Tag: Preservation

CURATOR’S TALK AND TOUR

August 21, 2015 /

2015-09-10 Feats of Clay cropped

Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6:00 p.m.
The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania
Harvey and Irwin Kroiz Gallery, 220 South 34th Street

John curator’s Frank G. Matero and William Whitaker for a gallery talk and tour of the exhibition, “Feats of Clay: Philadelphia Brick and Terracotta.” This exhibition traces the rise of the brick and terra cotta industry in Philadelphia and its far reaching influences on American architecture and building technology.  The exhibition also seeks to raise the awareness and appreciation of the region’s wealth of historic brick and terra cotta architecture and long craft tradition, as well as their relevance to contemporary sustainable design.

Free and open to Philadelphia Chapter SAH members and their guests.  Registration requested at info@philachaptersah.org.

T. Roney Williamson and Oakbourne

May 15, 2015 /

2015-06-11 Oakbourne Mansion SAR_4954cropped
Thursday, June 11, Reception at 5:30 p.m., Talk at 6:30 p.m.
Oakbourne Park, 1014 S. Concord Rd, West Chester, PA

In 1882 James C. Smith of Philadelphia purchased 143 acres of land in Westtown Township, Chester County with an existing granite mansion. By 1884 the Smiths had enlarged and refurbished the mansion to replace their original summer house and named it “Oakbourne.”  The Queen Anne renovations are attributed to West Chester architect T. Roney Williamson (1852-1896).  Mr. Smith died in 1893 and willed the property to the Philadelphia Protestant Episcopal City Mission with the stipulation that it be used as a retreat for sick and convalescent white women, 23 years of age or older.  For more than 70 years the James C. Smith Memorial Home was opened to guests.  As many as 25 to 30 women convalesced there at any given time. By 1971, however, increasing operational costs forced the home to close its doors.  In 1974 Westtown Township purchased the land for use as a township park.

Our speaker, Jane E. Dorchester, is a historic preservationist, lecturer, local and architectural historian, and writer who has been working in the preservation field since 1983.  She has lectured on a wide variety of history–oriented topics, including “How To Research Your Historic Property,” “What Is Serpentine,” “Section 106 Review,” and “Gothic Revival, Second Empire, and Queen Anne Architectural Styles in Chester County.”

Join us for wine and refreshments at 5:30 p.m. to explore the exterior of this amazing house while the sun is out.  We’ll gather inside at 6:30 p.m. to hear about Oakbourne’s architect and his other work in the area.

$10.00 for Phila SAH members,
$15.00 for all others, payable on site.
Registration required by Sunday, June 7, at info@philachaptersah.org

Thanks to the Westtown Township Historical Commission for hosting this program.

There is no public transportation to Oakbourne, but we may be able to arrange a ride or a pick up at the Media or Paoli Regional Rail stations.  Please email info@philasah.org if you need a way to get to the program.

Narratives of Manners and Style: The Houses of Cross & Cross

May 15, 2015 /

2015-05-15 Cross & Cross

Winterthur Museum & Gardens
Tuesday, May 19 at 6:00 pm
Copeland Lecture Hall
5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE
Winterthur recommends using Mapquest for directions as Google Maps sometimes gives inaccurate directions.

Members $5. Nonmembers $15
Register by calling 1-800-448-3883.
Book signing to follow.

Join architect Peter Pennoyer and architectural historian Anne Walker, authors of the new book New York Transformed: The Architecture of Cross & Cross, for a look at two of the early 1900s’ most important but largely forgotten architects. Brothers John and Eliot Cross counted the country’s richest and most influential figures among their clients, yet they tended to gravitate toward an unpretentious luxury—a polite and historically embedded expression of their wealth. They designed several magnificent Colonial Revival houses in New York as well as country houses in fashionable areas such as Long Island’s North Shore and East End, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Far Hills, New Jersey. Most notably, they designed J. Watson and Electra Havemeyer Webb’s Brick House in Shelburne, Vermont (now part of the Shelburne Museum), Chestertown House in Southampton for H. F. du Pont, and the childhood home of famed decorator Sister Parish in Far Hills, New Jersey. Pennoyer and Walker will share gorgeous photos of these homes and insight into the people who lived there and will discuss the influences the Cross brothers used while designing each property

Amazing Mid Century Modern Home For Sale

April 8, 2015 /

2015-04-08 Irv Stein 1958 Wallingford PA home

This wonderful 1958 mid century modern home, designed by architect and Philadelphia SAH member Irwin Stein, is for sale by the current owners who are looking for a buyer who will treasure it as much as they do. They are hosting an Open House on Sunday, April 12 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at 2 South Providence Road, Wallingford, PA.

