Reamer was a lucky man, being in the right place at the right time, creating this lovely building at the age of 29.  Made entirely of Lodgepole Pine, which covers 80% of Yellowstone, the building soars 75 feet into the sky, or roughly the same height of a fully mature Lodgepole Pine.  Originally constructed with the bark still intact, it removed decades later, for reasons not entirely known.  The building opened with electric lights and steam heat and was advertised for the well to do travelers coming to Yellowstone by train.

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked the Inn in 1959 destroying the rhyolite fireplace in the dining room as well as rendering the Crow’s Nest unstable for loading.  Though the Crow’s Nest also only has one means of egress and therefore does not meet building codes, meaning it would still not be accessible even if it were structurally stable.  The building has undergone various renovations since the late 90s and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.  It is truly a sight to behold and if you ever get the chance to spend the night there, certainly take advantage of it.  (At least stop in and wander around the lobby)  Enjoy some photos I snapped.

The "Tree House" perched high above the lobby.

Looking down on the lobby from the second floor.

Inside the Old Faithful Inn

The original dining room.

Tagged: America, Architecture, heritage, History, log cabin, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, NPS, Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone ]]> http://thebldgblock.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/the-ultimate-log-cabin/feed/ 0 thebldgblock yell38 yell32 yell34 yell33 yell37 http://thebldgblock.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/america-through-the-habs-archives-louisville-water-tower/ http://thebldgblock.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/america-through-the-habs-archives-louisville-water-tower/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:48:44 +0000 thebldgblock http://thebldgblock.wordpress.com/?p=508 ]]> We’ll continue the “America through the HABS Archives” series by taking a look at the Louisville Water Tower and Pump Station #1.  Designed by Theodore Scowden and constructed in 1856 the Louisville Water Tower is the oldest ornamental water tower in the world.  I wonder how many of you knew that, as I certainly did not until I did some research on the building.  The tower stands 183 tall and is of the Doric order with a Corinthian peristyle around the base.  The pump station was designed in the Classical Revival style and housed boiler and engine rooms.

Water began flowing through the station in 1860 and and pumped 12 million gallons of water a day.  A March 27, 1890 tornado nearly destroyed the Water Tower.  Just 30 feet was left standing but it was quickly rebuilt in cast iron to replace the original iron and wood paneled shaft.  By 1909 the needs of the city had grown beyond the capacity of the original pumping station and water tower and a new pumping station and reservoir was constructed in Crescent Hill.  The statues on the Tower’s base include 9 figures from Greek or Roman mythology and 1 Native American with his dog.

All the photos below, except the one of the Tower’s destruction, are from the HABS archives.  The damage photo is from the Louisville government website found here.  The HABS photos are once again by Jack Boucher and were taken in May 1975.

General View of Water Tower

Pump Station Detail of Architrave and Pediment

Pump Station Detail of Column Capital

Interior of Pump Station

North Facade Window of Pump Station

Detail of Statues on Water Tower

Southeast View with New Tower and Pump Station

Damage from 1890 Tornado

Anybody can undertake work on HABS documentation.  The NPS provides guidelines for the drawings, photos, and narratives and if adhered to will be accepted by the Library of Congress and become a part of the public domain.  The LOC archives all the HABS completed online at “Built in America”.  The beauty of the online archive is that everything that has been digitized is searchable in one spot.  However archives like this are rarely used, except by those either looking for examples as they undertake their own documentation, or when researching a specific building.  And what people are missing are photographs and drawings that document American architectural heritage.  Some of which has been lost and only exists in these archives.

So it’s with that in mind, I am going to start a regular feature at thebldgbloc(k) to feature a new building through photographs and drawings I select to feature here.  Some buildings will be looked at more in depth while others will simply be presented through a few photos.

So to start,

600 & 700 Block of Main Street, Louisville, KY.

All images taken from “Built in America” archives found here.

This stretch of Main Street is best known for its collection of cast iron facades.  It’s collection is second, in number, only to New York’s SoHo district.  Once a string of vacant buildings the area has revitalized itself in recent decades and in 2008 was named a Top 10 Great Street in America.

Main Street was the city’s first street, established in 1779, and led to Fort Nelson (current day Seventh & Main).  The revitalization of the area centered around an arts and cultural district that is now home to Louisville Slugger Museum, the Muhammad Ali Museum, and the Frazier International History Museum.  How things have changed since these photos were taken.  The only date HABS provided for these photos was post-1933 (thanks as if I couldn’t tell).  The second photo features two cars that may help date the photos.  If anyone thinks they know a ballpark date, I would love to know (UPDATE: The photo caption page dates the photos to August 1979.  They were taken by Jack Boucher.)

601-634 Main Street Looking North Perspective

601-634 Main Street Looking North

Click here to see contemporary view.

