We pause in the usual cavalcade of horrors for a brief lesson. Concerning President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring new federal buildings to show a preference for "classical architectural style" which includes Neoclassical, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Beaux-Arts, and Art Deco, referencing the architectural traditions of Greek and Roman antiquity. . .
As someone who grew up in Alpharetta, GA, I was thrilled to see the new courthouse in your list today. In fact the entire refurbished downtown area is a wonder to behold. My old high school, rebuilt several years ago, has the same red brick, columned style as well. All buildings and grounds around the town are beautifully planned and executed, attracting young families, great shopping and restaurants.
This is the way it’s done. Thanks for your article today!
02/05/25: "FBI-Director nominee Kash Patel went so far as to propose it be turned into 'a Museum of the Deep State.' ”
The only problem with that is that no one can get anyone who works in WDC to actually come to the office. It would be The Museum of The Missing Paychecks.
And on another note, I am hoping beyond hope that Patel issues "10-Most Wanted Posters" for the ten senior FBI undercover agents who ran around instigating violence during the January 6th protests. I bet he already knows who they are.
WHAT AN AMAZING effect this would have --- MORE panic --- on the Democrats, who are currently reeling like the Washington Commanders in the fourth quarter when playing the Philadelphia Eagles on January 26th.
(This is not entirely fair to the Commanders, who at least managed to score 23 points in their game. Currently, Jamie Raskin and his USAID Urchins have been shut out, and there's zero chance that Trump will be sending in his third-stringers before January 20, 2029.)
I have unforgivably digressed. These buildings are lovely. Thank you.
Great post! When I've traveled to D.C. and look at the Hoover building, I'm reminded of Fascist and Stalinist architecture. All of the socialist building was brutal, cold, dehumanizing. In addition to the brutal philosophy the Frankfurt School brought over, they brought their architecture, too.
Hooray for President Trump and his followers for bringing us back to beauty and grace in our society!
This might be about more than just bringing back beauty and grace; it might be about embracing beauty as a gift from God, and rejecting the evil and soul-crushingness of Brutalism. As a society, we have embraced the ugly; look at beach photos from the 1980s and beach photos today. We need to once again recognize what is beautiful and embrace it. Architecture is one way.
Right, as cheaply as possible while attempting the Emperor's New Clothes mind-trick on the public. "If you don't appreciate it that just means you're a troglodyte."
I'm sure that there are monstrosities in the South, as well, but, in general, Southerners are less likely to tolerate these abominations. Just compare a stroll along the thoroughfares of Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA to a death march through new areas of DC or San Francisco. Columbus, OH might well be the worst. Its a whole contrived Potemkin Village of offensive architecture and fake "neighborhoods." Its a test kitchen for all the bad ideas of late stage mercantilism and greed.
I did enjoy Boston architecture, too. That city has a strong Old World vibe that resonated with my soul. Loved living there. (The school system drove me back to the South.) And it's a "walking city." There's something reassuring about "vintage" architecture. They absolutely ruined Copley Square with that monstrous high-rise glass thing - and the windows kept falling out! (Boston is built on what was once a swamp; even today, it's not 100% stable ground.)
Years ago a prof told the story of the windows falling out of the John Hancock Tower. If I recall correctly, the building was originally designed to face a different direction. But the developer could not secure all the land parcels needed for the original design.
So they just rotated the building plan a bit, without redesigning it. Boston has significant onshore winds. Which caused wind load on the building different from what it was designed for. So the windows popped out.
Dunno how accurate that story is. It doesn't exactly match what a quick Google search turns up. But it was told by an architecture professor, in Boston. Take it for what it's worth.
I never heard why the windows fell out, so nothing surprises! I recall that when it rained, if a heavy truck drove down a street, car alarms would go off because the ground was still unstable! I experienced that several times. Which has nothing to do with architecture styles, of course. I lived in a great old building that had been elite apts. at one time. Marble on the bathroom floors. 11 ft ceilings. HUGE windows. There were even ghosts, for which I can personally vouch! Loved it.
Of course this is a gross generalization, and more true historically, but, Southerners were characterized by their love of kith and kin and their homeplace, while Northerners were characterized by their adherence to the government and empire, and their desire to force this adherence on everyone else.
It's essentially the difference between middle and southern Italians and their love of their towns and small states versus Garibaldi and his ilk. Or, prior to the Highland clearances, the difference between the Highland Scots and the Lowland/England. In comparison between the US and Great Britain, Forrest McDonald said something to the effect of "I see it now. Your south is our north."
