42° 20' 0.24" N -83° 03' 6.12" W (Book & Hudson)
I was reading about the Book Tower architect, Louis Kamper, and discovered that this was his first major commercial design. It’s why the insane looking fire escape on the other side is there - Because he forgot to add one in the initial plans. When it was finished, there were a lot of people who absolutely HATED it, but today it’s considered a masterpiece.
I love the slightly fabricated fact that they just gave Kamper the contract with no experience building something this large. I imagine the investors asking, “You ever built a skyscraper?”, and Kamper just said, “I actually specialize in making those cool doghouses that’re small-scale replicas of the house. You know the one’s I’m talking about? I even shingle the roof and stuff and…”
(He pauses as they stare blankly at him)
“…to answer your question, no. But I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to figure out, right?” And it somehow worked.
Shipping and Taxes included in price
I was reading about the Book Tower architect, Louis Kamper, and discovered that this was his first major commercial design. It’s why the insane looking fire escape on the other side is there - Because he forgot to add one in the initial plans. When it was finished, there were a lot of people who absolutely HATED it, but today it’s considered a masterpiece.
I love the slightly fabricated fact that they just gave Kamper the contract with no experience building something this large. I imagine the investors asking, “You ever built a skyscraper?”, and Kamper just said, “I actually specialize in making those cool doghouses that’re small-scale replicas of the house. You know the one’s I’m talking about? I even shingle the roof and stuff and…”
(He pauses as they stare blankly at him)
“…to answer your question, no. But I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to figure out, right?” And it somehow worked.
Shipping and Taxes included in price
I was reading about the Book Tower architect, Louis Kamper, and discovered that this was his first major commercial design. It’s why the insane looking fire escape on the other side is there - Because he forgot to add one in the initial plans. When it was finished, there were a lot of people who absolutely HATED it, but today it’s considered a masterpiece.
I love the slightly fabricated fact that they just gave Kamper the contract with no experience building something this large. I imagine the investors asking, “You ever built a skyscraper?”, and Kamper just said, “I actually specialize in making those cool doghouses that’re small-scale replicas of the house. You know the one’s I’m talking about? I even shingle the roof and stuff and…”
(He pauses as they stare blankly at him)
“…to answer your question, no. But I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to figure out, right?” And it somehow worked.
Shipping and Taxes included in price
…did you keep scrolling down? Good - because I have more thoughts on the Book Tower: People HATED this thing. History’s funny because we’re so different than people back then and yet, so much the same in weird, caveman ways. We’re different in the fact that we let different ethnicities play in the MLB. Lotta “Sparkys” lost their job at first base that day. We’re the same in which this Louis Kamper guy built an insane, 38-story, Italian Renaissance beauty and immediately a group of dorks came crawling out of the bushes to let everyone know they thought it sucked.
With all that said, the building in the background is the new (depending on when you’re reading this) Hudson Site being built. Even if a picture is taken at the exact same angle, the skyline will never look the same as it did this specific day. It’s a true one/one.
Want to see where your print was taken? View the video below:
