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Sansaburu Kindergarten and Parking Design by Vaumm Architecture Office. Visit www.vaumm.com
Photography © by Aitor Ortiz. Visit www.aitor-ortiz.com
Sansaburu Kindergarten and Parking Design by Vaumm Architecture Office. Visit www.vaumm.com
Photography © by Aitor Ortiz. Visit www.aitor-ortiz.com
18 Mar – 21 Aug 2016
“L’image volée” (The stolen image) is a group show curated by artist Thomas Demand, open to the public from 18 March to 21 August 2016. Within an exhibition architecture designed by sculptor Manfred Pernice, the show occupies both levels of the Nord gallery at Fondazione Prada in Milan.
“L’image volée,” includes more than 90 works produced by over 60 artists from 1820 through the present day. Demand’s idea for the exhibition is to explore the way we all rely on pre-existing models, and how artists have always referred to existing imagery to make their own. Questioning the boundaries between originality, conceptual inventiveness and the culture of the copy, the project focuses on theft, authorship, annexation and the creative potential of such pursuits.
The exhibition presents three possible investigations: the physical appropriation of the object or its absence; theft as related to the image per se rather than the concrete object itself; and the act of stealing through the making of an image. The exhibition has been conceived as an eccentric, unconventional exploration of such topics through empirical inquiry. Rather than an encyclopedic analysis, it offers visitors an unorthodox insight into a voyage of artistic discovery and research.
The first section of the exhibition displays photographs, paintings and films in which the stolen or missing object becomes the scene or evidence of a crime. Included in this section are works that directly echo criminal ideas, such as Maurizio Cattelan’s framed theft report for an immaterial artwork he claimed as robbed – Senza titolo (1991) -, or Stolen Rug (1969), a Persian carpet that Richard Artschwager commissioned to be stolen for the exhibition “Art by Telephone” in Chicago. Other works evoke the absence resulting from an act of theft, like the canvas by Adolph von Menzel, Friedrich der Grosse auf Reisen (1854), which had the portrayed faces incised from it.
Other pieces are based on the alteration of preexisting artworks, for example, Richter-Modell (interconti) (1987), a painting by Gerhard Richter that was transformed into a coffee table by Martin Kippenberger and Pierre Bismuth’s Unfolded Origami (2016), who made new work out of original posters by Daniel Buren. All these works explore the notion of authors’ control over their own creations.
The second part of the exhibition analyzes the logic behind appropriation within the creative process. This section begins with the concept of counterfeiting and falsification, exemplified by the hand-reproduced banknote by forger Günter Hopfinger. The exhibition moves on to explore practices that are close to Appropriation Art, such as Sturtevant’s Duchamp Man Ray Portrait (1966), who reclaims a photographic portrait of Marcel Duchamp realized by Man Ray, substituting both the author and the subject of the photograph with herself. Other artists drive the logic of counterfeiting to its limit, including taking possession of another artist’s identity. Other artworks are ‘improvements’ or modifications of preexisting images, for example the défigurations by Asger Jorn, or collages such as those by Wangechi Mutu, realized from medical illustrations and anatomical drawings. Artists such as Haris Epaminonda, Alice Lex-Nerlinger and John Stezaker, meanwhile, encompass postcards, photograms or archival images into their works. Along with these, Erin Shirreff and Rudolf Stingel create their paintings or videos using a photographic reproduction of an artwork from the past as their starting point.
This section continues with a group of works in which the artists borrow elements from another medium or language, or decontextualize the images themselves. Thomas Ruff, in jpeg ib01 (2006) alters an image sourced from the web; Anri Sala explores the potential of film to reveal hidden temporal dynamics in Agassi (2006); Guillaume Paris, in the video Fountain (1994), presents a loop of brief sequences from the animated film Pinocchio (1940). The ground floor of the Nord gallery also includes sculptural work by Henrik Olesen, and new works by Sara Cwynar, Mathew Hale, Oliver Laric and Elad Lassry.
