The Brownstone Chronicles, Part 35: Consummate Carving in a Temperamental Medium | Durand Institute, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA (1892)
On the college's North Campus. Facing eastward.
To see this building's entire western elevation, check out Part 33 of this series. The photo shown here is a detail shot featuring some of the building's central section, which is more fully displayed in Part 34. Both of these posts also discuss the geologic origins of the rock type described below.
Over the years I've seen various examples of carved detail in Lake Superior Brownstone (LSB). But nothing matches this. Of course there are those wise old owls, clutching painters' palettes in their talons. And the flamboyantly styled lettering of the inscription, which swims in a thicket of foliar detail. Add to those the repeating botanical-geometric patterns of the nested arch voussoirs. What turns this efflorescence of fancy sculpting into a tour de force is its context—a rugged mass of rock-faced ashlar.
But, truth to tell, the LSB is not an optimal choice for filigreed carved decoration. Whether it's the Chequamegon Sandstone from Wisconsin's Apostle Islands region or the Jacobsville Sandstone from Michigan's Upper Peninsula—and in this case we're not sure which it is—there are various things about the rock that can cause problems.
For example, LSB varieties may be blotched with pale reduction zones. Or they can be ridged with ripple marks or crossbedding. Worst of all, they're often rather poorly sorted, and can contain larger pebbles amid the sand grains that pop out easily when weathered.
However, I suspect that for the Durand Institute's carved sections only premium and very well-graded sandstone of uniform grain size was selected.
It was known in architect Henry Ives Cobb's time, as it still is now, that the best American carving stone in most situations is the light-gray Salem ("Bedford," "Indiana") Limestone, quarried in the southern portion of the Hoosier State. But here I'm glad that Cobb decided to go all in on the brooding, brownstony, Richardsonian-Romanesque look. Obviously great care was taken to ensure that the ornament engraved in this temperamental rock would survive intact through many icy winters and broiling summers.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
The Brownstone Chronicles album.
The Brownstone Chronicles, Part 35: Consummate Carving in a Temperamental Medium | Durand Institute, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA (1892)
On the college's North Campus. Facing eastward.
To see this building's entire western elevation, check out Part 33 of this series. The photo shown here is a detail shot featuring some of the building's central section, which is more fully displayed in Part 34. Both of these posts also discuss the geologic origins of the rock type described below.
Over the years I've seen various examples of carved detail in Lake Superior Brownstone (LSB). But nothing matches this. Of course there are those wise old owls, clutching painters' palettes in their talons. And the flamboyantly styled lettering of the inscription, which swims in a thicket of foliar detail. Add to those the repeating botanical-geometric patterns of the nested arch voussoirs. What turns this efflorescence of fancy sculpting into a tour de force is its context—a rugged mass of rock-faced ashlar.
But, truth to tell, the LSB is not an optimal choice for filigreed carved decoration. Whether it's the Chequamegon Sandstone from Wisconsin's Apostle Islands region or the Jacobsville Sandstone from Michigan's Upper Peninsula—and in this case we're not sure which it is—there are various things about the rock that can cause problems.
For example, LSB varieties may be blotched with pale reduction zones. Or they can be ridged with ripple marks or crossbedding. Worst of all, they're often rather poorly sorted, and can contain larger pebbles amid the sand grains that pop out easily when weathered.
However, I suspect that for the Durand Institute's carved sections only premium and very well-graded sandstone of uniform grain size was selected.
It was known in architect Henry Ives Cobb's time, as it still is now, that the best American carving stone in most situations is the light-gray Salem ("Bedford," "Indiana") Limestone, quarried in the southern portion of the Hoosier State. But here I'm glad that Cobb decided to go all in on the brooding, brownstony, Richardsonian-Romanesque look. Obviously great care was taken to ensure that the ornament engraved in this temperamental rock would survive intact through many icy winters and broiling summers.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
The Brownstone Chronicles album.