Almost all of the original details are intact.  The 2600 square foot house has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and one half bath.  The attached 600 square foot office has four rooms and a powder room.  It can easily be converted to an apartment.

The home is situated on .75 acres of land, has two patios and in another week the yard will be filled with over 1,000 daffodils.  The interior boasts soaring ceilings, redwood paneling, tile and hardwood floors, ample natural light, two wood burning fireplaces, cove lighting and a gorgeous open staircase.  The home has been featured on the cover of Atomic Ranch Magazine, on houzz.com and apartmenttherapy.com and was voted one of Philly’s “Amazing Spaces” in Philadelphia Magazine.

For more info visit http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-S-Providence-Rd-Wallingford-PA-19086/92240976_zpid/

ESCAPE: The Heyday of Caribbean Glamour

March 17, 2015 /

escape caribbean glamot
A talk and book signing by Hermes Mallea, architect and author
Tuesday, April 7 at 6:00 pm,
Copeland Lecture Hall, Winterthur Museum, Wilmington, DE
Winterthur Members $5. Nonmembers $15.
Call 800.448.3883 for reservations.
For GPS and online mapping services, use: 5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807. Winterthur recommends using Mapquest for directions as Google Maps sometimes gives inaccurate directions.
www.winterthur,org

Hermes Mallea, architect and author, takes us on a nostalgic celebration of the glamour of warm-weather destinations in the Caribbean and Florida, from the great estates of ambitious patrons, including H. F. du Pont’s retreat in Cuba, to the most exclusive resorts of the mid-20th century. Through iconic photography capturing the cultural mood at the moment when social codes relaxed from the formality of the Gilded Age to the spontaneity of the jet-set era, Mallea takes you inside a world of beach parties and costume balls set in lush tropical landscapes, of rarefied resorts and fairy-tale private estates. Among these idealized settings blossomed the resort lifestyle of international celebrities, from Marjorie Merriweather Post to Babe Paley, Princess Margaret to David Bowie, whose escapades are spectacularly captured in these pages to make the region’s bygone glamour come alive.

Architectural Surprises of Upper East Falls (Queen Lane Manor) Walking Tour

March 16, 2015 /

Sponsored by East Falls Historical Society
Saturday, April 18 at 10:00 a.m.
(rescheduled from October, when heavy rain forced postponement).
The fee is $15, or $10 for EFHS members.
The tour will occupy about one hour and 45 minutes. Comfortable walking shoes are advised!

The upper or eastern part of East Falls, formerly known as Queen Lane Manor, within a few-block area contains excellent examples of a range of architectural styles: grandiose Beaux Arts, clean and crisp International, Art Deco, Georgian Revival, Gothic revival, Jacobean, and more.

Creating and leading the tour are Steven J. Peitzman, professor of medicine at Drexel University and a long-time architecture enthusiast; and Ken Hinde, lecturer and tour guide formerly with the Foundation for Architecture and the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.

The history of the Queen Lane Manor district, The Oak Road, the Queen Lane Reservoir and Filters, and more, will also be discussed. The postponement in fact allowed the tour leaders to conduct further research about the region and its buildings – it’s more interesting than even they had imagined!

The tour will meet at the Revolutionary War monument on the southeast corner of Queen Lane and Fox Street. There is ample street parking in the area, and the meeting location is a short walk from the Queen Lane Station of the Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail Line. The K bus stops at the location.

For more information, contact Steven Peitzman at peitzmansj@gmail.com.

White Towers Revisited Gallery Tour & Talk

February 15, 2015 /

Thursday, February 19, 2015
Harvey and Irwin Kroiz Gallery,
Architectural Archives University of Pennsylvania School of Design
220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia

TOUR 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Join exhibition curators, William Whitaker and Paul Hirshorn for a lively discussion and tour of the exhibition.

LECTURE 6:00 p.m. by Paul Hirshorn

Taking on the subject of architectural symbolism and communication during the late 1960s was a radical move that opened up new avenues of artist expression and narratives about the development of roadside commercial architecture in the United States.  Steven Izenour and Paul Hirshorn had been sensitized to the subject through their work with Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi and found themselves attracted to the strong architectural character of the White Tower hamburger chain.  In this talk, Paul Hirshorn will share his insights into this remarkable example of architectural ingenuity tied to a corporate purpose and the role that he and Izenour played in uncovering its enduring significance.

