Foolishness and Follies
Davids, Los Angeles, CA., donielle via flickr; William A. Clark house, New York, NY., Chauncy.Primm via flickr;
Artwork: designslinger]
A folly is defined as an act or instance of foolishness. Of course one person's foolishness
can be another person's wisdom. An architectural folly has been described as a building created for pleasure, and as impractical foolishness.
When the 4th Earl of Dunmore built a garden retreat and hothouse on the grounds of his
estate in 1761, the pineapple symbolized power and wealth. Of course he may have overdone it, but I'm not sure he intended the building as a practical joke, however one can't be too certain.
Norwood Young purchased a house in LAs very tony Hancock Park neighborhood a few
years ago, and his choice of exterior decoration raised quite a ruckus in this upscale community and beyond. The 17 plaster statues of Michelangelo's David lining the driveway and perched on the roof, are either one of the most ingenious pranks ever pulled on a community, or it just one longstanding joke, which makes it even funnier.
William A. Clark was a very wealthy man, his yearly income in the 1890s was estimated
at $10 million dollars. He built himself a house on the corner of 5th Avenue and 77th Street, and after 13 years of construction at an expense of $7 million dollars, the building was considered out-of-date, over-the-top and called Clark's Folly. It wasn't the critics or Senator Clark who had the last laugh, that was left to New York real estate prices and developers. Just 25 years after being completed, Clark's joke of a house was pulled down in 1927, to make way for a multi-story apartment building. The demolition began on April 1st. April Fools Day.
Posted by designslinger at 4/1/2009 5:00 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Ephemera
Tags: Pineapple Dunmore House April Fool's Day architectural folly William A. Clark
Categories: Architecture, Ephemera
Tags: Pineapple Dunmore House April Fool's Day architectural folly William A. Clark
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