NEWSLETTER NUMBER TEN

JUNE 2005

--an exhibition to enhance public understanding of the architect’s work in Washington during the Gilded Age by interpreting the impact of Cluss’s revolutionary roots and his social vision on the city’s architecture and life.

Charles Sumner School Museum, Washington DC,
and Stadtarchiv Heilbronn,
September 2005 - February 2006

To join our mailing list and be kept informed about the progress of planning for the exhibition, please send your name, address, and email address to cluss@washington.goethe.org.

CHARLES SUMNER SCHOOL DETAIL:

Detail from a grate at the Charles Sumner School reveals the esthetic care with which the whole building was endowed.

PROJECT NEWS:

Washington in 3D: A Stereoview Glimpse of Cluss and the 19th Century

See the Sights as Adolf Cluss Might Have Seen Them
A Look Back at Heilbronn, Brussels, and Washington--in 3D!

Featuring Cluss buildings like the Department of Agriculture and the National Museum as well as the sights of Washington, Heilbronn, and Brussels--mostly taken before 1905 along with some modern stereoviews taken during Mr. Cluss's recent visits to Washington.

In January 1869, Dr. John B. Ellis of New York wrote in the introduction to his book The Signs and Secrets of the National Capital that "The pet child of the Republic, Washington City, is unknown to the majority of the American people. Few have seen it… It is the centre from which radiate those influences which make our national existence great or feeble, and the entire Republic is affected by its weal or woe."

Over the next fifty years, as Cluss and others labored to decide "what democracy should look like" and to shape a new Washington as a Capital City Worthy of the Republic, many tourists came to "see" and "remember" the changing face of Washington through stereoviews, a cheap and popular way to see the outside world--in 3D. Like other "pet children" at the time, Washington was extensively photographed in stereoviews by local companies as well as outsiders.

Thanks to the cooperation of collectors in the US and abroad, we have acquired and converted about seventy-five 19th-century views of Washington, Brussels, and Heilbronn so that they can be seen on a computer screen or projected on a wall. The pictures can be viewed at the exhibition or will be available for purchase on a CD along with the 3D glasses required for viewing.

Douglas Development Corporation, a name that is practically synonymous with the redevelopment of Washington's 19th-century downtown, has made a generous gift to the Friends of the Goethe-Institut in support of the Adolf Cluss Exhibitions. Thank you from Team Cluss to Doug Jemal, our neighbor on 7th Street.

Another name closely related to the renovation of Washington’s historical buildings is Wagner Roofing, a local company that has repaired or reconstructed roofs on many of this city’s most prominent historic buildings. Cluss buildings that Wagner Roofing has worked on inthe past include the Franklin School. Currently, Wagner Roofing is doing maintenance on the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building (with its 17 roofs!) and Eastern Market. We thank Chuck and Sheila Wagner for their gift in support of the Cluss exhibitions.

WHY ADOLF CLUSS?

By Prof. Dr. Christhard Schrenk, Director, City Archives, Heilbronn

Adolf Cluss is a child of the 19th century. He was born in Heilbronn and this city marked his life.

Heilbronn in the 19th century stands for dynamism, openness, joy in innovation, positive development. Adolf Cluss brings all these threads together. He is a significant Heilbronner of the 19th century. So therefore: Adolf Cluss.

In addition, Adolf Cluss is a good representative figure for the great historic events and movements of the 19th century in Germany: for example, the "Turner" movement, social questions, the Revolution of 1848, emigration. So working on the life of Adolf Cluss also means working on a specific case study that is relevant for understanding the major themes of German history in the 19th century. This is a particularly visible and interesting way to do research on the past. So that's why, again: Adolf Cluss.

Some thoughts by Cynthia R. Field, Director, Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Institution

One fascinating aspect of the architecture of Adolf Cluss is the incorporation of function into style, which seems to prefigure the 20th century belief that "form follows function."

Adolf Cluss believed that the beautiful in architecture was a fusion of stylistic elements of design with the function of structure. In his description of the Franklin School of 1868, for instance, he described how the little duomos of the bell towers served to gather the numerous ventilating flues. He pointed out that the mechanical elements, rather than forming a disturbing intrusion he saw as "unseemly protuberances," were shaped into very prominent parts of the decoration which enriched the building stylistically.

This definition of architectural style, widespread among architectural critics in the United States in the post Civil War period, was described as:

The possession of a cultivated taste, the ability to produce grand effects, to design in good architectural proportions, and to show originality in details and ornament, are not now all that is required of the architect. He must be able to guarantee the strength and stability of his work when finished, and to construct in such a manner that his buildings may be most effectively ventilated, warmed, and lighted, and be perfectly adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. [James H. Bowen, Report upon Buildings, Building Materials and Methods of Building. Washington: GPO, 1869]

MORE NEWS:

Artifacts from the Exhibition

New Cluss and Schmidt Family Photographs and Letters

This photograph of Adolf Cluss is the earliest photograph discovered to date. Cluss may have been about 40 years old at the time he sat for this photograph in the Mathew Brady studio in Washington.

This image is but one of a large collection of photographs, letters, and musical programs recently made available to the Cluss Exhibition by descendants of Sophia Schmidt Droop and her husband Edward F. Droop. Sophia was the sister of Cluss's wife, Rosa.

Image Credit: Cluss by Mathew Brady

Rosa Cluss Portrait

This portrait of Rosa Schmidt Cluss (1835-1894), wife of Adolf Cluss, was painted in 1874 by Henry Ulke (1821-1910). Like Cluss, Ulke emigrated from Germany after participating in the unsuccessful revolution of 1848. His portrait of Rosa remained in the Cluss family until 1970, when William S. Shacklette, Cluss's great-grandson donated it to the Castle Collection of the Smithsonian Institution. The portrait normally hangs in an office in the Castle building, but will be on loan to the Cluss exhibition from September 2005 to February 28, 2006.

