Monastery at Large

From the Notebook

  • Postcards from the South: Dade County Courthouse and Miami City Hall – Miami

    Postcard view of the Dade County Courthouse and Miami City Hall, Miami

    You can see who designed this giant phallus—their names are right on the postcard. Well, that’s not completely accurate.

    I’ve mentioned before that A. Ten Eyck Brown often took credit for work that he had little to no hand in, though he usually let the real designers of his projects share at least some of the glory.

    By the time construction was complete on the 28-story Dade County Courthouse and Miami City Hall in 1928, it was fairly evident that the primary designer was Brown’s associate, J.W. Humphreys, who superintended construction.1 2

    Humphreys even cut the ribbon at the building’s dedication ceremony,3 4with Brown conspicuously absent.

    Location of Dade County Courthouse and Miami City Hall

    Built for a whopping $4.1 million,5 the obelisk-like structure was purportedly “the first complete county courthouse and city hall ever to be built in the United States along strictly modern lines,” and the “largest and tallest building of either a public or private nature south of Washington, D.C. and east of the Mississippi river.”6

    Brown’s firm simultaneously designed plans for a 20-story city hall in Atlanta that would have been nearly identical in appearance to the Miami municipal building,7 but the project was ultimately awarded to G. Lloyd Preacher.8

    Speaking of someone who took credit for other people’s work…

    References

    1. “County To Rush Courthouse Job”. The Miami Herald, November 20, 1927, p. 1. ↩︎
    2. “Courthouse Job Will Be Released Today”. Miami Daily News and Metropolis, November 28, 1927, p. 9. ↩︎
    3. “Courthouse Dedication At 4 P.M. Today”. The Miami Herald, September 6, 1928, p. 1. ↩︎
    4. “7,000 At Dedication Ceremonies Of New County Courthouse”. The Miami Herald, September 7, 1928, p. 1. ↩︎
    5. Matlack, S. S. “New Milestone Of Dade Marked By Courthouse”. Miami Daily News and Metropolis, September 6, 1928, p. 6. ↩︎
    6. “Miami To Build Municipal Hall”. The Atlanta Constitution, September 24, 1925, p. 15. ↩︎
    7. “Million-Dollar City Hall Important Item In Bond Program”. The Atlanta Constitution, March 7, 1926, p. 2A. ↩︎
    8. “Preacher Named For City Hall, Is Well Known Architect”. The Atlanta Constitution, November 8, 1927, p. 9. ↩︎

  • Butler Street YMCA (1920) – Atlanta

    Hentz, Reid & Adler. Butler Street YMCA (1919). Atlanta.
    Hentz, Reid & Adler. Butler Street YMCA (1920). Atlanta.1 2 3
    Entrance of Butler Street YMCA, Atlanta
    Entrance of Butler Street YMCA, Atlanta
    Looking at the dormer windows on Butler Street YMCA, Atlanta
    Looking at the dormer windows on Butler Street YMCA, Atlanta

    References

    1. “Atlanta Will Have Modern Building for Colored Y.M.C.A.” The Atlanta Constitution, March 18, 1917, p. 12A. ↩︎
    2. Application for Building Permit, No. 2121 ↩︎
    3. “Building for Colored Y.M.C.A. To Be Formally Opened Today”. The Atlanta Constitution, May 16, 1920, p. 11. ↩︎

  • Postcards from the South: Central Baptist Church, Miami

    Postcard view of Central Baptist Church, Miami
    Postcard view of Central Baptist Church, Miami

    There are certain places I have no interest in visiting. Like zero, zilch, none.

    Miami tops that list.

    Only a few buildings in Miami even mildly pique my curiosity, and this is one: the former Central Baptist Church, designed by Dougherty & Gardner of Nashville.1 2

    Location of Central Baptist Church, Miami

    Edward E. Dougherty was an Atlanta native who became the first architect in the city to complete training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.3

    Dougherty began working with Thomas W. Gardner in Nashville in 1915,4 5 6 and within a few years, they were touted as “the foremost church architects in the South,”7 completing over 50 church buildings by 1926.8

    It appears that Gardner, not Dougherty, was the primary designer of Miami’s Central Baptist,9 and I don’t consider it one of his better efforts. The exterior looks more like a government building, and the interior, as shown in the postcard below, is quite gaudy.

