by Architectural Observer | Mar 27, 2018 | Blog, Observations
Entrepreneur Fred Harvey is much better-known than architect Louis Curtiss. After Harvey’s death in 1901, Curtiss designed some of his “Harvey House” hotels and restaurants for the Fred Harvey Company. Said to be the first restaurant chain in the...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 26, 2018 | Blog, Projects
One of my favorite movies, a close second to “Mars Attacks!”, is the slightly surreal Goff in the Desert by German documentarian Heinz Emigholz. The video has no narration; it is simply a series of video shots taken around 2002 of various structures...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 22, 2018 | Blog, Observations
Louis Curtiss, who left his mark on Kansas City and other locations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was one of those incredibly rare architects who was just weird enough to do really, really, interesting work. While often compared to Frank Lloyd...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 15, 2018 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations
A modest 1 -1/2 story Nebraska house with gable front, built around 1880, was given a stylistic makeover in the mid-twentieth century. The new look, reminiscent of an eighteenth century saltbox, was created by adding a lean-to addition with fireplace to one side...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 11, 2018 | Blog, Observations
While driving through a sparsely populated area of southwestern Nebraska I encountered a depressing amount of Victorian-era houses (which had once been grand for their locale) in advanced stages of deterioration. Despite their weathered facades, these houses were...
