Wichita Modern

Downtown Development

2009-12-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

For some time, I've thought about doing a photo shoot downtown to catalogue some of the crumbling, vacant, yet still very beautiful architecture. The Wichita Eagle has (sort of) done the job for me. In looking for ideas for downtown development to accompany the new Intrust Bank Arena, the Eagle has asked people to submit photos to a flickr stream.

Some of the photos are mystifying (a tooth painted on a loading dock in Fort Scott? A thousand shots of this guy?), but some really highlight parts of downtown Wichita that I think really work right now, at least aesthetically. Aesthetics is one thing; making downtown walkable and viable economically is obviously a much tougher proposition for now.

There are also many pics of other cities and architecture that are pretty. And how about the shot above, from flickr contributor baywatch75?

Take a look.

Allen-Lambe House in Miniature

2009-09-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Pics of the Wichita Frank Lloyd Wright house (aka the Allen-Lambe House) in miniature at Exploration Place:

View from southeast

View from northeast

View from north

View from east

The Kansas in Miniature exhibit is really amazing in its detail. Again, pictures grainy because I was having camera issues and had to use my cell phone.

Risom Chair Continued

2009-09-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of very low-res pics of the Risom as it sits tonight. After many hours stripping, sanding, and applying/buffing lacquer (polyurethane just seemed too modern), it's ready for upholstery. I spent some time trying to get the sun-induced color changes to come out, then decided they were just character or patina, and they added something to the chair. After all, you can't expect a sixty year-old chair to look new, right?

I'm just snobbish enough to preserve the original knoll sticker.

I think we're going with black cotton for the webbing. I think the texture of the cotton matches the softness of the lacquer a little better than would the synthetic webbing. The black is just so I have a neutral color (I'm still not sure where the chair will end up when I'm done).

Phineas and Ferb

2009-08-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

My two-year-old daughter is obsessed with the Disney show "Phineas and Ferb." It features stepbrothers who have amazing skills at invention and construction, and it's actually a pretty good cartoon.

The villain of the show is Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, an inventor who lives in a series of really great mid-century-style homes. Above is the Wright-esque Woodland House, where Dr. Doofenshmirtz takes women he meets online.

I've tried to post a couple screenshots and videos below, with varied success:

Doofenshmirtz house in the suburbs (4:20 mark)

Doofenshmirtz Evil, Incorporated (his primary lair, which looks a lot like a pipe wrench to me).

Check it out.

Risom Chair Restoration

2009-08-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of stripping and re-finishing a Risom chair I found on ebay:

Turns out the strapping wasn't the original, so I have a few more tack holes to deal with than I had anticipated. Here it is after getting the nicotine-stained, torn webbing off:

Right now, I'm in the process of stripping off sixty year-old varnish. Amazingly dirty stuff. More pics to come.

Dodge City Downtown, Part Two

2009-08-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

I love scrims. A couple vintage scrims pictured here from downtown DC. First couple are from Eckles department store, third pic is a scrim over a vacant storefront adjacent to the porcelain-appearing facade in the previous post.

I think we're seeing a comeback for scrim, possibly because of energy efficiency reasons. See the New York Times building completed in the last couple years.

Dodge City Downtown

2009-08-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Much of the Dodge City Days festivities were downtown. Some really interesting buildings, a few of which I got pics of (hard to get decent shots with the unusually heavy traffic and carnival stuff).

From top to bottom: Vacant storefront with a cool, porcelain-appearing facade, Sam's Shoe Store, two shots of a building that obviously used to be a bank but is now a casino, and the deco-ish Daily Globe front door (reminds me of the Daily Planet).

Dodge City

2009-08-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

We were in Dodge City last weekend for family fun and Dodge City Days. Managed to make it by the Goff house in NW Dodge City. I didn't want to snoop or intrude, so I just snapped a couple of pics from the street. I love how just a small change in the angle of the shot really changes the appearance of the house.

Several interesting buildings in downtown DC. More to come later...

Airport Architecture

2009-07-22T15:54:00.001-07:00

Embarassingly long time since my last post. If you've read the blog before, you know I really liked the old Wichita Municipal Airport. Well, Slate magazine has a great photo essay on airport design this week: Slate.com. Check it out.

Above pic courtesy of wichitaphotos.net.

Wesley Medical Center Building 4 Stairwell

2009-05-24T22:22:00.001-07:00

I'm planning some future posts on the major downtown hospitals in Wichita soon. They were built at the height of the modernist movement of the 50s and 60s (see pics at Wichitaphotos.net), but the original buildings have been somewhat hidden by less than flattering additions since then. Small glimpses of their original architecture can be found in unexpected places.

Composite Shingles

2009-05-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Same home, different roof (and better light and leaves on the trees). Just not quite the same. This will seriously affect my decision whenever it comes time to replace my (currently shake) roof.

