From the monthly archives:

March 2010

Winged Victory atop Old Arizona Capitol

by Bo Mackison on 03/30/2010

Arizona Capitol Museum

Arizona Capitol Museum © 2010 Bo Mackison

Although this building is often referred to as Arizona’s State Capitol, it is actually Arizona’s original territorial capitol building and the first state capitol. The Capitol was  replaced by modern legislative office buildings in 1960, and the building truly fitting of the title “Capitol” has been restored and is currently a museum.

The museum features the governor’s office, Senate and House Chambers as they were in the year 1912, the year Arizona officially became the 48th State of the Union. The copper roofed dome dates to 1878. The copper is fitting–the mining of copper has been a significant source of income for the state.

The dome is capped with a white statue called Winged Victory. Winged Victory is in fact a weathervane, and can be viewed from inside the building through a window at the uppermost part of the dome. It swings freely with the wind currents.

The main entrance pediment is decorated with an unusual copper filigree design which looks uncannily like the pattern of a state snake, the glossy, brown and black Arizona elegans.

Capitol in Phoenix Arizona

Exterior of Arizona Capitol Musuem © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Capitol was designed and built by James Riely Gordon, an architect from San Antonio Texas,  in the Neoclassical style with some Spanish influences. It was built in 1899-1900 at a cost of $136,000. It was the territorial statehouse for 12 years prior to Arizona’s statehood. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Bo Mackison loves to photograph special places Phoenix and other great parts of the state. Photos are available of various historic places in Arizona for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Villa Kathrine

by Bo Mackison on 03/28/2010

Villa Located on Quincy Illinois Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River

Midwestern Moroccan Castle © 2010 Bo Mackison

Crossing the bridge over the Mississippi River and traveling into Quincy, Illinois from rural Missouri was always a magical experience for me. It was an opportunity for me to once more see the “Castle on the Bluffs.”

Perhaps not what one expects to see in the Midwest, but this residence, styled after the Villa ben Ahben in Morocco, has been a welcoming feature of the city since it was built in 1900. It is probably safe to say it is the only Mediterranean Villa situated on the limestone bluffs overlooking the muddy Mississippi.

The home was built for Quincy native George Metz, a Quincyan who spent his entire life traveling the world. He returned to Quincy with sketches of the architecture from the Islamic world and a vision. And he talked local architect George Behrensmeyer into turning his dreams and sketches into a home he would eventually live in for over 12 years.

Now the city of Quincy’s Tourist Center, the building has a number of remarkable features for a building located amidst 19th century Victorians. Included area harem room (though George never used it as such. His harem was non-existent; he lived with his beloved dog instead. There is also a courtyard that has a reflecting pool in marble mosaic. The main tower is in blue and white stripes and fashioned after a mosque in Tunisia.

The building is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Illinois Register of Historic Places. But for me, the building was always steeped in mystery and myth – just why was the Villa up on these bluffs?

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Bo Mackison enjoys photographing the many historic structures in Quincy when she visits her hometown. She has many photographs of the  Quincy’s historic places available for licensing and publication. Some prints are also available.  For information, contact her at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Quincy Illinois – A City of Architectural Gems

by Bo Mackison on 03/25/2010

"Stillwell Hall" "Newcomb House" Quincy Illinois architecture

Quincy Museum © 2010 Bo Mackison

Quincy, Illinois was one of the most populous and influential cities in the state in the mid 1800s to early 1900s. The city is located on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River and so was on a major river transportation route. Though no longer one of the largest Illinois cities, it is still famous for its impressive array of architecture and styles, and for its many examples of stylish homes, some dating as early as 1830.

Quincy experienced huge growth between 1850 and 1880 and then again in the late 1890s. The earlier population had built their homes and businesses near the riverfront, but this time the new construction took place further east of downtown and the river. Dozens of huge mansions which were built in this period still line the streets of Quincy, most notably in the area from 12th to 24th Streets and from Maine to State Streets. This district, known as the East End Historical District, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you ask a person from Quincy, he or she will likely tell you their city has the largest number of significant architectural masterpieces per capita in the state of Illinois. They may just be right, too.

One of the more well known mansions in Quincy is the Newcomb-Stillwell Mansion located at 1601 Maine Street. It was completed in 1891, and is now the home of the Quincy Museum. Prior to the museum’s acquisition of the building, the mansion was used for men’s housing for nearby Quincy College–now Quincy University.

