3.13.2009

Reflect(ive)-ed Architecture

This is just a collection of some fun pictures I have taken over the years.

Jersey City


Chicago

Mohonk Mountain House, New York State

Philly Suburb

3.03.2009

Philly's Skyline

Put a sculpture of a well-known historical figure (William Penn) on the top of a building and people will like it. I do. It's 37 feet and it is the tallest sculpture on any building in the world.

William Penn on top of City Hall at night to the right with skyscrapers towering behind from left to right. Two Liberty Place is on the far left, then One Liberty Place, the Mellon Bank Center, and the tallest building on the right is the Comcast Center.


Apparently when they lift a ban everyone goes crazy. There was a ban on buildings that stood taller than William until 1987, and you can see that once they lifted the ban the skyscrapers went up. Here's a really interesting article from the New York Times that talks about Liberty Place.

William Penn during the day on his 511 foot tower with the Comcast Center towering behind.

These are the buildings I think of when I think of Philly's Skyline.


Here are two interesting sites that show, and discuss the buildings in Philadelphia: Phillyskyline and GoPhila

For Structure? Or For Looks?

Here's a picture of a beam which would traditionally be used for supporting a ceiling in architecture.


It looks as if it has worn away, but the ceiling is not falling down, so I assume it is just for looks. I Like it that the lights are mounted in the beams as well!



This is at a very tasty cheese steak place in Philadelphia near the river at 214 Market Street called Campos Deli. It is on the south side of the street and I highly recommend going there. Tasty goodness!

3.02.2009

Architecture Commissioned By Women For Women

Architecture commissioned by the early dowagers of Grand Rapids:
St. Cecilia Music Center founded in 1883 by nine women for the musical education of women.

This building was built in 1894 in the Italian Renaissance style, and designed by Henry Ives Cobb. The details on the outside are nice, but not overly beautiful. Here's the quotation from the site about the design: Cobb was "to design a 'simple and diginified' temple of music."

I have been here for two weddings, and it is quite lovely inside. It has been classified a historical landmark building since 1971, before I was born.






St. Cecilia Music Center. 24 Ransom Avenue NE . Grand Rapids . MI 49503

3.01.2009

More Building Unmentionables...





The things they may not teach in architecture school: What to do with unsightly necessities.