7.6: Political Landscapes

Political landscapes are probably the most ubiquitous of all landscapes in the United States because the government, in one way or another, shapes nearly every square foot of the land. Some political landscapes are obvious, like courthouses, capitol buildings. Others slightly less so, like streets, bridges, telephone pools, schools or firehouses. Still other landscapes, like forests, rivers, beaches or farmlands appear to be unrelated to politics or government, but even those can be read as the product of government policies such as the Clean Water Act, laws regulating endangered species or a succession of congressional farm bills. Even the seat you are sitting in, the carpet or tile under your feet and the air you’re breathing has probably been regulated, safety tested or taxed by the government. For the purposes of this discussion, however, most of the discussion will focus on the more obvious governmental landscapes, and the more accessible “cultural wars” that shape the political environment we navigate daily.

Figure 7-28: Washington DC: The Capitol building is most famous example of Classical Revival architecture in the US, an obvious reference to the political ideals of the Romans and Greeks.

Our Greek Love Affair

The United States declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776, and after a struggle of nearly ten years, the former colonists could begin the long task of completing the radical political transformation known today as the American Revolution. Though clearly revolutionary for the time, many of the ideas associated with this grand upheaval were borrowed from Europe’s enlightenment and classical periods. Though clearly English, French, and some Roman ideas were incorporated into American political culture Americans were clearly inspired by the Ancient Greeks. Towns and cities were also named for locations in Greece and Italy (Sparta, Athens, Rome, Cincinnati, etc. –see Chapter 2), but it is architecture that most clearly expresses early American political thinking.

Figure 7-29: Sacramento, CA. Many state capitol buildings mimic the look and message of the capital building in Washington, DC.

In the decades following American independence, the country grew rapidly and many government buildings were erected to meet the needs of efficient governance. Given the deep respect Americans had for Greek democracy, it is unsurprising that for much of the 19^th century, virtually all government buildings of consequence incorporated Greek Revival (or Classical Revival) style elements Certainly, the Georgian Style, which was also popular at the time for domestic construction, but since it was intimately associated with the English monarchy, it would have been inappropriate for the government that had recently rebelled against that monarchy. The US Capitol building is a great example, but also state capitols, small-town courthouses, and non-governmental buildings began aping the Greek look.

Figure 7-30: Winchester, VA: Thousands of courthouses across the US also adopted Greek Revival stylings. This one, once part of the confederacy perhaps sent a mixed message about democracy.

So popular was the Greek Revival style during the 19^th Century, that it was adopted as for use on commercial, residential and religious buildings. The symbolic value of Greek Revival architecture was appropriated or perhaps misappropriated. Eventually, Greek Revival architecture took on new layers of meaning which had little to do with democracy. Architects began designing banks and homes in the Greek Revival style by the 1820s. Bankers and homeowners both sought to use architecture to convey a message of power and stability to those who would look upon their buildings. Banks, which were for many years highly unstable, occasionally losing all the depositors’ money,sought to evoke a sense of stability and responsibility. For them, architecture that projected stability was thought to inspire depositors and to help prevent “bank runs”, the panicked withdrawal of deposits that frequently caused banks to fail. The message conveyed by Greek Revival stylings became convoluted and arguably misapplied.

Figure 7-31: Fort Worth, TX. This sign, embedded into the sidewalk, was an attempt generate business for the nearby bank by assuring depositors that their savings would be safe. Most banks used Greek Revival architecture to promote the same message.

Wealthy homeowners appropriated the symbolism of Greek Revival to remind people of their power and prestige. Plantation homes in parts of the Antebellum South were almost exclusively Greek Revival. The symbolism originally associated with this architectural style was ironically misused by slavers who crafted a system of government diametrically opposed to the system of governance that inspired the adoption of Greek Revival!

Figure 7-32: White Castle, LA: Nottoway Plantation, like many dozens of other homes of wealthy planters in the South appropriated parts of the symbolism of Greek Revival and in the process altering part of the symbolic value of this style to include slavery.

Consider how the adoption of this Greek Revival by non-governmental institutions (like slave owners and bankers) affects the way we “read” Greek Revival architecture today. Consider how a black man, perhaps a descendant of slaves, walking past a Greek Revival courthouse in 1920 (or 2017) in Mississippi might read the symbolism of the building. What would Greek Revival “say” about his chances for justice should ever find himself inside that courthouse? If he were in Boston, would the building evoke a different meaning?

Consider the symbolic qualities of the courthouses in Las Vegas and Santa Barbara, California (left and center). What ethnic group might not value the symbolic quality of Mission Revival architecture used in Santa Barbara? Try to read the symbolic landscape surrounding a Greek Revival church on the right in West Monroe, Louisiana? How might African-Americans from Louisiana read Greek Revival in the Confederate South differently than they do in the Midwest?

This is to remind you that architecture and other elements of the built landscape are not passive. Landscapes affect us all. It conditions what we think and how we act. We, in turn, affect the meanings associated with every item on the landscape. The cultural landscape is ever-changing, and our society is responsible for collectively creating meanings around the things we see. It changes us and we change it.