Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Harold Washington Library - III [Roof ornamentation]




Harold Washington Library..
Address: 400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605 ..
Completed: 1991
Architect: Thomas Beeby of Hammond, Beeby and Babka Inc..
Continued from the above post, click here..

This post is about the roof ornamentation..
In 1993, seven ornaments were added to the roof, by the Kent Bloomer Studio. These were designed by Ray Kaskey, a former student of Bloomer's.
- Barn owls perched at the four corners of the building..
- The Great Horned Owl were placed in the centers of the State, Congress and Van Buren sides of the building..
The bird owl is associated with Minerva, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom and learning..The owls in turn are surrounded by a fantastical environment of swirling seedpods, feathered helixes, and Greek palmettes.








For more on .. [click on the link]
# Harold Washington Library..
# Harold Washington Library: Architectural sculptures.
# Harold Washington Library: Roof ornamentation
# Harold Washington Library: Atrium

1 comment:

Kermit Lukacs said...

So many owls... Well, they look quite nice on that roof so there's nothing bad about it. They're kinda like gargoyles, though less ominous. They're good ornaments. They emphasize the roof around them, which makes the whole building look good.