Rocking Women...

The field of architecture has been predominantly dominated by males the world over. However, this blog is dedicated to one amazing female architect that was clearly a pioneer of her day. She's even more spectacular to me because not only did she grow up and practice in Kansas City, but my very own grandparents lived in one of her houses!

Mary Rockwell Hook was born in Junction City, Kansas in 1877. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1900, Hook went to the Art Institute of Chicago enrolled in the architecture department- the first women! Even more impressive, Hook went to Paris to study under Marcel Auburtin at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1905. If you know anything about the history of architecture, you know that École des Beaux-Arts is big time!

Of course this was not without struggle, some stories tell of the discrimination she faced while at school and as a professional. It is said that French male students flung buckets of water at her as she ran across the campus. This did not deter her however.

Hook went on to design some fabulous homes. Here are a few pictures of my grandparents home. They lived here in the 1980's, and I can barely remember it. Coming back to this house some 30 years later and now understanding the architectural significance was an awesome experience!





I love the unique features on this house, like the small stone portico next to the driveway, and the random asymmetric windows on the side of the house. I especially love the extension on the back of the house that acts like a bay window on the first floor and a closed in porch on the upper floor. So cool! My dad recently told me that my grandfather used to sleep on the porch about 10 months out of the year for the fresh air and 'outdoor' experience. Now I know where I get it from!

Here's the house next door that she also designed. Gotta love the stone and the sun room!



Hook was mostly known for her Italianate design and her influence from trips to Asia and Europe. I think her work is fantastic and they definitely stand the test of time. With the struggles she endured and the awesome work she continued to produce, Hook is clearly an inspiration to women everywhere!

Mesa Verde!

What better way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday than visiting an amazing site of America's Native Peoples. I have dreamed of going to Mesa Verde since I was a child, given my long infatuation and respect for Native American cultures, archaeology and the building trades. I'm not sure why I didn't make it here sooner, but no matter, I made it there this weekend, and it was incredible!

I was lucky enough to have my good friends Amy and Casino join on this trip. While I was busy looking around and pondering the amazing craftsmanship, they were actually listening to the tour guide and could thus pass on the answers to my questions that I could have heard had I only listened.



If you've never been to Mesa Verde, it is truly an amazing place to witness. Located in the Four Corners region in Colorado, it is a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was created in 1906 to protect the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi, or Puebloan people. These cliff dwellings are mind boggling. Before going there, I hadn't realized that these sites were literally carved into the sides of cliffs. I love to rock climb, but I wouldn't dare climb into these dwellings without a rope and harness. If the people that lived here came to a modern rock climbing competition today, they would blow away all the competition with one hand behind their back, laughing all the way while not wearing shoes. This stuff is insane. You see this picture below, right in the middle there, that big crack between the massive boulders, look really closely and you can see some dwellings. Now imagine how they must have gotten there! Plus, they had to leave to hunt, gather water and food and other resources every day- then haul it all back up there! And to think that we complain when we drive to the mall and have to park 100 feet away from the door!!



This incredible architecture was built out of the surrounding stone and mud in the canyon area. Though the Puebloans lived here for centuries, these cliff dwellings were only built and occupied between the 12th and 13th centuries. It's not exactly understood why they left here when they did.

The homes were located in shallow caves and under rock overhangs along the canyon walls. Similar to our masonry buildings today, they were made of blocks of hard sandstone, held together and plastered with adobe mortar. They also carved hand and toe holds into the rock for climbing. Makes me feel pretty ridiculous in my $100 climbing shoes, harness and chalk bag! What is even more amazing is how well preserved these structures are. Of course a lot of this has been restored, but to think that the basic structures of these homes are still standing, thousands of years later, is astounding. Can we say that about the buildings we're creating today with all of our knowledge and technology??



Perhaps we need to put down the engineering books and learn a few things from these amazing peoples. Besides the architecture, there a lot to learn about their lifestyle- from the ceremonial kivas, to the basket weaving, lineage traditions, and basic mores, they're fascinating- yet beyond the scope of this blog.

