Hoping these mid-century modern homes and the people who owned them have a better year in 2011. These foreclosures in and near Baltimore could be opportunities for others in the new year. Here’s a 1958 mid-century with an asymmetrical gabled roof listed for $299K, down from $319K. This house, also from 1958, sits on nearly three acres in Caves Park in Owings Mills. It is listed for $577K. The Caves Park area features many mid-century modern homes on large lots.
/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.png00Mid-Century Mike/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.pngMid-Century Mike2010-12-31 10:51:082020-06-12 06:51:14Mid-Century Modern Foreclosures in Baltimore
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. I took a holiday hiatus but am back blogging now. As is typical for this time of year, not many new modern listings have hit the market during the past few weeks. I’ll bring you all the latest listings as the spring market heats up. Talking about heat, I was down in South Florida and did some mid-century modern exploring. Here are few shots from two buildings that sit across from each other on North Federal Highway (U.S. Route 1) in Boynton Beach: a bank and a church. South Florida is a treasure trove of mid-century architecture. Building boomed after World War II. The advent of air conditioning and the highway system, such as Route 1, allowed those from the north to flock south. I spent some time exploring the MiMo (Miami Modern) architecture along Biscayne Boulevard, also Route 1. Another post to follow soon from that excursion, including shots of the 1963 Bicardi Building by the Cuban-architect Enrique Gutierrez.
I like the church's mod stained glass.
/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.png00Mid-Century Mike/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.pngMid-Century Mike2010-12-29 20:52:582020-05-08 12:40:00Mid-Century Modern in the Sun
Johnson's library/study. Johnson called it an "event" on the landscape.
Are you looking for a gift for the modernist who has everything? The folks at the Philip Johnson Glass House have an idea. Think private tour of the Glass House and then dinner at the Johnson and Mies-designed Four Seasons in New York. The modernist experience is $400 per person. In August, I visited the Glass House for the first time. I went on the Modern Friends tour that allowed photography and access to more of the buildings on the 47-acre property. The tour was close to private; there was only two other people there on a weekday in August. And no Four Seasons for me. I had a veggie burger at a local burger joint.
The classic shot of the Glass House.
I know Johnson’s work had major influence on introducing the International Style to residential modernism, but I did not have a strong reaction to the Glass House itself (or at least when compared to the feeling I had when I visited the Stahl House and Miller House.) Maybe I had seen too many pictures of it. Or maybe that is the really just the point of the minimalist design, with the house disappearing against the greenery of the property. Seeing structures I was less familiar with such as Johnson’s Library/Study (1980) and the Painting Gallery (1965), which was inspired by the Treasury of Atreus, a tomb in Greece, was more interesting. These had some more personal touches that allows a visitor to get a better feel of who Johnson–who died in his beloved Glass House after a walk around the property–was. Here are just a few shots from the visit.
The house is still decorated with the original furniture by Mies.
The entrance to the tomb-like Painting Gallery.
Johnson designed innovative revolving panels so he could display more art at one time.
A 1972 painting by Andy Warhol of Philip Johnson.
Inside Johnson's one-room library/study. It has a fireplace but no bathroom. The 1984 Ghost House, an architectural folly made a chain-link, can be seen through the window.
Just some of Johnson's books on architecture.
/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.png00Mid-Century Mike/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.pngMid-Century Mike2010-12-18 23:41:432020-11-23 11:02:02Giving the Gift of the Glass House
If you are craving the warmth of Danish modern design to soothe you in this frigid weather, stop by the Corcoran’s Gallery 31 through Dec. 20 for its show Origin to Icon: Exploring Danish Design. The show “will explore the correlation between design inspiration and design outcome. Examples of iconic Danish designs will be showcased in juxtaposition to the elements that motivated their designers to create them.” Think an egg for Arne Jacobsen’s Egg Chair like the one above I photographed during a tour of the Danish Embassy. A reception will be held at the Corcoran on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.png00Mid-Century Mike/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.pngMid-Century Mike2010-12-14 22:29:032020-05-08 12:56:57Corcoran Show Explores Danish Modern Design
I wanted to make sure people saw this weekend’s column by architect Roger K. Lewis, professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland and long-time Washington Post architecture columnist. Lewis’ column reflects on the Finish Embassy’s recent exhibit highlighting Eero Saarinen’s work in the D.C. area and a recent flight Lewis took from the Saarinen-designed Dulles airport. (The brochure for the exhibit was designed as individual “tickets” in the type of paper holder that passengers used to get at airports before the advent of e-tickets.)
“Perhaps Saarinen’s most well-known project, the iconic Dulles terminal is recognized and admired by millions, even people who have never visited it,” Lewis writes. “Architects continually cite it as one of America’s greatest works of modern architecture. Designed as a jet-age threshold and gateway, the terminal is a kind of super-scaled pavilion, a place of transition between movement on land and movement through the air.
“Two characteristics, in particular, make Dulles unique. It has proved functionally durable because of the terminal’s flexibility and adaptability to changing needs. Owing to the clarity of its dynamic, metaphoric geometry, its aesthetic quality also has endured, transcending shifting architectural trends.”
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. If you are looking for a break from your holiday shopping (please consider checking out Modern Capital’s sponsors), there are new listings that are might be worth seeing. Pictured above is a 1965 flat-roof mid-century modern in McLean with great screen block on the carport. It is listed for $840K. The house looks like the model by Phoenix Builders. I have highlighted similar homes by the builder in Mantua. If you are looking for something in DC, take a look at this 1 bed/1 bath condo in a 1952 building in Columbia Heights. If you are in Maryland, you can stop by this 1973 modern in Kensington.
I am also holding my Charles Goodman listing in Rock Creek Woods from 1 to 4 p.m. For those who have been watching this one or know people who may be interested, sellers are offering a major credit for window replacement if a ratified contract is reached this month. Contact me for more details.
Happy shopping for gifts or a new home.
/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.png00Mid-Century Mike/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/modern-capital-logo.pngMid-Century Mike2010-12-04 08:59:322020-06-12 06:51:05Mid-Century Modern Open House Picks
