Category Archives: Beloved Buildings

A Preservationist’s View of the Ocean House

June 10, 2010 – 4:24 pm

The Ocean House, constructed in stages between 1867 and the early 20th century, was a key landmark in the Watch Hill Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was one of seven resort hotels plus guesthouses and private cottages that made Watch Hill a popular and premier summer destination [...]

By Guest Contributor | Also posted in Preservation | Comments (0)

Enduring Perfection in Norfolk, CT

May 18, 2010 – 1:52 pm

Norfolk is a small village in the rural northwest corner of Connecticut, the setting for a classy summer music program sponsored by Yale University.  The other day while driving through, I stopped to admire the town’s library, a fine old structure that really catches your eye from the road. The building expresses the essence of [...]

By Chad Floyd | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Our Once and Future Future

January 25, 2010 – 11:03 am

It is time for architects to think about the future; I mean REALLY think about the future, not try to “look like the future,” or contemplate next week, but consider the way-out-there tomorrows, say 30, 50, or 100 years ahead.  And not what it will be like, but what it SHOULD be like.  In this [...]

By Mark Simon | Also posted in The Future | Tagged | Comments (1)

Ocean House, To Save It We Had to Destroy It

January 8, 2010 – 10:53 am

More than half a dozen grand hotels once graced the Watch Hill peninsula on the western shore of Rhode Island, but a decade ago only one remained, Ocean House, an aging and ailing wooden behemoth whose top floors had been condemned for years.  Odds were increasing that this iconic landmark, its era long past, would [...]

By Jefferson Riley | Also posted in Preservation | Tagged | Comments (3)

Designing for the Long Haul

November 16, 2009 – 3:30 pm

We all have seen “modern” buildings that were passé before their time, designs whose “stylin’ shock and awe” faded so fast that they barely survived the ribbon-cutting. In some instances, the urge for progress has led to the destruction of perfectly serviceable buildings. In New York, they tore down Yankee and Shea stadiums, while in [...]

By Mark Simon | Also posted in Sustainable Design | Tagged , , | Comments (0)