SheWalksSoftly

This post is dedicated to buildings designed to look like everyday objects.

Teapot Gas Station, Zilla Washington:

The teapot was built as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal, which rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves.

Kansas City Library, Missouri:

If there’s one thing I like better than books, it’s thousands of books encased in giant books.

The Basket Building, Ohio:

I adore the thought of humans running around in this building like hordes of invasive picnic basket ants.

The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium:

Built as a monument to the atomic age for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the nine steel spheres connect in the shape of an iron crystal unit cell magnified 165 billion times.

Explore the building and exhibits on the flickr site.
Wiki entry

Mammy’s Cupboard, Natchez, Mississippi:

Mammy’s Cupboard opened in 1940 Mississippi, and has endured cycles of decay and reconstruction. Each restoration became increasingly politically correct (mid-20th century Mississippi was not exactly known for racial tolerance and diversity).

And of course, I must include the Big Duck in Flanders, Long Island (right in my county), which will soon undergo its annual holiday “lighting:”

In 1931, Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer built this 20-ft. tall, 30-ft long structure. He used tail lights from a Model T Ford for the eyes, which glowed red at night (which I imagine must have had a sinister air). Maurer sold ducks and eggs from the shop in its belly. Now it serves as a souvenir shop.

Lucy the Elephant, Magrate City, New Jersey:

You’d look as stunned and uncomfortable as Lucy here if millions of people had toured your innards since 1881. This poor girl has been used as a real estate office, as a summer home, even briefly as a tavern, until unruly drunks nearly burned her down.

This entry was posted on December 5, 2008 at 1:31 pm and is filed under architecture with tags architecture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.