The third part of the show is installed in the lower level of the Nord gallery, marking the first time this area has been used as an exhibition space. This final, subversive part of “L’image volée” deals with the production of images which, by their very nature, reveal hidden aspects on a private or public level. John Baldessari, in his installation Blue Line (Holbein) (1988), inserts a hidden camera that produces stolen images of visitors inside an adjoining space, calling into question the role of the spectator.
Sophie Calle, in the series The Hotel (1981), aims to combine the artistic and private realms in her research, revealing intimate details of strangers’ lives. Another cluster of works develop considerations on public or openly political issues. Christopher Williams in SOURCE… (1981) reveals unofficial perspectives on institutional communication, by selecting four archive photographs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy that portray the American President from behind, and therefore considered inappropriate for public circulation at the time.
In the photographs Americas II, Bahamas Internet Cable System (BICS-1) and Globenet (2015), Trevor Paglen exposes the material infrastructure of mass surveillance, documenting the transoceanic system of undersea cables transmitting sensitive data.
The final part of the exhibition presents a show within the show curated by a prominent contemporary industrial designer, featuring spy tools used by the GDR and the Soviet Union on their citizens: technological instruments capable of breaking down the barriers of the private sphere, selected for the prophetic beauty of their rational design as related to contemporary computers and smartphones.
“L’image volée” is accompanied by an illustrated book published by Fondazione Prada with newly commissioned short stories by Ian McEwan and Ali Smith, essays by Russell Ferguson, Christy Lange and Jonathan Griffin, and contributions by Rainer Erlinger and Daniel McClean.
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (also known simply as (the) Baltic, stylised as BALTIC) is a centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It hosts a frequently changing variety of exhibitions, events, and educational programmes with no permanent exhibition. The idea to open a centre for contemporary arts in Gateshead was developed in the 1990s, which was a time of regeneration for the local area—the Sage and Gateshead Millennium Bridge was also being conceived of in this period.
Baltic opened in July 2002 in a converted flour mill, which had operated in various capacities from 1950-1984. The architectural design of Baltic was devised by Dominic Williams of Ellis Williams Architects, who won a competition to design the new contemporary arts centre in 1994. The building features exhibition spaces, a visitor centre, a rooftop restaurant and external viewing platforms which offer views of the River Tyne. Baltic's current director, the centre's fifth, is Sarah Munro, who joined in November 2015. As of January 2022, Baltic had welcomed over 8 million visitors.
Baltic Flour Mills was built by Joseph Rank of Rank Hovis to a late-1930s design by Hull-based architects Gelder and Kitchen. The first foundations were laid in the late 1930s, and although construction ceased during the Second World War, the mill was completed and started operating in 1950. Known locally as "the pride of Tyneside", 300 people were employed by the mill at its height. The building was composed of two parallel brick façades running east to west, sandwiched between a foundation of concrete silos. The structure could store 22,000 tons of grain. The design of the building also featured a larger silo in which to store and clean wheat. The site was extended in 1957 by the addition of Blue Cross Mill which processed animal feed. In 1976, a fire forced both mills to close, but the silos remained in operation until 1984 to store a portion of the grain owned by the European Economic Community. Baltic Flour Mills was one of a number of mills located along the banks of the Tyne, all of which, due to their size, were prominent local landmarks. The Spillers mill just downstream from Baltic on the north bank of the river was demolished in 2011. Another large mill was owned by the CWS and was located just upstream of Dunston Staiths.
