I've waited all winter for it to be summer. But now that summer's here and temperatures are reaching nearly 100 F (40 C), I can't seem to get my mind off of Christmas and snow. I was thus led down memory lane to last year's rendition of the annual Holiday Train Show at the New… Continue reading A Holiday Spectacular in NYC
After New York and Columbus (and chancing upon early works on display at the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga), I could spot a Chihuly a mile away, especially when inside a botanical garden. Even so, I had to admit the water features encapsulating Atlanta Botanical Garden's Chihulys enlivens the glass further. I'm not here… Continue reading Mosiaculture @ Atlanta Botanical Garden
My first exposure to the glass artwork of Chihuly was in 2017 at the New York Botanical Garden. Billed as his first major garden exhibition in New York in more than ten years, CHIHULY promised a "sensory-filled exhibition [...] showcasing Chihuly’s signature organic shapes in brilliant colors". Part new work, part retrospective, the 20 installations featured… Continue reading Chihuly @ NY Botanical Garden
Perhaps the second most famous private residence in the United States, after Falling Water, the Glass House was designed and built by Philip Johnson in 1948-49 to serve as his summer house. Over the next half century, Johnson would add both land and buildings to the estate which eventually became his primary resident, passing peacefully during the… Continue reading Glass House in the Woods
Summer is a great time to visit botanical gardens. It's the best time to enjoy lush green foliage, flower in full bloom and of course, bask in special exhibits. This was especially true of the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, OH where in the Pacific Island Water Garden colorful Central American butterflies… Continue reading Chihuly at Franklin Park Conservatory
Cincinnati is called The Queen City or The Queen of the West due to its spectacular growth in the 19th century as industrialists and entrepreneurial adventurers sought out opportunities along the banks of the mighty Ohio River. Among the many that came was Alphonso Taft, who made the move from Vermont in 1838 to establish… Continue reading A Day in Cincinatti
Seated at the busy intersection of Lake St and N. Kenilworth Ave, Unity Temple is considered by many as the first modern building in the world. In great contrast to the stone churches being at time with a central nave and bell-tower, Frank Lloyd Wright designed for his own Unitarian congregation a boxy Prairie School style… Continue reading The Wright Houses – Unity Temple
I call 2017 my year of Wright for in November I had the opportunity to head out to Chicago to where it all began - 951 Chicago Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. Frank Lloyd Wright purchased the property and built the home in 1889 with a $5,000 loan from his employer Louis Sullivan. It was to be… Continue reading The Wright Houses – Oak Park Home & Studio
I capped off my weekend Wright trip last April with a stop at Polymath Park, a half-hour drive from Fallingwater. It had snowed the night before and snow still glisten from the tree tops. Driving through the Allegheny Mountains felt like entering upon an enchanted winter wonderland. Little wonder the rich and powerful of Pittsburgh… Continue reading The Wright Houses – Polymath Park
Cushioned into the mountainside of the Chestnut Ridge at 2,050 feet above sea level, Kentuck Knob is barely visible from view. It was one of the last Frank Lloyd Wright houses ever constructed. Wright was 86 when I.N. and Bernardine Hagan, friends of the Kaufmanns, approached him to design for them a luxury Usonian house in 1953… Continue reading The Wright Houses – Kentuck Knob