I've never seen an image of the FBI building before but what an extraordinary warning to the American people of the direction the country was going to be taken in.
And were any of you looking?
Much like the frog being boiled in the pan as the heat is very slowly turned up, from my side of the Atlantic, it looks as though your once robust Republic has been hollowed out to the extent that your system of government can best be described as a corporatocracy.
I can only imagine the vast surveillence state that has been put in place to manage the Long Emergency. But like I say they gave you'll 60 years warning.
And here in the UK? It's probably worse except we have only ever been subjects of the Crown and didn't have a Republic to lose.
Yea, verily. You have it. I once worked in the Federal Courthouse on 3rd St. in San Francisco, and it was a wonder to walk those halls every day. That was the only thing about the job that I liked, but at least there was that.
"Initially, with our nation’s founding, there was a wish to express our national ethos in architecture that denoted the democratic spirit of Ancient Greece melded with the order of the early Roman republic."
Agreed, but it is more than that. It is a recognition that we are a Western nation and a Western people, descended from and with a culture and institutions descended from the Greeks, Romans, and greater Christendom.
Yes, this is why every truly educated person used to and still should be familiar with the classics in the original Latin and Ancient Greek, and the bible.
Speaking of architecture... I'm reminded of a book by Ken Follett called Pillars of the Earth. It answered a question I didn't know I wanted the answer to. The purpose of building cathedrals and in general the purpose of attempting greatness in everything you do.
The San Francisco building is a perfect metaphor for the city, except they need rusty rods sticking out the windows with soiled bedding swaying in the sea breeze.
As someone who grew up in Alpharetta, GA, I was thrilled to see the new courthouse in your list today. In fact the entire refurbished downtown area is a wonder to behold. My old high school, rebuilt several years ago, has the same red brick, columned style as well. All buildings and grounds around the town are beautifully planned and executed, attracting young families, great shopping and restaurants.
This is the way it’s done. Thanks for your article today!
Please can we confirm Kash? Burn it down and salt the earth -Stephen K Bannon
quickly
02/05/25: "FBI-Director nominee Kash Patel went so far as to propose it be turned into 'a Museum of the Deep State.' ”
The only problem with that is that no one can get anyone who works in WDC to actually come to the office. It would be The Museum of The Missing Paychecks.
And on another note, I am hoping beyond hope that Patel issues "10-Most Wanted Posters" for the ten senior FBI undercover agents who ran around instigating violence during the January 6th protests. I bet he already knows who they are.
WHAT AN AMAZING effect this would have --- MORE panic --- on the Democrats, who are currently reeling like the Washington Commanders in the fourth quarter when playing the Philadelphia Eagles on January 26th.
(This is not entirely fair to the Commanders, who at least managed to score 23 points in their game. Currently, Jamie Raskin and his USAID Urchins have been shut out, and there's zero chance that Trump will be sending in his third-stringers before January 20, 2029.)
I have unforgivably digressed. These buildings are lovely. Thank you.
Great post! When I've traveled to D.C. and look at the Hoover building, I'm reminded of Fascist and Stalinist architecture. All of the socialist building was brutal, cold, dehumanizing. In addition to the brutal philosophy the Frankfurt School brought over, they brought their architecture, too.
Hooray for President Trump and his followers for bringing us back to beauty and grace in our society!
Danny Huckabee
This might be about more than just bringing back beauty and grace; it might be about embracing beauty as a gift from God, and rejecting the evil and soul-crushingness of Brutalism. As a society, we have embraced the ugly; look at beach photos from the 1980s and beach photos today. We need to once again recognize what is beautiful and embrace it. Architecture is one way.
Well put and my sentiments exactly!
It's all part of the battle of good vs. evil. I'm hoping that the inclusion and recognition of beauty will nudge us closer to good.
Don’t even get me started on church buildings.
Everything seems to be built to look like a prison or a mausoleum nowadays.
Right, as cheaply as possible while attempting the Emperor's New Clothes mind-trick on the public. "If you don't appreciate it that just means you're a troglodyte."
Churches are supposed to be inspiring, but lately they are all purely depressing. Especially when flying the flag of sodomy and pedophilia out front.
I'm sure that there are monstrosities in the South, as well, but, in general, Southerners are less likely to tolerate these abominations. Just compare a stroll along the thoroughfares of Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA to a death march through new areas of DC or San Francisco. Columbus, OH might well be the worst. Its a whole contrived Potemkin Village of offensive architecture and fake "neighborhoods." Its a test kitchen for all the bad ideas of late stage mercantilism and greed.
I did enjoy Boston architecture, too. That city has a strong Old World vibe that resonated with my soul. Loved living there. (The school system drove me back to the South.) And it's a "walking city." There's something reassuring about "vintage" architecture. They absolutely ruined Copley Square with that monstrous high-rise glass thing - and the windows kept falling out! (Boston is built on what was once a swamp; even today, it's not 100% stable ground.)
Years ago a prof told the story of the windows falling out of the John Hancock Tower. If I recall correctly, the building was originally designed to face a different direction. But the developer could not secure all the land parcels needed for the original design.
So they just rotated the building plan a bit, without redesigning it. Boston has significant onshore winds. Which caused wind load on the building different from what it was designed for. So the windows popped out.
Dunno how accurate that story is. It doesn't exactly match what a quick Google search turns up. But it was told by an architecture professor, in Boston. Take it for what it's worth.
I remember reading about this as well. Speaking of, has the Millennium Tower in San Francisco stopped very slowly falling?
I never heard why the windows fell out, so nothing surprises! I recall that when it rained, if a heavy truck drove down a street, car alarms would go off because the ground was still unstable! I experienced that several times. Which has nothing to do with architecture styles, of course. I lived in a great old building that had been elite apts. at one time. Marble on the bathroom floors. 11 ft ceilings. HUGE windows. There were even ghosts, for which I can personally vouch! Loved it.
Go figure; the south is more traditional. Southerners are more apt to be really patriotic as well, not fake patriotic as their northern counterparts.
Of course this is a gross generalization, and more true historically, but, Southerners were characterized by their love of kith and kin and their homeplace, while Northerners were characterized by their adherence to the government and empire, and their desire to force this adherence on everyone else.
It's essentially the difference between middle and southern Italians and their love of their towns and small states versus Garibaldi and his ilk. Or, prior to the Highland clearances, the difference between the Highland Scots and the Lowland/England. In comparison between the US and Great Britain, Forrest McDonald said something to the effect of "I see it now. Your south is our north."
I’m a Mid-Century Modern type of guy; seems it’s all been downhill since then.
The New Deal's WPA/PWA building program did not produce a single ugly building.
02/05/25: Aside from Eleanor.
I've never seen an image of the FBI building before but what an extraordinary warning to the American people of the direction the country was going to be taken in.
And were any of you looking?
Much like the frog being boiled in the pan as the heat is very slowly turned up, from my side of the Atlantic, it looks as though your once robust Republic has been hollowed out to the extent that your system of government can best be described as a corporatocracy.
I can only imagine the vast surveillence state that has been put in place to manage the Long Emergency. But like I say they gave you'll 60 years warning.
And here in the UK? It's probably worse except we have only ever been subjects of the Crown and didn't have a Republic to lose.
Yea, verily. You have it. I once worked in the Federal Courthouse on 3rd St. in San Francisco, and it was a wonder to walk those halls every day. That was the only thing about the job that I liked, but at least there was that.
Yes, been in there and it's almost moving.
So true. No more soviet shoeboxes for our tax dollars
I actually read someone extolling the beauty of Boston City Hall the other day. No idea if they were wearing a mask as they wrote it.
Regarding the Hoover building: It looks nothing like a stroopwafel!!!
I was raised on stroopwafels, I know.
those two (San Fran and FBI) are very ugly buildings. They scream the disgusting doings inside.
Mostly fat lazy people with messy desks overseen by fat lazy higher ups
Lol, yes, the ugliness outside is a perfect metaphor for the ugliness inside.
Well said.
Thom Mayne was one of my Professors in Architecture School!
Ask for a refund!
"Initially, with our nation’s founding, there was a wish to express our national ethos in architecture that denoted the democratic spirit of Ancient Greece melded with the order of the early Roman republic."
Agreed, but it is more than that. It is a recognition that we are a Western nation and a Western people, descended from and with a culture and institutions descended from the Greeks, Romans, and greater Christendom.
Yes, this is why every truly educated person used to and still should be familiar with the classics in the original Latin and Ancient Greek, and the bible.
Speaking of architecture... I'm reminded of a book by Ken Follett called Pillars of the Earth. It answered a question I didn't know I wanted the answer to. The purpose of building cathedrals and in general the purpose of attempting greatness in everything you do.
The movie made from that book was really good.
The San Francisco building is a perfect metaphor for the city, except they need rusty rods sticking out the windows with soiled bedding swaying in the sea breeze.