If you want to learn more about this amazing place, I strongly recommend a trip to Mesa Verde. There is so much to learn and so much to see. We just got a brief taste of all the park has to offer. An extended camping and hiking trip would be even better. One thing is guaranteed, you will be amazed, and have an excellent time!

18th and Vine- baseball and jazz!

A Tribute to Legends. That's the motto of the 18th and Vine district in Kansas City, Missouri. Back in the day, this part of the town was the heart of Kansas City culture. With the Southward expansion of the city, this area declined and sadly became somewhat deserted. In the last few years however, there has been a massive revitalization of the district, helping to revitalize a very important piece of Kansas City history.

As I travel across the country, I find that most people have no idea that Kansas City has a very rich history of Jazz. In fact, it is often said that Jazz was born in New Orleans, and grew up in Kansas City. Kansas City Jazz is often credited with marking the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop in the 1930's. (taken from Wikipedia where you can read more about KC Jazz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_jazz). As you can see from the picture above, the Jazz Museum is even in Kansas City, located at the infamous 18th and Vine district. Across the street from the museum, you'll find the 100 year old Gem theater, famous for its annual American Jazz Museum’s national concert series, “Jammin’ at the Gem.”



In addition to Jazz, baseball played a very important role in this cultural epicenter. No, I'm not talking about the Kansas City Royals, keep your jokes to yourselves! I'm talking about the Kansas City Monarchs- the longest running franchise of baseball's Negro Leagues. Unlike the Royals, this team was good!! The Negro Leagues were founded in 1920 spearheaded by the Chicago American Giants owner Andrew "Rube" Foster. In fact, Foster an a few other Midwestern team owners had a meeting Kansas City's very own Paseo YMCA were the league was formed. While in the area last week, I took a photo of this building because I was struck by the architecture and superb condition of the building, along with the fabulous red fire escape. I had no idea that THIS was the place!


Soon after this meeting, other teams joined from the Eastern and Southern states. According to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum website, "The Leagues maintained a high level of professional skill and became centerpieces for economic development in many black communities." visit the website here: http://www.nlbm.com/s/history.htm. The Monarchs however, were the Negro Leagues version of the NBL's New York Yankees. According to Wikipedia: "The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924. After sending more players to the major leagues than any other Negro League franchise, the team was finally disbanded in 1965." Now why they couldn't have transferred that talent to the Royals is beyond me. I was glad however, to still see evidence of Monarch pride even today. As I was driving around the YMCA building to get a better photo, I found this mural on the other side:





How awesome is that! As a preservationist it was so fantastic to see this whole area revitalized. Most areas like this across the country are nothing but rubble and abandoned buildings. This area was so important to Kansas City's history, it's very heartening to see that people have cared enough about it to keep it going. But then, if you have this kind of backup, I guess anyone would do the same: "Under the rule of Mob Boss Tom Pendergast, the 1920s, 30s and 40s saw the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District as an epicenter of activity, often coined as the "Paris of the Plains." (taken from http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com/). Uh, yes, that's right, in addition to great baseball, jazz and bar-b-que, KC has a legacy of the mob, but that's an entirely different blog altogether.

Don't let that last fact scare you, they don't control so much in KC these days. If you are ever in the Kansas City area, don't miss a chance to visit 18th and Vine, the history is amazing!

New Body...Same Soul

Don't worry, I'm not inappropriately using my historic preservation blog to flaunt the awesomeness of one of the best NFL teams in the league. Nor am I taking an opportunity to boast how incredible the Kansas City Chiefs FANS are. No, no, I am actually talking about preservation here.

You see, this past Sunday I had a chance to visit the 'New' stadium in Kansas City. It just happened to be during game time so I decided to stay and watch the Chiefs just barely beat the Buffalo Bills in the last 5 seconds of overtime. But that's besides the point. The point is, Arrowhead Stadium has just gone under a $375 million renovation.

So yes, this is a story about preservation, just on a much larger scale. I mean, preservation isn't just for houses right? The renovation of a major league stadium that holds 76,000 people might not seem like true 'preservation', but indeed it is. Think about the alternative- the destruction of thousands of tons of infrastructure and all of the embodied energy in that building, and the creation of a huge new stadium utilizing thousands of tons of new materials and transportation to get it there.

