Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-11-26
.,rrn1c.x AncHITECTURE.

n
The Pittsburg Dispatch recently pun
usbei little poem entitled IAN Appe'"
70 tho American Architect" IN when mo
gentlemen of that profession are urseu
"a bestow upon their work more f"i-
,,idualltr force. and strength The au-
thor not altogether without reason
seems TO think that our buildings are put
temporary structures. designed to meet
the wants Of the hour. and urges re-
form I'm every line. Here Is ono sugseS-
tive limo OF the poem:
"Time will these brittle walls subdue'
| Before our children's days ara DONE
| To heaps OF wreckage such a. strew
Tho desert plains OF Babylon.
Otbe, verses beg for stately structures
such as covered Greece and Egypt WINE
tho concluding lines plead for a simple
native style. American, profound sub
lima" II the author had lived in Rich
mond. and had remembered how charm
ing were the big front and side-yards
attached to the finest residence. he would
have protested too. against the present
practice on the part OF investors in
crampng their palatial residences upon
tho narrowest possible lots. In many
cases. the most beautiful work Of the
architect and artisan is lost TO sight be-
cause tho property-owner is too penu-
rious to buy q sufficient frontage for his
building In our city there are some
note worthy examples Of ill-judgment In
this respect.
Speaking Of our country generally, there
IS no denying tho fact that American
architecture. however practical II may
be. is often lacking in grace, beauty, and
substantially. These faults. however,
should rather be laid at the doors OF the
whole people than at those Of the archi-
tect. who usually draws his plans TO or
der. II Americans as a whole had the
taste the architect could doubtless meet
all demands As # is. after his most olo-
quent pleadlngs and protestations. he.
is too often compelled 10 yield 10
the investors wishes or whims. crude
and absurd as they sometimes are.
with tho exception Of a few public
building. it rarely occurs TO us to erect
structures which are designed to stand
the test OF time. The calculations We
make az TO the future, II any, are whe-
the' tho land, IN course OF time will be-
come more valuable, or will depreciato
so that the building will become a fnan-
cia loss. Alphabetically speaking. we
do not plant trees for future generations.
Wa build our houses TO suit our present
needs, and sometimes the results are
most inharmonOus.
one OF the first things which strikes an
American traveller I'm foreign lands is the
substantial way in which an tho houses
ara built. Tho very cottages I'm tho rural
districts are designed TO last centuries.
and many public buildings have looked
down on the flight Of ages Italy. Greece.
and Egypt carry us. still farther back
into the past, and to day have stately
odifces which count their years not by
the hundreds but by the thousands. And
in those lands we sea individuality Of
style. harmony OF outline and n degree
of artistic taste which leads us TO believe
that when they were built civilization
had for ages been mature.
Conditions I'm America are vastly diff
fercnt from what they We're I'm those
days hut our inventive genius has not
kept apace with the changes. The SKY
scraper" is almost the only distinct pro-
duct Of American architects. If We have
other buildings Of which we can boa't
wa must confess that tley are mostly
the result OF borrowed ideas. 1t IS
strange. indeed. that We have so little
pride about this matter that we bear so
bravely tho sneers Of foreigners. and re-
main 50 ignorant Of and contentcd with
our defects That We have tina ability and
means to DO better no one can que tion.t