At this time of year, everyone's thinking, "Out with the old, in with the new." Yet there's a growing appreciation for the not-so-old, and even a taste for what came before — specifically, the Cold War cool fashions and interior furnishings of the "Mad Men" era.
Esteem for the style of Midcentury Modern — the period between the 1930s and 1970s — is spreading to its architecture, an expression of postwar optimism and Space Age imagination, and its leading designers, many of whom were trained or practiced their art in Pennsylvania.
The commonwealth contains buildings by the giants of the period. Louis Kahn left his mark in revolutionary housing projects and individual homes around the state and on the University of Pennsylvania campus where he taught. Frank Lloyd Wright's signature can be found on both sides of Pennsylvania, from the gravity-defying house called Fallingwater near Pittsburgh to the majestic Beth Sholom in Elkins Park, the only synagogue he designed. Buildings by internationally renowned architects and firms such as Oscar Stonorov and Mitchell/Giurgola and other, less known but visionary architects are found throughout Pennsylvania, where they developed a modern style that was boldly American.
In recent decades, many of the Midcentury Modern buildings have been razed for a variety of reasons. There was more concern for structures from earlier American history, there was little appreciation for Midcentury facades, and the buildings themselves were victims of experimental materials and construction techniques.
Efforts are underway to reverse that trend, globally and locally.
Read the full version of this report at Keystone Crossroads' website. Keystone Crossroads is a new statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.