(My great-grandmother was house matron and cook for Stillwell Hall in the 1940s. When I was a child, she would tell me stories from her years there–of the antics of the young men in her kitchen and at her dinner table, of their dances in a huge ballroom lit by Tiffany chandeliers and their parties in the basement which featured a bowling alley for their entertainment.)

The home was built by Richard F. Newcomb who was an influential and wealthy businessman in both Quincy and in Chicago. The house, built of light colored Berea Sandstone quarried about 25 miles west of Cleveland, Ohio, was transported to Quincy for the massive undertaking. The home was constructed in the Richardson Romanesque Revival Style, named for Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson who was one of the most popular U.S. architects in the late 18o0s.

The Richardson Romanesque architecture style used heavy arches and massive stone exteriors with many ornamental carvings. The home has five substantial towers and the front porch has seven pillars supporting the roof, but not one of the capitols are alike. Each side of each capitol has its own unique design.

The Quincy Museum is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a minimal donation. Not only can you delight in seeing this lovingly restored home, but there are also exhibits on area history and culture, and a dinosaur display.

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Bo Mackison travels throughout the Midwest, and enjoys photographing the many well maintained historic structures in Quincy when she visits her hometown. She has many photographs of the historic places in Quincy available for licensing and publication. Prints are also available.  For information, contact her at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Al. Ringling Theatre

by Bo Mackison on 03/24/2010

Historic Baraboo Wisconsin Theatre donated by Al. Ringling

Al. Ringling Theater Interior © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Al. Ringling Theater opened to a packed and excited house in November, 1915, and it has been in continuous operation since opening night. One of the brothers of the Ringling Bros. Circus, Al. Ringling, built the theatre for the community he so loved at a cost of over $100,000. The theatre has featured vaudeville, grand opera, the early silent films, the first talkies, and now first run movies and live performances. Greats like Lionel Barrymore and Mary Pickford have played on this  stage.

The theater was designed in the style of the grand French opera houses by Chicago architects C.W. and George Rapp. The theater is unusual in that there has never been any major remodeling or alterations to change the original appearance. Enter the theater and you feel you are on a special night out on the town –  in the early 1920s.

The theater is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours are available of the interior of the theater are offered for a  minimal charge at 11 a.m. during the summer months.

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Bo Mackison enjoys traveling throughout the Midwest, admiring both major metropolitan areas and small towns. She has a series of photographs of the historic buildings in Baraboo, Wisconsin available for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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“English Cottage” Service Station

by Bo Mackison on 03/23/2010

Pure Blue's Station © 2010 Bo Mackison

This English Cottage style building was built in 1929 by C.W. Frietag and operated as Frietag’s Pure Oil Service Station until the late 1970s. It was located at 1323 9th street in Monroe, Wisconsin. The company that now owns the building (Century Ecowaters Systems) has done a remarkable job of maintaining the architectural detailing of the building.

In the early decades of the 1900s, gas companies began using standardized designs for their service stations. The Pure Oil Company, one of the first to have a building as part of their corporate branding, used an “English Cottage” type of building with a white brick exterior and a steeply pitched roof in bright blue. Even the chimneys were topped with “Pure Blue Oil” chimney pots.

The front arched door had a copper hood for shelter and the arched window on the street side of the building were balanced with an oriel window framed in copper next to the original service side. The gutters and downspouts were also copper.

The Wisconsin State Historical Society and Wisconsin Public TV did a documentary on the glory days of gas stations and featured this service station. There are also vintage photographs of Frietag’s Pure Oil Service Stations in the accompanying article about the documentary.

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Bo Mackison enjoys traveling throughout the Midwest. She has a series of photographs of many of the historic buildings in Monroe, Wisconsin available for licensing and publication.  For more information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Glossary — Octagon Mode Architecture

by Bo Mackison on 03/22/2010

General West's Octagon House

The  General Francis H. West House (also known as the Octagon House) was built in Monroe, Wisconsin for the General and his family in 1860. It is on the both the National and Wisconsin Register of Historic Places.

An octagon mode home is unique in that each outer room shares a wall with an inner room, and the inner room is a square room. In some homes, eight doors lead into one central room, two doors on each wall of the room! This home also has a cupola with a 360 degree view.

Octagon Houses can frequently be traced back to one amateur architect, Orson Squire Fowler, who mathematically figured out that an octagonal room had more usable space than a square one. Most of the homes he designed were built in the 1850s and 1860s, many for influential people.

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Bo Mackison enjoys traveling throughout the Midwest, admiring the large cities and the small towns. She has a series of photographs of the historic buildings in Monroe, Wisconsin, all available for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com. All photographs and written material, ©2010 Bo Mackison.

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