Image Credit: Smithsonian Institution, Castle Collection

FEATURED BUILDINGS:

This month we feature Cluss's work on a major pre-existing building in
Washington--his renovation of the Patent Office's Model Gallery--and on Baltimore's "Concordia Opera House," one of his rare buildings outside the national capital.

Concordia Opera House
By Joseph L. Browne. Research by Naomi Halverson, Cluss Volunteer, Bowie, MD

In 1864-65, Adolf Cluss and Josef Wildrich von Kammerhueber designed the Concordia German Society's opera house, the only known Cluss building in Baltimore. The Concordia Society was founded in 1864 for "moral, scientific, literary, dramatic, agricultural, and charitable purposes." Located on South Eutaw Street near the intersection with Redwood Street, then "German" Street, the building was Baltimore's main performing arts venue in the 1860s and 70s for famous performers and lecturers, including Charles Dickens in 1868. When the 1600-seat theater opened in September 1865, the orchestra performed the Concordia March, written especially for the new theater.

Many Jewish immigrants joined the Concordia Society and attended the weekly concerts. It also became headquarters for many local German and Jewish social and cultural events. In The Jews of Baltimore (1910), Isidor Blum recalled that "the Concordia was the greatest social institution that the Jews of Baltimore have ever had."

The Concordia was built of iron and brick with an ornamental facade and cost $20,000. The theater included "a large and well-equipped stage. The upper floors contained clubrooms. The theater also included many features that people began to associate with Cluss buildings: "The Concordia "is well-ventilated, has the most perfect heating arrangements and all precautionary water fixtures." Particular care, the Baltimore Sun reported, "has been taken to have the Hall constructed upon the most scientific principles of acoustics."

A fire destroyed the Concordia in 1891. Situated just west of the central business district, the Concordia probably would have survived the disastrous fire that consumed all of Baltimore's downtown in 1904.

Image Credit: The Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland

The Patent Office Building
by William Gilcher, Goethe-Institut Washington

Today, the Old Patent Office Building, which takes up the entire block bounded by 7th and 8th streets and F and G Streets, NW, is closed for extensive renovation, awaiting its reopening on July 4, 2006, after some six years of work. At that time, two of Washington's off-the-mall museum treasure-houses are scheduled to re-open to the public: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Like other major federal buildings, the Patent Office Building was constructed in stages, starting in 1836; the final wing was completed in 1867. The building was important to the young republic for many reasons: it housed the agency that issued patents and it displayed the models of inventions that demonstrated the energy and ingenuity of Americans. During the Civil War, the building was also used as a hospital; among its most famous staff members was Walt Whitman.

The original architect for the building was Robert Mills; his successors were Thomas U. Walter and Edward Clark. In 1877, when Carl Schurz was Secretary of the Interior (with an office in the building), a fire destroyed the third floor and attic of the west and north wings. Major renovations to the building were then carried out by Adolf Cluss and and his partner, Paul Schulze. Some sense of the effect of the varied space can be seen in a wonderful series of photographs taken 2001-2003 by the Washington photographer Amy R. Boles in cooperation with the Smithsonian's Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation. See the website: "A Different Light: Photographs of the Old Patent Office Building."

Cluss and Schulze's new Model Hall introduced a new structural system designed to improve the fireproofing of the building. Finishing materials such as the encaustic tile floors and the wrought iron railings were not only fire resistant but added both decorative complexity and color. Cluss made no attempt to alter the familiar Greek Revival appearance of the building from the exterior but made dramatic changes to the interior. When the building reopens visitors will be able to see two grand halls, the sweeping semi-circular stair and the beautiful stained glass Cluss added to the building.

On January 11, 2006, in cooperation with the Adolf Cluss Exhibition, the Renwick Gallery will host Smithsonian Architectural Historian Cynthia Field and Eleanor Harvey, chief curator of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for an illustrated slide lecture about Cluss's work in the building and its current renovation.

MORE NEWS:

Franklin School: Most Endangered Place in Washington

In a Washington Post article on June 16, Franklin School was listed among the nine most endangered historic sites according to the DC Preservation League. This is the second year in a row that Franklin can claim this dubious status.

Planning for the exhibition, slated to open in Washington and Heilbronn, Germany, Cluss's birthplace, in 2005, is a cooperative effort among many institutions in Washington and Heilbronn, Germany.

Exhibition Contact:
Harriet Lesser, Exhibition Coordinator
c/o Charles Sumner School Museum & Archives
1201 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036-3009
hlesser@adolf-cluss.org

Project Director:
Joseph L. Browne, Ph.D.
c/o Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington
812 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001-3718
jbrowne@adolf-cluss.org

About the exhibitions in Germany and the USA:
www.adolf-cluss.org

About Adolf Cluss:
www.goethe.de/cluss

Cluss Electronic Newsletters
Editors:
Norma Broadwater, Goethe-Institut Washington
William Gilcher, Goethe-Institut Washington
Webmaster:
Craig Childers, Goethe-Institut Washington

SUPPORT THE ADOLF CLUSS EXHIBITIONS AND RELATED PUBLIC EVENTS

"Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington" has set up a special account to receive tax-deductible donations in support of the Adolf Cluss Project. Send your check (payable to "Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington") to:

Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington
812 Seventh St, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3718

This project is made possible thanks to generous support from the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, with funds from the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor (BMWA), the MARPAT Foundation, the Kiplinger Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, Edelman, Douglas Development Corporation and Wagner Roofing. A cooperative project of the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC, Goethe-Institut Washington, the Historical Society of Washington, DC, the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation and the Stadtarchiv Heilbronn.