In March, the color green is a universally celebrated icon with the holiday St. Patrick's Day. So, what better way to celebrate this verdant month than with another sparkling, bejeweled icon in Oz: The Emerald City. The Emerald City is located in the middle of the Land of Oz, connecting four regions together - The Winkie (or Vinkus) Country, The Gillikin Country, The Munchkin Country (or Munchkinland), and The Quadling Country. The Emerald City was founded around 1872 A.D. by order of the Wizard of Oz and inside the gates of the Emerald City lie many notable locations and residents. We will explore those as well as how you can bring the Emerald City to your neck of the woods, and not just the TV show from NBC. So, let us go and see the Wizard and visit the most awe-inspiring city ever! Inside the gates of the Emerald City, there are many notable locations and residents that we experience in Baum's and Maguire's stories. It is revealed in Baum's stories that there are more 9,600 buildings and over 57,000 residents. The city is lit up with electrical lights and supposedly sparkles green because of the green glasses that all the residents are required to wear outside of their houses. The city is normally white stone with hints of emeralds, rubies, and diamonds scattered variously throughout the city. For a complete listing of Emerald City buildings, denizens, etc, click here. Notable Locations of the Emerald City:
Notable Residents of the Emerald City:
Of course, this city has made its mark in many different adaptations. There is even a TV show that is entitled with the same name as the iconic city. Below, you will see some of the more notable representations of the Emerald City in various media adaptations. What is your favorite adaptation of the Emerald City? Let me know in the comments below. So, how can you bring this amazingly jeweled city of Oz to your neck of the woods? Well, you can start with the Baum books where the Emerald City is constantly referenced or visited within a story. There is even a book that ends Dorothy's main storyline entitled "The Emerald City of Oz" and has even spawned a notable comic from Marvel. Fascinating enough, the title of this book was what Baum wanted to name the first story but did not publish it because of a superstitious belief that putting a jewel name in a book is a curse for the death of the book. After you have read the books, you can always check out the many adaptations out there in the slide show above or even check out the TV series from NBC, which is available online here or you can purchase it any streaming service out there like Vudu or Amazon Prime Video. If you like Anime, you can check out the 52-episode story, which was just released on Blu-ray (cover below, center), that actually features a white, sparkling Emerald City; and, in all fairness, the Emerald City in the book is described as only emerald because of the glasses you wear. It is actually made up on a white, sparkling stone. In 1990, DIC put out a TV series that acted as a continuation story and saw the Wicked Witch of the West brought back to life in two-episode arc, "The Rescue of the Emerald City". Be sure to check those out online as well. After seeing so many adaptations, you may feel inspired to create your own creation, as this fan did with Legos. There is so much out there, this iconic city will never fade away. We are still learning so much about it that different parts of the Emerald City that we are constantly developing new pieces for all that we learn. But, let me know below, what is your favorite part of the Emerald City and what you would want to see developed or created artistically out there concerning the Emerald City? Also, if you ever wanted to visit the Emerald City in person, you have a few options. First, Seattle is known as the Emerald City and has various locations you can visit like The Emerald City Comic Con, Emerald City Smoothies, and the Emerald City Comic Shop. Next, you can always visit the Emerald City in the Land of Oz Theme Park in North Carolina (pictured below). Lastly, The Oz Museum in Kansas has a very large Emerald City area you can walk around in and take a picture in the Wizard's balloon. So, I hope you have enjoyed our visit to the various Emerald Cities around the country and in Oz. Did you have a favorite? Let me know below; and, until next time, we will be seeing you something into the Oz-verse.
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May 2024
AuthorMy name is Vinkus Ken and I have been a long time fan of many things in Oz and how their world truly does emulate much of ours. Did you know that they have a flag of their own? Or did you know that they have a law about only having 9 jurors in their courts? Also, Oz has a court system! I like to introduce facts that seem meaningless and bring meaning to them by comparing them to our world. So, come along on this journey and enjoy the ride. |