Limberlost & Gene Stratton-Porter

I took a road trip this week to pick up some of my art work in Wabash, Indiana and then drop off art work in Fort Wayne, Indiana for a show there. Finished with those stops, I decided to stop at  Limberlost, the adult home of noted Indiana author and naturalist, Gene Stratton-Porter. Both her childhood home near Rome, Indiana and her adult home, Limberlost, are Indiana State Historic sites. Both are in the north-east section of the state.

 In 1895 Gene Stratton-Porter and her husband built their home near the Limberlost Swamp in Geneva, Indiana. The "swamp" covered 13,000 acres and it became an inspiration for both her fiction and non-fiction writing. By the time she settled there a long term drainage project had begun, altering the natural wetland environment for the purpose of allowing large scale farming operations. 

 

 The home at Limberlost is a large 14 room rustic log cabin built in the Queen Ann style. 

 

Gene Stratton-Porter published both nature studies and novels celebrating the life and the ecology of the Limberlost region. By 1910 she had become a recognized American author publishing Freckles in 1904 and A Girl of the Limberlost in 1909. 

 

What I learned from my visit to the state historic site is that her legacy reaches far beyond her status as the writer of classics of Indiana literature. She has been widely recognized by the conservation community for her non-fiction books and her early environmental activism. She spoke out often to ensure that natural areas were not drained for economic gain. 

 In 1993 a group called Limberlost Swamp Remembered formed in order to begin reclamation of a portion of the original 13,000 acre swamp. Today 1,500 acres known as Loblolly Marsh are available to the public, having been restored. And this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gene Stratton-Porter. She died suddenly on December 6, 1924. Today she is still read, quoted and written about by contemporary students of both American literature and the conservation movement.

Historic New Harmony...in the rain!

New Harmony is located in southwestern corner of Indiana just minutes from Illinois. I went there last weekend to participate in "Arts In Harmony", an annual arts and music festival. It is Spring in Indiana and that means the distinct possibility of rain and lots of it. And yes, it rained all weekend in New Harmony! So here are just a few photos to give you a taste of this small historic community. I might add it was actually raining when I took most of these pictures, intrepid photographer that I am.

Approaching New Harmony...

The Atheneum (Visitors Center)

The Wabash River creeping into the parking lot of the Atheneum!

New Harmony is the site of two of America’s earliest utopian communities. It was founded in 1814 by a group of 800 Lutheran dissenters from Wurttemburg, Germany. The Harmonie Society, led by George Rapp, arrived in the United States in 1804, seeking religious freedom. After 10 years, the Harmonists purchased 20,000 acres on the banks of the Indiana Territory’s Wabash River.  The Harmonists moved to the area in 1814. As a society and as individuals, they pursued Christian perfection through every aspect of their daily conduct. To that end, they created a highly ordered and productive community at New Harmony. Between 1814 and 1824, the Harmonists constructed more than 180 log, frame and brick structures in their settlement. The community was entirely self-sufficient and produced a wide variety of goods that were traded as far away as New Orleans and Pittsburgh. Harmonist wares also were sold overseas in the British Isles, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
In 1824, George Rapp decided to sell New Harmony. He found a purchaser in Robert Owen, a wealthy industrialist of Welsh descent, who was operating a textile mill in New Lanark, Scotland. In 1825, with his business partner William Maclure, Owen purchased the community of New Harmony outright, hoping to establish a model community where education and social equality would flourish.
Owen’s “Community of Equality,” as the experiment was known, had dissolved by 1827, ravaged by personal conflicts and the inadequacies of the community in the areas of labor and agriculture. Despite the breakdown of his experiment, Owen’s utopian dream brought significant contributions to American scientific and educational theory, study and practice. Early feminist activity in New Harmony increased national awareness of the issue of women’s suffrage. 

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The "Roofless Church" in the background.

Peaceful park setting just off Main Street, New Harmony.

 

 

I lived and worked in New Harmony between 1999 and 2001 so this trip was a "blast from the past" for me. New Harmony remains tranquil and unique in it's sense of place and character.

Thanks for looking!

