Bronze Door, World War I Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri

Apex, World War I Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri

I never realized before, but there are four sculptures at the top of the monument, each facing a different direction. They're all identical, more or less, despite my thinking that they weren't from the ground.

World War I Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri

Designed by Harold Van Buren Magonigle, the Liberty Memorial, or more commonly referred to as the World War I Memorial, towers over southern Kansas City. It is fascinating in its design, as I am not readily able to identify any architectural archetypes upon which it is based.

A sleek, slender shaft of limestone juts up out of a simple plaza of the same stone, and then is topped with a large oblong globe.

Described by one source as being Egyptian Revival, I fail to see any strong connections to that style other than in the fluting on the shaft of the memorial.

The surrounding structures, which once held museums dedicated to the war, are in fact in a severe Egyptian Revival style.

Shrouded sphinxes flank either side of the approach to the main monument.

Louis Sullivan Mausolea in St. Louis and Chicago

I've looked at Louis Sullivan's masterpiece, the Wainwright Tomb in Bellefontaine Cemetery in the past, but a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the other two mausolea designed by the great architect in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery.

The first one, the Ryerson Mausoleum is relatively conservative, though even in the Egyptian Revival structure there are traces of Sullivan's innovation, first with the use of black granite and also with the overall proportions, making the tomb stand out from its surroundings.

The Getty Mausoleum is more stereotypically Sullivanesque, with its ornate and anti-classical metalwork and stonework.

Read more about the two mausolea here, at the Graceland Cemetery website.

The contrast between Sullivan's tombs, and their Neo-Classical, Beaux-Arts neighbors demonstrates just how innovative he was when most architecture still looked to the past for inspiration.

Cotton Belt Depot #3: Inside

The interior of the Cotton Belt is sparse, but not without its uses. The owner recently gave permission for an art happening to occur within its confines, to great success.

Cotton Belt Depot #2: Sunset

I realized when I came back later in the day and photographed the Cotton Belt at sunset, that what appears to be a very simple, unornamented building is actually a very complex, and richly decorated building, if you look in the right places.First of all, the gentle curve at the top of the parapet wall is clearly reminiscent of Egyptian architecture, as subtle as it is.The most exciting part, however, is the elaborate Beaux-Arts decoration around the office portion of the building.The terracotta sign, identifying the building, is a beautiful shade of green, only partially ruined by a graffitist.The door is a true gem, looking as splendid as the door to any bank built about the same time.Above the doorway is another shield, ornamented with the bounty brought into the depot.The small detail of the bay window, presumably for the foreman's office, is a nice touch, and one not immediately noticeable from up close.The bricks of the loading yards are still there, slowly being choked by weeds, some of which are actually quite beautiful. When I was there, wildflowers of all different colors had sprouted throughout the depot yards.Tomorrow, we will go inside the slender building and look at its interior.Here is the location from satellite images.

Cairo Apartments

The tallest apartment building in DC, the Cairo Building, is also over one hundred years old. Why is the tallest building in DC so old? Because shortly after its construction, officials became alarmed that the monumental core of the city would be dwarfed by skyscrapers, perhaps evening taller than the Washington Monument. The city passed a series of regulations determining the heights of buildings, which still stands to this day. Read about it here.