I took a summer art class in this building at age 12. I don't have too many other memories of it, but like the village's cathedral and the St Paul's School for boys, this, the St Mary's School for girls, was built in 1879. Amazing that its demolition about 25 years ago was tolerated. This drawing is a copy of an undated archive photo. It looked to me from the early 1900's, but there's a column of fire escape stairs on the facade on the right, which makes me think that it was taken after New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.
The pioneering Olive Tjaden. /
My newest commission is for a house designed by Olive Tjaden, who graduated from the Cornell Architecture College in 1925, at the age of 19. She was the first woman member of the American Institute of Architects, and designed 400 houses in Garden City alone. This is Tjaden Hall at Cornell, its art building, a place where I spent a couple thousand hours, I guess, and home to her archives.
A Tragic Mistake /
The 1901 Garden City Hotel building demolished in 1973. Such principles and taste were not to emerge when the new hotel was finished, 10 years later. What a loss for the town that this far superior, historical building was not preserved. I did a small drawing from an photo in the village archives showing the front entrance in the heyday.
50 Years Apart /
Earlier this year, when my project was already underway, I came upon the woodcuts of an old time Long Island artist with the incredible name of W. Oakley Cagney. Just as I'm doing, he did a large series of LI buildings and homes, in the 1950s and 60s mostly. Like me, he used the cathedral in Garden City as a subject. Here's his version of that and a sketch of mine.
Nicely textured wall. /
One corner of a series of beautiful attached houses and gardens on Franklin Court, Garden City. Very bright light-- it was the height of summer. In my current show.
Biggie. /
414 Stewart Ave, from around 1920. The total resemblance to English manors is okay by me-- it serves the trees very well. That this is a home and not a hotel is mind boggling.
132 Tullamore Road /
I had to fit this one more image into my series, very last minute, to feel satisfied that I'd done justice to the theme of "interesting Garden City buildings". This is one of the most interesting buildings to me, my Grandparents' house from the early 1940's until about 12 years ago or so. The rooms invoked the 1950's and the Victorian age. I still have all kinds of dreams about it, including discovering doors leading to other floors and even entire connected houses. The photo I copied for this drawing is from my Grandparents' Christmas card in 1974, with snow melting on the roof in the early morning sunlight.
