mid-century [glamper]

one benefit to being an architect is no matter where you go there's always something to visit.  a wonderful perk if you're an architect; a slight annoyance to those traveling with you who are not [into] buildings.

not too terribly far away from maine is arguably one of the more famous houses in america; the glass house by philip johnson.  that simple glass mid century structure we all know and love from architecture school.  a long weekend trip to connecticut to visit my in-laws put us within 20 minutes of it's location.  with it being that close and one of those building [you just have to see] i convinced all four of us to sign up for the tour.

it was exactly what the name implies; a glass house. emphasizing this fact, upon turning the corner and seeing the building for the first time my mother-in-law said "is that it?" making me laugh.

it was everything i had heard about in school; extremely open floor plan, classic proportions and minimal detailing.  one item i didn't pick up on from my history books is that it's not so much about the building but rather the landscape surrounding it.  when taking in the space on the inside of the structure the building dissapears and you feel a part of the landscape.  the house doesn't really have walls of glass, but rather walls made up of scenes of the trees, the lawn, the stone wall, the pond and the views.  you don't feel a part of the house, you feel included in the landscape. 

after taking the tour and enjoying the house it made me wonder whether philip johnson had really built a minimalist icon...or if he was merely a fan of glamping.

 

magical [history] tour

when your new in town, sometimes you have to jump at opportunities to find out more about the city you live in.  that's exactly what i did last may when i went on the magical mystery tour hosted by the maine historical society.

so the whole point of the tour is that it's a big secrete right up until the day before the tour.  that's when they release the list of 10 hidden spots around portland that the general public cat usually get to.  as i haven't been in too many building around town, it didn't really matter what the list consisted of, i was excited to see and learn anything i could.

it was an incredibly well done event and i had a blast discovering new sites.  i wasn't able to make it to all 10, but i fully enjoyed the sites i did visit.

some highlights were traveling to the top of the city hall clock tower, seeing the inside of the time and temperature building, a private home designed by john calvin stevens and the inside of st. dominic parish.

i feel it very hard to grow in a city if you lack knowledge of it's history.  the magical mystery tour gave me a wonderful and beautiful crash course a few gems of this city's history.  i can't wait to see what they have in store next year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

what [gear] in history

by some strange series of events, the wonderful people in charge of the wichita riverfest asked me to lead an architectural bike tour last saturday.

i agreed, i mean, why not? i've lived downtown for the past eight years! how hard could it be to talk about a bunch of buildings in front of people?  

i knew some stuff.....

right?

the more i thought about it, the more i realized my "stuff" wasn't exactly what you'd call "facts." i couldn't "bs" the wonderful people on the tour. by some fluke i had been placed in a role where people might actually believe what i say, a position i was not familiar with.  thankfully we live in a modern world with access to the wonderful information available on the internet.  a glorious place where even the most inane mind, can appear wise.

the days before the tour found me scouring the net, searching for details, facts and stories on some of my favorite buildings downtown. between information from the kansas historical registry and some fascinating articles by local historian michael carmody, i was able to piece together enough information to not look like an architectural ass.  thankfully the tour went we'll, and those who rode their bikes down douglas last saturday seemed to enjoy it.

finding all this information fascinating, i wanted to share the few facts i've learned about some of the architecture of our city.  i hope you enjoy!

also, if you have history to correct or add to any of these buildings, please feel free to comment!

broadview hotel

year: 1921

architect: Ed Forsblom

style: ?

notes: named the "broad view" because of the broad view it offered of wichita.  the basement held a speakeasy which could hold 600 people.

century II

year: 1969

architect: john hickman and roy k. varenhorst - both apprentice's to frank lloyd write

style: usonion?

notes: color and shape of pillars meant to mimic wheat stalks and fields. blue doomed roof meant to mimic the vast sky over the prairie

central library

year: 1967

architect: schaefer, schirmer and eflin

style: brutilist

notes: one of only a few buildings in kansas to have won a national award - an aia merit award for library design 1968

wichita city hall

year: 1892

architect: proudfoot and bird

style: romanesque

carnegie library

year: 1915

architect: crowell anthony allair

style: beaux arts
notes: the cities library until the new central library was built across the street

kress building

year: 1929

architect: g.f. mackay

style: gothic revival
notes: one of many kress buildings around the country

caldwell murdock building

year: 1908

architect:

style: early modernism

notes: wichita's first building with a steel structure, making it the cities first "skyscraper." also the tallest building in the city when it was built. built by louise caldwell-murdock in memory of her husband.

douglas building (ambassador hotel)

year: 1926

architect: vizthum and burns

style: chicago school
notes: site of the 1958 dockum sit-in 

fourth financial center (bank of america center)

year: 1974

architect: skidmore, owings and merrill

style: modern

notes: the large reinforced concrete pylons house the fire stairs as well as mechanical and electrical systems.

eaton hotel

year: 1887

architect: terry and dumont

style: late victorian/ 2nd empire

notes: in 1900 carrie nation took and axe to the hotel bar

union station

year:1913 

architect: louis s. curtiss

style: beaux arts

keen cuter building (hotel oldtown)

year:1906

architect: mauran,  russell and garden

style: warehouse

orpheum

year: 1922

architect: john eberson

style:?

notes: atmospheric theatre

scottish rite building

year: 1887

architect: proudfoot and bird

style: romanesque

notes: original ymca

photo by Ty

nearly midnight [lawrence]

there are only a few artists i'd travel two and a half hours to see on a random tuesday night; neko case is one of them.  not only because i've enjoyed her music for several years, but hearing her perform live is nothing short of magical.  in an era of auto tuning and twerking, it really is amazing to watch a live performance from someone with honest talent.

neko was on tour promoting her new album, which holds tracks already climbing up the list of my favorites. although we didn't share the eye-locking moment we did back in 2007 it was still an amazing show, and i'm thankful cameras take significantly better photos than they did six years ago.  if you've never heard of her, please check her out.  i'm partial to the song "hold on, hold on", but if you stumble upon her new album first, check out "night still comes," "local girl," or "ragtime," a few of my favorites from the new album.