December 17, 2011/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

50 Years of Saarinen’s Dulles

The current issue of Washingtonian has a fascinating piece on the construction and politics behind Eero Saarinen’s groundbreaking Dulles airport terminal that opened 50 years ago this month. Sudip Bose explores the architectural wonder that ushered in the Jet Age in Washington. Despite its beauty, many people wondered: Would this soaring building really take off? Would anyone actually use it? An excerpt from Bose’s piece below:

“‘At long last,’ wrote Washington Post architecture critic Wolf Von Eckardt, ‘Washington has a truly outstanding modern building by a truly outstanding modern architect.’ In the estimation of some critics, the opening of Dulles was the biggest thing to happen to Washington architecture since Charles Bulfinch reconstructed the US Capitol after the British set it ablaze in the early 1800s.”

“And yet it wasn’t clear whether anybody would actually abandon National or Baltimore’s Friendship Airport—which could also accommodate jets—in favor of the new facility. As Post columnist Drew Pearson put it, ‘Will [Dulles] remain empty, its ticket counters barren of business, its skycaps idle, its escalators with no more than a trickle of suitcases? . . . Some people are wondering whether Dulles Airport, with all its beauty and all its perfect aeronautical techniques, may become another white elephant.’”

It took many years, but Dulles has now come into its own.

“Sure enough, Dulles endured some lean years,” Bose writes. “Passenger traffic rose from 50,000 at the end of 1962 to just 2.5 million in 1975—this at a time when 11.7 million travelers were passing through National. Even in the mid-1980s, traffic at Dulles hovered only at about the 10-million mark. Not until the 1990s, when the main terminal was expanded—according to Saarinen’s own plans—and midfield concourses were added did Dulles come into its own, with traffic reaching nearly 20 million a year by the end of the decade. Of those, more than 3½ million were international travelers.

“Only recently, then, has Dulles fulfilled the promise of its creators. Airport officials predict that 55 million passengers a year will soon travel through Dulles. The recently opened AeroTrain system, which shuttles travelers from the main terminal to the midfield concourses, has made the mobile lounges largely obsolete. And the Metrorail extension now in the works will provide easier access to the airport—hardly a novel concept, given that as far back as 1962 transit officials had proposed an elevated high-speed rail line from Georgetown to the airport.”

I hope these 55 million passengers a year will slow down as they are rushing to their flights. I urge them to think back to the rise of the Jet Age and appreciate Saarinen’s soaring ode to flight that endures to this day.

December 15, 2011/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

Two Mid-Century Moderns Near Baltimore

For those looking for mid-century modern homes near Baltimore, you need to check out these two new listings. While some of the interior updates to this 1969 Glen Arm mid-century might not be to the taste of many mcm fans, the flat-roof, cantilevered design should grab your attention. Did I mention it also has an atrium and sits on one acre? It is listed for $450K. This 1965 mid-century modern in Owings Mills is listed for $780K. The 4- bedroom home features lots of glass, wood ceilings and walls and a big stone fireplace. It sits on more than two acres and has a pool to complete that Californian modern vibe.

December 11, 2011/Bauhaus /by Mid-Century Mike

Modern Snapshot: Bauhaus WTOP Transmitter Station in Wheaton

I have driven by the WTOP Transmitter Building in Wheaton too many times to count. Always rushing somewhere, I never actually got out of the car to take a look and take a picture of this Bauhaus building on University Boulevard that was once featured in Architectural Record. I finally did today and here is what I found from the Montgomery County Planning Board:

“Marking a new era of communication technology in Montgomery County, the WTOP Transmitter Building is a rare and bold example of International Style. Washington architect E. Burton Corning designed the facility in 1939 and it was completed early in 1940. The transmitter, historically known as WJSV, had a cutting-edge design with a distinctive sculptural quality, lack of ornamentation, and stark simplicity that are hallmarks of the International Style that was virtually unknown in Montgomery County. Influence of the Art Moderne, popular in this era, is evident in curving, streamline surfaces and the use of glass block. Architectural Record featured a two-page spread on the WJSV/WTOP Transmitter, in 1941; one year after the radio station began operation.

“Technological advances in radio broadcasting demanded an appropriately futuristic architectural expression. When the WJSV began operating in 1927, the radio station had a 50-watt transmitter, and there were six million families in the nation with radios. In 1939, WJSV announced plans for a new transmitter to broadcast at 50,000 watts, the maximum power the FCC allowed. The nation’s radio families had grown to 27½ million. WJSV was the principal station for the Columbia Broadcasting System and the Washington area’s most powerful broadcasting station. The station’s call letters were changed in 1943 to WTOP, representing the slogan “The Station at the Top of the Dial.” WTOP is one of the oldest radio stations in the country. The station continues to be broadcast from this facility, operated remotely from offices in Northwest Washington.”

See what you can learn when you stop and smell the roses.

December 8, 2011/Mid-Century Modern /by Mid-Century Mike

Are you ‘Sitting on a Small Fortune?’

The stock market got hit again today, but what about the value of your vintage mid-century modern furniture collection? Check out this CNBC piece examining the booming market for mid-century modern designs. “[I]n the late 1990s, the Internet boom put serious money in the pockets of 20-something programmers and Baby Boomer entrepreneurs. Neither group was interested in filling their Silicon Valley mansions with museum pieces; these inventors of the future wanted a look that that leaned forward,” the article says. “They discovered the sleek, industrial-chic work of the Mid-century masters — the California modernist Charles Eames and his wife Ray; the Italian-born, Michigan-educated designer Harry Bertoia; and European scions of the Bauhaus movement.” If you are in the market for the work of these and other mid-century designers, please visit my sponsors: ARCHER, Home Anthology, Modern Mobler and Daniel Donnelly, where the annual Herman Miller runs through Dec. 12.

December 6, 2011/Mies van der Rohe /by Mid-Century Mike

Modern Snapshot: Mies’ Crown Hall at IIT

1961 bust of Mies by Hugo Weber.

I saw this tweet posted yesterday: (CREATION/DESTRUCTION – S. R. Crown Hall’s interior during finals week at Illinois Institute of Technology) along with this picture. I had a chance to stroll through Crown Hall–designed by Mies in 1956–during a quieter time this summer. There was no one else on the top open floor with 18 foot-ceilings, which is used to hold various classes simultaneously. I did spot a few students in the library downstairs and some models scattered throughout the work rooms. A National Historic Landmark, the building underwent major exterior renovations in 2005. All I could think as I toured the building was: What a space to study architecture. (If only I was better at math and a bit younger.)

Below are various views of the building’s top floor.

I could use some terrazzo floors like these.

Month: December 2011