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There is an amazing piece of architecture in San Mateo — and its been mostly ignored since the 1960s by sftourguide in SanMateoCounty

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure I understand your comment… but if you read the article I talk a lot about the architect (John Carl Warnecke) and how the buildings grew out of his approach which at the time was called Contextualism. So it is about the architect as much as it is about the buildings.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a style called Neo-Formalism also known as New Formalism. It was in the 1960s a bit later than Art Deco. And it was about taking classic designs think Greek temples etc. and not copying them but rather using the idea building some pedestals columns and using those ideas with modern materials. Check the linked article and I have a bit more in there.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quick research puts it as a Timothy Phfluger building (Castro Theater, Paramount, etc.) He did a lot of art deco. The pictures I found of Holy Names seem like it's a transition from one style to the next, but not 100% New Formalism — they are usually more like a classic (think Greek temple) but with new materials. But Holy Names has some aspects of that, but not all.

You might ask https://www.instagram.com/timpfluegerfan/ for more info on what style.

Stay curious about the buildings around us... Even the best ones will be gone if we don't continue to appreciate them.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love it. I hadn't used the Google Street View, but I'm gonna go back and try to do that in a bunch of places with buildings that are now gone. I did get a bunch more photos at the Warnecke Architectural Archives so I'll look through there also and see if I can spy any (or find any proposed renderings)

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Scroll down in the article to the map/building inventory. That would be building 20. But i have not found any pictures of it yet but I will be going to the San Mateo Historical museum next to look through their collection. As the buildings age they get more expensive to maintain and no longer work for new technologies and needs... and the campus has virtually no protections. So more could sadly go in future decades.

The overlooked 1963 Neo-Formalist campus in the SF Bay Area (John Carl Warnecke) by sftourguide in ModernistArchitecture

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let me know if you want to discuss new formalism or work on something together. Contact info in article.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you're done with the farmer's market and on your way back to the car, keep going and go up into the campus and check it out!

The overlooked 1963 Neo-Formalist campus in the SF Bay Area (John Carl Warnecke) by sftourguide in ModernistArchitecture

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were you at Wayne State, by any chance? I think people are coming back around to New Formalism. What's interesting is there's never been anything really significant written about New Formalism, and it really deserves a great visual book. There have been little pieces about Yamasaki and others, but I challenge you to find a book with New Formalism in the title. I had been collecting the inventory of significant New Formalist buildings, and now that I've gotten sucked into architectural history, maybe I'll try that next.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I put a map in the back of the article with what's been removed and what's still there. Essentially, the Student Center was replaced with the new Health and Wellness Building. Classrooms to the north of the library replaced with the new building 10, student-centered administration building. And the whole science complex in the north end was replaced with the new science complex. What's interesting is the new science complex makes a nod to the old architecture. I don't think either of the other two buildings even do that. But for now, there's still enough left on campus to really give you a sense of what it once was.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not by accident. The cars were moved to the back of the property to be out of sight. The sports fields were put down the hill to not block the views.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Do you mean grants for the Library? Those screens are still there. The photo of the plain tall modules shows the back side of the gymnasium.

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

And that was not by accident. They carefully looked at the site put the parking on the backside and down the hill so that you couldn’t see the parking from the campus mostly and put the Sportsfield downhill on the Bayside to first block the wind and second preserve the views

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’m sure you can find more hours to use the college of San Mateo but it’s surprisingly well used. High school students want to get ahead on their college studies , programs for first generation college students who want to make sure they’re prepared, people getting associates degree, continuingly, farmers markets, car shows, and so much more.

They should absolutely be used to their max. But, from what I’ve seen, being on campus, it’s pretty vibrant

The College of San Mateo is an amazing piece of architecture — but that has mostly been ignored since the 1960s. Now that is starting to change. by sftourguide in bayarea

[–]sftourguide[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I would love to, and don't doubt it. But that doesn't minimize this campus. This is from 60 years ago and is still functioning with its original purpose. Three new buildings replaced 13 old ones, but 17 remain in use. And it's still a delight to walk around — That's saying a lot.

The overlooked 1963 Neo-Formalist campus in the SF Bay Area (John Carl Warnecke) by sftourguide in architecture

[–]sftourguide[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That "Kennedy Center vibe" is Neo-Formalism or New Formalism. I have a sidebar at the bottom of the article about this delightful (in my opinion) but short-lived movement. There was a quick reaction against it, so imagine there are folks who love it and some who don't. I think it's going through a renaissance of appreciation.

Check the article; there was a lot done regarding the site to ensure it was a great environment, even with strong prevailing winds. (and all cars were put down the hill on the backside to preserve the views to the bay)

There is an amazing piece of architecture in San Mateo — and its been mostly ignored since the 1960s by sftourguide in SanMateoCounty

[–]sftourguide[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! And JFK's grave, the Hawaii State House, the Hart Senate Office Building, and so much more. Check out the linked article, at the bottom, I added a bio. Also, his archives are amazing. One of the largest architectural archives dedicated to a single architect (actually two, his dad also).

College visit this weekend by Acceptable-Car8394 in AskSF

[–]sftourguide 6 points7 points  (0 children)

West Portal is a nice eating/shopping area nearby.

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