Rittenhouse Dorchester

So now we go back to Philadelphia for a modern tower on posh Rittenhouse Square - the Rittenhouse Dorchester from 1963, designed by Chicago favorite (oh, ok, well, just plain Chicago architect) Milton Schwartz, who I'm sure everybody knows from the Constellation and 320 Oakdale (don't know them, I guess I should do more posts). Above we have the ground plan - it sits on a very tight L-shaped lot which wraps around the building just to the north of it, occupying the remainder of the small block.

Above is the typical floor plan, with typically sized units for the era.



A rare "rear" view at sunset from the Northwest showing it wrapping around the older high-rise to the north.


East elevation as seen from the leafy confines of Rittenhouse Square - note the angled bays to enhance views east to the square. It really does have very parklike surroundings.


South elevation looking up. Note the profile of the balconies - the railings are quite nicely detailed, however, the replacement windows are rather clunky.

There is also another development in Center City Philadelphia by Scwartz, however, I'll save that one for posting in another entry.

Plans are from:
"Apartment, Their Design and Development"
Samuel Paul
Reinhold Publishing Corporation
1967

Note: Samuel Paul is worth an entry in himself.

More Rogers Park (or the Doors of Rogers Park/Open House Chicago)

A few more shots from Open House Chicago; above we have an entry towards the private park side of Park Castle.

This is the approach to one of the entries at White Terra Cotta extravaganza, Casa Bonita with it's perfectly 20's pollarded trees.

And a closer view... The close up shows the elaborate decor of both the doors and the surround. I hope to get back to photograph the courtyard and front more fully sometime.

Philadelphia Modern

Well, more contemporary than modern....

Here we have two buildings along the Delaware riverfront, such as it is. I don't really know anything about them, except that they are rather nicely sized to my eye. And both are rather near Society Hill and the famous Pei Ieoh Ming Society Hill Towers (more on those later). I'll also add more on vintage buildings in a future post. I will note that these follow a trend in Philadelphia which is very narrow and tall (mainly because of small lot footprints) residential towers.

Les piscines de Parc Rogers

Yes, the pools of Rogers Park, as seen on tours during Open House Chicago. I was able to visit three pools in the gems of Rogers Park. Casa Bonita, Park Castle and Park Gables (three of my favorite big courtyard buildings). Casa Bonita's pool (below) is lovely, but plainer than the other two, though the access to it is rather grander and features an observers balcony (now a corridor).


Park Gables has a much grander pool, but the "entry" spaces to it are just "regular nicer than average Chicago basement" (it should be said that Park Gables appears to be well maintained).


Park Gables really resembles a 1920's film set, with ornate tile work, terra cotta columns and "tented" or awning ceiling. However, the most impressive of the group, the piece de resistance if you will, is Park Castle, which resembles San Simeon.



It sports an L shaped pool, elaborate mosiacs and a lit fountain! Note the potted plants, forming a ceramic topiary border around the pool.

Optima Tower

Just to keep the blog updated this month, a view of one of the regions more modern towers, designed by David Hovey.

Mystery Device

OK, dear readers. I am going to let you in on something special and personal. I am going to show you photos from my very own apartment (there are pictures elsewhere on the web, but *I'm* not telling [you where they are]...).

So anyways, there is this mystery device on one of the beams on the ceiling in my living room above - or actually just directly in front - of the fireplace. Nobody seems to know quite what it is, does or was for. Anyway, last weekend I had the power off to do some rewiring because I am so big and butch (I actually did pull new wire, but it was mainly to take down a fixture to prep the ceiling for painting). So while I had the power off in that part of the house (well, ok, apartment) I decided to take this "thing" down to see what it was. Well, lo and behold, there was absolutely NO wiring, only two anchors for the screws in the beam. I'll try and get some better photos, since the picture doesn't show the label, which is "B&L Inc" if I remember correctly.



Here's another view (as I said, I'll try and get more shot), albeit a very blurry photo. The picture doesn't show the label or hole where something attached to the knob might have mounted.



My initial thought was that it was either a heat sensor or smoke detector for the fireplace, or else some sort of thermostat for the central heating system to turn it down/off when there was a fire, but since the convectors aren't individually controlled that seems off. I was (not so secretly) hoping that it WOULD (have been an old light fixture or spot light I guess) be something with conduit so I could install a spot focusing on the chimneypiece and mantel.

Any ideas as to what it was or could have been? I'm going to leave it up for the time being, since I don't want to fill and patch the holes and restain the beam.

Two Holsman High Rises

So my regular readers probably know of my Henry K. Holsman obsession. So here are two for you. The taller (the brown building with stepped roof), 1321 E. 56th Street, of the two was meant to be the western twin of two buildings which the depression stopped. The units are spacious full floor units. Across the street is a more modest building - the red brick building which contains more modest units. Immediately to the left of 1321 you may notice a church, behind which lurks another Holsman complex. And to the far left, there is a small Harry Weese house (which I swear is blond brick except that every time I see it its, quite obviously, not).