Survey of Architecture

Survey of Architecture
    During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s there was an anxiety regarding the industrial revolution.   The Arts and Crafts movement focused on original ideas and handcraftsmanship and sought to create environments in which beauty and fine workmanship governed.   The Arts and Crafts movement did not promote a particular style, but it did advocate reform as part of its philosophy.   Two architects that have inspired me in this form of expression are Joseph Lyman Silsbee and George Washington Maher.   Their work evolved with the Arts and Crafts movement and their influence on craftsmanship was profound.
    Joseph L. Silsbee had a gift for designing buildings in a variety of styles.   He was born in 1848 in Salem Massachusetts and he was influenced greatly by H.H. Richardson’s Romanesque style.   He graduated from Exeter and Harvard and later studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.   After college Joseph travelled throughout Europe and studied architecture and the styles that were becoming popular.   At age 26, Joseph returned to the United States and located in Syracuse New York.   He practiced architecture on his own and later was appointed the Professor of Architecture at the new College of Fine Arts on the Syracuse University campus.   While living in Syracuse he had two major designs to his credit.   The Syracuse Savings Bank which was his first formal commission and the White Memorial Building, these were both excellent commercial examples of Victorian Gothic Style.   The Syracuse Savings Bank was made of tan limestone and chocolate-brown sandstone; it displayed a complexity of details such as flowers and leaves.   It was composed of pointed arches, foliate ornamentation and other Venetian Gothic inspired elements.  The High Victorian Style was still new to America but it was the style of choice in England.   This was the first building in Syracuse to have an elevator and was the tallest building in the city at this time....