The opening of Baltic as a designated centre for contemporary art was part of the revitalisation and post-industrial regeneration of Gateshead's riverside. The regeneration began in the early 1990s and transformed the Quayside into a centre of modern architecture, including the Sage and Millennium Bridge. In 1991, Northern Arts (now part of Arts Council England) released a five-year plan in which it stated its intention to create "major new capital facilities for the Contemporary Visual Arts and Music in Central Tyneside". Northern Arts were keen to convert an old building into a centre for art, rather than build a new one, and the Labour-run Gateshead Council expressed interest in converting the old Flour Mills. This was in contrast to the Conservative-run Newcastle City Council's approach to development, which saw private firms develop mainly flats, hotels, and offices. Gateshead Council purchased the Baltic Flour Mills silo building, and in 1994 they invited the Royal Institute of British Architects to open a competition which would find an architect to design the new arts centre.
In 1994, Gateshead Council invited the Royal Institute of British Architects to hold a competition to select a design for the conversion of the Baltic Flour Mills. The objective of the competition was to "provide a national and international Centre for Contemporary visual arts". The brief cited a number of similar examples of old buildings which had been converted into arts centres around the world, including a converted flour mill in Porto, Portugal and the Bankside Power Station in London (now the site of the Tate Modern). After evaluating a total of 140 entries, Dominic Williams – a relatively unknown architect who had only been working for three years – won the competition. He entered the competition with Ellis Williams Architects, his father's firm. Andrew Guest remarks that this "simple, honest, industrial" design was an example of architecture which recognised the designs and context of the past. Williams and Ellis Williams Architects stated their intention to "retain as much of the existing character and fabric of the building as possible" while also clearly presenting the structure's new purpose as an art gallery.
The conversion of the flour mills was a complex and technically challenging task. The grain silos were removed, leaving the brick façades unsupported, and a 1,000 tonne steel frame was required to support the remaining building. Four new main floors were inserted into the building supported by a row of pillars. Intermediary floors made out of steel frames and thin concrete were also inserted. These were designed to be removable as to adapt the building and create variable spaces for art. With 13 separate levels in total, Williams claimed he purposefully wanted to create a sense of disorientation for visitors within the building and allow an element of discovery. A spiral staircase winds up the building towards an open-plan office for staff. An efficient ductwork system was installed within the beams which carries heated or chilled air throughout the building. Such a design, conceived of by environmental engineers Atelier Ten, was uncommon for the time. The north and south elevations of the original building were retained along with the original BALTIC FLOUR MILLS lettering and red and yellow bricks. The east and west sides were fully glazed, capturing natural light and allowing views of the River Tyne. Additionally, service towers in the corners of the building, a rooftop viewing box, and a low-rise visitor centre were completed—these now comprise part of the building's major elements. The building stands at 138 feet (42 m) tall. Glass elevators situated close to the exterior offer views of Newcastle, Gateshead and the River Tyne. A restaurant sits at the top of the building, built in a manner which still allows natural light to reach the top gallery floor. The building's interior largely features glass, concrete, aluminium, Welsh Slate, 'Cor-Ten' steel, and Swedish pine. The furniture, purposely built to be flexible and adaptable, was designed by Swedish designer Åke Axelsson.
Awards
Baltic won a RIBA award in 2003, a Civic Trust Award in 2004, and in 2006 was selected as one of the top 10 most outstanding arts and culture schemes in the UK as part of the Gulbenkian Prize. In 2012, it won the National Lottery Awards prize for Best Arts Project.
The founding director, Sune Nordgren, was appointed in 1997. He oversaw the period prior to Baltic's opening, including the construction of the gallery. After almost six years, Nordgren left to take up a new post as founding director of the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway. At this time, Baltic was facing financial problems. After Nordgren's departure, a former Baltic chairman accused the centre of overspending on commissions during Nordgren's tenure. Baltic's situation was described by Arts Council England as having "serious inadequacies in financial procedures". Nordgren was briefly succeeded by Stephen Snoddy, who had previously run a new gallery in Milton Keynes. Snoddy only remained with the organisation for 11 months, citing difficulties in leaving his family behind in Manchester while working at Baltic. He was succeeded as director by Peter Doroshenko in 2005. Doroshenko's previous institutions included the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst and the Institute of Visual Arts in Milwaukee. He was brought to Baltic to increase visitor numbers and resolve the centre's financial situation, which was criticised by Arts Council England and an insider as being chaotic. Doroshenko organized several exhibitions during his time at Baltic, including Spank the Monkey.