Shake Shingles

2009-05-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed this vaguely Bruce-Goffian house while on a walk. I saw the packs of composite shingles and thought I should take some pictures before they were installed.

I can't blame people for going for a more durable product, particularly in windy Wichita, but I really think the house is more interesting with the shake shingles. The whole appeal of this "organic" style of architecture to me is that the houses look like they could have emerged from the earth whole (see large stone sections and protruding roof beams). Much of that effect is lost when the house is topped with asphalt instead of wood.

All that said, I still think it's a great house. "After" shots soon to come, hopefully in better light.

Oh, and Kansan Bruce Goff didn't design it. A list of his homes can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can see a house he designed in Dodge City, Kansas at KansasHistory.us.

Semi-interesting discussion of shake shingles at Wikipedia.

Happy Easter

2009-04-09T19:03:00.001-07:00

Boston

2009-03-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

Top pics: Boston City Hall. Brutalism. I likey. The locals seem to hate it, though.

Bottom pics: Stata Center, MIT. Across the street from where we stayed. Muy dirty windows--sorry about that. I've never been a huge Frank Gehry fan, so when they told me they can't keep the roof from leaking, I took it as a sign that you shouldn't build buildings that look like a Dr. Seuss cartoon. But maybe I'm just a grouch.

Landscaping

2009-03-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some minor landscaping work around my house. I noticed these very nice sculpted shrubs (cedars?) around a house on the way to work a few days ago. Something to strive for...

Decks and Patios

2009-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Since I'm working with the guys at StudioBuild on a new deck, I was inspired to check out a few decks and porches on my walk tonight. Not much to choose from, but I suspect this is a consequence of most mid-century homes having more deck or patio space positioned away from the street, presumably for privacy.

But since my house will have a deck out front for all to see, I thought it would be nice to see some other homes with similarly un-private space in front. Benjamin Hills homes here for the most part. The stately black and white image is the deck on a Drummond Home in Kansas City, courtesy of KCModern.com.

Wichita Municipal Airport

2009-02-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

More snooping from wichitaphotos.net. Wichita Municipal Airport was built in 1954 and renamed Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in 1973. It's really not a terrible building now (after extensive "renovation" and expansion), but I can't help but think how flying has changed. I spend flights now hoping tank-top man's hairy shoulder doesn't touch me from the next seat. The lobby pictured here looks like Cary Grant could saunter past at any minute.

Dymaxion House

2009-02-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

I ran across these while scrounging around at wichitaphotos.net.

Their text: "Exterior, front view of “Wichita House,” constructed near Wichita in Rose Hill, Kansas, in 1948. A 1948 Packard automobile is parked at right. The visionary design by R. Buckminster Fuller was based on his 1927 plan for a mass-produced house called the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine. Beech Aircraft Company constructed the house to demonstrate affordable, prefabricated housing that would take advantage of World War II surplus materials. The structure was made of aluminum and designed to withstand the elements, including a Kansas tornado. This model was one of only two prototypes ever produced. In 1991 the William Graham family donated it to the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Fuller...coined the term “Dymaxion” by combining two favorite words, “dynamic” and ”maximize”"

Dunbar School Sign

2009-02-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

In honor of Black History Month, a picture of the Dunbar Adult Center--formerly Dunbar School, I assume--sign in the historic McAdams neighborhood (northeast of Murdock and Washington, in case you've never been there). I just get the feeling looking at this that the person who designed it knew exactly where to stop. Ribbon lettering, black background, posts made of steel I-beams. The end.

Sorry for the photo quality--I was sans camera today and used my cell phone.

First try: Exploration Place

2009-02-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

My family and I moved to Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. We purchased a mid-century modern home that had had some unflattering work done to it over the years. We immediately made plans to "restovate" it (our designers' word) to something more consistent with its 1960s roots. In the process of redesigning our home, I've become interested in modern architecture.

As my wife and I looked around town for inspiration for our home, we discovered that Wichita is really a hidden architectural gem, with preserved neighborhoods representing nearly every American architectural movement from the 1880s (or even before) to the present day. I've looked for an archive of Wichita modern architecture (the Wichita equivalent to what you might find at kcmodern.com), but I've come up short. So, I decided to start a blog featuring pictures I've taken of local homes and buildings. I might throw in some history or commentary on the buildings if I know anything about them.

I should issue a couple disclaimers: I know nothing about architecture and design. I've had no formal training in the field. I only know what I think looks pretty. So if I type something wrong, please correct me gently. If you think a building I photograph is ugly, that's ok. Also, if you can't tell, I'm also a beginner at blogging. If I post a picture that you think should be removed because of copyright issues or privacy, please let me know.

Above you see the children's museum Exploration Place, located just west of downtown Wichita on the Arkansas River. I think it is a spectacular building. I know little of it's history, so if anyone can tell me more about it, I'd love to know. The picture is linked from the nice folks at travelks.com.