Monday, May 16, 2011

If you seek Saarinen's genius...

              SAARINEN HOUSE WINDOW (1928-1930), Eliel Saarinen, Architect (1873-1950) 
                              Photograph:  Andrea Eis;  Postcard Design:  Catherine Schrenker

In 1922, Finnish architect Eliel Sarrinen entered a competition to design the Tribune Tower 
in Chicago.  He came in second.  With the money for second prize, Saarinen was able to 
establish himself in the Chicago area, and bring his wife and children over from Finland to 
settle in the United States.

If Eliel Saarinen had won that competition, he would have never accepted a teaching post
at the University of Michigan, or met art patrons George Booth and his wife Ellen Scripps
Booth.  Chicago's loss was Michigan's gain. 

The Booths invited Saarinen to design an educational community on the site of an old farm
in Bloomfield Hills.  Designed in 1925, Saarinen's buildings and beautiful 300-acre campus
was named "Cranbrook".  It is home to the Cranbrook Art Academy, Art Museum, Science
Institute, and private schools for girls and boys.

Visit the Saarinen House, the home Saarinen designed and built as the family residence.  It is 
a classic example of the Arts and Crafts Style, where architecture and interior design converge
into one vision for the perfect living environment-- Saarinen's vision, Saarinen's genius.

Don't miss the surrounding gardens!


An exquisite guide to the Saarinen House is presented in PDF form:

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 CIRCUMSPICE MICHIGAN:  Postcards of a Pleasant Peninsula                                       

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