DOCOMOMO US July 2011 E-News Brief

JULY 2011 DOCOMOMO US is the working party of Docomomo in the United States. It is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization, a union of regional chapters that shares its members' knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Modern Movement, promotes public interest in it through lectures and walking tours, and organizes advocacy efforts to protect endangered sites and buildings. Join the national community of architects, historians, preservationists, students and modern movement enthusiasts dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of modern architecture and landscapes in the United States. Membership is available online at www.docomomo-us.org or by downloading our membership form. Go Modern! at www.docomomo-us.org, and follow DOCOMOMO US on Facebook and Twitter   IN THIS EDITION: - National Tour Day at the Philip Johnson Glass House - Update: Pittsburgh City Council Votes to Demolish Civic Arena - Houston's Glenbrook Valley Designated Historic District - Advocacy Spotlight: Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee - Book Announcement: Tomorrow's Houses - Save the Date: Tour Day 2011, Second Wave of Modernism II, and more - Photo Contest NATIONAL TOUR DAY GOES TO THE PHILIP JOHNSON GLASS HOUSE Docomomo US is thrilled to announce the Philip Johnson Glass House as a partner for the fifth annual Docomomo US Tour Day. Located in lush New Canaan, Connecticut, the Glass House is a National Trust Historic Site and offers its 47-acre campus as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art, as well as a canvas for inspiration and experimentation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005). The Glass House will be extending a special discount on tours during Tour Day Weekend, as well as hosting a special Docomomo US member reception. Photo: Eirik Johnson READ MORE >   UPDATE: PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO DEMOLISH CIVIC ARENA Eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the Civic Arena (Mellon Arena) was rejected by the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission and Planning Commission. On June 28th, the Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 to reject city historic designation, allowing the Sports and Exhibition Authority to move forward with plans to demolish the structure. Photo: Preservation Pittsburgh READ MORE >   HOUSTON'S GLENBROOK VALLEY DESIGNATED HISTORIC DISTRICT Glenbrook Valley, the subject of last year's "Mad About Mod" tour given by friend organization Houston Mod during Tour Day 2010, has been designated a local historic district. The residential neighborhood is made up of 1,255 tracts of post-WW II housing, the largest post-war locally designated historic district in the country, and the first of its kind in Texas. READ MORE >   ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT: LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY'S MODERN COMMITTEE Docomomo US seeks to elevate awareness of the buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement by profiling like-minded organizations across the country. This month we spotlight the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee, headed by Regina O'Brien, Chair.  Active for over 25 years, the Modern Committee has been instrumental in the preservation of modern architecture in the Los Angeles area including the Capitol Records Building, Century Plaza Hotel and the Golden State Mutual Building, among others. Photo: Millard Sheets mosaic, by Flickr user panjan2drum READ MORE >   BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: TOMORROW'S HOUSES Tomorrow's Houses: New England Modernism  Alexander Gorlin (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Published by Rizzoli, New York 2011. While the cover of the book sports the ubiquitous photo of Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, the inside of the book covers a wide range of mostly modernist houses in New England. An introduction by Alexander Gorlin provides the historic context for residential architecture in New England, and photographer Geoffrey Gross provides stunning color photographs. READ MORE >   SAVE THE DATE! DOCOMOMO US TOUR DAY 2011 5th Annual National Event! October 8-10 Various locations READ MORE >   Glass House: Conversations In Context through November 17, 2011 New Canaan, CT READ MORE >   John Lautner Turns 100 July 16 - November 13, 2011 Los Angeles, CA and Marquette, MI READ MORE >   Campus Heritage Symposium November 3 - 4, 2011 Washington, DC READ MORE > Second Wave of Modernism II November 18, 2011 New York, NY READ MORE >   CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA   Our June trivia contest left readers stumped!   No one was able to identify corrugated steel of the Walter and Ruby Behlen House in Columbus, Nebraska, designed in 1958 by architect Jack Savage of the Leo Daly Architectural Firm.    Better luck this month!       JULY PHOTO Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives. Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by July 31st.     TALK TO US! The ongoing strength of DOCOMOMO US lies in the action and communication of our members. Please keep us apprised of your local work, advocacy and other current issues by e-mailing us at info@docomomo-us.org.

AIA Building tour :: Mahalia Jackson Center

Mahalia Jackson Elementary (under renovation), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The McDonogh 36 Elementary School / renamed Mahalia Jackson Elementary (Charles Cobert and Sol Rosenthal, 1954) is the sole survivor of the the thirty modern public schools built in New Orleans in the 1950s.

The school was renovated by architect John C. Williams for a non-profit foundation and re-opened in 2010 as the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood Family Learning Center. During renovation, the facility was stripped bare to the concrete and steel structure, shedding years of unsympathetic alterations and redundant mechanical systems. The form is a fusion of a ‘finger plan’ school with a double galleried plantation house. Mature live oaks inhabit the courtyards between the wings.

The renovation includes walls of operable windows and maintains the open air circulation gallery. The new program is brilliant and the renovation reminds us how modern school facilities could be retrofitted to serve the community in new ways if only given the chance.

AIA New Orleans is hosting a FREE tour of the Mahalia Jackson Center on Thursday, July 21. Please visit the AIA website to register.

Wheatley Elementary School was a perfectly fine building: Letter to the editor

Architect Raymond Boudreaux worked with Charles Colbert in the Office of Planning and Construction for Orleans Parish Schools and later in the firm Colbert Lowrey Hess and Boudreaux. 
His letter to the editor dated June 24, 2011 was  published on July 7, 2011 in the Times-Picayune.