The modern building of this blogs header- St. Michael’s Catholic Church- figuratively shares its appearance with that of an oyster shell. In honor of the closing of another oyster season I’d like to share an architecture & oyster book quote, along with some images from the 2009 National Register Nomination form of the Wiener House located in Jackson- built in 1951.
Courtyard, Wiener House. Jackson Hinds County. Photo by Stephanie Busbea, Owner 2009. from NR Nomination, MDAH HRI accessed 5-5-2014
Modern architecture is like the first oyster to appear on a menu– think what a hard time it had getting recognized and look where it is now…. If you “just don’t like” modern houses, don’t let it go at that. Drop in and visit some; they’ll excite you anyway…. Perhaps you think they’re cold, forbidding, hard to live in. But if you like a house with definitely graceful proportions, restfully unbroken surfaces and a delightful play of light and shade, study a house like this one…. Next, venture inside. Perhaps you didn’t realize that modern houses are like this. They let you live sheltered and cozy, in the midst of the out-of-doors…. A living room wall is glass right down to lawn level; you can watch the pageant of trees and flowers in the march of their seasonal changes. From your dining room window you see the whole western sky aflame at sunset. You look out your bedroom on a drama of morning birds…. It’s odd, certainly, but so is any trip to wonderland. Drawn curtains make a modern house almost like any other; but in a modern house you generally don’t draw them.
– from Designs for 60 Small Homes From $2,000 to $10,000 By Samuel Glaser, Architect 1939
Living Room, Wiener House. Jackson Hinds County. Photo by Stephanie Busbea, Owner 2009. from NR Nomination, MDAH HRI accessed 5-5-2014
When out of season, an oyster can leave a bad taste in your mouth but with the right chef and recipe everyone can always find an oyster they’ll enjoy.
Categories: Books, Historic Preservation, Jackson, Modernism
Preservation in Mississippi 
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