Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Architectural Dissonance at Arizona's Biltmore

Every once in a while, common knowledge is wrong. Consider the case of the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. This beautiful oasis nestled between Piestewa Peak (formerly Squaw Peak) and Camelback Mountain near the heart of Phoenix is often attributed to famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In fact, it is the crowing achievement and probably greatest heartbreak of Arizona architect Albert Chase McArthur.

The architectural authorship of the Arizona Biltmore has never really been in question. Original drawings of the resort held in the Arizona State University Library archives clearly indicate McArthur, who was a licensed architect in Arizona at the time while Wright was not, is the architect of record. Although Wright is often credited with, and indeed is said to have frequently claimed authorship of the hotel, he did try to set the record straight among his professional peers in a carefully crafted letter to The Architectural Record, published in 1941 which states:
All I have done in connection with the building of the Arizona Biltmore, near Phoenix, I have done for Albert McArthur himself at his sole request, and for none other. Albert McArthur is the architect of that building -- all attempts to take the credit for that performance are gratuitous and beside the mark. But for him, Phoenix would have nothing like the Biltmore and it is my hope he may be enabled to give Phoenix many more beautiful buildings as I believe him entirely capable of doing.


The confusion over who the architect was stems from the block system used in the hotel lobby. McArthur's "Textile Block" stem is similar to that previously used by Wright in California and he oversaw the original installation. McArthur's rectangular block design, however, differs from the square blocks Wright preferred on several levels.

[The blocks represent] Albert Chase McArthur's chop (stylized signature stamp). This design is based on the logarithm of a B-flat minor. Albert was a brilliant mathematician and believed in the correlation between light and sound. The drawing of this mathematical equivalency from which this chop was formed exists within Albert's family.


The confusion was exacerbated during the 1970's when the property was acquired by the Talley family. Though their ownership lasted less than a decade it left indelible marks on the Arizona Biltmore, as well as McArthur's and Wright's association with the iconic hotel. A devastating fire struck the building in 1973. Although the lobby area and lower floors were not damaged by the flames that virtually destroyed the hotel's 3rd and 4th floors, the extensive water damage sustained by the lower floors led to an almost entire rebuilding of the facility under the guise of a renovation and restoration.

It was during this renovation the much of the dissonance evident in the property was introduced. The rebuilding and renovations were completed in only 90 days. Three construction teams worked around the clock to complete the repairs and allow the property to reopen on schedule in September 1973. Whether because of the tight timeframe or from a misunderstanding of McArthur's chop, the reconstruction of the block system was bungled. Damaged blocks were replaced with new blocks cast from desert sand in the original molds. The re-installation, unfortunately was flawed. The blocks were not replaced according to the original design but rather in a haphazard manner better suited to Wright's stylized block system which relied on square, not rectangular, blocks. The result has led some to see palm trees where once the was music and math.

The 1973 renovation also saw the conversion of the original solarium into a restaurant (named Wright's) and the installation of Sahuaros, a Wright-designed stained glass window. Sahuaros was fabricated by the students at Taliesin from Wright's design. Taliesin Archtectural Associates was the architect of record for the renovation.

The Arizona Biltmore remains one of Phoenix' most luxurious resorts and identifiable landmarks. It just isn't the Wright one so many visitors and residents believe it to be.

More information about the Arizona Biltmore can be found in "Arizona Walls: if only they could speak" by Judy Martin (Double B Publications. 1997).

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Secret streaks

Locals know things. Not just where to eat or the best routes to take when traveling. They know things about their communities others may find surprising. Which is why they don't expose every visitor to them.

Consider this hidden work of art in Cologne. No wonder everyone smiles at the tourists, there's an inside joke hanging over their heads!

It's things like this that make travel so much fun. They also make writing about your hometown entertaining. I can just see the grin on the local's face when he pointed out the moon!


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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Lessons in odd places

Sometimes I discover things in the oddest places. I'm not talking about car keys in the refrigerator or a stray sock in the yard. No, I mean the fascinating facts about a place in a time that have vanished.

For instance: I'm proofreading a children's book about Turkey for Project Gutenberg. It was obviously published decades ago, maybe longer. Some of the information is still accurate. Much of it, however, has changed or vanished in time. Like the nugget about floating a disk of wood atop a barrel of water that is being transported to keep it from spilling. According to the book, it works like topping off a barrel of water with oil, a trick widely known and used by sailors.


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Monday, January 3, 2011

First thought for 2011

The first Monday of a brand new year! It like cracking open the latest work of your favorite author. That new book smell rises to greet you. Anticipation and excitement fill the air. You can't wait to jump into it.

There are no guarantees you'll like the story or that it will have a happy ending. At this point, of course, you don't care. It's new. It's untried. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes the moment so wonderful.

Here's a little thought, maybe a resolution, maybe just a reminder to help keep the wonder going for myself and all the writers out there:

You must write every single day of your life. You must lurk in libraries to sniff books..." Ray Bradbury http://j.mp/hs7FL4

Happy 2011!