic Alphabet, /ˈiː.oʊs/).
So here’s the Reimagined Reimagined with the “o with macron”:
While I was writing this email, I received your denouement for contest #481 featuring a Marathon gas station. As you know, my theme for the Reimagineds for #481 was transporting the Marathon station around the country and the moon. I realized that if I could move a Marathon gas station to the moon, why not move it into this week’s contest, specifically into the Aspire at Paseo apartment complex?
This interbreeding of Reimagineds is a first. Who knows what might happen next?
I’m expecting a turducken next week. But first:
I was looking at the two new Reimagineds this morning and was inspired by the traffic islands in the street. Where else do we see islands?
Magnifico! Next up, our super-sleuth from Santa Monica:
When I look at a VFYW, I am reluctant to answer when I can’t even identify the city. Last week I had got as far as Michigan, but I saw a lengthy search of Marathon gas stations and bailed.
I could brute-force this week’s, but am not going to. I had a sense this might be quite close to me, in a cut-from-whole-cloth neighborhood just north of LAX called Playa Vista. (You cannot, in fact, see the beach.) But, after a search including wondering how to do the “ō” (as in Tōkyō) that’s in the EōS gym, I have learned it’s called a macron, and that my ‘90s-era memory of the precise option-keys on a Mac to generate accents has, like so much else, been rendered redundant. I mean it’s still quicker, but now if you just hold the key down instead of getting oooooo or whatever, a little pop-up appears with all possible options.
(Microsoft Windows people: I have nothing for you. You made your choice.)
He got to the right city, as did Chini:
Here’s a San Fran sleuth on the Correct Guesser list:
OK, so I don’t know exactly where this is, but I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of a trick, akin to the Claremont Caper in contest #457. The main clue, of course, is the EōS Fitness Center — except that it’s almost certainly a red herring, a diversion, a sleight de l’oeil. My guess is that this EōS has already closed, is not yet open, or has been beamed up. The buildings are so damn new that they will not appear in Google Maps or Satellite View.
The window is probably on the XXX-urban periphery of Phoenix, AZ, so let’s call this the Desert Distraction. So, my guess is:
Room ∞-1 of the Heretodaygonetomorrow Hotel 0 Mirage Drive Instacity, AZ 85666
Our super-sleuth on Park Avenue names the right state:
Well, this one was proving to be difficult, but something about the blue sign on the building at the back was nagging me — I knew I had seen it before. Indeed I had, at a strip-mall gym in Dallas where I sat in a car while a friend ran in to get something. Boredom does sometimes pay dividends.
But our view photo is not from Dallas — so I started with Nevada, since there were only 14 EoS gyms to look for.
Our super-sleuth in Ridgewood narrows it down to the right part of Nevada:
This week’s window is taken from a suburban area of Las Vegas. Unfortunately I don’t have time this week to pin down the exact location, but it’s likely somewhere in the vicinity of 8861 Echelon Point Dr, which has a nearly identical look per the attached screenshot.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Vegas and the surrounding areas such as Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, and the Valley of Fire State Park. The desert beauty is staggering and otherwordly.
I’ve been meaning to return actually, because I have become obsessed with The Sphere — a multibillion dollar spherical entertainment complex — to the extent that I follow several of its accounts on social media. It is a futuristic (and mildly dystopian) wondrous spectacle to have this absolutely ginormous globe projecting bizarre imagery 24/7 in the middle of a downtown metropolis.
My favorite anecdote pertaining to The Sphere is a luxury golf course nearby: several of the holes involve views of The Sphere looming over the fairway. A lot of the golfers are pissed off about it, but clearly it can make for some high comedy:
Lastly, I’ll be looking forward to the film discussion about the Paul Verhoeven classic starring Elizabeth Berkley known as Showgirls!
Thank god no. Another sleuth writes:
Another fun contest; I think I’m getting the hang of it. At first this image screamed “SoCal inland empire” to me, owing to the combination of palm trees, mountains, and generic apartments. But after scouring maps looking for an EoS fitness adjacent to such a bland housing complex, I came up empty. At that point, I expanded my search and realized there are about a dozen EoS fitness locations in greater Lost Wages, Nevada.
Heh. Next up is our previous winner in Honolulu — who often marks his window guess with an image of Butters:
I’m busy with conference season and was actually just in Vegas last week for the same. Fairly confident this is in Vegas looking over an EoS gym, but don’t have time to track down the specific one, much less paste Cartman as “BEEFCAKE!” on top of a window.
Speaking of beefcake:
As a Phoenix resident, I recognized the EōS Fitness sign right away, since that’s my gym. I’ve been a member there for nearly a year, ever since I decided to enter a Men’s Physique competition this past summer. I’ve always stayed active, but finally stepping on stage in board shorts and a spray tan just two weeks before my 58th birthday was something I had thought about for years. After months of focused training, I was in the best shape of my life and proud to prove to myself that I could still do it.
I first thought this window view might be looking at one of the newer EōS locations in the East Valley here in Phoenix — but the surrounding buildings didn’t match. Since it has a very similar Southwestern vibe, I opened my EōS app and started looking at the locations in [city redacted] and [city redacted], since I know they have plenty of gyms up there. And sure enough, everything started lining up.
Our super-sleuth in Raleigh unredacts the right city:
I immediately assumed we’re in the Southwest — specifically Phoenix — and the only clue I could discern was EoS. So, you know the routine: I looked for gym locations on the EoS website in the Phoenix area … but came up bupkis. I was about to give up — and I figured my entry would give you some good material for the top part of the write-up — when I saw that there’s a link to bring up a list of all the EoS locations … DUH!
The list returned all of the gyms in AZ, UT, NV, and CA — but best of all, it had pictures of the facades of about 3/4 of the gyms. The VFYW gym is in a light-colored building with the letters EoS in blue (including a white macron — thanks wife! — above the “o”). In addition, in the top-left corner of the building, there’s a unique metal sculpture.
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