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‘House & Home’ at the National Building Museum A new exhibit examines complicated questions about home ownership and mortgages, while celebrating individual design and the full panoply of life that transpires in the home.
A balloon frame house under construction, Omaha Reservation, Nebraska, 1877.
William Henry Jackson
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The National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
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Julia Brooks’s wedding, December 1947. Through photos and artifacts, the exhibit at the National Building Museum examines the house as physical shelter and emotional nest.
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A family barbecue in the Lakewood Plaza suburban development in Long Beach, Calif., circa 1950.
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The "Train Wreck" houseboat in Sausalito, Calif., built in 1979, includes a portion of a Pullman railway car. Writes critic Phil Kennicott: “For so many Americans, the home isn’t something inherited, a cultural invariable handed down in some basic form for centuries upon centuries. The home is made, and if you can make it one way, you can make it another. And even if you are happy in your home, there is always someone who might be happier.”
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Fishing houses, Dauphin Island, Ala., 2010. Built: c. 2000.
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Loloma 5 Lofts, Scottsdale, Ariz., built by will bruder + PARTNERS in 2004 under Scottsdale’s Green Building Program.
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will bruder + PARTNERS
Vizcaya, Miami. Architect: F. Burrall Hoffman. Built: 1916. Model by Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2010. Photo by Museum staff.
National Building Museum
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Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2010
Mount Vernon, Alexandria. Built by George Washington, mid-1700s. Model by Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2011. Finely-made house models, says Kennicott, are “the feel-good spirit of the exhibition, and the source of its pleasure.”
National Building Museum
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Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2011
Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pa. Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright. Built: 1935. Model by Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2010.
National Building Museum
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Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2010
Household objects are a part of the display. Here, a kitchen timer from the 1990s (Sally D. Liff); a whale oil lamp, c. 1810s; a teddy bear from the 1930s (Cynthia Field), and a slinky from the 1960s.
National Building Museum
A Waring Blender, 1947; Milk bottle, mid-20th century; Sewing Machine, late 19th century; Butter mold, 1920s.
National Building Museum
Princess telephone, 1959 (Marilyn and Michael Glosserman); Cathedral Radio, 1930s (National Capital Radio and Television Museum, Bowie, Md.); Dog bowl for water, 1980s (Joanna Church); Sewing basket, mid 20th century (Howard County Historical Society, Ellicott City, Md.); Pyrex liquid measuring cup, ca. 1950; Canning jar, 1940s (Curtis and Nancy Bateman).
National Building Museum
Kennicott writes, “The disposable nature of American society is suggested (though perhaps not intentionally) in a long wall of objects typically found in homes over the past 200 years.” Fiestaware Pitcher, 1950s-60s; Big Ben alarm clock, 1920s; Tupperware snack cups, 1970s; Camera, 1940s (Howard County Historical Society, Ellicott City, Maryland); Meat grinder, 1940s; Royal Doulton figurine, 1962 (Private Collection).
National Building Museum
Iron, 1930s; Fondue set, 1970s; Cocktail glass, 1950s; Thermostat, 1920s; Pap feeder, 1880s.
National Building Museum
Cookie jar, 1980s (C. W. Rynd); Table fan, 1920; Candle snuffer & wick trimmer, early 19th century (Howard County Historical Society, Ellicott City, Maryland); Clock radio, 1980s; Croquet ball, 1980s (Montgomery County Historical Society, Maryland). “It’s hard to look at many of the objects which became household necessities in the past half century — video games, answering machines, Barcaloungers — and not think of our burgeoning landfills,” writes Kennicott.
National Building Museum
Toothbrush holder, 1970s; Hamburglar Juice Glass, 1980s; Macintosh computer, 1987-1990; Candlestick telephone, 1920s; Cheese grater , 2007.
National Building Museum
Cabbage Patch Doll, 1980s; Typewriter, early 20th century (Howard County Historical Society, Ellicott City, Md.); Darning egg, c. 1920; Beer stein, 1940s (Hank and Karen Griffith); Russel Wright Sugar bowl, 1940s.
National Building Museum
Monticello, Charlottesville. Built by Thomas Jefferson, 1769-1826. Model by Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2008.
National Building Museum
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Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2008
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