601-634 Main Street Looking North

Click here to see a contemporary view.

600-634 Main Street Looking South

(UPDATE: There is no comtemporary view of this photo.  Well there is but not as you see it here.  I could not find this arrangement of buildings on Google Maps, but I found a section that looked as though it was this section mirrored.  And that’s exactly the case.  If you look at the top of this photo you’ll see the transparency was scanned backwards, resulting in a mirrored image of how it actually exists.)

700 Main Street Looking South

626 Main Street

Click here to see a contemporary view.

637 Main Street

Click here to see a contemporary view.

(UPDATE: Commentary) Notice how deserted the streets are.   Not only are there no people walking on the sidewalks, but Main street, for all and intents and purposes, has no cars on it, moving or parked.  While I know downtowns across America struggled for years, especially Louisville, it is hard for me to comprehend the situation depicted in the photographs.  I’m glad that Louisville and cities across America have rebounded and once again have vibrant downtowns.

“In a down economy, are you just seeing software purchases scaled back, or are some organizations using the slow time to “get their house in order” and improve efficiency with new software?”

You’ll notice there are two distinct answers coming from the people interviewed.  One is that available software will help offset costs by being efficient, where people can’t be.  With few projects around, companies have to be as efficient as possible to reap the limited benefits.

The other answer is that software sales are hurting because there are fewer projects and therefore fewer people using the software.  I don’t know how valid this statement is considering the infrequency in which software is bought.  Though companies could be foregoing upgrades while things are slow and new customers are not as willing to purchase software, that no matter how efficient it may make things, is never inexpensive.

With the proper use of software companies can make due during the recession and then continue to excel once the economy has returned to “normal”.  While it may be difficult to innovate when the customers aren’t there, software and technology makers need to continue to further the field.  Technology will be forever linked to the building industry and a happy medium has yet to be found.

The other video addresses this aspect by asking,

“What are the coolest, and most promising technologies at this year’s show?”

Please check out the videos, here.

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If you’re a nuts and bolts type of person, than this book is for you.  What I love about architecture is how things are constructed – brick by brick.  How the building interacts with it’s structure.  How things go to together.  And that’s what this book is.  But it’s not strictly about the construction of the dome.  It weaves in the heated rivalry between Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti.  It’s a rivalry that stretched Brunelleschi’s entire life from the contest for the Baptistery doors to the design of the Cathedral’s dome to the design of the various contraptions used to construct the dome.  The book also tells of the various political and social factors that played a role during the 28 years of construction of the dome.

In the end, Brunelleschi’s dome changed architecture.  His design for the 143 foot wide dome included the perfect arrangement of brick and stone brought into place by hoists and cranes never seen before.  And it’s in the descriptions of these machines where things can get technical.  But its not technical just for the sake of being technical.  The in depth description of these machines and the construction of the dome is necessary to understand, fully, the magnitude of it’s erection and how this wasn’t just another building.

Even though we know how the story ends, in great triumph of course, it’s a marvel to read the history of this magnificent feat of architecture and engineering.  While reading you come to learn about the goldsmith and clockmaker turned Renaissance genius, Filippo Brunelleschi, and his every day life in Florence.  You learn about politics, wealth, and war in 15th century Italy.  And you find out how, despite multiple setbacks and innumerable chances at failure, Brunelleschi was able to design and construct one of the single greatest feats in all of mankind.

The first contest is underway and its your chance to leave an indelible mark.  The current contest, Your Logo Here, asks you to design the logo for the twenty50ten contest and best of all, this contest is on the house.  Enter for free and your chance to win three free entries into future contests.  So what are you waiting for?

While you’re there be sure to check out all the featured content as well.  Be sure to bookmark Ballista because you’ll definitely want to check back for the latest contest and your chance to win some money and be featured on the website.  Be sure to tell them Greg/Jesus sent you.

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Paul Goldberger is the Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic for The New Yorker and Building Up is a collection of his pieces from that publication since he started in 1997.  Coincidently that year was the beginning of the last great architecture boom, which as of the Great Recession, is now a relic of the past.  In 1997 the Guggenheim Museum at Bilbao by Frank O. Gehry opened to the public and it brought with it the Bilbao Effect.  The architecture landscape following the Bilbao Effect is dotted with works by Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaus, Steven Holl, Zaha Hadid to mention just a few of these so-called starchitects.  Fittingly the works of all these architects appear in the book.

The book does a great job categorizing the Age of Architecture through its chapters.  The books starts with Buildings that Matter.  And love ‘em or hate ‘em the buildings that show up in this chapter certainly had a lasting effect on the field of architecture.  From Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and Koolhaus’ Seattle Public Library to the 2008 Beijing Olympics architecture of Herzog and de Meuron’s “Bird’s Nest” and PTW’s “Water Cube” these buildings epitomize the innovation and excess of the time.

