Flâneur

"For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite." -- Charles Baudelaire

[gsuttenfield]

I am a member of APT International, a group of professionals specializing in all things related to preservation of historic buildings. Each year, they partner with Italy's preservation association, AssoRestauro, to sponsor professionals in the US and Canada to visit Italy and see, first hand, ongoing restoration projects of incredible historic value. We visit job sites to speak with the architects, conservators, contractors, and craftspersons doing the work; we climb scaffolding and ladders, go into attics, tunnels, and basements of world heritage sites, and get to see exactly how precious artifacts, frescos, stone, masonry, and plaster are being cleaned, conserved, repaired, and preserved.

[gsuttenfield]

Italy!

Follow along to see preservation work on historic buildings in Italy…! Over the next several weeks we will show you preservation work at several sites across Italy. So join us!

Where: Chiaravalle Monastery near Milan, Italy.

When: 2022.

What: A 14th century bell tower built on top of a 12th century church.

Why: The tower is remarkably “lacey” in that there are a lot of openings in a very tall masonry structure. That makes it vulnerable to racking and possibly toppling over in the case of an earthquake.

How: Preservation architects and engineers are working to insert a unique, structural cable system within the tower that will provide seismic reinforcement without overtly affecting the outward appearance of the 700 year old structure.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips (con’t)

We stopped only briefly in Indianapolis and drove around looking for something interesting near the center of town. I don't know much about the history of Shriners, but many cities seem to have large, ornate, Mediterranean Revival theaters originally built by the Shriners. Characterised by decorative glazed terra cotta, mosaics, stone detailing, towers, stained glass. As an architect familiar with the cost of building today, one of the attractions of historic buildings like this is understanding the enormous complexity and cost to build anything like this today. Beyond the building cost, the design skill (and design fee required) to achieve the same level of quality and complexity, would likewise be tremendous.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips (con’t)

Cincinnati, OH

If you are an architectural history buff, you know who H.H. Richardson was: his Trinity Church in Boston is routinely considered by architects as one of their top favorite buildings - anywhere. He was so adept at wielding the Romanesque style and making it his own, other architects around the country began emulating his take on it. So much so, the style was ultimately named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque. Pretty amazing for a fellow that died at 48 years of age.

My first reaction on seeing Cincinnati's City Hall: Wow, a Richardson building! Well, Richardson designed a building for Cincinnati, but it wasn't this one. He did design the Chamber of Commerce, but it was demolished in 1911. The City Hall? It was designed by a local architect, Samuel Hannaford!

It is, perhaps, the most excellent example of Richardsonian Romanesque NOT designed by Richardson, at least amongst the buildings I have seen. 

Clncinnati City Hall, c. 1893; Samuel Hannaford, Architect (Cincinnati, OH). National Register of Historic Places, listed 1972.

[gsuttenfield]

I use Morpholio sketch on iPad for my field sketches - I can overlay another drawing or photo and sketch solutions to problems found in the field.

This condition is reconfiguring a gutter between a skylight and a vent structure on a 130 year old Gothic Revival building.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips (con’t)

Cincinnati, OH

Since I'm always looking for unique buildings to photograph, I head to the historic core of any new city I find myself in. Cincinnati has a lot of history, and with it some significant older buildings. I had never been to Cincinnati before, but after this brief visit, I have to say I like the scale and feel of it. Extra kudos for having an electric streetcar that operates free 365 days a year.

While at first I thought this building was perhaps a huge Kress building (we'll talk about those more later), it turns out it was a building built to provide doctors with office space. It is called, appropriately, The Doctor's Building.

The Doctor's Building, Cincinnati (Glazed Terra Cotta Facade) c. 1923; Architects: Tietig and Lee, Cincinnati, OH.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips (con't)

Cincinnati, OH

What do Cincinnati, Brooklyn, and the Titanic have in common?

The answer is below, but first:

One of the first things I noticed when we got to Cincinnati, after the huge sports stadiums, was a really cool bridge spanning over the Ohio, connecting Kentucky to Cincinnati: the 1867 John A. Roebling Bridge, the longest bridge in the world at the time.

