Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Grand fete at Cret's Pan American building

Last month I had the pleasure of attending the Fall Design Fete hosted by our local AIA chapter at the Pan American Building. You may remember me talking about this building by Paul Cret before HERE, as it is one of my favorites here in Washington DC.  Oddly enough my other favorite is also by Cret, the Mary Stewart Mansion.
I snapped some photos while at the event with my phone as the building really does come alive at night; ambiance is everything, no?
 The central courtyard was ablaze with light and music thanks to a live jazz band.
The intriguing marble fountain by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney is also more powerful seen at night.
 However it appears the snake eyes of the sculpture no longer light up as originally intended.
It was a fabulous evening in a fabulous space spent with my fabulous coworkers; who can ask for anything more?
I promise to get a real camera to do my images justice someday!

5 comments:

Stephilius said...

Wow! And I hadn't seen the earlier post; what an amazing - and delightfully bizarre in the details - building. Thanks for sharing, Stefan - and for all the beautiful, interesting things you share all year round. Bonne Année!

designchic said...

How amazing is that fountain? Thank you for the gorgeous inspiration this year and wishing you all the best in 2014!

Mark D. Ruffner said...

Hi, Stefan,

With that lighting, the building looks almost like a giant confection. Too bad the eyes in the fountain are no longer working — I imagine the effect would be quite Mayan.

Thanks for all your sharing, Stefan, and I'm wishing you a 2014 that is all that you would wish for yourself!

The Devoted Classicist said...

I have never been inside and really enjoyed your shots.

La Petite Gallery said...

This is really a beautiful building. Did you mean Mary Stewart Gardner?
There is a wonderful Museum in Boston same feel, you would love it.

Happy New year
yvonne and old fan