In November 2007, Doroshenko left the gallery to head up the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev, Ukraine. He stated that he believed he had made Baltic a more "approachable and visitor friendly place."[30] However, Design Week reported that there were claims that Doroshenko did not deliver the expected "international programme of artistic excellence." Additionally, staff at the centre had complained about his "intolerable" and "bullying" management style. Godfrey Worsdale, founding director of the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, was appointed as director of Baltic in 2008. Worsdale oversaw the 10 year anniversary of Baltic and the hosting of the Turner Prize in 2011. He was awarded an honorary degree from Northumbria University in 2012 in recognition for his work on contemporary art after being on the judging panel for the Turner Prize. He departed in 2015 to take up a new post as director of the Henry Moore Foundation. Sarah Munro MBE became director in November 2015. She was previously artistic director of Tramway in Glasgow and head of arts for Glasgow Life.
History as arts centre
During the four-year construction of Baltic, the new organisation arranged a series of events, publications, and artists in residence in anticipation of the centre's opening. In 1999, after the silos had been removed and before the new floors were inserted, the shell of the building was used to house an art installation by Anish Kapoor. Taratantara was a trumpet-shaped installation of PVC 50 metres (160 ft) long and was situated within the centre of the mill. This installation drew 16,000 visitors and marked a turning point between the building's old purpose and its new life as a centre for art. In October 2000, Jenny Holzer's Truisms – a series of aphorisms and slogans – were projected onto the side of the building. Kapoor and Holtzer's works were intended to engage casual passers-by in an artistic dialogue. The identity of Baltic was also solidified by the publication of 16 newsletters between October 1998 and July 2002 when the centre opened to the public. A significant part of this branding was the use of the now registered typeface BALTIC Affisch, designed by Swedish designers Ulf Greger Nilsson and Henrik Nygren and based on the BALTIC FLOUR MILLS lettering on the building's brick façade.
Opening
After ten years in the planning and a capital investment of £50m, including £33.4m from the Arts Council Lottery Fund, Baltic opened to the public at midnight on Saturday 13 July 2002. The novelty of opening the new building at midnight was intentional: founding director Sune Nordgren sought a dramatic gesture to herald the beginning of the new centre for arts. The inaugural exhibition, B.OPEN, had work by Chris Burden, Carsten Höller, Julian Opie, Jaume Plensa and Jane and Louise Wilson. Opie, who had previously assisted Dominic Williams with aspects of the building's conversion design, contributed an installation consisting of nude outlines on the walls of floor of the gallery. Plensa's installation featured a room filled with gongs which were available for the audience to play. Plensa also contributed Blake in Gateshead – a beam of light which stretched around 2 kilometres (6,600 ft) into the sky. The installation was placed through the glass doorway of the ground floor. Burden constructed a 1/20th scale replica of the Tyne Bridge out of Meccano. Jane and Louise Wilson created Dreamtime, a video of a rocket launch. An early exhibit by the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara was also included. The B.OPEN event attracted over 35,000 visitors in the first week. A live art performance, including Tatsumi Orimito's Bread Man and Anne Bjerge Hansen's Moving Bakery, took place during the opening weekend, in which bread was handed out to passers-by in memory of the Baltic Flour Mill's history. When BALTIC opened, there was a target set for 250,000 visitors a year. It achieved one million visitors in its first year, and by its 10-year anniversary in 2012, 4 million people had visited.
