Interior Landmarks - Treasures of New York

 Everyone is familiar with the many landmarks of New York City, but thanks to Judith Gura and Kate Wood (courtesy of the Monacelli Press) we are all about to become familiar with the landmarked INTERIORS of the city. 

Since 1965 the New York City Landmarks Law has been protecting significant spaces across the city ranging from classical architecture to more unexpected masterpieces of the modern era.

This book includes 120 landmarks and their locations which can be used as an architectural tour guide of the city as most spaces are open to the public.

The projects range from the expected such as the Metropolitan Museum by Richard Morris Hunt seen below -

 To the lesser known such as the Loews Paradise Theater in the Bronx by John Eberson.

The re-release of this book includes updated information with new additions so that you can explore these landmarks for yourself.

I think a copy of this book is a must-have guide to the city with more interesting venues than the typical tourist guidebook but can also be used for more serious research. In a city that is constantly changing the struggle to preserve our architectural heritage is in more need of support than ever! Happy Reading!

All images courtesy of Larry Lederman and The Monacelli press

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The grand Willard Hotel DC, some historical surprises

Most people here in DC know of the Willard: one of the grand dame hotels of the city which one assumes have been there forever.

However what most probably don't know (I for one did not) is that the current hotel is actually mostly a recreation of the historic space!

We recently hosted a tour of the hotel with our ICAA chapter and the hotel historian had some eye opening surprises for us.

Many of the beautiful details which appear to date to the hotel's rebuilding in 1901 when the beaux arts style hotel was built actually date to 1986!

Lets back up here. Yes the hotel is historic. Like many hotels however it has been renovated and rebuilt almost continuously since its founding in 1818 (the year is a stretch but is when a hotel was first built on this site). Above is the lobby as it appeared in 1950. One recognizes the overall space but decoration and mid-centuryisms are the focus.

And above is how the lobby appeared in 1984! This area of Washington suffered greatly during the 1968 riots and after being ransacked the hotel was closed and practically abandoned.

 Finally in 1984 work began under new ownership to rebuild the luxury hotel.

 Above is the famous Peacock Alley, both before and after renovation, where society once had afternoon tea and today you can again as well.

It is said that the term 'lobbyist' was originated in this very hotel. Abraham Lincoln would cross the street from the White house to smoke cigars and have a brandy in the lobby as his wife did not approve of such behavior, and he would be accosted in the lobby by people asking favors; hence the term lobbyist was coined!

 Above the same area before restoration. As many of the fixtures appear to be original and everything in such good 'olde' condition I had assumed the hotel has sat this way for generations.

One of the oldest appearing rooms is known as the Crystal Room which features the original gas (now electrified) chandeliers. The building time period of this hotel was known as the gilded age after all!

 And below the Crystal Room as it appeared prior to the renovation. One can recognize the room by the beautiful plaster ceiling.

 All of the 'marble' pilasters and columns throughout the hotel are faux painted or scagliola (an Italian technique of creating faux marble) done in 1986 (recreating the former faux marble).

 Beautiful crisp plasterwork.

The former grand dining room features mahogany paneling. Sadly the restaurant closed during the recession but is still available for events.

The dining room was the site of a murder by a crazed congressman who shot his waiter in 1856 (read about that here for a good time).

The lower paneling is a recreation of the original as only the upper paneling survived but looks a pretty close match although less ornate.

The hotel also claims to have been where the Mint Julep made its original debut in the famous Round Robin bar(more about that here).  One can still order one in the bar today which I highly recommend!

The restoration of the hotel is a lovely recreation and modernization of this iconic hotel -so successful that no one on the tour had any idea it wasn't all original!

 All is not preserved however. During the renovation the original ballroom on the top floors of the hotel was moved into the basement, seen below, and the upper floors split into additional meeting and guest rooms with a few additional stories added to the hotel.

My favorite part of this renovation however is that the craftsmen still exist to create such intricate detailing.

If you are in the Washington metropolitan area I hope you will considering joining us on one of our many tours or perhaps considering joining the organization! Check out our website's Calendar of events and our facebook page which are constantly updated.

 And if not I hope you will add tea or a drink at the Willard hotel to your Washington visit.

All historic photos provided by the Willard Intercontinental hotel while all present day photos my own.

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A neo-classical gem in Venice, Lorenzo Santi's coffeehouse

While many people may not associate Venice with neoclassical architecture one of my favorite buildings in that style happens to be located in the most prominent section of Venice, just off St Marks square directly on the Grand Canal.

One foggy morning I woke up early and caught the vaporetto from our apartment across the canal to see the building without the surrounding hoards of tourists.

