Valentino's Children
0 Comments Published by Cedric Benetti on Friday, December 31, 2010 at 12/31/2010 07:50:00 PM.
Labels: Art Galleries, exhibitions, New York, New York street stuff, photography
Labels: BROOKLYN, New York, New York street stuff, photography
The Joys of Bus Route Confusion
0 Comments Published by Cedric Benetti on at 12/31/2010 07:27:00 PM.
Labels: BROOKLYN, Maps, New York, photography, travel
Labels: Architecture shot, Philadelphia, photography
30th Street Station, the main railroad hub of Philadelphia, was built in 1925 by the Chicago-based architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White and was originally known as Pennsylvania Station–30th Street.
Spirit of Transportation (1895) by Karl Bitter
Labels: American Architectural History, Architecture Instant Love, Architecture shot, Interiors, Philadelphia, photography
The red sandstone, brick and-terra-cotta fortress that graces the campus of the University of Pennsylvania was built by Frank Furness to be the primary library of the University, and to house its archeological collection. The cornerstone was laid in October 1888, construction was completed in late 1890, and the building was dedicated in February 1891.
Throughout the building are windows inscribed with quotations from Shakespeare, chosen by Horace Howard Furness, Frank's brother, a University lecturer and a preeminent American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century.
Within a generation, Frank Furness's exuberant masterwork was considered an embarrassment. The University Museum moved to its own building in 1899. In 1915 a wing was built at the south end of the stacks, making their designed expansion impossible. Robert Rodes McGoodwin drew up plans to cloak the entire building in sedate Collegiate Gothic brick and stone.
In 1957 Frank Lloyd Wright was invited to tour the Victorian mamoth, then threatened with demolition. The architect proclaimed: "It is the work of an artist."
The building served as main library of the university until 1962. Today it houses collections related to architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, historic preservation, history of art, and studio arts.
In a 2009 appreciation in The Wall Street Journal, architectural historian Michael J. Lewis called it "a cheeky act of architectural impertinence" and "the last of its kind":
"Today, the University of Pennsylvania building, now known as the Fisher Fine Arts Library, is widely acknowledged as one of the great creations of 19th-century American culture, and the principal work of its architect, Frank Furness (1839-1912)."
"Today, the University of Pennsylvania building, now known as the Fisher Fine Arts Library, is widely acknowledged as one of the great creations of 19th-century American culture, and the principal work of its architect, Frank Furness (1839-1912)."
Labels: American Architectural History, Architecture Instant Love, Architecture shot, Art, Interiors, Magazines and books, Philadelphia, photography
Campus Life
0 Comments Published by Cedric Benetti on Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 12/30/2010 09:11:00 PM.
Labels: Architecture shot, Philadelphia, photography
