Corey
Administrator
Posts: 123
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Post by Corey on Sept 13, 2013 10:36:06 GMT -5
This just in! Legendary Truth just sent out an email to all registered operatives! Speculate and discuss here what you all think it could mean!
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wolf
Moderator
.....gone into the dark
Posts: 81
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Post by wolf on Sept 13, 2013 10:47:41 GMT -5
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Post by radarluv on Sept 21, 2013 10:12:20 GMT -5
Found some interesting facts about this guy, he lived from 1863 to 1942, died before we were involved in WWII. He started out mainly doing church constructions or renovations and brought the authentic Gothic look back to its full and real potential, he believed that the new Gothic architecture should conform to and express to all the new modern necessities. Cram wanted the look, style and feel of the Gothic style before the protestant reformation in England interrupted their Gothic architecture movement. He started a small firm and decided that his style would be best suited dor churches, his greatest achievement in this area was The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. After this he was appointed to a build a new building at the United States Military Academy at West Point. At first there were two different contractors for the job, but they ended up with taking just Cram, letting him lead and design the work being done. At West Point, the division of labor between Cram and Goodhue is clear. Cram worked on the Post Headquarters, the Riding Hall, and the Power Plant (Ills. 7, 8). Goodhue did the chapel and two of the cadet barracks (Ills. 9, 10). The differences in their approaches and abilities can be seen here. Cram's work is characterized by the simple coherence of masses, while in the chapel we can see the tracery in the windows that is so typical of Goodhue's work. The rest of the work was done jointly. (Goddhue is his partner in his firm.) While at West point he received an honorary degree from Princeton, then was asked to come there to design and reconstruct some of their buildings. Woodrow Wilson (The U.S. president, who would also be president at Princeton University later after Cram was selected, was believed to be partially responsible for him getting the selection. Cram believed that Princeton was the most distinguished University in America And that it was what he called Collegiate Gothic. During his presentation to the board, Cram stressed the sheer beauty and the cultural influence of the Gothic on the cultural development of the student. This was the tradition that Princeton was to continue. One example would be the 140 foot tower that Cram had planned for Nassau Street that would echo the entrance tower at Oxford.Cram's projections were relatively simple and in keeping with the master plan that he wished to follow. He wanted to first develop that main (north-south) axis of campus. He wanted to extend the dormitories (Little and Blair). In addition, Cram proposed the building of a great new chapel, one that would be big enough to hold the entire student body at one time, "second only to the King's College chapel in Cambridge in magnitude and in beauty." On the master plan, the chapel was to be situated just north of the existing Art Building: "This is the proper place for the great outward manifestation of the religious idea that has always been at the basis of the educational idea of the most distinguished University in America." Obviously for Cram, religion and education were inseparable, as they were for the Trustees of Princeton University. Other tidbits about him: Cram's thesis had to do with originality through logical development and creative scholarship, in it he stated the following: The first discussed the need for an architectural sculptor who can do work that makes "a logical continuation of the great Christian culture of the past, but also a vital contribution to modern life." In his autobiography he stated: After all, Gothic is no isolated style with its own individual laws wrought out of nothing for its own original ends. The forms of beauty vary from age to age; the creative and controlling laws are ever the same." Website etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Studentdocs/Cram.htmlDon't have time for more, HHN tonight, sorry I missed the meeting, had family problems to deal with but things are cool now, just in time too! Hope to meet some of you all there! Radarluv
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