Evening star., 1933-10-13

An amateur interest in architecture
is especially helpful to the city worker
who is doomed OF who dOOmS himself
To the use of public vehicles.
Usually this means that he will have
certain number of blocks to walk,
morning and evening, to and from his
bus or street car.
Old John Citizen, as he is sometimes
called. is Stickler for routine. When
he does not have TO be methodical, he
creates method for himself. because he
Knows it to be the best way for him.
Nevertheless he Is bored often enough
with that twice-a-day ambulation. II
he is real believer III routine, he ar
lives at the same crosswalk at exactly
the same time, TO the second. every
morning.
He passes the same milk wagons, on
the last part of their rounds; he greets
and is greeted by the same dogs at the
same houses. and even believes that
he recognizes the same squirrel at the
same tree.
1t is right at this point that an in
terest in homes as houses comes to
his aid
A great deal has been said about
houses rs homes. but. after all, homes
are houses, or basically that.
Architecture has the first and last
say.
If the pedestrian is interested in
houses primarily as houses, he will find
much to intrigue him as he goes along,
much Which is lost to the man driving
his own car, or to him in too great a
hurry.
Too much hurry is as bad as driving
q car. in this respect. Indeed, hurry
Is symptomatic in both cases.
The man in a hurry. whether afoot
or awheel, actually does not give him
cad.
The helpful thing about any inter-
est IS that 1t tends to level the good
and the bad to make good at one end
interesting. and bad at t.4e other end
Interesting. to make blame as much as
part of the scheme of things as praise
tC take away the depressing effects OF
criticism, to substitute code OF ones
own for somebody else's code.
Thus the amateur arChitect-for such
We will call our pedestrian interested in
Eouses-Sees all houses. OF whatsoever
cost or design, as creations with a right
to exist because they actually do exist
They are there, before him. and that
very fact makes them worth noticing
Here, along his very path. are the
latest representatives of the great move
ment which began thousands of years
ago among the cave dwellers. and the
so-called lake dwellers Of Switzerland
x X X
| Styles in houses come and 60, as
STYLES in eV nrytning else.
| Whether the owner realizes 1t or not
! he is as much the child OF his age as
the woman in her latest type dress.
| This fine house. so trim in its yard
will not look the same thirty years
from now. not primarily because 1t will
be worn, but mainly because the build
| ers will be building bit differently
! then.
| These are subtle differences. but
| tangible ones. especially in the eyes OF
TIE amateur in architecture. He is not
bound down by any rules and regula-
| ticns. or. indeed any of the knowledge
which hedges the real architect.
! Our amateur is an observer, first and
| foremost 1t is enough for him that
! yonder home strikes his eye as being
right up to the minute"
| ~
mus ne nOliCeS llldt DulioctS VIII
! for the past three years. have been CEN
| tering their efforts on the so-callec
center hall plan. are beginning to put
| the front door on one side or the other
again.
| He sees O fine example Of the new
| trend. placed well back in a deep yard
| Surely there is nothing to take the
place of deep front yard. There i
] something about it which gives toni
not to be obtained In any other way.