#marshallstreet

[rocketwerks]

John Marshall Courts Building

800 East Marshall Street

Built, 1978

Renovated, 1994

Architects, C. F. Murphy & Associates; Helmut Jahn, project architect (1978). Hening-Vest-Covey (1994)

May 2020

Straight out of Alphaville.

[ADR] — building in 1981 downtown survey

Designed by a nationally known Chicago-based architectural firm, the John Marshall Courts Building was intended to provide a neutral background to the John Marshall House. In this it succeeds. it is a slickly detailed glass box with rounded edges. The building is the best example of the "glass box" genre in Richmond.

(Montage) — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, image undated

C. F. Murphy & Associates are among the more skillful followers of Mies van der Rohe, who was the most influential architect of the 20th century. Their Richmond building has been controversial on both functional and aesthetic grounds. [ADR]

(SAH Archipedia)

Designed to respect the Marshall House next door, the sleek, black glass box of the John Marshall Courts Building sets off the house, emphasizing its iconic, welcoming facade. This is perhaps its only success, because the court building has been plagued with criticism for its dysfunction. Recent alterations have attempted to correct traffic and security issues. (SAH Archipedia)

May 2020

When your lead architect likes to wear capes as normal outerwear, and his detractors call him “Flash Gordon”, there’s a chance you might not get what you were expecting. Before you know it, you might be throwing around emotional terms like controversial and dysfunction and find yourself spending money to correct gaps in the original design.

(The Architect’s Newspaper) —  McCormick Place, 1969-1971

After graduating from the Technische Hochschule in Munich in 1965, (Helmut) Jahn moved to Chicago to study at the Illinois Institute of Technology, a school long associated with the Modernist aesthetic of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his followers. On the basis of this solid design background, Jahn was hired by Chicago architectural firm C.F. Murphy Associates to work on the Miesian design for McCormick Place in Chicago.

(YouTube) — screencap from Helmut Jahn, FAIA Lifetime Achievement Award

In the late 1970s and ’80s Jahn made his mark, designing extravagant buildings that combined historical and contextual references—the central tenets of postmodern architecture—with high-tech engineering solutions. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

May 2020

Jahn certainly has his admirers and adherents. He has completed over 90 building projects during his long career, and has been widely recognized for his efforts, earning a Ten Most Influential Living American Architects award from the American Institute of Architects in 1991.

(Newspapers.com) — Helmut Jahn’s MetroWest building in Naperville, Illinois —Chicago Tribune Sunday, March 2, 1986

However, in the early days, his critics considered him “that postmodern enfant terrible who rocketed to stardom on the supercharged fireworks of the State of Illinois Building in 1985.” (Architecture Week)

A 1986 Chicago Tribune article about his MetroWest design in Naperville, Illinois called him a “flamboyant postmodernist, who adorns himself in capes and Porches.” It went on to observe that the building produced nausea in a nearby office worker, and concluded with relief that “at least nobody has dubbed it the Starship Naperville.” [CHIT]

May 2020

With context like that, perhaps it’s not surprising that issues were found with the courts building. Not everyone digs the glass box thing, that’s easy to grok, but the functional issues are something else. The building opened in 1978 and just four short years Robert Winthrop was calling it controversial, so whatever problems existed must have quickly found a voice.

May 2020

The precise nature of the complaints is obscure, but the building does not appear to respect the available space. Together with the John Marshall House, the courts building complex consumes the entire block, yet there is a large, empty plaza along Ninth Street.

May 2020

It certainly looks nice, but by 1994 the City would find itself coughing up $2 million dollars for a renovation to create additional office space and another courtroom. [RTD1] At such cost, there probably weren’t a lot of plaza enthusiasts still hanging around.

(Rocket Werks RVA Postcards) — John Marshall High School

Adding to the sense of injury, the new courts building came at the price of the beautiful old John Marshall High School. It too sat quietly behind the John Marshall House at the corner of 9th and Marshall and was considered a state-of-the-art facility when it opened in 1909, with large classrooms, elevators, and science labs, as well as modern plumbing, heating, and ventilation. [RTD2]

Alas, this sacrificial lamb was razed, and the school had to scoot to a new location in North Side.

