Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Superfluous Detail

Architectural details like this enchant me. Architecture went through a period in the mid- to late-20th Century where this type of detail was often thought unnecessary. But we're starting to see the return of art for art's sake. This edifice is probably from the early 20th Century. Do you know where it is? Plain sight, busy corner, but who makes a habit of looking up?

The function of this meticulous brickwork is to look good. Is that function enough?

21 comments:

dianasfaria.com said...

creative souls with a keen eye make a habit of looking up!
I agree, art for arts sake is making a comeback-thankfully!

Anonymous said...

is it the Theater on Washington jsut west of Lake?

Christie said...

That is so funny! I was just looking at the buildings downtown yesterday and realized that so many of them have very cool architecture on the top and most of them have the building's owner and the year it was built up there too. We have a lot of murals at eye range here in town, but they've left the tops of the buildings alone. My favorite is the "Normal School" advertisement on the side of one of the buildings. I'll have to put up a picture of that sometime.

Great motto in life too--"Look Up!"

Anonymous said...

North East corner of Fair Oaks and Colorado

Petrea Burchard said...

Lily hy, nice to see you. I haven't been by Long Island lately and must maek a trip.

Sorry Eric, you're a bit cold!

I like the motto, Christie!

You're warm, sarah jayne.

Anonymous said...

Raymond and Colorado. Subway sandwich shop on the first floor and up from STATS

USelaine said...

Some of the best embellishment in Willits is on our Carnegie Library building, more than a century old. It's hard to regain the ceramics artisans when the style cycle takes so long.

marley said...

I think its function enough.

It is so nice to be able to spot these fantastic details on buildings. They are like secret gems waiting to be spotted. And all we have to do is take more notice of the buildings we see everyday. They are there, waiting to be found.

Petrea Burchard said...

sarah jayne's got it. And you were right about north-east in the first place. Did you go look, or was the information in your head? I think I'd have had to look. I don't always register stuff I see every day.

uselaine, have you posted a photo of it? I'll go peek.

I agree with you, marley. (I know. I'm obvious.) There are so many different ones here I could post them every day.

Knoxville Girl said...

I think you should call this "stupendous detail." I've found that very few people look UP during the course of a day. Oh, they don't know what they're missing!

dianasfaria.com said...

Thanks for stopping by LI Petrea!

John Sandel said...

I think you should do this again. It's a great way to reveal crooks 'n' nannies of Pasadena to those of us with lunch-hours long enough to search them out …

Regular feature! Regular feature!

USelaine said...

Thanks Petrea. 8^)

Chuck Pefley said...

May be superfluous from a structural point of view, but it sure adds interest to an otherwise boring building.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Part of being a photographer for me, is looking beyond the normal parameters. Looking skywards is a must. It's function, yes is to sit there prettily to catch (hopefully) the eye of a passerby and make an impression. Art for art's sake yes please, anything but drab grey concrete.

dianasfaria.com said...

This is a great idea Bernie! I vote regular feature as well!

Katie said...

Love the architectural details! I'm a big fan of old buildings for just this reason; such a shame that most newer buildings just don't have the same feel. I'll keep looking up while I'm here in Minneapolis!

Profile Not Available said...

Keep looking up, Petrea! I am curious to see what else you will photograph! This building is beautiful!

Petrea Burchard said...

Can of worms, Bernie! I'm already doing Zen Monday! But I like the idea. I love photographing these buildings. If people want to see more I'll be glad to post them. Maybe a weekend feature. I'll figure it out.

Have a great vacation, Katie.

John Sandel said...

So do it irregularly. Nobody's counting. (Even "Zen Monday" can be a sometime-thing.)

Petrea Burchard said...

What a good idea. I almost forgot whose blog it was. Thank you, Bernie.