Billie Silvey
February 2007
An eclectic website about Women, Christianity, History, Culture
and the Arts--and anything else that comes to mind.
and the Arts--and anything else that comes to mind.
| Architecture |
At Abilene Christian
College, I used to gaze in
wonder at the administration
building--a dramatic
three-story brick structure
with a large stairway leading
up to a colonnaded
entrance. My husband
Frank worked for the
Abilene Reporter-News,
and the downtown area had
really
College, I used to gaze in
wonder at the administration
building--a dramatic
three-story brick structure
with a large stairway leading
up to a colonnaded
entrance. My husband
Frank worked for the
Abilene Reporter-News,
and the downtown area had
really
tall buildings and sidewalks with flecks of shiny stone in them. It
made me think of streets of gold.
made me think of streets of gold.
Then we left Abilene and moved to Los
Angeles. Los Angeles has always had
interesting architecture--the Bradbury
Building, the art deco Bullocks Wilshire,
several houses designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright and the case study modern houses of
the 40s-60s.
Angeles. Los Angeles has always had
interesting architecture--the Bradbury
Building, the art deco Bullocks Wilshire,
several houses designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright and the case study modern houses of
the 40s-60s.
I’ve always enjoyed looking
at buildings. I think, if I could live
another life, I'd become an
architect. When I was a child in
Happy, Texas, the tallest thing
around was a grain elevator, and it
seemed to touch the sky. The
other buildings in town were one-
or two-story.
at buildings. I think, if I could live
another life, I'd become an
architect. When I was a child in
Happy, Texas, the tallest thing
around was a grain elevator, and it
seemed to touch the sky. The
other buildings in town were one-
or two-story.
We hadn’t lived here long when the downtown began to be
developed. Earthquake technology had improved to such an
extent that the previous twelve-story limit was lifted. Now the sky
was the limit. Frank currently works in a 60-story building!
When we visited London, we saw venerable buildings from
medieval times to the present, in a nation where history is
preserved. On a later trip, we saw medieval buildings in Florence
and ancient architecture in Rome.
developed. Earthquake technology had improved to such an
extent that the previous twelve-story limit was lifted. Now the sky
was the limit. Frank currently works in a 60-story building!
When we visited London, we saw venerable buildings from
medieval times to the present, in a nation where history is
preserved. On a later trip, we saw medieval buildings in Florence
and ancient architecture in Rome.
Now even Los Angeles is beginning to boast world-class
architecture with the Getty Center, the Disney Concert Hall and
the Japanese Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
architecture with the Getty Center, the Disney Concert Hall and
the Japanese Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
In this website, we’ll be looking at some of the history of
western architecture. We’ll also consider God as
architect, closing with an interview with a local architect, Mary
Archer.
I’d love to get your reactions to this or earlier websites
(see Archives) and to hear your views on the built world
around us. Just email me at b.silvey@sbcglobal.net
western architecture. We’ll also consider God as
architect, closing with an interview with a local architect, Mary
Archer.
I’d love to get your reactions to this or earlier websites
(see Archives) and to hear your views on the built world
around us. Just email me at b.silvey@sbcglobal.net