What's Baroque in Houston?

[editor]

I got this question on the HAIF Facebook page the other day:

Are there any Baroque Architecture and/or elements in Houston, Texas??

Any thoughts? The only thing I could come up with off the top of my head was the Gotham Lofts.

[Specwriter]

I got this question on the HAIF Facebook page the other day:

Any thoughts? The only thing I could come up with off the top of my head was the Gotham Lofts.

Would not a building called Gothic Lofts be "Gothic?" Realistically, besides the medieval churches of Europe, when I think of Gothic and buildings I think of Gotham, i.e. New York City and its Art Deco and Moderne buildings like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

The Gothic Lofts are a great example of the style Randall Davis Fugly. Honestly, he does great when developing and renovating an existing building like the Rice Hotel but most of his new construction projects are bizarre IMO. The Gothic Lofts are more properly an example of Post Modern Classical architecture. It is Post Modern because no classical architect would have placed Doric pilasters above Corinthian columns. The orders, in ascending order (theoretically and physically) are Doric, Ionic, then Corinthian. It is a composition of classical elements not necessarily arranged as they would have been in the times of the Greeks or Romans.

The attached image is of the front of St. Michael's Church in Leuven, Belgium. This is Baroque at its best and I do not know of a similar example (exterior, anyway) in Houston.

[Highway6]

I wonder if the person who asked this question realizes America, and certainly Houston, didn't exist during the Baroque period.

I wouldn't necessarily consider it baroque, but the first thing that pops out to me at least being faux classical is the statue in the Med Center on Holcomb that looks like it could have come out of any fountain in Italy.

Going out on a very long limb here.... but arguably, the Astrodome could be considered the closest thing we have to Baroque-inspired if you consider that domes were such a key architectural element during classical architectural periods (admittedly, more the Renaissance than Baroque) and that the Astrodome, when built, was by far the largest dome in the world ( almost twice as big as the previous record holder ) and it held this title for a decade.

Very long limb.. I warned ya.

[Specwriter]

Very long limb.. I warned ya.

It is a long limb indeed. Baroque architecture is not only about domes. The Pantheon in Rome (ca. 1st cent. A.D.) had a dome.

Wikipedia (can't believe I am quoting it but . . .) defines the building style of the Baroque era, as "the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture used in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and the absolutist state. It was characterized by new explorations of form, light, and shadow and dramatic intensity.Whereas the Renaissance drew on the wealth and power of the Italian courts and was a blend of secular and religious forces, the Baroque was, initially at least, directly linked to the Counter-Reformation, a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself in response to the Protestant Reformation.^[2] Baroque architecture and its embellishments were on the one hand more accessible to the emotions and on the other hand, a visible statement of the wealth and power of the Church."

For a quick comparison of Baroque with Renaissance architecture compare the attached image of St. Paul's Cathedral (in London and also with a dome) with St. Michael's in my previous post. A picture is worth a thousand words (at least). A great text book on all of architectural history is Spiro Kostof's A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals, New York Oxford, 1985.

Edit: Please grant me a thousand pardons: St. Paul's is actually a neo-classical building. The present building was built in the 18th century so it actually post-dates the Baroque period. Even so, the arrangement of its architectural elements is a good example of classical renaissance form. To see true Renaissance architecture look at the work of Anrea Palladio for example. My favorite for its purity of form is his Villa Capra "La Rotunda" in Vincenza.

[Highway6]

It is a long limb indeed. Baroque architecture is not only about domes.

I never implied that they only were and did everything I could to indicate the stretch I was making.

And i did say that they were a key element of "classical" architectural periods, going more broad than just Baroque. I'm fully aware that one element of a style does not a style make but I chose to focus on the one element of the style (and the broader "classical") that happened to tie into a very significant part of Houston's architectural history because it's the closest link to anything classical we have.

Your "quick comparison" seems to imply that domes were out of style and no longer used in the Baroque period, and that simply is wrong.

