Wednesday, August 20, 2008

ABC Wednesday - E is for egg, as in the ornamental device egg and dart

Wikipedia has this to say about egg-and-dart.

Here's what I have to say about egg-and-dart. Last week I took these two photos at the Hamilton Building,529 SW 3rd Avenue, downtown Portland. In fact, I was looking for ABC Wednesday subjects as well as architectural details to photograph for a contest sponsored by the Architectural Heritage Center.

I walked along, stopping here and there, looking up at the riches of downtown Portland. When I realized that I could lean against a wall in the doorway of the Hamilton Building, parallel with the street, and focus with my zoom completely out of the way of others on the sidewalk, I settled in for the moment. When I looked through the camera, I got even more excited. Just two days before I had discovered egg-and-dart in the dictionary, complete with an illustration. I looked, thinking, "I've seen this downtown. I just know it." If realized that if I could find some photogenic egg-and-dart, I could, to paraphrase, shoot two projects with one click. Happy at the Hamilton, I took lots of photos, moving from the wall to first one column, then the second one where I zoomed out and discovered the reflection of the last column and the brilliant blue sky in the window.

Of all those photos, I picked these two for ABC Wednesday.

082008_egg_dart_1

082008_egg_dart_2

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the Hamilton Building--The Hamilton Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. It went through a renovation in 1977, and was listed on National Register of Historic Places in March of that year. It is the neighbor of the Dekum Building, a fellow NHRP listing on Third Avenue.

The building, completed in 1893, is an anomaly among its contemporaries. While many buildings built during the late 19th century were often ornate, the Hamilton building has little decoration. It is said that architects Whidden & Lewis designed a ground-breaking building, built decades ahead of later (and similar) trends in commercial architecture. Decoration comes in the form of granite-clad cast iron entry columns and cable mouldings, set against a Japanese-brick facade.

The Hamilton Building is 6 stories tall, and is named after Hamilton Corbett, son of Henry Corbett. It is also the first building in Portland designed in the Classical Revival style.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Lynette, I am working on putting a Photowalk together in the PDX downtown area and was wondering if you have any suggestions or ideas for locations. send me an email if interested. that is also for anyone else that would be interested too.

kc daily photo blog

fkellyc67 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Let me know :-)

PF.

Louis la Vache said...

Almost any architectural post is very interesting to "Louis." It must appeal to his inner Frank Lloyd Wright...

You got another of those interesting reflections, Lynette. Nice shot! ;-)

magiceye said...

that was very interesting and informative! Eggcellent!

Check out my Engine here

brian stout said...

hehehe it is quite eggstraordinary... i love the detail, and really like this reflection photo!

Gemma Wiseman said...

I especially love the shades of subtle colours in the columns! Quite delightful!

George Townboy said...

Great shots, Lynette! Educational too.

Curly said...

Hi from South Shields, nice picture you have here today. I've learned what an egg and dart is!

I need your support, see my latest post at South Shields Daily Photo

Photographers rights in the UK and worldwide are under increasing threat and we need to make a stand now!

Unless something changes dramatically, this will be the last ever post at South Shields Daily Photo.

AphotoAday said...

Well, that's interesting...
I'll be keeping my eyes open for egg and dart architecture...

Anonymous said...

I was surprised to learn that almost all of the fancy stuff is not precast and is, more or less, stuck on. It used to be solid pieces that were hand carved. It is still quite beautiful regardless and this photos shows a lot of it.

I see your decorative moldings comes in iron clad in granite.

Imagine my surprise at what popped-out of my sprinkling can > Dances on Sunshine

Bear Naked said...

Extraordinary Exquisite and Educational.
Perfect choice and photo for the letter E for ABC Wednesday.

Bear((( )))

PJ said...

This is wonderful. I love details on buildings and like to ponder what it took to bring it all about. A great deal of planning, work, and maneuvering I imagine.

Jim Klenke said...

Neat find, its just like the description on wikipedia.

Anonymous said...

Great "E". Love the building.

Leslie: said...

Beautiful shots! I've never heard of that expression before - thanks for the education. Speaking of which, come on over to see my post on Education. Have a great week. :D

photowannabe said...

Wonderful detail and very informative. I learned a new term and will be on the lookout for it now.

Columbo said...

Great shots, I loved the shots of Portland one of my favorite cities. You captured its character. Bravo!

Virginia said...

Too bad we live so far away from each other. I LOVE to photograph the beautiful columns here in Birmingham. That reminds me that I have one I have had on hold for a while. I may need to bring it out. YOurs are lovely and I appreciated the info as well.

Lynette said...

Thanks to everyone! I hope you'll be sure to let me know when you find your own egg-and-dart and post photos.

AVCr8teur said...

Very ornate columns. I didn't know about the special term until now.

Kate said...

How observant you are to see the egg and dart on the building you photographed. Great shots and explanation!

mrsnesbitt said...

I pictured you "darting" for your camera. Yes ABC Wednesday is a time for just that!
Thanks for being part of a great group.