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The Unity of detail and whole, so clearly apparent in the "Progress" and "Civilization" allegories, presents itself throughout the Railway Exchange. The light fixtures are reflected in terra cotta bas-relief, which tell an even more intricate story. (The plot remains temporarily unknown.) A neo-classic geometry (of bound wire?) springing from nature (the modified leaf) supports the stem of a fleur de lis ,but ends, whimsically, as a delicate (crocus? tulip?) blossom. I'd be glad for some help here.......
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The Railway Exchange's spectacular light fixtures flanking the grand staircase are photographed above.
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Daniel Burnham's lead designer, Peirce Anderson, was an electrical engineer. And electric lights in 1903 or 1904 or 1905 were a very big deal. So was music. For most visitors to turn-of-the-century Michigan Avenue the newly completed Orchestra Hall (another Burnham building) and the Railway Exchange represented "marvels". Without radio, Dvorak's New World could only be heard here. And electricity illuminating a glass roof? Only here. A fast train to Los Angeles. Or New York. Fresh oysters at Christmas. Morning bananas.
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Daniel Burnham's lead designer, Peirce Anderson, was an electrical engineer. And electric lights in 1903 or 1904 or 1905 were a very big deal. So was music. For most visitors to turn-of-the-century Michigan Avenue the newly completed Orchestra Hall (another Burnham building) and the Railway Exchange represented "marvels". Without radio, Dvorak's New World could only be heard here. And electricity illuminating a glass roof? Only here. A fast train to Los Angeles. Or New York. Fresh oysters at Christmas. Morning bananas.
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And Aaron Montgomery Ward's image of Progress (Diana of the Tower) - a startling gold, nude weathervane spun wildly in the wind, just up the street.
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Please, Mr. Hines, don't talk to me about a cacaphony of style.
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I'm about to say that Daniel Burnham was a great Architect. A really great Architect.
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The flower on the top looks like Iris!
ReplyDeleteAlthough fleur-de-lys is said to be stylized lily, it always reminds me of Iris.. Iris was considered to be a part of Lily family and it was only in the 19th century that Iris was accepted as a separate family from Lily..
The flowers in the side looks like stylized Bleeding Heart. However, I have never seen the flower Bleeding Heart represented in any painting or sculpture [it's beautiful still, it coudnt find any art patron] so I am not too sure about the flowers on the side...