The building has sat vacant for years as it's not considered important by the Italians -too 'new'.  These interior photos are part of the documentation (not my own) of a long planned restoration of the pavilion as well as the adjacent royal gardens (more about that HERE).  

Finished in 1817 by the architect Lorenzo Santi it has been known as the Padiglione (pavilion) Santi ever since.  Googlemaps however seems to call it the Palazzina Selva.  

The pavilion was built as a coffeehouse much like Cafe Florian which is directly behind.  Once renovated the plan is to return it to a coffeehouse.  With its prime location I anticipate it becoming extremely popular.

 I love the delicately carved marble frieze.

Lovely view, not mine, taken from the Grand canal. You can see it sits directly adjacent to the busy San Marco vaporetto stop. 

 I hope by my next trip to Venice I'll be able to have an espresso in my favorite building!

While we're in the general area I thought I would share a few of my early morning foggy photos of an empty Palazzo San Marco.

The fog was so thick one could barely see to the end of the loggia - see the cleaning crew in fluorescent yellow at the far end?

I think my snapshots show that Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

There are benefits to waking up early; having the square to oneself (with just the scourge of  pigeons).

 I literally felt their wings on my cheek as they flew overhead.

 At one end of the square is the namesake St Mark's Basilica.

As always, click the photos to view larger on your screen.

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Palladio in Vicenza: setting the course of Western architecture.

While in Venice we took a daytrip to the nearby architectural holy land: Vicenza. I say holy land because this was home to Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola - better known as Andrea Palladio.

Architecture enthusiasts from around the world visit Vicenza and they market the Palladian structures widely: maps and sign posts mark points of interest.

If you read this blog I assume you know who Palladio was. If not I'll briefly note he is credited with setting the course of Western Architecture;  the granddaddy of classicism.

Born in 1508, he worked his way up the apprentice ladder to become an accomplished architect in the Vicenza region designing churches, villas, and townhouses. Much of his work, which came as a surprise to me, was renovation to existing structures.

However what sealed his fate as the most well known architect (perhaps ever) is his writing of "The Four Books of Architecture" . This tome was his treatise on architecture featuring his own designs based on ancient Roman architecture and the rediscovered writings of  Vitruvius.

It must be pointed out that Palladio wasn't the only Renaissance architect of the time period working in this medium or even the only one to write a treatise! He had actually fallen into obscurity until being rediscovered in the early 18th century by French and English tourists on their Grand Tour.

His original works, many of them humble brick farm structures covered in stucco, were to be copied for centuries to come in marble and granite throughout the world.

Vicenza is a delightful Italian town and an easy train ride from Venice. Surprisingly clean (compared to other Italian towns, sorry it has to be said) and prosperous seeming, locals mingle with tourists and students in the many shops and cafes along the main streets.

I think one of the more interesting Palladian projects in Vicenza is the Palazzo Porto Breganze which was never completed. Above you can see the 2 bays of the Palazzo and entry as standing since 1571 and below is Palladio's drawing of the entire facade.

Many of his palazzo, or palatial townhouses, are completed throughout the town though as evidenced in these photos.

Another of his more interesting projects is the modest Casa Cogollo completed in 1559, seen below.

Oddly known as the House of Palladio (he never lived here!) the renovation to an existing structure was basically a town ordered facelift to an older house of the town's notary, Pietro Cogollo. The odd blank space above the townhouse's entry is the back of the main level's fireplace, oddly positioned.

The open lower level courtyard still exists, not having been filled in by later commercial space, and is currently being renovated. The windows facing this courtyard provide the light needed for the interiors, especially important as the front facade is blocked by a large and poorly planned fireplace!

Many of the Palazzo house institutions and museums so can be visited by the public. The interiors tend to be rather plain however, or decorated much later, so the exteriors are more interesting.

The Palazzo Chiericati is one of the buildings open to the public as it houses an art museum.  See a link to the lovely frescos inside HERE.

The Palazzo was built elevated, unlike his other townhouses, because this town square at the time of design (1550) had 2 streams which met and occasionally flooded.

These streams had been rerouted by the completion of the Palazzo in 1680 but the elevated platform provided privacy from the busy square which dealt in the sales of wood and cattle.

I loved the loggia's coffered ceiling.

Towards the end of his career Palladio was important enough to be working in nearby cosmopolitan Venice. The church known as Il Redentore (seen below) sits on the island of Giudecca facing St Marc's square (blurry photo taken while I waited for the Vaporetto near our apartment).

But of course, the most well known of Palladio's works were the villas. The most famous of these, known as La Rotonda (seen below), is actually a suburban house on the outskirts of Vicenza only 3/4 of a mile from the train station. This was the highlight of my trip which I'll feature in my next blog post.

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