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Michael Tims

@mtaa2788

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Retired from project planning at SF real estate development firm, and now contentedly home in Ann Arbor.

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Building comparison shots such as this are a staple of many architectural websites and can be somewhat informative or mildly diverting, but I couldn't resist adding my own unsolicited take on this one. One of the buildings shown possesses authoritative, magisterial style - indisputably assured, urbane, and sumptuous. It is not the gangly loquacious bulk of the arriviste, but the suave expression of a culture confident enough to show its best in a time of doubt and adversity rather than parade its coarse and flashy loot in times of precarious prosperity. And it will be here when the rest have worn out their their utility, their very fabric and their never easy welcome.
Addendum: This commentary is meant to address the purely aesthetic issues of the buildings concerned. Certainly the horrific demise of two arose from historical currents beyond the ken of ordinary discussion. taken in New York, N.Y. by @mtaa2788

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11 hours ago

This recently built Atlanta house by James Means incorporates parts of a demolished Neel Reid house in a finely realized version of Reid's style and spirit. My attention here, though, was especially taken by the pavement of the courtyard and driveway, which has a wonderfully worn and uneven texture alien to modern paving techniques. This has likely been achieved by the use of Belgian granite paving blocks (or, alternately, well used American vitrified clay paving bricks) using a dry-set aggregate base and a coarse sand setting bed, which moves slightly with freeze-dry cycles, minimizing cracking. While the familiar use of gravel is perfectly respectable, the paving blocks add a touch of veritable antiquity and richness unachievable by less punctilious methods. A drive through many recent developments will illustrate my point compellingly. The courtyard, a closeup and a view from the drive are shown here. taken in Atlanta, Georgia by @mtaa2788

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2 days ago

Voisin C30 coupe (1939). Thirty of the model C30, with its six cylinder 3.6 liter American Graham engine were manufactured, of which five still exist, including this fanciful design, said to have been designed by Gabriel Voisin and built by an unidentified coachbuilder. The car exhibits some thirties features seen on other cars of the era but combined in a way by no means slapdash, but with a definite touch of whimsy. Not a truly beautiful car, but an eyecatcher than must have been fun for driver and passengers alike. It looks like the perfect vehicle for a day of art gallery hopping and brasserie visits. This car was recently sold to a customer who may have had just those notions in mind. I'd love to join the lucky crew invited. taken in Paris, France by @mtaa2788

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6 days ago

Mimetic invention at work, courtesy of Peter Lindbergh in his 1992 Tribeca photoshoot of Linda Evangelista and Hugh Grant for Harper's Bazaar, a fetching quote from a well-known 1965 movie - and Linda didn't even need a brolly. taken in Tribeca NYC by @mtaa2788

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11 days ago

Lazy day lagniappe: A galley kitchen, one of millions, but surely unlike most. My first apartment had one - efficient, logical, easily kept - but it had no window at the end, thus no daylight and no view, and had the wall been opened up any view would not have looked like the one seen here, which even has a balcony for further delectation. If I'd had this kitchen it might have outshone the rest of my unexceptional chambers. Why, most parties would probably have ended up here in a jumble like the stateroom scene from "A Night at the Opera", with me as you-know-who. It could have been legendary fun. My actual place really did motivate me to move to bigger quarters where, minus movie fantasies, I could still host a decent bash. Happy Labor Day weekend, whatever follies catch your fancy. taken in Imagination by @mtaa2788

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24 days ago

Hollywood style sixty years ago. Steve McQueen in a 1966 photoshoot by James Drake at his Brentwood home with his prized Jaguar XK-SS (the "Green Rat"), one of only sixteen built and displayed now at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The b&w photo was earlier and taken by John Dominis. I really looked for a modern "star with car" photo and what I found was not worth posting. The "King of Cool's" title is safe and secure. taken in Brentwood, California by @mtaa2788