Please don't wiki-lecture me again.

[Specwriter]

Your "quick comparison" seems to imply that domes were out of style and no longer used in the Baroque period, and that simply is wrong.

Please don't wiki-lecture me again.

Highway, first I apologize as I never intended to lecture anyone. I think I just misunderstood because I focused too much on the details of the Astrodome's dome. Second, I hope by my parenthetical comment, people realize that I too know to take Wikipedia with a grain of salt although, in this case, the explanation what what the Baroque period and its art and architecture was is accurate. Third, you are correct that domes very much play a part in Baroque architecture. In fact, they we more elaborate than ever before. A stunning example is the dome of the Church of the Invalides in Paris. Notice the exuberant detail compared to the domes of Renaissance or neo-classical structures.

No hard feelings?

[Highway6]

No hard feelings?

I was going very very broad since the answer to Editor's question really is simply "Nothing".

No hard feelings amigo... Just didn't want you to think you were the only haifer with an architecture degree. I apologize for getting attitude.

[Specwriter]

I need to let this subject go and eat my lunch. Back to the original question, the most probable place to find examples of "Baroque" architecture in the AREA (somewhat broader than Houston or its surrounding counties) would be in the alters of Spanish colonial churches. There might be some still in south Texas and definitely in Mexico if one dares to travel there right now.

The Spanish Baroque style, also known as Churrigueresque, empolyed elaborate sculptural ornament usually redered in stucco on churches in Spain in the late 17th century. It followed those who came from Spain and Portugal to the Americas and is marked by extreme, expressive decorative detailing, normally found above the entrance on the main facade of a building and also on the reredos and alters of the churchs' interiors.

[Specwriter]

I was going very very broad since the answer to Editor's question really is simply "Nothing".

No hard feelings amigo... Just didn't want you to think you were the only haifer with an architecture degree. I apologize for getting attitude.

I shouldn't be so quick to try to show how "smart" I am and I should read more carefully.

Yes, I would be surprised to find anything truly Baroque or "neo-Baroque" in Houston. As you see my last post suggests turning toward Mexico as the nearest source. On the other hand, if its exuberant decoration one wants to see we shouldn't have to travel farther than the southwest side of town which has some wonderful examples of Asian and Middle Eastern decorative art if not architecture.

[IronTiger]

Baroque architecture went out of fashion in the mid 18th century, so obviously, anything here is just baroque-inspired (that couldn't be said about art deco, for example)

Must...resist...lame...pun...

[ricco67]

Baroque architecture went out of fashion in the mid 18th century, so obviously, anything here is just baroque-inspired (that couldn't be said about art deco, for example)

Must...resist...lame...pun...

Like, "Just because its baroque, you shouldn't fix it?"

I've been resisting since the topic came up.

[Specwriter]

Like, "Just because its baroque, you shouldn't fix it?"

I've been resisting since the topic came up.

Probably one of the most difficult puns to avoid! It just begs to be repeated.

Iron tiger is right: Any imitation of the architecture of a bygone period usually has (and should have) the prefix "neo-"

Art Deco in Houston? Definitely! A wonderful recently published book on the topic is Houston Deco: Architecture of the Texas Coast by Jim Parsons and David Bush. I'm sure it is available at local chain bookstore but also at the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance bookstore and the AIA offices.

[dbigtex56]

I got this question on the HAIF Facebook page the other day

I look forward to inquiries as to where George Washington may have slept in Houston.

[marmer]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Baroque restaurant at 1700 Sunset. It's gone now, probably redeveloped, but in the 2000's there was a restaurant next to, I think, a small apartment complex on the north side of Sunset just west of Cherokee. It was called "Baroque" and the building was decorated with stuck-on neo-Baroque detail, as was the interior. I believe they were trying to be an upscale European restaurant but didn't have enough to differentiate them from all the other ones. They closed and their contents (chandeliers, fixtures, etc.) were auctioned in January 2007.