Paul Hirshorn was Head of the Department of Architecture at Drexel University from 1986 to 2012, and a member of the faculty since 1974. Following architectural studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Cambridge University, he worked for the firm of Venturi and Rauch.

Sport and Spectacle: Renovating Saarinen’s Ingalls Hockey Rink

January 26, 2015 /

Saarinen Yale Ingalls Hockey Rink

presented by Docomomo US
Saturday, February 21, 2015, beginning at noon
Tickets: $40 Docomomo Members/$45 Non-Members, purchase tickets at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sport-and-spectacle-renovating-saarinens-ingalls-hockey-rink-tickets-15426128967?mc_cid=f8b06b0365&mc_eid=d40627c0a5

Includes:
•Private tour of KRJDA office begins at 12:00 PM at the KRJDA Office (20 Davis Street, Hamden, CT)
•Ingalls Hockey Rink exterior and interior tour 1:00-2:30 PM (73 Sachem Street, New Haven, CT)
•Pre-game food at Wall Street Pizza 2:30-3:45 PM (pizza and soda)
•Yale vs Princeton (Women’s Ice Hockey game approximately 2.5 hours)

Eero Saarinen’s David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink on the Yale University campus “is deliberately not an ordinary building.” Visually compelling in its sculptural forms, the structure is composed of a huge 300-foot parabolic arch held in place by a complex tension grid of cables. As the building neared its 50th anniversary, Yale commissioned Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates to direct the refurbishment, updates and building expansion to address the needs of the current and future Yale Hockey Program while preserving this Architectural Landmark.

Ingalls Rink was completed in 1958 and renovated in 2009 by KRJDA, the successor firm to the Saarinen practice. In their renovation and refurbishment of the fondly referred to “Yale Whale”, KRJDA drew on archived sketches and former Saarinen employees to completely update and add much needed additional space with minimal disturbance to the original design. In addition to the underground extension, the rink received a new playing surface, a modern media and broadcasting area, and a new insulated roof was installed while preserving the original oak roof timbers.

This special full-day tour and hockey game offers guests a unique perspective to understand the structure from the perspective of its designers, its players and the people who maintain and care for the site. The day’s speakers include Wesley Kavanagh, Principal, KRJDA, Wayne Dean, and Alice Raucher, AIA Senior Architect/Major Projects Planner, Yale University Planning. The tour includes exterior and interior spaces including inner team spaces, a special tour of the KRJDA offices, pizza break at New Haven’s collegiate spot, Wall Street Pizza, and will conclude with the Yale Women’s Hockey team against Princeton University. Transportation to New Haven is not included but a limited number of spaces are available to car pool to and from the New Haven train station.

Louis Kahn-Ann Tyng Designed House For Sale In Cherry Hill, NJ

January 26, 2015 /
Kahn Cleaver house

Clever House 2015 for sale “as is.”

MAY BE THREATENED WITH DEMOLITION

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/417-Sherry-Way-Cherry-Hill-NJ-08034/38226533_zpid/

417 Sherry Way, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
3 beds· 2 baths· 1,694 sq ft

From the real estate website: The “Clever House”” designed by Architect Louis Kahn from 1957 to 1962. The center point of the home is a large living room with an 18 foot roof composed of four large angular gables. Large triangular windows in each of the four gables provide the living area with soft natural light. The central living area is surrounded by five smaller rooms each with its own pyramidal roof. Each roof underside is finished with narrow wooden strips creating an umbrella of wood in each room. This home sits on .69 acres 150 x 200. The home and gardens can easily be restored to their original grandeur. For those who admire architecture this home is a delight. Property is being sold in “As-Is” condition.

Kahn Clever House 1962

Clever House 1962

William Whitaker, co-author of The Houses of Louis Kahn (2013) and SAH Phila President, tells us the house was built for Fred and Elaine Cox Clever in 1957-62. Fred and Elaine were Freedom Riders and founders of the ACLU in New Jersey. The design bears a very strong imprint of Anne Tyng. It’s a design that evolved in the last, difficult years of her and Kahn’s collaboration. To the degree that it is a Tyng design, it is one of only 2 or 3 that remain standing and it’s loss would be a blow to understanding and experiencing her particular sense of space and architecture – and Kahn’s, too.

We will keep you posted on any attempts to preserve the structure, or if you hear of any please email us ASAP.