User:Akrosley/sandbox

= Article Evaluation (Xanadu Houses): =


 * most information is relevant to the houses; doesn't completely focus on only one point of view (although a lot of information comes from a bias source)
 * could use more information on "Concerns over energy consumption"
 * Sources of information is mostly from the book Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow and How It Can Be Yours Today! by Roy Mason, Lane Jennings, and Robert Evans and
 * Roy Mason was the architect that designed the second Xanadu house in
 * The book includes an interview by Bob Masters who was the creator of the houses
 * Seems biased since a lot of the information comes a book that is clearly in favor of the Xanadu Houses
 * Article also barely talks about the negative side, which would be the concerns over energy consumption
 * The "concerns over energy consumption" is definitely under presented
 * Talks more about the popularity of the houses than the demise of the houses
 * Links seem to work for citations
 * Sources support the claims although most of the citations come from the same source/book
 * most of the sources were published before 2005 since that's when the last of the houses were demolished
 * most facts are referenced, some paragraphs don't seem to have enough sources for the amount of information
 * not all neutral sources, most used source was a book by the creator/architects of the houses
 * bias was not noted by article author
 * Not many people on the talk page seem to be talking about the credibility of the sources and that it mostly comes from a bias source
 * Part of a few WikiProjects
 * Rated C-Class, low-importance, and mid-importance

= Article Selection: =

Trezzo sull'Adda Castle

 * Trezzo sull'Adda Castle
 * Evaluation:
 * Needs better citations
 * Does not include very much information for a building that has been around for centuries
 * Better and more reliable sources
 * Sources:
 * http://www.milanoneicantieridellarte.it/interventi/400-500/visconti-castle-in-trezzo-sull-adda-mi
 * http://www.pianuradascoprire.it/en/culture/the-visconti-castle-at-trezzo-sull-adda-185
 * https://www.yamgu.com/en/place/22919/castle-of-trezzo-sulladda-trezzo-sulladda/
 * https://www.eccolecco.it/en/towns-lombardy/trezzo-adda/
 * http://www.comune.trezzosulladda.mi.it/files/pagesData/documenti/Cultura/castellointerno.pdf

Ballynahinch Castle

 * Ballynahinch Castle
 * Evaluation:
 * Lists six sources, but article does not seem to carry very much information
 * Article does not go into much detail about the building's history; talks more about the present state it's in
 * Owned by several families before it became a hotel
 * Sources:
 * https://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/
 * https://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/en/about-us/history
 * https://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/en/about-us/history/historical-reports
 * https://www.celticcastles.com/castles/ballynahinch/history.aspx
 * http://www.britainirelandcastles.com/Ireland/County-Galway/Ballynahinch-Castle.html

Mecca Flats

 * Mecca Flats
 * Evaluation:
 * Article does not go into cultural importance of Mecca Flats
 * Could be more information on how important the building was to the residents
 * Could use more information of actual design of the building
 * Sources:
 * https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/MeccaFlat.html
 * https://archpaper.com/2018/07/mecca-flats-chicago-crown-hall/
 * https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/iit-campus
 * https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uchicago.edu/dist/3/1229/files/2018/07/Bluestone_Mecca-Flat-Blues_0-1sm39gp.pdf
 * https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/search/#query=mecca+flats&lnd=1
 * http://buildinghistory.iit.edu/buildings/mecca
 * https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/3095/to-build-a-modern-campus-ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe-and-the-illinois-institute-of-technology-1939-1948
 * https://www.lakeforest.edu/live/news/9673-rebecca-graff-contributes-to-archaeological-work
 * https://preservationchicago.org/newsletter_posts/mecca-flats-artifacts-discovered-during-excavation-work-shared-history-the-mecca-flat-revealed-at-iit-architecture-s-r-crown-hall-tuesday-august-7-1230-pm/
 * https://www.cnn.com/style/article/america-lost-buildings/index.html
 * https://arch.iit.edu/life/mecca