Notable events
On 20 September 2007, Baltic management contacted Northumbria Police for advice regarding whether or not a photograph should be displayed as part of the Thanksgiving installation, a forthcoming exhibition by American photographer Nan Goldin. The photograph, along with the rest of the installation, is part of the Sir Elton John Photography Collection. Entitled Klara and Edda belly-dancing features two naked young girls and had previously been exhibited around the world without objections. The installation, which had been scheduled for a four-month exhibition, opened with the remaining photographs whilst Klara and Edda belly-dancing was in possession of the police. However, it closed after just nine days at the request of Elton John. Although this had a determinantal effect on Baltic's reputation in the short-term, Graham Whitham argues in Understand Contemporary Art that it may have given it a higher profile and greater publicity in the long-run.
Beryl Cook
In 2007, the largest survey of artist Beryl Cook's work to date was featured in an exhibition at Baltic.[9] Cook enjoyed widespread recognition of her art towards the end of her life; the exhibition at Baltic took place one year before her death. Her paintings depict everyday and familiar social situations in a playful, colourful, and "portly" style. Peter Doreshenko, the director of Baltic at the time of the exhibition, was keen for the gallery to reject the seriousness audiences may associate with it. The exhibition of Cook's work was part of this populist effort to attract new audiences to the then financially-struggling gallery, whose visitor numbers had dropped to less than 500,000 and whose reputation was decreasing. Adrian Searle of The Guardian reviewed the exhibition and, whilst acknowledging that fans would enjoy it, commented "look too long and you may feel a bit queasy".
Turner Prize
In 2011, Baltic was the venue for the Turner Prize. This was the first time the event had been held outside of London or Liverpool Tate. The Turner Prize exhibition at Baltic attracted 149,770 visitors to the gallery – almost double the average attendance in London. The event at Baltic was also free, whilst Turner exhibitions at Tate Britain had always previously charged for entry. The winning exhibit was by Martin Boyce with the runners-up being Karla Black, Hilary Lloyd and George Shaw.
Judy Chicago
The first major retrospective of American artist Judy Chicago's work was exhibited in Baltic from November 2019 to April 2020. The exhibition included her abstract paintings, records of performance pieces, and began and ended with a four-metre tapestry which portrayed the creation the world from a woman's perspective. At the time of the exhibition, Chicago was in her 80s. Hannah Clugston of The Guardian noted that the more recent featured works embraced the theme of death, particularly End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction, which is based on the stages of grief.
Baltic Open Submission
In March 2020, Baltic announced it would be closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic until further notice. In May 2021, it reopened to visitors with four exhibitions. Baltic Open Submission featured works created during lockdown by 158 artists from the North East. The 158 artists were chosen from over 540 original submissions and selected by a panel of three North East-based artists. The final pieces included paintings, drawings, and sound and video installations.
Community and cultural impact
At the opening of Baltic, director Sune Nordgren outlined the role of the arts centre within the public sphere. He stated that Baltic should be "a meeting place, a site for connections and confrontation between artists and the public." In an October 2002 lecture at the Power Plant Gallery in Toronto, Nordgren reaffirmed the importance of local outreach and explained his intention for Baltic to regard the local history and culture, comparing his intention to examples of modern art museums where this was not considered, such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (designed in Los Angeles and placed in Spain). From its inception, Baltic emphasised the importance of artist-public relationships and its role as a community hub. "Participate" initiatives encouraged people in the local community to interact with resident artists. A media learning centre in a local library was set up as an extension of Baltic's community resources.
In a 2016 talk on Baltic's 10-year strategic plan (officially named Untitled), the current director of Baltic – Sarah Munro – emphasised that the North East of England "has always led, not followed" the agenda for contemporary arts, and that Baltic had been a big part of this trend. She argued that the visual arts can be used to further the economic and social growth of the area, even amidst the backdrop of political issues and austerity. Baltic also launched an international award for emerging artists in 2016, which offered a £30,000 commission and an accompanying exhibition to four recipients. It was the first such competition in the UK to be judged entirely by artists: in 2017, they were Monica Bonvicini, Lorna Simpson, Pedro Cabrita Reis and Mike Nelson. Munro commented that the award was to foster "a dialogue with our audiences at a local, national and international level."
