What has happened to our appreciation of architectural grace and style?
And we act like we have achieved the ultimate in civilization.
Harrumph.
w_a_wsays
Reminds me of my neighborhood here in downtown ATL. We tore down a Carnegie library that looked like a Roman temple and put up a brutalist box. Fucking idiots.
BoganBerrysays
Low key, love the replacement. I know I knowwwwwwwuuuughhhhhhh don’t yell at me.
speachtreesays
In case anybody is wondering, this library was a perfect example of Richardsonian Romanesque, which was a very American branch of late 19th Century historicism. Buildings in the style are loved today for their balanced asymmetry, grounding stonework, and celebratory entrances.
Richardson wanted to make an architecture that was distinctly American. Not Palladian like the English. Not Beaux-Arts like the French. To do this, he used local stone and horizontality to tie his buildings to the American landscape. And, he made an homage to Romanesque, instead of the Revivalist Neoclassicism and Gothicism with which Europe was obsessed.
(This building wasn’t designed by Richardson, but one of the many architects that followed in his footsteps.)
Side note: Richardson’s American-centric design heavily influenced Louis Sullivan, and therefore, Frank Lloyd Wright. You can still see similarities between Wright’s asymmetry and horizontality and Richardson’s.
Nofksgivnsays
I thought it was a shipping container at first glance.
igneousink says
A very thorough history (with many pics of exterior and interior) of this beautiful building:
https://historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/cossitt/cossitt.html
adamzep91 says
At least the new building ain’t bad in itself.
biemba says
At least it’s not a parking lot.
Lelabear says
What has happened to our appreciation of architectural grace and style?
And we act like we have achieved the ultimate in civilization.
Harrumph.
w_a_w says
Reminds me of my neighborhood here in downtown ATL. We tore down a Carnegie library that looked like a Roman temple and put up a brutalist box. Fucking idiots.
BoganBerry says
Low key, love the replacement. I know I knowwwwwwwuuuughhhhhhh don’t yell at me.
speachtree says
In case anybody is wondering, this library was a perfect example of Richardsonian Romanesque, which was a very American branch of late 19th Century historicism. Buildings in the style are loved today for their balanced asymmetry, grounding stonework, and celebratory entrances.
Richardson wanted to make an architecture that was distinctly American. Not Palladian like the English. Not Beaux-Arts like the French. To do this, he used local stone and horizontality to tie his buildings to the American landscape. And, he made an homage to Romanesque, instead of the Revivalist Neoclassicism and Gothicism with which Europe was obsessed.
(This building wasn’t designed by Richardson, but one of the many architects that followed in his footsteps.)
Side note: Richardson’s American-centric design heavily influenced Louis Sullivan, and therefore, Frank Lloyd Wright. You can still see similarities between Wright’s asymmetry and horizontality and Richardson’s.
Nofksgivn says
I thought it was a shipping container at first glance.
mishakaz says
Absolutely disgusting.