    Postcard view of the sanctuary of Central Baptist Church, Miami
    Postcard view of the sanctuary of Central Baptist Church, Miami

    The Beaux-Arts-style structure was originally designed as the First Baptist Church and was completed in 1928.10 11

    Eight years later, Central Baptist Church was formed by merging First Baptist and Temple Baptist, and the combined congregation used the building12 13 until 2007, when it then merged with Christ Fellowship Church, which now owns the property.14

    References

    1. “Contract Is Awarded”. The Miami Herald, April 28, 1926, p. 2. ↩︎
    2. “Architects For Church Chosen”. The Miami News, April 28, 1926, p. 23. ↩︎
    3. “To Enter Business Here.” The Atlanta Constitution, April 18, 1905, p. 3. ↩︎
    4. “Busy Week Had At Builders’ Exchange”. The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), July 17, 1915, p. 10. ↩︎
    5. “Builders’ Exchange Weekly Bulletin”. Nashville Banner (Nashville, Tennessee), August 9, 1915, p. 6. ↩︎
    6. “Work Will Begin Soon On 5-Story Office Building”. Nashville Tennessean and The Nashville American, September 11, 1915, p. 3. ↩︎
    7. “Extensive Improvements Are Planned by Central Baptist Church.” The Newnan Herald (Newnan, Georgia), July 20, 1923, p. 7. ↩︎
    8. “Contract Is Awarded”. The Miami Herald, April 28, 1926, p. 2. ↩︎
    9. “Confer on Church”. The Miami Herald, May 2, 1926, p. 3. ↩︎
    10. “6,500 Attend First Baptist Rites”. The Miami Herald, February 13, 1928, p. 1. ↩︎
    11. “First Baptist $800,000 Home To Open Today”. The Miami News, February 12, 1928, p. 14. ↩︎
    12. “Arrangements Made to Organize Church”. The Miami Herald, April 30, 1936, p. 5. ↩︎
    13. “1100 Baptists Join New Miami Church”. The Miami Herald, May 4, 1936, p. 3. ↩︎
    14. CF Updates | Christ Fellowship Celebrates Grand Opening Of Their Historic Downtown Campus ↩︎

  • Duke University Chapel (1932) – Durham, North Carolina

    Horace Trombauer with Julian Abele. Duke University Chapel (1932). Durham, North Carolina.
    Horace Trombauer with Julian Abele. Duke University Chapel (1932). Durham, North Carolina.1 2 3 4
    Looking at the southwest elevation of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Looking at the southwest elevation of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Looking at Duke University Chapel from the southeast
    Looking at Duke University Chapel from the southeast
    Pinnacles on the facade of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Pinnacles on the facade of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Bell tower on Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Bell tower on Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Tympanum and sculptures above the entrance of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Tympanum and sculptures above the entrance of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Pinnacles on the southwest elevation of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Pinnacles on the southwest elevation of Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Colonnade outside Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina
    Colonnade outside Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina

    References

    1. “Duke’s Chapel to Be Replaced By a Stone Structure”. The Roanoke World-News (Roanoke, Virginia), August 14, 1926, p. 9. ↩︎
    2. “New Duke University Is One of World’s Outstanding Examples of Gothic Architecture”. The Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), June 5, 1932, p. 3B. ↩︎
    3. Patterson, Donald W. “Black architect to get his due”. Greensboro News & Record (Greensboro, North Carolina), April 21, 1989, p. 5. ↩︎
    4. Cheng, Vicki. “A pioneer’s home set in stone”. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), May 2, 2000, p. 1B. ↩︎

  • Piedmont Natives: Stone Mountain Daisy

    Stone Mountain daisy (Helianthus porteri)
    Stone Mountain daisy (Helianthus porteri)

    The Stone Mountain daisy is a true Georgia native that typically grows on granite outcroppings in the Southeast, notably on and around its namesake, Stone Mountain.

    Technically a sunflower, the plant’s beautiful yellow blooms appear in early fall, and while it reportedly grows in places as distant as Alabama and the Carolinas, you’ll find the greatest concentration of it in DeKalb County, Georgia.

    I don’t have a clue where I found this one—I see rocks and water in the background, so the conditions were obviously right. My time in the South is already a hazy memory.

