Friday, June 15, 2007
Bloated Excess
"American architecture is the art of covering one thing with a second to imitate a third, which, if genuine, would not be desirable." So, approximately, said Leopold Eidlitz about turn of the 20th century building. (I'm quoting from memory and don't have the time right now to track down the actual quote.)
He was writing about things like terra cotta "marble" Classical facings on steel frame buildings. It's not entirely appropriate with respect to this McMansion, which I've been watching over the last 8 months or so progressively blight the landscape on my way to work: the brick seems to be genuine brick. The stone I can't vouch for, but if they're spending that much money on the whole wretched pile, why not spring for inch-thick stone facing to go over the Tyvek.
A century or so later, and the millionaire "cottages" of Newport seem respectable, so maybe in 2107 this won't seem as bizarre as it does now.