Fulbourn Manor

 * Fulbourn Manor
 * Evaluation:
 * Cites three sources but only have three sentences of information
 * Article could use a better description of the building and it's architecture
 * Maybe add or connect to information on the other four Manors of Fulbourn
 * History of building and residents should be more detailed
 * Sources:
 * http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/4107/summary
 * https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol10/pp136-143
 * http://www.academia.edu/2297554/Fulbourn_Manor_Estate_An_Archaeological_Survey

= Mecca Flats: =

Information from https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/MeccaFlat.html

 * Mecca Flat Blues exhibit in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery
 * illustrates the two different identities of the building
 * Originally seen as a building for the rich
 * given this reputation since it was used as a hotel during the 1893 World's Fair
 * apartments were large
 * not entirely an accurate as a description of the class status that lived here
 * residents were generally middle-class
 * 1912: building transitioned from all Caucasian residents to African American residents
 * still housed middle-class professionals like hotel clerks and Pullman Porters
 * Building's design:
 * skylight interior court and ornately-designed railings
 * distinctive, but also contributed to the buildings reputation of having no secrets
 * behavior of the residents were less than pious (listen to song Mecca Flat Blues by Jimmy Blithe
 * In the Mecca by Gwendolyn Brooks
 * Brooks went to work for one of the residents, she delivered goods door-to-door
 * She became familiar with all of the residents and got to know them in her line of duty
 * Mecca Flats stood in the way of the expansion of the Illinois Institute of Technology
 * residents fought to keep their building
 * residents lost the battle when the building fell into disrepair in 1951
 * Mecca Flats was replaced by Mies Van der Rohe's Crown Hall
 * some believe that the replacement building will never live up to the original beloved building
 * Many photos available at this source

Information from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/41328621.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A72f6717c6da213aad03d37641bea286a

 * The Death and Life of a Chicago Edifice: Gwendolyn Brooks's "In the Mecca"
 * urban planner's response to "urban decline" of American cities:
 * mid-20th century planners proposed the "urban renewal" that erased entire neighborhoods, deepened residential segregation, urban poverty, and racism
 * Brooks talks about effects of urban design/discourses on the residents of the Mecca in the period of its decline
 * The Mecca was at one point an imposing gem of modernist architecture
 * Deteriorated during the Great Depression
 * Torn down in 1952
 * Brooks's writes about the grim times of the Mecca building during a time where the building served as a tenement for poor, mostly black resident
 * Sensational reports would hide the real causes of urban decline, which include residential segregation and design that destroys the public aspect of public places

Information from http://buildinghistory.iit.edu/buildings/mecca

 * bulding is also known as the Mecca Apartments
 * by Edbrooke & Burnham
 * built in 1891 and demolished in 1952
 * 3360 South State Street
 * originally constructed as a hotel for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893
 * 96-unit building became an apartment building after the fair
 * Building was acquired by Illinois Tech around 1941
 * building was demolished in 1952 to allow for construction of S.R. Crown Hall

Information from https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/3095/to-build-a-modern-campus-ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe-and-the-illinois-institute-of-technology-1939-1948

 * To Build a Modern Campus: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the Illinois Institute of Technology, 1939-1948
 * construction of IIT building came with a cost:
 * displaced many residents in the surrounding neighborhood
 * among the demolished buildings was the Mecca
 * the Mecca was a large apartment complex made famous by local jazz musicians
 * building was torn down to make way for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's masterwork, Crown Hall
 * important to understand the legacy of the project to include stories of social struggle and cultural erasure