Local university partnerships and graduate internships are also important to Baltic's community and cultural influence. In 2011, Baltic and Northumbria University established an artistic partnership through the BxNU Institute of Contemporary Art, a centre for artistic and curatorial research. Christine Borland was appointed as Baltic Professor. A designated gallery space, known as Baltic 39, was established on the top floor of refurbished Edwardian warehouses at 31-39 High Bridge in Newcastle. It was designed by Viennese architects Jabornegg & Palffy and housed artwork from students at the university. Baltic 39 was based at High Bridge from 2012 to 2021.
Their annual Self-Publishing Artists’ Market (aka S.P.A.M.) takes the form of a lively programme exploring print culture and practice through talks and workshops with over 50 stalls selling zines and artists’ books. S.P.A.M. Spreads reimagines the market in printed form and has included contributions by artists, activists, illustrators, zine-makers, writers and curators including Vanessa Murrell, Melody Sproates, Okocha Obasi, Stephanie Francis-Shanahan.
Entinen Kauppakorkeakoulun päärakennus on rakennettu funktionalistiseen tyyliin. Arkkitehteina toimivat Woldemar Baeckman ja Hugo Harmia ja sisustusarkkitehteina Olli Borg, Ilmari Tapiovaara sekä Maija Heikinheimo. Valaisimet on tehnyt taidetakoja Paavo Tynell. Päärakennuksen akustiikan suunnitteli Paavo Arni. Rakennus vihittiin käyttöönsä 2. huhtikuuta 1950. Kuvassa on seinäpinnoiltaan kauttaaltaan puupaneloitu kokoushuone.
Aalto-yliopiston arkisto / Aalto University Archives
Image nr: HKK_01_045
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Lisätietoja kuvakokoelmista / more information: libguides.aalto.fi/c.php?g=578570&p=4667669
Small in size this fit-out required a sensitive approach towards the scale of the space. Some of the strategies included hoisting the base-building ceiling [just below 8’] up to 10’ in some cases; incorporating the use of glass to allow transparency and visual continuity in the space; and, the use of a limited palette of warm colours, materials and lighting to minimise visual clutter. More at www.aclaworks.com/work/private_offices/
These were initial sketches of various design ideas for a low-rise building (and logo for the project), to be shown to my client for my Design and Technology project. I believe they communicate my ideas well.
Palacio Ferreyra
Obra original: 1912-1916
Arqs. Ernest-Paul SANSON + Maurice SANSON
Promotor: Martín FERREYRA
Remodelación como Museo Superior de Bellas Artes: 2005-2007
Arquitectos: Lucio MORINI + GGMPU arqs.
Promotor: Fundación Legado Cultural
Superficie: 4.800 m²
Ubicación: Córdoba, Argentina
www.lanacion.com.ar/865731-el-palacio-ferreyra-sintesis-d...
Scanned image. I didn't know which one to choose, so I've posted both versions.
Graphic and colored pencils
The Breakers
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Last month a spent a few days in Newport, Rhode Island and visited two of the mansions built during the Gilded Age. Here are six outside shots from the first one we toured.
"Built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, The Breakers (1893-1895), is the grandest of Newport's summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn-of-the-century America. In 1893, Mr. Vanderbilt and his wife Alice commissioned Richard Morris Hunt to design a house that would replace one on the same property that was destroyed by a fire in November of 1892."
www.newportmansions.org/learn/architecture/aspects-of-arc...
Cheers,
Wade
#ArtByWadeBrooks
#newportmansions
#thebreakers
Critic Sean Griffiths discusses student work during the Open Crits
Photo credit: Stonehouse Photographic
On my quest for a restroom i now look down the corridor to my left, it is pretty dark, but there is a cool looking Fiat hiding down there. I have a passion for small cars, so I walk towards it, and as I pass the first door on the left, I see the international sign of all bladderemptying establishments, the universal man and woman symbols on the door. Whoohoo!