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a month ago

The year 1938 saw the Depression easing significantly for the country as a whole, and Hollywood, which had weathered the worst of it, was ready to enjoy the rewards of its role in helping people see and achieve better days. Actress Ann Rutherford moved into a very special house indeed. The highly accomplished "Hollywood Regency" manor (with subtle nods to Art deco) was designed by architect Paul Williams. whose own renown today exceeds that of some of his clients, and deservedly so. The 13,000 SF house recently came on the market for a price that would have paid for probably fifty or a hundred like it in 1938. I truly hope whoever finally acquires this architectural treasure knows what he has and accords it all the respect due to history and art. Encouraging signs still arise in this coarsened century and New Hollywood has a new chance to right some hideous wrongs. taken in Beverly Hills, California by @mtaa2788

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Nancy Scully is a member of New York's estimable Junior League, with an especially important job in the organization's Building Work Group, which seeks to preserve the JL's incomparable clubhouse, the former Vincent Astor house at 130 E. 80th St., a chastely Adamesque abode designed by Mott B. Schmidt in 1927. I think that the splendid house is in perfect hands. Mrs. Scully has been a JL member for over 50 years, has been involved with many of the 2,000 volunteer organization's numerous charitable projects - successfully handling manifold responsibilities. Don't call her a lady who lunches (even if she looks a little bit like the part). Pictures taken mostly at her UES home, one with her grandson Alistair Scully. taken in Upper East Side by @mtaa2788

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a month ago

President Kennedy with the love of his life, the 25' sloop "Victura", at Hyannis Port. JFK gave the Wianno Senior wooden sailboat its Latin name, meaning "about to conquer", when his parents presented it to him on his 15th birthday in 1932. He used other craft from time to time depending on the occasion, but his favorite hours were spent with "Victura", whose modest proportions the excellent sailor could handle alone, with just a few close friends to enjoy the freedom and fun of the sea. He had just over three decades with the tidy sloop, but this one enduring love gave him more happiness (and lower maintenance) than most others he'd known and cherished. Picture 4 shows "Victura" displayed outside the Kennedy Library. taken in Dorchester, Boston by @mtaa2788

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a month ago

I've always been of the persuasion that the library is the heart of the home and should never be closed off to the rest of the house. In this Park Avenue apartment architect John B. Murray has given the library quiet and privacy while permitting its demonstrable charm to enhance the interior overall. The glass doors also permit the passage of more light to the hall, especially important in the confines of a city apartment. Murray's fine touch has been to mark the transition between the spaces with the exquisite fretwork of the glass panes, making the functional a focal asset in itself. A masterful touch. taken in New York City by @mtaa2788

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a month ago

I've seen this photo online recently, variously misidentified as either the current British monarch or notable cricketeer Sir Geoffrey Boycott, but it's actually the late filmmaker David Hamilton, the perfect exemplar of a favorite maxim of mine: breaking the rules is the province of those who really know them. Here Hamilton displays several variations of white accented by contrasting smallish patterns, with the whole composed of such textures as cotton, linen, silk, flannel, straw. Many similarly arrayed might be dismissed as sartorially challenged, perhaps utterly clueless. Hamilton could not. He knew the value of nuanced disharmony and employed it with the quiet assurance of true aristocratic insouciance. taken in United Kingdom by @mtaa2788

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a month ago

The 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the 75th of the annual event, saw the Best of Show award go to this 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Speedster, one of only two ever made with the special short (125") wheelbase. While the shorter length of these cars may make them less prepossessing than the standard models with their 142.5" chassis, they are very special indeed, with their straight eight engines developing close to 400 hp - incredible in its day and still quite impressive. Of course the owners of the cars also accounted for a good part of their renown - Hollywood luminaries Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. Gable's car, owned by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, was the Best of Show winner in this event, but Cooper's car had a distinction of its own, changing hands a few years ago for $22M, then a record price for an American car. taken in Pebble Beach by @mtaa2788

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