quondam @ archinect/79/7910v.htm
Versailles, sigh
Rita Novel 2005.03.04 14:53
A, I fully understand your reaction/impression, and, like all the other responses, here, you're spot on, BUT there's a very rich story here that needs further understanding.
From the air, yes the suburban street layout is "ugly", but the homes from the first wave of developments (1950s and 1960s) are for the most part 'ok' and some are even stylistically intersting, especially those that look to be from the 1950s. And, in general, the old estate is very nice place to live, even desirable. The group of homes built after the mansion was razed 1980, are the worst though.
If you read through the guestbook at serianni.com you'll see that for those that grew up near or knowing about the place, the derelict palace was something beyond enchanting. My older brother first took me there in 1970 when he got his driver's licence. I was a freshman in high school then and it was like my first architectural wet dream come true. My goal became to get into every room of the place, and I almost succeeded. Now it's like LEARNING FROM WHITEMARSH HALL.
Abracadabra's archaeological evocation is great. Very Piranesian. There's reenactment, damnatio memoriae (erasure of memory) and ultimately palimpsest. The landscape telling a story via strata of data.
I have some treasured "souvenirs" gotten by teenage vandalism (barbarian that I was) -- a baluster from the forecourt and two slabs of marble from Mr. Stotesbury's bathroom (one of which has ANONYMOUS SAINT IN BIKINI WHILE JESUS IS WALKING ON WATER painted on it--
Plus I still have some super8 movies of the place in 1972 that need to be transfered into digital media.
quondam (from the Latin) once, at one time, formerly; at times, sometimes, once in a while; some day, one day (in the future)
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