COMMENT OF THE DAY: CITY OF STUDIED KNOCK-OFFS 
“The Gulf Building is perhaps the closest of the copies of Eliel Saarinen’s Second Place Entry for the Chicago Tribune Tower. Do a Google search and see for yourself.
Not sure most will agree, but I think it’s pretty cool. We have a Saarinen design in our City, but we don’t. The building was designed by Alfred Finn and Kenneth Franzheim. It’s a lot like all of our ersatz Frank Lloyd Wright buildings that were actually designed by MacKie and Kamrath.” [ZAW, commenting on Available Now, for a Limited Time Only: Views of a Downtown Art Deco Classic] Illustration: Lulu
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The Tribune Building is definitely the Gulf Building inspiration, it influenced many buildings of that era, ironically the actual winner influenced no one. The lobby of the Gulf Building is a tour de force, it was the great Jessie Jones who got the building built–thank God they took that kitchie Gulf sign on the top. As for Wright, he inspired everyone, I love that he always insisted on designing the furniture—beautiful yet spectacularly uncomfortable.
I hope I’m not the only one that has no idea what/who any of that is :(
@cody
Do a Google search. It’s never too late to learn something new. :-)
For cody:
Frank Lloyd Wright – most famous architect of the 20th century
Kenneth Franzheim – most famous Houston commercial architect of the 20th century
Chicago Tribune Tower competition – major event in shaping skyscraper design in the 1920’s
Gulf Building – best historic Houston skyscraper, tallest west of the Mississippi for 20+ years
Jesse Jones – guy who built Houston
Mackie and Kamrath – local architecture firm
Mike: give MacKie and Kamrath their due. Of all the Houston firms, they were the biggest Frank Lloyd Wright devotees. In a way, they were to Frank Lloyd Wright what Gordon Bunshaft and the 1960s SOM crowd was to Mies Van der Rohe – though Wright would probably have scoffed at the notion. He did give one of their buildings an “official” approval, though….