I am beginning to think that the architects behind the school of architecture WANT to make it hard to find the way. You can't see the small man/woman icons in this badly litt corridor until you are just a few feet away. If you are seeing impaird, you will NEVER find them.
I hope the students that study architecture here learns what NOT to do by watching their own building, because being a first time user of this facility really sucks.
Home Exterior Architecture Design
Home Exterior Architecture Design, 1600 x 1097, 417 KB, www.interiordev.com/ideas/warna-cat-exterior-rumah.html
The Pittock Mansion was home to Portland pioneers Henry and Georgiana Pittock from 1914 to 1919. During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, their lives and work paralleled the growth of Portland from a small Northwest town site to a thriving city with a quarter million population. With its eclectic architectural design and richly decorated interior, including family artifacts, the Pittock Mansion stands today as a living memorial of this family’s contributions to the blossoming of Portland and its people.
English-born Henry Lewis Pittock journeyed on a wagon train from Pennsylvania to Oregon in 1853 where, at the young age of 19, and in his own words, “barefoot and penniless,” he began working for Thomas Jefferson Dryer’s Weekly Oregonian newspaper. In 1860, at the age of 26, he married 15-year-old Georgiana Martin Burton of Missouri. Six years prior, Georgiana had crossed the plains from Keokuk, Iowa to Oregon Territory with her parents. Georgiana’s father E.M. Burton was a flour mill owner and one of early Portland’s well known building contractors.
Together, Henry and Georgiana began a long life of work, community service, and devotion to family, which would last 58 years and celebrate six children and eighteen grandchildren.
A consummate businessman, Henry Pittock took ownership of the Weekly Oregonian in 1860, changing its format to the daily paper we read today. He went on to build an empire incorporating real estate, banking, railroads, steamboats, sheep ranching, silver mining, and the pulp and paper industry.
Georgiana dedicated herself to improving the lives of the community’s women and children. She helped found the Ladies Relief Society in 1867, whose Children’s Home provided care, food, and shelter for needy children. Georgiana also worked with the Woman’s Union, and played a key role in building the Martha Washington Home for single, working women.
The couple was known for their quiet reserve, helpful demeanor, and love for the outdoors. Georgiana cherished gardening, and kept a terraced flower garden at the mansion covered with every kind of flower imaginable. She frequently adorned her house with cut flowers, and is recognized for originating the tradition of Portland’s annual Rose Festival.
A vigorous outdoorsman, Henry rode horses in the Rose Festival parades, and was a member of the first party to climb Mt. Hood, one of the spectacular peaks visible from the mansion. On one of his climbing expeditions, someone suggested that the group sit down and rest, at which point Henry responded, “The man who sits down never reaches the top.”
Henry and Georgiana were at the pinnacle of their successful lives when they commissioned architect Edward Foulkes to design and build their new home overlooking Portland, the city they loved.
They began planning and designing their new home in 1909. The mansion was completed in 1914, replete with stunningly progressive features including a central vacuum system, intercoms, and indirect lighting. The house also creatively incorporated Turkish, English, and French designs. In keeping with their loyalty to their home state, the Pittocks hired Oregon craftsmen and artisans, and used Northwest materials to build the house. The final estate included the mansion, a three-car garage, a greenhouse, and the Italianate gate lodge servants’ residence, all situated on 46 acres of land almost 1,000 feet above downtown Portland.
At 80 and 68 respectively, Henry and Georgiana moved to their new home. The hard-working couple who had lived in the heart of Portland as it developed from a forest clearing to a bustling business center, now resided high in the hills, with a breathtaking vista of their beloved Portland. It was a warm and gracious house for both the adults and children of the family.
Georgiana died in 1918 at the age of 72, and Henry in 1919 at 84. The Pittock family remained in residence at the mansion until 1958, when Peter Gantenbein, a Pittock grandson who had been born in the house, put the estate on the market.
