Two years ago, Chicago had a chance to add a futuristic floating concert hall designed by one of the 20th century's great architects to its renowned collection of iconic structures. The vessel could have adorned the city's downtown Riverwalk and moved up and down the branches of the Chicago River, entertaining audiences on shore.

But the chance to buy Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn's "Point Counterpoint II," which opens like a clam shell to present classical music concerts for listeners on shore, came and went with the closing of the first Chicago Architecture Biennial exhibition in 2015.

An almost decade-long fight to protect historic resources at the University of Washington in Seattle has culminated in a State Supreme Court ruling in favor of preservation advocates in the case, University of Washington vs. City of Seattle, Docomomo US/WEWA, Historic Seattle, and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

Tour Day is just around the corner! Here is a sneak peek of tours and events taking place this Tour Day. 

This past June, Docomomo US/Northern California led a sold-out tour of San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill and Western Addition as part of San Francisco Design Week, an annual festival led by AIGA.

Late last week, Docomomo US sent a letter to the Albright Knox Art Gallery to share our concern for the recently released campus expansion concept design. The proposed concept appears to destroy character-defining elements of the Albright Knox Art Gallery including partial demolition of the significant 1962 addition by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

In our May newsletter, we presented the significance of Peavey Plaza, its decline, and the actions by The Cultural Landscape Foundation and the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota to save this unique site from demolition.  Recently, the City of Minneapolis hired consultants to produce a Historic Structures Report and then develop designs to rehabilitate the Plaza, stating that this work would meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, the proposed 30% design plans have raised significant concerns as many of the character defining features of the site are being significantly altered or removed: raising the lower basin to be level with the surrounding walkway, eliminating original terraces that defined spaces within the site, removing healthy tress and replacing them with alternate species, adding competing water features, and changing the material palate. 

Historic Districts Council has started a petition to address 30 landmark-eligible buildings in the proposed rezoning area of East Midtown in New York. Of the 30 eligible buildings, four significant modern buildings (the Universal Pictures Building, the Girls Scouts Building, Union Carbide and PanAm/MetLife) have been identified in the zone as landmark-eligible but not in the pipeline for designation. 

On Monday, July 3rd, Docomomo US submitted a formal letter to the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on the proposed "reconstruction" of Michael Graves historic 1982 Portland Public Service Building (Portland Building).

Docomomo US is pleased to announce nine winners of the 2017 Modernism in America Awards program. 

I.M.Pei and his contributions to Philadelphia modernism were celebrated by a tour of Society Hill Towers and Townhouses on May 25, 2017.

The latest surrounding the Houston Astrodome is the Harris County Taxpayer Protection Act failed to proceed through the state legislature. Had this bill passed it would have forced Harris County to hold an election for voters to approve the proposed Astrodome Redevelopment.

Docomomo US is pleased to announce the selection of Sanika Kulkarni and Sarah Yoon as the 2017 Mexico City study grant fellowship recipients. Ms. Kulkarni and Ms. Yoon were selected based on their committed interest in modernism and the global perspective they will bring to the trip.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the Philadelphia Police Department intends to move its headquarters into the white tower at Broad and Callowhill Streets that for decades housed the Inquirer and Daily News, jettisoning plans to move to a site in West Philadelphia that the city spent about $50 million to buy and renovate.

The Roundhouse property, where police have been based since 1963, will be sold for redevelopment, as will the Medical Examiner’s Office on University Avenue near Civic Center Boulevard, and the Sixth District building at 11th and Vine Streets.

In response to the recent panel discussion "Modernist Landscapes Reconsidered" held at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., the ASLA considers the question, "should Modernist parks, plazas, and streets be saved?"

Six years after the demolition of Peavey Plaza was halted in 2011, a redesign is underway—but there are continuing concerns about the manner in which the site may be altered, and questions about how the proposed changes meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties and Cultural Landscapes. 

Held in Washington D.C., almost 200 people attended the May 15 event at the National Building Museum to hear how 20th century modernist urban landscapes can, or should, respond to contemporary expectations for public space.

As cities and communities continue to rethink and reclaim public space, modern landscapes, many of which lack proper maintenance and understanding, have been placed in a vulnerable position. Here are just a few modern landscapes featured the Docomomo US Explore Modern Register that have been lost, saved and are currently still threatened. 

After a year-long attempt to find new stewards, Peter Eisenman’s House II in Hardwick, Vermont is reaching the zero hour. Devin Colman, the Architectural Historian for the State of Vermont, contacted Docomomo US this week stating, "the owner is willing to sell the house and 15 acres for $425,000 to anyone who will save the house. If it doesn’t sell, he has a buyer ready to purchase it for the land only, demolish House II, and build a new home on the site. The buyer wants to close by the end of June so he can start demolition this summer."

Googie Architecture Meets the Postwar City Beautiful

Take a stroll along the hike and bike trail of Lady Bird Lake and you’ll come across an inviting structure with a story significant to the lake that embodies the beauty of Austin. The Fannie Davis Town Lake Gazebo marks the spot of the beginning of the city’s efforts to improve the area through the Town Lake Beautification Project, inspired by Lady Bird Johnson’s national programs.