This Man Will Not be Throwing Stones

After researching the post about the new Kimber Modern hotel in Austin, I got curious about architect Burton Baldridge’s other work. Turns out he caused a stir in a one of Austin’s historic bungalow neighborhoods when he built this amazing glass house (below) for himself.

Looking at Architecture in a New Light (or Dark)

Never did the promise of modernism seem so shiny and new as when it was just that (before the roofs leaked and heating those glass boxes got so darn expensive). But before the fall, in 1929, two partners set out to photograph the new modern world like it had never been captured before. Art Deco, the World’s Fair of 1933, Frank Lloyd Wright — they were there for it all. Their shot of Wright’s “Falling Water” is said to have given it that name, see for yourself below. The firm of Hedrich Blessing documented the modernist movement and have one of the largest catalogues of Mies van der Rohe’s work. Although their dramatic angles and lighting did more than document. They brought the buildings to life. Ken Hedrich’s mantra was, “Don’t make photographs, think them.” I’d say he felt them, too. Here’s some of the firm’s legendary work:

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water photographed by Bill Hedrich, 1937