From the category archives:

National Historic Landmark

Painted Desert Inn Interiors, Petrified Forest National Park

by Bo Mackison on 12/04/2010

Trading Room Glass Art Panels

Trading Room Glass Art © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Painted Desert Inn was built in the 1930s under the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the architect, Lyle Bennett, was in charge of the project. Under his guidance, two CCC workers hand-painted these skylights in the Trading Room of the Inn. The designs are based on prehistoric art found in Southwestern archeological sites. The concrete floors were also painted with patterns based on Navajo blankets.

Painted Desert Inn Mural by Fred Kapotie

Mural by Fred Kapotie © 2010 Bo Mackison

In 1947, the Painted Desert Inn was purchased by the Fred Harvey Company. The company placed their architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, in charge of renovation and repairs. She changed the color scheme to harmonize with the Inn’s natural surroundings.

She also hired Fred Kobotie, a famous Hopi artist, to paint blanket-sized murals on the walls of the dining room and lunch room. Kapotie’s murals depicted his culture and provided a glimpse into Hopi culture.Some of his subjects included the Buffalo Dance, a journey to a sacred place, spring planting time, and the sun’s face. The sun face also became the logo of the Fred Harvey Company.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Painted Desert Inn, Historic Landmark

by Bo Mackison on 10/20/2010

Painted Desert Inn and Autumn Blossoms

Autumn Blossoms, Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

On our swing through some of the Southwestern National Parks in October, we stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park in the east central region of Arizona. This park also includes the Painted Desert and this building, the Painted Desert Inn Museum. The architectural style of the inn was influenced by Pueblo Indian dwellings and Early Spanish architecture. It was built to harmonize with its surroundings and blends well with the surrounding Painted Desert.

Garden at the Painted Desert Inn II

Desert Garden and Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

The original inn was built in the 1920s, mostly of available stone and petrified rocks and the builders used a mud mortar to hold the structure together. It was a trading post and had a lunch counter, but it had no water or electricity. The Park Service purchased the building in 1936 and used WPA funds and Civilian Conservation Corps labor to essentially rebuild the entire structure.

In the late 1930s, National Park Service architect Lyle Bennett redesigned the building, utilizing the Pueblo Revival Style. The Painted Desert Inn re-opened for business on July 4, 1940 and was a stop on the Historic Route 66. (Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park that has a portion of the Historic Route 66 within its boundaries.) The inn’s life as an oasis in the middle of the desert lasted only a couple of years, and ended with the beginning of World War II. Traveling was greatly curtailed and the inn closed in 1942.

Not to be ignored for long, the Inn again opened and was operated from 1947 through 1963 by the Fred Harvey Company, a company who was a concessionaire in many of the Western National Parks. Then, after sitting unused for a dozen years, the building was scheduled for demolition in 1975. However a public outpouring of concern for the historic building convinced the Park Service to save the Painted Desert Inn. It opened in 1976 as a museum and bookstore on a limited basis.

Painted Desert Inn, National Historic Landmark

Painted Desert Inn, National Historic Landmark © 2010 Bo Mackison

It again underwent extensive repair in 2004-06 and then reopened as the museum and bookstore now pictured. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The building is a stunning example of architecture, and has a history well worth exploring. There are exhibits inside the Inn which shed light on its fascinating history. A walk around the entire structure and through its many rooms reveals small architectural gems such as arched doorways and windows, hand crafted metal lamps, and an intriguing wooden beam support system in the ceilings.

In the next posts, I’ll feature the interior of the Painted Desert Inn, so lovingly and meticulously restored, and filled with art and intricate design features, and also photographs of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest landscapes.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Wingspread

by Bo Mackison on 06/09/2010

Wingspread in Racine Wisconsin, architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Wingspread © 2010 Bo Mackison

Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built Wingspread as a residence for Herbert F. Johnson and his family in 1938-39. It was his largest and last Prairie style building. Set on property near Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin, the 14,000 square foot home is surrounded by lagoons and ponds, and the home eases gently into the open space. Multiple sculptures and gardens enhance the landscaped grounds.

Statue at Wingsread, Racine Wisconsin, architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Statue on Wingsread Grounds © 2010 Bo Mackison

The home is in the shape of a pinwheel – four wings stretch from the Great Hall, a huge space with floor to ceiling windows and a central fireplace that has five hearths on three different levels. There is also an aerie at the very top of the great room – a circular stairway rises next to the fireplace to reach the glass space – which was requested of Mr. Wright by Johnson’s son. He wanted to have a look out where he could watch for his father’s airplane as he returned home to the family from his many trips.

The pinwheel extensions split the home into zones and housed the bedrooms and the kitchen areas. Johnson’s daughter’s bedroom was in the extension seen in the background of the above photo.

Made almost entirely of natural, organic materials — a warm red brick, wood, quarried limestone, and stucco — the home emphasizes Wright’s embrace of the natural surrounding lands.

