I often focus on architecture, or specific buildings, but in truth it is the spaces these buildings inhabit and create (and the people that inhabit and create them) that interest me most of all. My blog title including “spaces” is no mistake! In light of this (and the fact that I’m traveling this week), I… Read More Chicago Snapshots
The Brewster Apartment Building, built in 1893, is a stately but fairly unassuming building on the corner of Diversey and Pine Grove in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Besides the impressive, Sullivanesque detailing under the eaves, it is easy to look past it. However, its dark exterior is misleading. Much like The Rookery, Chicago’s Burnham &… Read More The Surprising Interior of the Brewster Apartment Building
While the Portland Building in downtown Portland, Oregon, has received its fair share of critiques, it is a poster child for the American Post-Modern style and helped define Post-Modern Classicism. It pulls classical details back into architecture unapologetic, though stylized ornamentation. Look no further than the giant ribbons that festoon the building’s upper floors! While… Read More Building Feature: the Portland Building
Chicago is an architecture enthusiast’s dream city. From Burnham & Root and the White City, to Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, to the glass skyscrapers of Mies van der Rohe, a dozen nationally-significant trends had a role or got their start in the Windy City. I visited Chicago again recently and, as always, I couldn’t… Read More Building Feature: Chicago’s Fisher Building
”Above all, with political turmoil, traffic problems, vast increases in population and the tremendous impact of the machine, we must have serenity. Man needs a serene architectural background to save his sanity in today’s world.” -Minoru Yamasaki to Ada Louise Huxtable I hadn’t heard of Minoru Yamasaki until recently and now it seems like he’s… Read More Minoru Yamasaki in Seattle
With Halloween approaching, I can’t help but bring up a costume party that surely ranks among the best ever (and is lore amongst architectural history students): This party of the century is no ordinary group of buildings. The 1931 Beaux-Arts Ball hosted, among others, two dozen architects dressed as buildings they had recently designed.… Read More The Best Costume Party in Architectural History
Originally posted on Preservation Journey:
Mad Men, a widely acclaimed TV drama based in 1960s New York, has garnered millions of viewers and inspired everything from wardrobe collections to cocktail menus. This week it’s back for its sixth season and the Internet is abuzz with anticipation. What better time to look at Mad Men from…
Susie Trexler 