  • Strand Theatre (1935) – Marietta, Georgia

    Strand Theatre (1935). Marietta, Georgia.
    Strand Theatre (1935). Marietta, Georgia.1 2 3 4
    Facade and marquee of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Facade and marquee of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Bas-relief ornamentation and marble block on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Bas-relief ornamentation and marble block on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Inscription on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Inscription on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Second-floor windows and pilasters on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Second-floor windows and pilasters on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Marquee on the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Marquee on the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Bas-relief ornamentation on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Bas-relief ornamentation on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Decorated window spandrel on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Decorated window spandrel on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Southeast corner of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Southeast corner of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Marble block, bas-relief ornamentation, stucco facing, and second-floor windows on the east elevation of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Marble block, bas-relief ornamentation, stucco facing, and second-floor windows on the east elevation of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Side entrance on the east elevation of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Side entrance on the east elevation of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Poster display on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia
    Poster display on the facade of the Strand Theatre, Marietta, Georgia

    References

    1. “New Theater Work Will Start Monday Owner Stated Today”. The Marietta Journal (Marietta, Georgia), March 7, 1935, p. 1. ↩︎
    2. “Manning And Wink Theater Opening Set For Tuesday”. The Marietta Journal, September 19, 1935, p. 1. ↩︎
    3. “Gala Ceremonies Open Marietta’s Big Theater”. The Atlanta Journal, September 24, 1935, p. 11. ↩︎
    4. “Manning And Wink Opening Tuesday Attended By Many”. The Marietta Journal (Marietta, Georgia), September 26, 1935, p. 1. ↩︎

  • Urban Life: The Conversation

    Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York
    Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York

    I’d been spending a quiet afternoon in Brooklyn Bridge Park when the place was suddenly mobbed with people, all of them with phones and cameras in hand to snap a sunset shot over Manhattan.

    I could see none of them had a clue what they were doing: they just needed content to post on their socials.

    It was a super cloudy day, and I could’ve told those two-bit photographers they were wasting their time, but people have to learn these things for themselves—and I don’t talk anyway.

    As a line of solitary clout-chasers fixed their lenses on the Financial District for likes and engagement, soon to be disappointed, I watched this pair quietly engrossed in actual conversation.

    What a novel concept, I thought.

  • Moynihan Train Hall (2021) – New York

    SOM. Moynihan Train Hall (2021). New York.
    SOM. Moynihan Train Hall (2021). New York.1
    Moynihan Train Hall, New York
    Moynihan Train Hall, New York

    References

    1. Moynihan Trail Hall — SOM ↩︎

  • Escape Route

    Anytime the train rolls through some sad Podunk town, it’s almost guaranteed there will be at least one person waiting with a phone or camera to record our passing visit.

    I’ve never understood how they know when to show up, or if they just wait around for hours in anticipation, but I admire their tenacity and commitment.

    More than once, I’ve prayed for them as their lives enter my view for a moment, then vanish into memory just as quickly.

    I may be projecting, but I often feel a deep kinship with those strangers.

    I can usually see a longing in their eyes to flee the shitty little world that imprisons them, and it reminds me of the many long years of my life when I felt the same.

    I, too, was stuck in oppressive, shithole towns in the middle of nowhere, desperate to break free and wander to wider spaces beyond the familiar.

    It’s shocking how long it took me to escape that narrow existence, and I could never thank God enough for getting me the fuck out.

    Even now, I bristle at the thought of being limited and confined, as I have been for much of my life.

    In hindsight, it’s been necessary: Only when your soul has been sufficiently smothered does it begin to burn with an unquenchable fury to release those who are also trapped and desperate for hope.

    What galls me the most is that so many people enjoy being suppressed and captive. As a citizen of the United States, that has become abundantly clear.

    A good chunk of humanity finds comfort in keeping their worlds small, limited, and controlled, surrendering their lives to two-bit demons who squelch their power for the illusion of safety and normalcy.

    For those people, I have no sympathy—they’ve chosen to bargain with darkness, and their lives are an abhorrent waste.

    But for those lone lights who yearn for something greater, whose souls hope and pine for freedom and autonomy, my heart is with you. May God grant you the release you seek.

  • James B. Hunt, Jr. Library (2013) – Raleigh, North Carolina

    Snøhetta with Pearce Brinkley Cease & Lee. James B. Hunt, Jr. Library (2013). North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina.
    Snøhetta with Pearce Brinkley Cease & Lee. James B. Hunt, Jr. Library (2013). North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina.1 2 3
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the west
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the west
    Entrance of the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Entrance of the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the northwest
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the northwest
    Windows and sun shades on the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Windows and sun shades on the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the southwest
    Looking at the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library from the southwest
    Windows and sun shades on the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina
    Windows and sun shades on the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library, Raleigh, North Carolina

    References

    1. Price, Jay. “Need a book? Ask a robot”. The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 17, 2009, p. B1. ↩︎
    2. “A Vibrant Space For Learning”. The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), January 3, 2013, p. B1. ↩︎
    3. James B. Hunt Jr. Library – Snøhetta ↩︎