One of Extension Wings at Wingspread, Racine Wisconsin

Office Wing at Wingspread

The Johnson family (Herbert was the grandson of SC Johnson of Johnson Wax fame) lived in the home for over 20 years. In 1959, the Johnson’s moved into a smaller home (referred to as “The House”) on the property and gave Wingspread to the Johnson Foundation for use as a conference and education center. Since that time, it has served as a primary think tank for non-profit corporations, and is said to be the birthplace for the ideas for both National Public Radio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Wingspread was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

The center was one of nine buildings in the Racine/Kenosha, Wisconsin area featured on this year’s Wright and Like Tour held on June 5th. The tour is sponsored by  Frank Lloyd Wright® Wisconsin, a non-profit organization devoted to preserving and sharing Wright’s Wisconsin heritage.

A second Wright landmark, the SC Johnson Administration Building, also a National Historic Landmark, was also featured. (Photos of the Johnson Administration Building including rare photos of the Penthouse floor to be posted soon.)

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Illinois State Capitol

by Bo Mackison on 04/14/2010

State Capitol in Springfield Illinois

Illinois Capitol Rotunda © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Illinois State Capitol is located in Springfield, Illinois. The building, the sixth capitol building for the state, was designed by the architectural firm, Cochrane and Garnsey, based in Chicago. Construction began in 1869 and was completed 20 years later, in 1889.

The rotunda has a plaster frieze which has been painted to resemble bronze, and features illustrations of historical events in Illinois history. Stained glass windows complement the paintings.

United States State Capitol Buildings

Illinois Capitol Rotunda © 2010 Bo Mackison

The building is built in the shape of a cross, and the extensions correspond to the points of the compass. The dome of the capitol appears to be silver, but it is zinc-plated, a material which weathers well. The Illinois state flag, pre-Civil War vintage, flies at the top of the dome.

State Capitol building in Springfield Illinois

Illinois State Capitol in Early Spring © 2010 Bo Mackison

The capitol is built in the French Renaissance style, and at 361 feet in height, it is the tallest of the classically designed state capitol buildings in the United States.

~~~

Bo Mackison enjoys traveling in the Midwest during the spring, summer and fall seasons and frequently photographs the historic buildings on her trips. A variety of photographs of the exterior and interior of the Illinois State Capitol are available for licensing, publication, and as prints.  For further information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Dana-Thomas House

by Bo Mackison on 04/13/2010

Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style Architecture

Dana-Thomas House © 2010 Bo Mackison

One of the most magnificent homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Dana-Thomas House,  is tucked into a neighborhood in Springfield, the capitol city of Illinois. It is a wonderfully preserved example of Prairie style architecture. The State of Illinois’ Historic Preservation Agency purchased the house for a million dollars in 1981 and did a major restoration of the home from 1987 to 1990. The home was restored to appear as it would have been furnished in 1905.

The home, built for Springfield socialite Susan Lawrence Dana, was under construction from 1902-04. It was one of the few Wright designed buildings where the architect had an unlimited budget and a client who gave him relatively free reign. The end result was a spectacular, multilevel brick home with 35 rooms and over 12,000 square feet of living spaces. The home, now a museum, and rightfully so, contains over 100 pieces of original Wright designed furniture, and over 350 art glass doors, windows, and lighting fixtures, many in the house-specific sumac design. There are terra cotta sculptures, an indoor fountain, and delicate wall murals.

"Frank Lloyd Wright" "Prairie style Architecture"

Entrance to Dana-Thomas House © 2010 Bo Mackison

The home was designed with Lawrence’s social standing in mind, and featured large areas for entertaining including a gallery and dining room which can seat forty. The home also has several balconies that could accommodate musicians to provide entertainment.

The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The home is open for tours Wednesdays through Sundays and an extensive gift shop is also on the premises.

~~~

Bo Mackison enjoys traveling in the Midwest during the spring, summer and fall seasons to photograph historic buildings. Her photographs are available for licensing, publication, and also as prints.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Wisconsin’s Capitol in Silhouette

by Bo Mackison on 04/09/2010

State Capitol Building in Madison Wisconsin

Capitol Silhouette © 2010 Bo Mackison

The State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin was designed by George B. Post & Sons and built between the years of 1906 and 1917 at a cost of 7.25 million dollars. The Wisconsin State Capitol is 284.4 feet high from the ground floor to the top of the statue on the dome–37 inches shorter than United States Capitol in Washington. The dome is topped by a gilded bronze statue called “Wisconsin” created by Daniel Chester French. This statue was placed atop the dome in 1914, stands over 15 feet tall, and weigh more than 3 tons. “Wisconsin” holds a globe in her left hand with an eagle perched atop the sphere. Atop her helmet is a badger, Wisconsin’s state animal.

Wisconsin has the only granite dome in the United States; it is constructed of White Bethel Vermont granite, one of the whitest and hardest marbles found in the world. It is also the only state capitol built on an isthmus.

The building is open to the public on weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm and on weekends from 8 am to 4 pm. There are frequent tours throughout the day, excluding some holidays.

The State Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark and on the National and Wisconsin Registers of Historic Places.

~~~

Bo Mackison is a Madison based photographer who enjoys shooting historic places. She has a large series of photographs of the Wisconsin Capitol Building, including interior photographs, detailed shots, exterior elevations, and the surrounding grounds. All are available for licensing and publication. Some prints are also available. For more information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

← Previous Entries