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Purcell and Elmslie, Architects Firm active :: 1907-1921
Minneapolis, Minnesota :: Chicago,
Illinois |
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Grindstone
Ye Older Grindstones
12/22/2003
Me having Naked Lunch at the Beat Motel, before it opened in Desert Hot Springs. The mansion of organic thought has many doors... Mugwumps. Two full moons since I posted here. I thank my surprisingly numerous regular visitors here for the kind letters asking what was up, was I all right, etc., even if my new schedule has been too draining to allow me even to update these pages. I have been more than all right. I have been employed! Finally, after 2-1/2 years of wracking uncertainty (life as a writer is not what you might think if you want to eat regularly). Two months later and now moving beyond being exhausted from "regular" work weeks, I have gotten my sea legs and have some energy left once back home. And, of course, it was architecture that rescued me--and Frank Lloyd Wright, to boot, though P&E in the form of this web site spoke successfully for me well before FLLW had the chance (as it is in heaven, so shall it be on earth). But that's a story that needs illustrations, which will come soon. Meanwhile, I haven't entirely escaped movies, vide above. The nature of the mugwump is that it never escapes.... In case you haven't guessed from the picture, somehow all that pretty much summarizes my involvement with organic architecture all these years (not that I am complaining, it's just the marvel of family resemblance). With some significant time off during the next couple weeks, I'll have backlog of interesting things to restart the Grindstone--and a little more explanation of matters hereby only hinted. Happy Holidays.
10/15/2003
Winona Savings Bank
Winona, Minnesota 1910
George Washington Maher
Plaster model
First National Bank, project
Winona, Minnesota
Purcell & Feick 1909Working on the Railroad. With a multitude of fronts wanting for progress, I have spent some time catching up with some of the images for The Prairie School Exchange. Photographs have been added for the Winona Savings Bank, by George Washington Maher. This is the Egyptoid design that beat out the offering by youngsters Purcell and Feick, linked above. Discovered in doing so that there were no enlarged images for this P&F project, as well as no links to the U of M digital database. That's fixed. Also updated the statistics for the site, which shows significant growth despite my absence because of the movie.
10/11/2003 (image addenda, 10/15/2003)
Penny postcard for Schlesinger & Mayer Dry Goods Store (Chicago, Illinois), where Elmslie went to town
"LHS" worked by Elmslie into the cast iron fabric of time
Vestibule, in carved wood
Detail, grille for air return in vestibule,
Schlesinger & Mayer Store
Chicago, Illinois
1900Never-ending Housekeeping. Finally finished the Parabiographies Volume for 1914 by adding the entries for commission numbers 244-267, which completes the Parabiographies manuscripts as a whole. These textual improvements leave little new graphical content, and I've gotten in the habit of having images to head up these notes. Came across the above penny postcard image for the Schlesinger & Mayer Dry Goods Store, whose cast iron apron of decorative confection by Elmslie remains to this day an homage punctuated with carefully insinuated "LHS" monograms. Such an overt adoration of Sullivan; just from looking at the metallic poetry you can't miss how much Elmslie felt toward the man. Reminded me that I had some other photographs, so I added them, as well. Also, note that Elmslie is just gearing up here in cast iron for what will exfoliate most completely in the four "up-side down tree" polychrome electroliers at the National Farmers' Bank in Owatonna. Show me what you will in American art, but nothing can ever touch my soul more deeply than Elmslie in these four-dimensional slices of spirit. And if anyone thinks they are seeing only a three-dimensional object, they've missed the whole thing. So to speak.
research courtesy mark hammons