November in the Windy City

Self Portrait: 7 AM Election Day 11/6/2012 The Windy City

My recent trip was to Chicago in early November. I attended another Road Scholar trip with a focus on the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute and Millennium Park which is adjacent to it across Monroe Street. So, just to orient you below, in the lower left quadrant of the picture is the Art Institute Complex. And the lower right quadrant is Millennium Park with the pedestrian bridge across Monroe Street that connects them. (Hopefully this will make sense as you look at the pictures)

The main entrance to the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue.

The lions at the entrance are forever synonymous with the Art Institute.

The pedestrian bridge from the New Wing into Millennium Park.

The Modern Wing of the Art Institute from The Lurie Garden in Millennium Park.

Great hall of the Modern Wing.

Millennium Park is wrapped into your visual experience inside and outside of the Modern Wing. It is always present as you experience the new wing. 

And now, on to the Park itself.

First stop is "Cloud Gate".

110 Ton Stainless Steel Sculpture

Better know as "The Bean"

 Created by British Sculptor Anish Kapoor

The arch is 12 feet high, providing the walkway underneath the Bean.

Looking toward the Crown Fountain from the pedestrian footbridge.

The Crown Fountain, inspired by the people of Chicago whose faces appear on the LED display on the 50 foot tall glass block towers. In better weather, water cascades from the towers creating a pool for play and reflection. The day of my visit it was rainwater at the base of the tower.

Looking toward the Pritzker Pavilion and the signature Frank Gehry outdoor concert venue from the pedestrian footbridge.

The pavilion is 120 feet high with a "headdress" of brushed stainless steel ribbons.The concert venue seats 4000 in fixed seats and can accommodate another 7,000 on the Great Lawn. 

The trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes supports the sound system and is said to create a sound akin to an indoor concert hall.

And by way of contrast, I stopped for a walk on the beach before taking the train into Chicago...a few quiet moments before the Big City.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

A DAY TO BE GRATEFUL

Thanksgiving Day 2010 Muskatatuck Wildlife Refuge, Southern Indiana

Safe Travels, Good Company and  

Thanks for Friends and Family.

Architectural Gems: Part 2

 Milwaukee Art Museum and Ten Chimneys

Part 2 of my Wisconsin travels includes our day trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum and, the next day, a trip to Genesee Depot and Ten Chimneys, the estate of American theater icons Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

First the Milwaukee Art Museum: In 1994 the Milwaukee Art Museum commissioned Spanish born architect, sculptor, engineer and bridge builder, Santiago Calatrava to build an new entrance and a new identity for their museum. The building was opened to the public in 2001. It sets on the shore of Lake Michigan and houses an atrium with views of the lake.

In 1957 the original museum space was designed by architect Eero Saarinen and in 1975 the building was enlarged with the jutting slab structure that extends out toward Lake Michigan.

Calatrava conceived of a glass and steel atrium/reception hall that would be shaded by a moveable sunscreen. The sunscreen is formed by 2 wings.

The Reiman Bridge, a suspended pedestrian walkway links the downtown to the waterfront. It is also the place to be at noon every day for the demonstration of the "wings" opening and closing. I hope the pictures below will give you a sense of the drama and power of the design.

And now a look at the inside the Museum.

Definitely in the spirit of the great builders of the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe...daring and testing the limits.

It has been said about  Santiago Calatrava "He combines light and air and structural elegance with strength"

and the design even extends to the parking garage!

Next, a complete change of pace: architecture of a completely different scale and purpose. We go from public architecture to residential architecture at Ten Chimneys.

The number of chimneys on all the combined buildings on the is (you guessed it) ten! Hence, Ten Chimneys. Above is the main house and home of Alfred and Lynn.

Katharine Hepburn said "Every time I was visiting with the Lunts in Genesee Depot, I was in a sort of daze of wonder, the dining room, the table, the china, the silver, the food, the extraordinary care and beauty and taste...a sort of dream, a vision."

The estate included a greenhouse, bath house and pool, and a separate residence known as "the hen house" where Alfred's Mother and sister resided. Pictured above is the bath house and behind it, "the hen house".

Picture Noel Coward, Helen Hayes, Katherine Hepburn (to name a few) lounging around the pool.

Thanks for sharing my trip with me. Next stop is Chicago and the Art Institute in November.