Musings on Art Deco and Modernism in the San Francisco Bay Area
Let's face it. You can't really lug a serious book about architecture to the beach, or even on the bus. Typically they are either hefty, hardback tomes, made even heavier by glossy, full-color pages of photography of the work being discussed, or they can venture into dry, academic treatises that often aren't really fun to… Continue reading Some good architecture reads for spring
The Roaring 1920s in America were happy-go-lucky days of wild times, illegal speakeasies and dances like the Jitterbug and the Charleston. But fueling all that crazy joy was a stock market bubble that ended, as we know now, in the Great Depression. But before the market crash of 1929, most U.S. cities were seeing a huge… Continue reading Magnificent Deco apartment houses live on in SF
The demolition of the front of the Transbay Terminal began today, with the repetitive swinging of the wrecking ball, which the contractors call "Big Red." The Transbay Joint Powers Authority, in one of the oddest press releases I have ever seen, heralded the news, saying that the wreckers Evans Brothers, Inc. "dropped the historic first wrecking ball on the front… Continue reading Wrecking ball starts demo of Transbay Terminal
San Francisco may be famous for its Victorian row houses and over-the-top Queen Annes, but it is also home to one of the most notable examples of a building in the Streamline Moderne style. The ship-like Bathhouse building, which sits in its berth at Aquatic Park is a great example of the style, which became more popular in… Continue reading Aquatic Park is Streamline Sublime
Today, September 26, is the birthday of architect Timothy Pflueger. Since he was born in 1892, he clearly would not be alive today (it would be his 118th birthday), but I always wonder what else he would have accomplished if he had lived beyond his 54 years. It is amazing to consider how much work he… Continue reading Happy Birthday Timothy Pflueger!
Friday afternoon, just under two thousand people showed up at the Transbay Terminal for several tours and a sad farewell before it closes for good next week. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority and Caltrans did some last-minute sprucing up and managed to get most of the homeless people out of the terminal for a round of one hour tours through the… Continue reading Goodbye Transbay Terminal
With the looming demolition of the Transbay Terminal approaching next month, one might expect to see the inevitable stories about the building's better days in the local press. Sadly, the Sunday piece by Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle does not do the building justice. Too many have judged the 1939 building's architectural merits by… Continue reading The Transbay Terminal Will be Missed
Attendees of the American Institute of Architects convention last week in Miami were lucky enough to have a chance to see a new documentary on architect Louis Sullivan. The film, in the works since 2007, is called "Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture." The film seeks to present Sullivan as "an artist who never felt completely comfortable… Continue reading Searching for Louis Sullivan
Today was the birthday of that great, my-way-or-the-highway American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Born June 8, 1867, today marks the 143rd anniversary of his birth. As a little homage to the master today, I wandered over to 140 Maiden Lane, where one can find one of Wright's best-known works in the San Francisco Bay Area.… Continue reading Happy Birthday Frank Lloyd Wright from SF
The monumental Cathedral of Christ the Light has graced the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland since September, 2008 but I only recently had a chance to visit. After hearing the name of the architect - Craig Hartman - two or three times in casual conversation in the last few months, it seemed like a… Continue reading A 21st century cathedral infused with light and history
Timothy Pflueger Blog 