You might think that such a project has no business being labeled 'preservation'. But the simple fact of the matter is that we live in America, and football is a defining characteristic of American culture. It's citizens have supported it, even encouraged it, and continue to fund its survival and growth. It's not going away- just becoming more and more encompassing as the years pass. Whether you like it or not, its here to stay. And so, stadiums have become part of our landscape. Just think of Wrigley Field or Soldier Stadium. They've become icons in Americas cities.

That being established, let's get on with Arrowhead. The Chiefs stadium was built in 1972. The stadium was designed by Denver architect Charles Deaton and Steadman. It was such an efficient design that it became the influence for many NFL stadiums thereafter. It has long been considered a nice, clean, convenient stadium, as well the loudest stadium in the league. (Attending many games in this stadium, I can vouch for that. What can I say, Chiefs fans LOVE their Chiefs!)

It's no surprise then that Jackson County voters voted for a tax increase in 2006 in order to fund the stadium renovation. What's new at the 'Sea of Red'? The concourses have been widened by 60 percent, concession stands were expanded and there was 100 percent increase in the number of restroom fixtures. There's a new state of the art Chiefs store, Chiefs Hall of Honor and Chiefs Sports Lab- truly inviting fans to experience the passion of the game. Suites and Field boxes have been updated. There is also a new Founders Plaza honoring Lamar Hunt and his lifelong dedication to the NFL.



After visiting the stadium on Sunday, I agree with it's new mantra- New Body, Same Soul. I was impressed with the convenient new additions, especially the increased bathrooms. I didn't have to wait in line once! The concession stands were much nicer. Though I still refuse to pay $11 for a margarita! Overall the new face lift was nice. Though I probably will never benefit from the new suites and field boxes, it did look nice. As we cheered the Chiefs to victory, the spirit was absolutely still there. You could feel it even before kickoff, as the National Anthem was sung, fans paying tribute to our nations flag, saluting the flyover and service men and women in the stands, and singing along with such passion for America's greatest sport....O'er the laaaaaaand of the freeeeee and the hooooome of the.....CHIEFS!!!!

Adaptive Reuse at it's finest!!

Those of you familiar with Historic Preservation know that there are four basic treatments for a historic building- preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. Depending on the building and the extent to which the historic fabric is saved, altered, changed etc., a truly historic building will fall into one of these categories.

Today I want to talk about rehabilitation, and what is in my opinion, an optimal way to rehab a building. First let me explain that I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. The downtown area of K.C. was all but abandoned in the last few decades as is so common with many cities downtowns. (Ala, suburban expansion). Fortunately, there has been a major revitalization of many downtown areas thanks to the Main Street Program. Kansas City has enjoyed such a revival in it's own downtown and industrial district in the last few years.

There are some really amazing old industrial buildings all around K.C., and it's great to finally see them being used again. There are a few buildings however, that were way ahead of the trend. Particularly, I'm talking about this building here:


It appears to be a fairly unassuming building I think. Looks like an abandoned industrial building of some type, in a quite deserted area of town. If you're from Kansas City however, you know this is not quite the case. Look a bit closer and you'll get some clues:



Ahhh, that's right folks, this is the infamous EDGE OF HELL! One of the world's finest Haunted Houses. Growing up I took for granted how amazing this haunted house was. The West Bottoms area of KC boasts about 4 world class haunted houses. I never knew just how spectacular they were until I moved away from Missouri. I've lived in many different places since then, and every October I'm on the lookout for great Halloween fun, but I can never find a real haunted house. Sure I've been to dinky ones where you go through one floor in 10 minutes and see your standard blood and guts and random boo's! But seriously, they don't come close to the KC standard. I mean, just look at the Chambers haunted house:



It's that grey building there in the center. Now that is a haunted house, the entire building. You see in KC, haunted houses aren't just a small time gig for a few weeks a year. These buildings stay as they are, all year round. The Edge of Hell has been here since 1975. It's a five story building, it's so elaborately decorated that it would be asinine to try and take it all down. So, it stays a haunted house all year long. As do the others. I'm telling you, these are first class, terrifying haunted houses. I mean, just look at this review from the Edge of Hell: "The Edge of Hell is constantly re-inventing it's five floors. New scenes are always added to the cast of 45 live performers with the newest state-of-the-art technology. The air crackles, your fingertips sizzle. One million volts surge to grab you. A Vampire lunges, his hot breath violates your lungs. A 20 foot live Anaconda's eyes dart left then right, poised to crush his live prey."

