Two Perfect Pages

April 18, 2016 by madisonklein Leave a Comment

The Hagia Sophia is one of the most interesting and mysterious buildings left from the ancient world. Its purpose was not practicality; it served as a symbol of innovation and advancement. Built by the Byzantine’s greatest architects, this grand and enormous structure provokes architectural admiration to this day, due to its ability to withstand 1500 years of nature’s battering and earthquakes. The structural integrity of Hagia Sophia awes architects from around the world, and they all want answers to why this structure still stands, and for how long.

The Hagia Sophia was actually the third church built in the same location, preceded by the Megálē Ekklēsíā (“Great Church”). Just weeks after the second church burnt to the ground in 532, Emperor Justinian I ordered a new church, grander and more extravagant than any before, to be built. He hired physicist Isidore of Miletus and mathematician Anthemius of Tralles to head this enormous project. The building reached completion in the year 537, and first served as an Orthodox cathedral. At the core of Hagia Sophia’s design lays the purpose of worship, specifically Christian worship. The ideal setup for Christian use during this time consisted of a rectangular room with an apse, which stationed a priest. Ruler Justinian of the new Byzantium empire sought to maintain this structure, while simultaneously wanting to symbolize this glorious new empire and his new power. He drew off of the grand domes of other civilizations to achieve this. The problem was that while domes had previously been constructed, it had not been done on a rectangular base.

At its tallest, the ceiling stands 180 feet high in the large central dome, above the nave and dotted by forty arched windows. To support this, four smaller arches surround it, and together create the main support system of the entire structure. To make the church a rectangle, the architects came up with devices called pendentives- triangular segments that fill in gaps of the arches. On each end, there were two semi-domes backed by four giant pillars. These semi domes further expand the rectangular floor plan. It’s main architectural features include the nave, exedra, narthex, apse, and parapets. A nave is just an enormous main room, without a real main purpose. The exedra is a semicircular room with benches; its purpose could be worship or conversation. There are exedras built off of both the east and west domes in this structure. The narthex is located at the entrance; this is reserved for an emperor, and has a long ramp that leads to the upper gallery. In the Hagia Sophia, the upper gallery can be accessed by five doors. Nine more doors in the inner narthex lead to the nave. A Byzantine mosaic of Christ and an unknown emperor is portrayed above the narthex. The apse, a large recess at the east end, is reserved for an altar. A magnificent mosaic of the Virgin Mary decorates the space above the apse.

Although best known for its architectural greatness, Hagia Sophia holds awesome artistic value with its great marble pillars and mosaics. Sophia contains marble parapets that make up the ledges, measuring 60 centimeters thick. The interior contains polychrome marbles, green, white, and purple porphyry, and nearly four acres worth of gold mosaics. Precious materials to create such a structure came from all of the Mediterranean; Hagia Sophia was a true symbol of innovation, beauty, and plain splendor.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia#Apse_mosaics

https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Hagia_Sophia#Alzado\

http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/history

Planners

April 9, 2016 by madisonklein Leave a Comment

Burnham is sensitive, and plans with compassion toward his family and the workers of the worlds fair. He is thorough and gives great attention to many of the details in regards to the safety, well-being, and enjoyment of the public at the fair. On page 137, it states “Burnham tried to anticipate every conceivable threat to the fair. He enforced excessive fire prevention projects, over-strengthened structures, and created a few options for clean drinking water. As the project went on, Burnham’s attitude began to change. The fair became the priority. Known for treating his worker’s exceptionally well, on page 155, the shift in his priorities is stated: “The dismissed men, Burnham knew, faced homelessness and poverty; their families confronted the real prospect of starvation. But the fair came first.”

Olmstead is persistent, and detailed often to the point of obsession. He comes from a field not widely applauded yet (landscaping), and it has taken him time to reach the point he is at. It took him some convincing to even take on the fair as a project, and he was at first apprehensive. On page 50 it states “Olmstead did think about it and began to see the exposition as an opportunity to achieve something for which he had fought long and hard but almost always with disappointing results.” Olmstead is determined in his efforts; a good example is in his obsession with the fair’s boat system, at which Burnham becomes annoyed. Olmstead’s persistence and passion for his projects is admirable, but his health often causes him to sacrifice some of the precious time needed for his projects.

Holmes is a dark individual who also has wit and charm on his side, a frightening combination. He is manipulative and is able to make people, especially women, see things his way. A good example is on page 146 it states “Holmes possessed Julia now as fully as if she were an antebellum slave, and he reveled in his possession.” Holmes loves his ability to manipulate, and embraces his morbid behavior as just a part of who he is.

First reflection on the fair

April 2, 2016 by madisonklein Leave a Comment

So far in Devil in the White City, the issue seems to be dirtiness, crime, illness, and general disorderliness from overpopulation in a city without the manpower to find order yet. The very first line “How easy it was to disappear:” creates a very dark mood from the beginning. On page 28, it reads “In poor neighborhoods garbage mounded in alleys and overflowed giant trash boxes that became banquet halls for rats and blue bottle flies. Billions of flies. The corpses of dogs, cats, and horses often remained where they fell.” Root married a woman who was sick. Page twelve states “Anonymous death came early and often…And there was murder…Men shot women, women shot men, and children shot each other by accident.” It is clear that although the city brought opportunity and experience, it clearly brought danger and despair too.

I think Larson wants to intertwine the fair with Holmes because in the midst of the fair, it was easy for people to disappear. Even easier than normal. It brought even more people in as victims, and it is a hunting ground for criminals. As Major McClaughtry states on page 122 “….the authorities should be prepared to meet and deal with the greatest congregation of criminals that ever yet met in this country.”