It was a gray day in Cincinnati, but the bridge was still tremendously cool.

The bridge opened officially on January 1, 1867, and later that year the design engineer, John Roebling, would go on to start designing the Brooklyn Bridge.

Unfortunately, Roebling would die from tetanus a couple years later so his son, Washington, also an engineer, would take over. Ultimately, Washington's own health issues hindered his ability to work, so it was Washington's wife Emily that would finish the Brooklyn project in 1883!

Above: Brooklyn Bridge, c. 1883.

So what do Cincinnati, Brooklyn, and the Titanic have in common? The Roeblings! Washington's son (John's grandson), Washington II would unfortunately perish in that historic ship wreck of 1912.

[gsuttenfield]

These are sketches that show how I planned to resupport two 130 year old, 2500 lb. cupolas on top of a new skylight structure. This project is complete and I'll post some pictures of the cupolas sitting on their new glass structure soon.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips (con't)

Scarbro, WV

Ever seen a "company store"?

Sometime after White Sulphur Springs (last post), we came across what was nothing more than a crossroads, but one couldn't miss the huge white clapboard structure looming over the intersection: the Whipple Company Store. A much-modified Pure Oil was across the street - but we'll talk about those another time…

This store was associated with the New River Coal mining area and closed in the 1950's. The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Whipple Company Store, c. 1900, New River Company mine. Company store closed in 1957.

Listed, National Register of Historic Places, 1991.

[gsuttenfield]

Road Trips

A road trip by any other name would be as sweet…, or something like that.

Over the next several weeks I'll be sharing a number of stories about where I find photographic inspiration - starting with Road Trips!

On the Road

Road trips are one of my favorite things to do: you get to go to fun places and explore forgotten back roads that lead to even more forgotten barns, churches, and other beautiful ruins. Driving from Richmond to Champaign, Illinois for my eldest daughter's PhD ceremony took us generally west, charting a course through Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana, with bits of Kentucky thrown in. While every travel destination has photo opportunities, the road trip journey is itself the opportunity. Every mile of back road fills me with anticipation. As soon as I choose "avoid highways" on my mapping software, that is when the fun begins - back roads are so much more interesting! First stop:

White Sulphur Springs, WV

Have you noticed how banks used to look like the most substantive building in town? Getting off the highway in West Virginia, White Sulphur Springs was one of the first places we had to stop. We could see on the map we would be passing by other small towns with names like Prosperity, Mt. Hope, and Scarbro.

Almost every old Main Street has that one dignified stone or brick bank building, and White Sulphur Springs is no exception. True to form, this one was a Neoclassical design in limestone, with fluted Composite order pilasters supporting a heavily articulated pediment with a dentil molding.

Also like most every one of these buildings, it is no longer a bank. This one seemed partially occupied, but still in good condition.

[gsuttenfield]

Haiku of the day:

Cherry blossom petals

A cool breeze blowing in March

Spring green is coming

[gsuttenfield]

Bologna, Italy

[gsuttenfield]

Bologna, Italy

[gsuttenfield]

Red light at night. (at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRdA0fElDIG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gsuttenfield]

I’m very excited and honored to have one of my photographs, Street Light Red Light 03, selected by jurors Constance and Jerry Rosenthal for the upcoming “Color” exhibition at the SE Center for Photography! The exhibit will open Friday, August 6 in Greenville, SC. (at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFr0wPlecC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gsuttenfield]

Doors and Windows of the World - prints available now through Liza Pruitt! See @liza.pruitt for the full collection! https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtPEEAFjDz/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gsuttenfield]

Exciting news! Prints of our door and window series will soon be available through @liza.pruitt ! What is it about doors and windows that resonate with you? The colors of this door, in Istanbul, Turkey, had me thinking about quilts… . . #coloroftheday #doorsoftheworld #beautifuldecay #istanbul #purple #pink #door #travelphotography #unfinished (at Istanbul, Turkey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQXmPkbluT3/?utm_medium=tumblr