The threat of demolition at the hands of land developers, and the extensive damage caused by a storm in 1962, brought concerned citizens together to raise funds to preserve the site. Seeing this popular support, and agreeing that the house had tremendous value as a unique historic resource, the City of Portland purchased the estate in 1964 for $225,000. Fifteen months were spent restoring it. The mansion opened to the public in 1965, and has been a community landmark ever since.
A house of historical significance and visual magnificence, the Pittock Mansion today offers us a uniquely personal opportunity to peek into the past, and study our world as it was - from the viewpoint of one Portland family
for more
Interior Design by DISC Interiors
Lighting by Rejuvenation
Design Software by Autodesk
Windows by Western Window Systems
Credit: Izumi Tanaka Photography
St James Old Cathedral was originally constructed on five acres of Crown land bounded by Collins, William and Bourke Streets with the foundation stone being laid on 9 November 1839 by Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801 – 1875), Superintendent of the District of Port Phillip. A simple timber pioneer church which preceded it was built with funds largely subscribed by Presbyterians and other denominations that made up the small community. Charles La Trobe brought a gift from Queen Victoria to the new colony, a baptismal font from St Katherine's Abbey, London, which remains the font at St James' today.
Opened on 11 February 1837, St James was designed by Robert Russell (1808 – 1900), a London architect and surveyor who had arrived in Melbourne from Sydney on 5 October 1836. The Colonial Georgian building is inspired by Francis Greenway's work at St James' King Street in Sydney. The foundations are of bluestone, and the main walls of a sandstone found in various local quarries. The unfinished building was opened for worship on the 2nd October 1842 and completed in 1847.
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne was founded in 1847, and on 29 June 1847 Charles Perry was consecrated in Westminster Abbey as Melbourne's first Bishop. He was enthroned in St James on 28 January 1848, and St James became the first Cathedral church of the new diocese, although it was not consecrated until 1853.
When St Paul's Cathedral opened for worship on 22 January 1891 St James reverted to the status of a parish church. The diminished congregation, pressure of occupying valuable city land, and maintenance problems resulted in the church narrowly escaping demolition. It was relocated stone by numbered stone to its present site under the direction of Messrs Thomas Watts and Son, architects, re-consecrated by Archbishop Lowther Clark, and re-opened for worship on 19 April 1914 at its current site on the corner of Batman and King Streets, West Melbourne – opposite the Flagstaff Gardens. Changes made to the original design at the time of relocation include reorientation from east west to north south, the tower shortened by one stage, the main ceiling lowered a little, the sanctuary shortened by a few inches, the space between the main gallery remodelled to form a lobby and two vestries with passage and gallery stairs behind them and most noticeably to the third level of the belltower which became square instead of octagonal. Two side entrances were constructed to serve the new passage.
St James Old Cathedral is of historical importance as the first Cathedral in Melbourne, the earliest surviving church in Victoria, and one of Melbourne's earliest surviving buildings. It is of architectural importance as a rare example in Melbourne of a Colonial Georgian style building of simple design and pleasing proportions with Greek detailing at the doorways, and the only known surviving work of architect Robert Russell. Although he worked in London with eminent English architect John Nash, the style reflects his experiences in Sydney, especially the work of his contemporary Francis Clarke as well as of Francis Greenway.
The interior is important for rare and unusual features for Victoria, such as the traditional box pews of cedar, side galleries or Vice-Regal boxes originally for the use of Governor La Trobe and the Chief Justice, Baptismal font with the white marble bowl probably dating from the 17th century and coming from St Katherine's Abbey on the banks of the Thames, two mahogany pulpits presented by the ladies of the congregation in 1847. The World War I honour board carved by well known master wood carver Robert Prenzel and the World War II honour board which was copied from the earlier honour board. The stained glass windows are also of note with the 'east window' being possibly by the Melbourne firm of Ferguson and Urie, and the five windows by Christian Waller, wife of artist Napier Waller.