They're not kidding, it's crazy scary. But it's soooo fun! I have loved going to these haunted houses since I was a kid. It scares the heck out of you but I guess it's such an adrenalin rush that you keep going back year after year, forking over another $30!

One of my favorite features from these Halloween wonderlands are the slides. That's right, the slides are the best! Typically you slide from some kind of absurd scary heaven straight down into the jowls of Hell, sliding right into the Devil himself!


Ahh, fantastic! Seeing as Halloween is my favorite day of the year, it's no wonder I'm infatuated with these fantastic fun houses. I just wish they were as common in other parts of the country. I also wish they were open for longer. Granted, these KC attractions are usually open from the end of August until the beginning of November. That's a pretty decent Halloween season in my opinion. They are also open throughout the year for team-building events, meetings, birthdays, field trips, even weddings! That's right folks, you can even get married there. Check out these on-site wedding pics: http://www.edgeofhell.com/meetings-events/weddings.html

I know most of you will think that's absolutely absurd, but I'd do it! Looks pretty awesome to me. I also wish I could show some night time pictures and pictures from the inside, but no photos are allowed inside for obvious reasons, so you'll just have to use your imagination and trust me that they are as awesome as I say. Ya sure these buildings could have been turned into super cool modern 'Lofts' or office space, or a number of other things, but then we couldn't visit the Edge of Hell, or the Beast, or the Macabre, and you wouldn't want that, would you??

Kansas City Love Affair

I'll admit it, I'm having an affair. I'm in love with my hometown. I grew up in Kansas City- Missouri, NOT Kansas. (Please don't get that wrong because it will drive Kansas City Missourians CRAZY!). I left Kansas City when I was 18 to attend college at Creighton University in Nebraska. Since then, I have lived in eight different states, never returning to Missouri. Well, I visit often, but I haven't lived there since I was 18.

I'm very curious by nature, and I just don't get the point of returning to a place that I know so well. There is soooo much to see out there in the world, I want to explore it all, and that's what I've been doing. Most of my family still lives in Kansas City however, so I do visit several times a year. After living in places like Oregon, Montana, Alaska and Colorado, it's hard to feel satisfied in the plains. At least for an active person like myself. If I can't find a place to go mountain biking, hiking, or skiing, I feel somewhat claustrophobic. I wish it wasn't so, but the facts are the facts.

I wish it wasn't so because I love Kansas City. I never realized how great of a town it was when I was growing up, but I appreciate it more and more every time I'm there. It's even more impressive now that I've been studying Historic Preservation. Kansas City has first class art museums, professional sporting venues, funky art and a great music scene. It's quite hip. It even has outstanding architecture, I just never really knew that before. I mean, just look at the Country Club Plaza:
This awesome photo was taken from http://www.eyefetch.com/

For some time KC has been known as the city of fountains. Indeed, it boasts more fountains than Rome and more Avenues than Paris. I'm serious!



One of my favorite things about visiting KC is bringing friends along. Almost every time I bring a 'first-timer' to visit they're always very surprised. "Wow, I never knew Kansas City was so cool!" "It's not flat here?! There's hills everywhere!" "Look at those incredible houses? I never knew Kansas City had so much history?" "This art museum is really incredible! Who knew?" Just check out the Nelson Art Gallery:


The list goes on, Kansas City is really a well kept secret. And I haven't even touched on the Zoo, Crown Center, the award winning Bar-B-Que, the Jazz, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum...Kansas City really is where it's at! I went to KC this past weekend to visit family and celebrate my favorite day of the year, Halloween. I got to get around town a little bit, so stay tuned for a series of blogs on the fabulous places of the town. Oh if only it had mountains!