> Many many years ago I was spending time with a few well-to-do Cornell
> students, upclass in a way, and we were climbing around in the Johnson
> art museum on the campus at night while it was under construction -- as
> a dare.
Midnight architects, indeed.
When I was a (not rich towney) student at Cornell Arch., Sarrinen's TWA
terminal was under construction and I desperately wanted to see how they did
the form work for the curves. So, I would secretly leave after Friday
classes, telling my folks I was going to study late in the drafting rooms,
and get to NYC and the airport around midnight. The first time I went, I
just had a plan to sleep in my car and take a look over the construction
fence on Saturday. However, at 1:00 am, with time on my hands, I took a
walk to look at the concrete Mecca and pay reverence in the moonlight.
There appeared a little gap in the yard gate, so I snuck in and climbed all
over the scaffolding until daybreak, making sketches of how the forms were
built. At 6 am I thought I had better clear out, so headed for the gate,
only to meet, on his way in, a very large watchman of the other racial
persuasion. My little heart did a big flip flop and then I just pretended
everything was normal and said "Goodmorning!" before he spoke. With my
notebook under my arm, he thought I was a architect so asked me into his
little shack for a cup of coffee and questions about how his son could
become an architect. I went back several other weekends for the same spy
mission, and each Saturday morning from then on he gave me a friendly wave
as I walked out.
cp in bc
--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
|