(John Marshall Courts Building Building is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)

Note

A shout-out to Ray Bonis & Harry Kollatz for their tips and input on the courts building!

Print Sources

[ADR] Architecture in Downtown Richmond. Robert P. Winthrop. 1982.

[CHIT] Chicago Tribune. Sunday, March 2, 1986.

[RTD1] Richmond Times-Dispatch. December 8, 1994.

[RTD2] Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 16, 1909.

[abitmoredetail]

Marshall Street cottages #toronto #brocktonvillage #janeswalkto #marshallstreet (at Brockton Village) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdZHqX6J5rn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[monk1019]

Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Mt 7:8 #wordstoliveby #persistanceinprayer #nevergiveup #ourgodisrichinloveandmercy #halloflanguages #iciclesabound #breakofdawn #marshallstreet (at Syracuse University) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLtmBTTBGpr/?igshid=1inz3xz537161

[jagentis]

Ok, back to my fine art. Here’s another piece of #boston This one is of #marshallstreet I just loved the old colonial feel, the cobblestones, and the quaintness of this little street. #fineartphotography #unionoysterhouse #bostonstonegiftshop https://www.instagram.com/p/BoGXlBagtUE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qz7d96i76kpq

[lottiedunn1]

Friday night swimming session at 30 metre pool at Marshall Street Leisure Centre which exists in the middle of the West End 🏊🏻‍♀️🇬🇧💪🏻🙌🏻🤗👙#london #marshallstreet #marshallstreetleisurecentre #swimming #tri #tritraining #training (at Marshall Street Leisure Centre)

[believeinsyracuse]

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A post shared by Believe in Syracuse (@believeinsyracuse)

One door closes on #MarshallStreet and another one opens. #HungryChucks will be back next year! #GoodbyeChucks #OrangeNation #CuseMode #Cuse (at Hungry Chuck's)

[sicnis]

52 years ago he was here, in our City. Thank you for being fearless. 📸 via www.malcolmx.com #happybirthday #malcolmx #hero #marshallstreet #smethwick #birmingham #uk #blackexcellence #melanin #empowerment

[timlumley]

Marshall Street Leeds. . . . #marshallstreet #leeds #leedslife #igersleeds #leedswelcome #leedsnetwork #discoverleeds #leedslist #loveleeds_life #leedsviews #scenesofyorkshire #city_features #architecture #leedslightcomp #yorkshire #westyorkshire #historic #gloriousbritain #uk_shooters #ukshots #1UKshot #capturingbritain #lightroom #lightroomedits

[cbooogie]

Had to see it to believe it. Got a picture(4/21/17) with a mural of my Great Great…Great Grandfather - Emmett C. Burke, in Richmond, Va.

“Emmett Carrol Burke was a Moroccan banker, founder of The Peoples Reform Bank, and co founder of St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and Trust. He was the Second President of the Penny Savings Bank, after Maggie Walker. The bank was changed to Consolidated Bank(now Premier Bank), located in Richmond, Va”

#legacy #2ndstreetfestival2016 @1st St & Marshallstreet #pennysavingsbank @premierbank @4001 North St/E.Marshall St. #rva

[yankeero]

Let's Go Orange- Beat duke! #orangenation #orangevsduke #syracuse #newyork #thehill #thedome #theloudhouse #ottosarmy #acc #ncaa #mbb #fivefingers #nike #marshallstreet http://ift.tt/2lMtrbW

[rocketwerks]

Adams Row

2302 East Marshall Street has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior C. 1895

2306 E. Marshall Street has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior C. 1895

2310 E. Marshall Street has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior C. 1895

2302-2310 East Marshall Street

May 2019

[thebizarrest]

Even more Marshall Street pictures

[elizajaneb]

Just need to 🔌in #plugandsocket #gantonstreet #marshallstreet #urbanart #london #soho

[chloe-jessica2]

Ye ol' green dragon tavern #marshallstreet #greendragon #localpub #sunshine #floral #autumn #october #tavern #boston (at Boston, Massachusetts)

[yankeero]

Let's Go Orange!!! Can't wait for Wed! • • • #orangenation #syracuse #newyork #orange #orangevsduke #acc #mbb #duke #basketball #collegebasketball #boeheim #ottosarmy #dome #thehill #marshallstreet http://ift.tt/2m51ZXi