Bastille Day
Today is Bastille Day; French independence day. On July 14, 1789 Parisians stormed
the Bastille prison which jump started the French Revolution. After freeing the 7 people incarcerated there at the time, the citizenry turned on the building itself and began to dismantle the place began stone by stone and brick by brick. The action represented the physical manifestation of the contempt Louis XIV's subjects held for the monarch, and the ancien régime he represented.
There is now a large open square where the Bastille once stood. On the wall above the
canopy of the Cafe Français is a marble plaque commemorating the event that took place on that memorable day, which has an incised outline of the plan of the former prison and fortress.
In honor of this special day, I went on a personal search for a Francophile/Chicago
connection and started with a visit to the Alliance Française de Chicago. The organization was created in Paris in 1883 as a way to promote good relations between France and other countries. Alliance franchises in cities around the world offer French language classes, cultural studies, and work to promote friendship between France and the franchiser's home base.
The Chicago branch is located in a beautiful Italianate row house built in the late 1870s
or early 1880s. The building was once a single family home, and eventually became a rooming house which provided accommodations for 29 boarders. Ironically, in the early 1900s the Pasteur Institute was located in the adjacent row house.
Images & Artwork: designslinger]
In another kind of cultural exchange, the Lycée Français de Chicago offers children in
kindergarten through grade 12 a dual-language education joining the French National curriculum with the American educational system.
The school is housed in building designed by architect Barry Byrne for the Catholic
Archdiocese of Chicago. Immaculata High School was built in 1922 as an all girls school. Byrne had apprenticed in the office of Frank Lloyd Wright, and reinterpreted some of his early Prairie School indoctrination in developing a new language in ecclesiastical design. The empty space over the entry doors once held a statue of a highly-stylized version of the Virgin Mary, carved in limestone by sculptor Alfonso Iannelli. Iannelli had done a lot of work for Wright over the years, became friends with Byrne, and introduced him to his future wife. The Archdiocese moved out of the building sometime in the 80s. I used to live just around the corner, and vaguely remember the school closing and the Archdiocese removing the statue. The design of the entry facade has been out of balance ever since.
For me, architecturally speaking, the ultimate relationship between France and Chicago
is Buckingham Fountain. The design of the pink, Georgia marble fountain was inspired by the Bassin de Latone at Versailles, and in good Chicago fashion, doubled in size; it is one of the largest fountains in the world. The popular attraction was a gift from Kate Buckingham as a memorial tribute to her brother Clarence. Marcel Francois Loyau was the sculptor (his middle name is certainly appropriate for today's post). Seated in the middle of Grant Park, if you crop your view to include only the tree line, you might visually imagine yourself standing in a garden at Versailles.
& Artwork: designslinger]
However, it's hard to lose the spectacular Chicago skyline in the background. And, just
a reminder to all those France haters out there: Our country wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the support the French gave to the revolutionaries in 1776.
So here's to French fries and French toast, with a dash of Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité!
Vive la France!
Posted by designslinger at 7/14/2009 2:45 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Events and Premieres, Architects, History
Tags: Lycee Francais de Chicago Alliance Francaise de Chicago Barry Byrne
Categories: Architecture, Events and Premieres, Architects, History
Tags: Lycee Francais de Chicago Alliance Francaise de Chicago Barry Byrne
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