Information from https://archpaper.com/2018/07/mecca-flats-chicago-crown-hall/

 * Historic Mecca Flats apartment building unearthed in Chicago
 * Crown Hall stands on the site of the former Mecca Flats (a storied residential building that once stood at the intersection of 34th and State streets)
 * When workers were digging a trench for a pipe on west side of building, they uncovered the tiled floor of the basement of the Mecca Flats
 * revealed the building's design in bright and vivid colors
 * At the time Mecca Flats was being used to house visitors of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893:
 * State Street was a line of racial division with white residents to the east and African American residents to the west
 * Mecca building's location is west of State Street, which made it difficult to attract upper middle-class white tenants as it was originally intended to do
 * In 1911, the owners of the building retracted their all-white tenant policy
 * Because of this, the building quickly became populated by African American tenants who were excited to rent sizable apartments in a relatively new and well-designed building
 * The building's innovative design includes a pair of quadruple-height skylit interior courts surrounded by stacked open corridors with ornately-detailed iron guardrails
 * The entertainment strip on State Street became known as "the Stroll"
 * by the 1920s it had become a destination popular to African Americans and had many jazz clubs and cabarets
 * The open interior contributed to an atmosphere of irrelevant social drama in which residents could observe each other's comings and goings
 * Inspired musician Jimmy Blythe to write "Mecca Flats Blues" in 1924
 * IIT spent 15 years fighting with residents and housing advocates that opposed the university's plan to demolish the structure
 * Knowledge about design of Mecca Flats is relatively limited because the building only survived in black and white photography
 * Newly discovered tile reveals new information about the vibrancy of the building's color
 * Basement tile matches the same pattern as the court flooring
 * Warm orangey-brown exterior facing brick was also discovered in the dig
 * These recent discoveries is also an important test case for the emerging field of urban archeology
 * The university is pursuing a recommendation to document the conditions as found, and to remove, reassemble, and preserve the tile
 * These artifacts were available for viewing at a program called "Shared History: The Mecca Flat Revealed at IIT Architecture"

=== Information from https://preservationchicago.org/newsletter_posts/mecca-flats-artifacts-discovered-during-excavation-work-shared-history-the-mecca-flat-revealed-at-iit-architecture-s-r-crown-hall-tuesday-august-7-1230-pm/ ===


 * Effort to save the Mecca Flats was one of the earliest examples of a Chicago community preservation effort to save an important historic building from demolition
 * Possibly one of the first community efforts to oppose what is now called "Urban Renewal"
 * Preservation effort lasted from 1937 to 1952 (15 years)
 * Mecca Flats was replaced by a legendary modernist masterpiece by Mies Van der Rohe: S.R. Crown Hall at IIT
 * Tile from Mecca Flats found at Crown Hall
 * The bright and vibrant colors of the patterned floor tile include blues, oranges, and browns
 * This adds to the information known about the historic building's color palette
 * Work on Crown Hall was suspended so that a team of local historians and urban archaeologists could uncover and excavate a significant portion of the remnants
 * These artifacts will be preserved and a selection will be installed on site at the Graham Resource Center (an architectural library) in a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Mecca Flat

Information from https://www.cnn.com/style/article/america-lost-buildings/index.html

 * Remembering America's Lost Buildings
 * A mecca for black Chicago
 * The Illinois Legislature passed a bill to preserve Mecca Flat in 1943
 * Mecca flat was designed in 1891 and it captured the public's imagination
 * It was Chicago's first residential building with a landscaped courtyard open to the street, a design that fused two seemingly incompatible ideals:
 * to build densely while preserving and cultivating the natural landscape
 * In the late 19th century, Chicago tenement reformers demanded more light and fresh air for the city's apartments
 * Wanted small parks and playgrounds in the neighborhoods
 * The Mecca's innovative design fulfilled these progressive concerns
 * Mecca's design
 * Mecca building complex had two atria with skylights that filled the interior with light
 * Residents accessed their apartments through open galleries that encircled the atria
 * Railings that featured foliated ironwork
 * The form of a courtyard within an apartment complex inspired a hugely popular Chicago vernacular tradition
 * In the early 20th century: the Mecca was enveloped by the South Side's expanding Black Belt
 * Between 1912 and 1913, the complex's occupancy changed from overwhelmingly white to completely African-American
 * The massing of black residents in the building inspired residents and artists to view the building as a symbol of black Chicago
 * By 1930s: officials at the adjacent Armour Institute (later IIT) became concerned about their ability to attract students/faculty to a campus located in the heart of the black community
 * They bought the Mecca in 1938
 * Planned to demolish building to create a buffer between "town and gown"
 * Illinois Governor Dwight Green vetoed the legislation that would have preserved the Mecca
 * In 1952, the courts allowed the demolition of an architectural and cultural icon to proceed
 * Replace by Crown Hall, now home to IIT's architecture school