Two Houses on Dunn Road, Florissant

Saved from demolition twice now, the John B. Myers House, sits just north of the intersection of interstates of 270 and 170, though it once lay along a quiet stretch of Dunn Road (now a glorified frontage road). Constructed in 1878, it is often described as Classical Revival, but I should point out that it…

Painting on Stone at the Saint Louis Art Museum

I hope readers can make it out to a fascinating new exhibit at the Saint Louis Art Museum curated by Judy Mann, curator of European Art to 1800 and Research Assistant Andrea Miller, entitled Painting on Stone: Science and the Sacred, 1530-1800. While we usually think of painting as an art form created on canvas…

Domes in the Day and Night

These are some grainy old iPhone photos of two of my favorite buildings in the world that I took back in 2018, the Pantheon in Rome, and the Duomo of Florence. I’ve been thinking about traveling a lot lately, and wondering when I be able to get back to Europe. Both were revolutionary in their…

Rusticated Stone

The former Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, built and dedicated between 141-161 AD provides an excellent example of how Western Civilization has responded to its ancient past. After falling into disrepair, it was converted into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda, strangely occupying the center cella of the old temple. But at one time,…

Soulard Market

The architecture of Renaissance Florence inspired architects throughout the city of St. Louis. Above is the Loggia dei Lanzi on the main piazza of the city of Florence. As you can see below, this building, as well as the Ospedale degli Innocenti by Filippo Brunelleschi, inspired Soulard Market’s design. Using the repeated arched arcade, Soulard…

Santa Maria Novella Train Station, Florence, Italy

Update: See another train station built in Cincinnati around the same time. Florence is so famous for its Renaissance culture, that one forgets that it has a great train station, welcoming travelers into the city. It’s so not like Renaissance architecture, it provides a little bit of a respite from the oppressive ubiquity of Albertian…

Florence Cathedral

Update: See some more pictures of the Duomo and the Pantheon here. Sigh, Florence’s cathedral is so much more awesomer than St. Louis’s Cathedral. But I guess not everyone can have a dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Florentine Details

Palazzo Medici Riccardi Giorgio Vasari, Room of the Five Hundred, Palazzo Vecchio Michelangelo, Pieta Florence Cathedral Pontormo, Lamentation