A few old things

As far as Middle Western cities go, Grand Rapids and its historic building stock fared decently during the destructive period of "urban renewal" during the 1960s, when the historic centers of small towns and large cities alike were gutted in the name of progress. Notable losses include the old city hall and courthouse, in addition to several commercial blocks dating from the 1870s and 1880s. Yet, many buildings were spared, leaving downtown with at least a handful of intact historic street-scapes.

This past weekend, I had the good pleasure of having to town several architecture colleagues from Ball State. We had an enjoyable time wandering about town, looking at buildings, and taking photos. Here are a few that showcase the architectural heritage of which I speak, alongside other landmarks.

Ottawa Street, looking south

Monroe Center Avenue, looking southeast

Corner of Ionia and Weston, looking northwest

Yesterdog, the city's quintessential foodstop

Meyer May House by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Basilica of St. Adalbert, with its recently installed illumination

Wrightian Houseboats

As an American architecture student, I have been inundated with things Frank Lloyd Wright for time immemorial. For many, he is the American architect, and for others perhaps the only famous architect they've ever heard of. Thus, for much of my youth, relatives and friends would give me book upon book on the man, so that by the time I began studying architecture in earnest, I was quite sick of him (a feeling not uncommon among my colleagues).

It is then a special pleasure to come across a Wrightian project one has never seen before. Many of Wright's unbuilt schemes are fascinating in their fantastic, slightly whimsical formulations. One such project was his proposal for a summer resort colony on the shores of Lake Tahoe, for which he designed more conventional lodges and cabins, in addition to a rather fanciful fleet of floating cabins. I present a few images of these rustic houseboats below, courtesy of our own Library of Congress.

This project was proposed in 1923, which was after Wright's Prairie house period (though, in plan, there are certainly still similarities between the houseboats and the Prairie houses), but before his stylistic transformation into the unapologetic modernism of his later works (Fallingwater, the Usonian houses). One can sense the influence of the California textile block houses, which were being built around similar time in a relatively similar setting and climate.

The last image bears a striking resemblance to the Beth Sholom Synagogue, which wouldn't be built for another thirty years.

You are all fair, my love; there is no flaw in you

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation for all Catholics. It is on this day that we recall the conception of Mary without sin in the womb of her mother, Anne. God, in his mercy and providence, preserved Mary from all stain of sin from the moment of her conception onward, so that she would become a sanctified vessel for bearing Our Lord. 

Our Lady, under the title of her Immaculate Conception has been invoked as patroness of the United States since 1792, when John Carroll, the first bishop of Baltimore (and the first Catholic bishop in the United States), asked her special protection for the nation. Pope Pius IX formalized this act in 1847. It is to her, especially on this memorial of her conception, that we Americans should ask for her intercession before God's throne for the sake of our nation. 

Since Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is our patroness, we have honored her in this country with the building of a spectacular church in our nation's capital. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. is truly an architectural monument of great beauty. It is the largest Catholic church in the United States, the eighth largest religious structure in the world, and the tallest building in the District of Columbia. Construction began in 1920 and was completed in 1959, though interior decoration continues to this day, with the main dome's mosaics yet to be completed as planned.

I have had the great privilege of visiting this splendid basilica during the course of a high school trip to Washington to take part in the March for Life. It is truly an awe-inspiring and beautiful place. The architecture is a curious - but successful - mix of Byzantine and Romanesque motifs. One gets the feeling that the architects took the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and melted them together. Marian symbols and quotations abound, and the crypt is lined with chapels devoted to Our Lady under her many titles. The crypt also displays several other pieces of interest, most interestingly the papal tiara of Pope Paul VI. 

The photo shows the high altar and the sanctuary decorated for Christmas. The mosaic in the apse (i.e. the background of the photo) is a particularly stern depiction of Jesus in majesty.

Some Gothic Revival Thoughts

Last night I was struck with what I call an "art attack" - ideas that have been germinating for a while simply needed to be let onto the paper. The result was a facade of a Gothic Revival church. This facade design takes in a number of influences, chiefly the civil and ecclesiastical architecture of Bertram Goodhue, the Craftsman aesthetic of early 20th Century America, and King's College Chapel at Cambridge University. Oh, and perhaps a bit of Art Deco snuck in on the sidelines.

In composition, this facade hearkens back to Goodhue's noble and austere design of the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. There are two small towers that flank a large, gabled, central mass pierced by an immense window. Twin portals finish out the bottom of the picture. In detail, however, the more - how shall I say - American aesthetic comes into play. Preference for straight lines, right angles, and clarity is established in the overall decorative scheme. This preference was perhaps best elucidated by the well-known works of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The overarching decorative scheme centers on the person of Christ in various ways. The twin portals are divided by a stylized stone depiction of the crucifixion. Below the crucifixion scene are the symbols of the Four Evangelists over the door frames - symbolic of the Church's mission to take Christ out into the world and evangelize. Above the portals is the large western window. This window would likely depict scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary - a lens through which we can view the way to Christ more clearly. The small towers are crowned with twin angels, each holding a shield depicting a Christological symbol (the cross, the Chi-Rho, the Alpha and Omega, and the Lamb). Crowning the entire facade is the Resurrected Christ in glory (similar, perhaps, to the great statue of the Cristo Redentor that crowns Rio de Janeiro). The angels on either side bow down, bearing the instruments of the Passion.

Driving this particular mental exercise was a desire to attempt to develop an American style for church building. I am indeed enthused with the contemporary drive toward a more traditional ecclesiastical design ethos, but sometimes these projects can seem slightly imported, or foreign, in a way. I think this is because some traditional designers tend to interpret tradition to simply mean "anything from the Italian Renaissance" or "anything Gothic" instead of perhaps its more authentic definition of "building on our shared past." This is why I attempted to draw so many architectural allusions to American movements - we need to build on our shared architectural heritage as a nation, while not disregarding the architectural traditions of our mother, the Church, and our teacher, Western civilization.

Please click the image to view larger, so that the detail can be better viewed.