From there we take a look at some of the movers and shakers in Places and People. The role of these people in various aspects of the built environment are evident even today.  The Eames.  Mies van der Rohe.  Louis Kahn.  Robert Moses.  Daniel Burnham.  Try to teach an architectural history lesson without those guys.  It would be impossible.  Goldberger does a great job of telling a story while weaving in a lot of lesser known information.

Then there’s a chapter on New York.  From fashion to finance to design, New York City is always a leader.  With so many buildings in the city that never sleeps there are a lot of good and a lot of bad.  Goldberger is fair in his kudos and criticism.  And maybe more than any point in the book, Goldberger has a lot of critical things to say about things going on in New York.  Considering its the place he calls home, one may be surprised with his assessment of the city’s built environment.

While I enjoyed the book, my favorite chapter may have been Past and Present. Being a historic preservationist I take great interest in not only the protection of historic structures but also the way the past is represented and how new construction interacts with the existing fabric.  With examples from China and how’s they are dressing up commercial enterprises as traditional Chinese buildings and the true genius of Washington’s Mount Vernon (which he thinks is at least equal to Jefferson’s Monticello) Goldberger gives the past a fair shake (which isn’t always the case in the always super progressive world of starchitecture).  Furthermore he looks at the World War II Memorial on the nation’s Mall and the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and how we build to memorialize the past.

And finally he ends the book with two fitting chapters, Museums and Ways of Living.  If any building will come to stand as the icon of the Age of Architecture it will certainly be the museum.  The building that started it all is, in fact, a museum- Bilbao.  Plus, we have to look no further than the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim, as case in point as to which building is the choice of architects.  This chapter includes, not surprisingly, pieces on: Bilbao, the British Museum (Norman Foster), Milwaukee Art Museum (Santiago Calatrava), Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth (Tado Ando), Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati (Zaha Hadid), Denver Art Museum (Daniel Libeskind) to name most of them.

The most poignant piece for me is the second to last entry.  And its seems about as far from architecture as a piece in an architecture book can be, but then again, maybe its as close to architecture as any other article comprised in this book.  This particular piece is actually from Metropolis and is titled, Disconnected Urbanism. The article is essentially about the cell phone.  But the heart of the matter is that with the cell phone there is now a “blurring of distinctions between different kinds of places.”  New York is Miami is Los Angles is Houston is Boise.  As much as we architects like to think buildings matter, we may be over selling ourselves.  To the general public there is little distinction between what is happening on the streets of New York versus what is happening on the streets of Seattle.  We’re oblivious to it.

So it looks like its time to engage the public.  And once the shine wears off, it’s not going to be the large swooping titanium curves that does it.

Featuring 140 of my favorite photographs from my 2009 international travel, the book is loaded with vibrant full page spreads and other artfully laid out pages.

And while the majority of the book is beautiful photos, I do take a page to describe the stories behind the photos from each country.

For a limited time, you can purchase the book at cost. That makes the price $35.70 (plus shipping and handling). So if you want a copy act now. I really enjoyed making this book – from taking the photographs, to selecting my favorites (no easy task), to compiling the book, that I’ve decided to make another featuring photographs of Chicago. Now I’m just waiting for the weather to improve.

Sponsored Link:

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Dan Tate has also done a great job documenting this building and I direct you to his blog, here, to see not only historic photos of the Richmond Gas Company building, but also pictures of it’s demolition.  Paul Hamilton also has a bevy of pictures of the building after its demolition here.

Progress?

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For those of you from Louisville or those with any interest in the northern-most southern city and southern-most northern city should definitely pick it up.  While the book contains facts and figures we’re all familiar with, it also takes you further in those tidbits, while heaping on tons of little known facts.  More importantly it tells the stories behind these new facts.  This is probably why the book’s long title is, Louisville Tapestry: People and Places that helped create America’s ‘Most Livable City’. From Olmstead’s park system to Lincoln’s short stop over in Louisville to an entire chapter on the who’s who of Louisville (Patty and Mildred Hill creators of “Happy Birthday” song to Colonel Sanders) the book illustrates why Louisville is a truly unique place and a wonderful place to live.

Along with plenty of information on Louisville art and architecture, Mr. Wiser takes a thorough look into possible explanations why the streets are named what they are.  Do you know the reason behind Witherspoon St. or Campbell St.?  This book gives you all the information.  It’s packed with photos, maps, and paintings to go along with the numerous stories.  It’s a quick read.  I finished in two evenings (and I read super slow).  It’s something you’re going to want to read a few times to soak in all the new information.  And with all the new found knowledge of your favorite city, it’ll be easy to impress all your friends.

You can get Louisville Tapestry at local Louisville bookstores (such as Carmichaels) or at Steve Wiser’s website.