
July 14, 2006
Move It Down . . . A Little to the Right
Detail, Guggenheim Museum facade under renovation. Photograph by Chris Kasabach, 2006.
One of the great artifacts of American architecture is being renovated in New York City. Scaffolds are up, and paint and surface stucco are being removed. And what do we find?
That some years ago, some poor sign installer went to put the first letter of the name of the museum up on the wall, and someone screamed, “No, you idiot! Lower! Much Lower! Get it down close to the edge. And a quarter-inch to the right.”
That the building is the Guggenheim Museum, and that the architect was Frank Lloyd Wright, makes this photographic detail especially interesting.
Detail, Guggenheim Museum facade under renovation. Photograph by Chris Kasabach, 2006.
Tying letterforms to the soffit edge — emphasizing the horizontal line — was clearly Wright’s intention early on, as evident in his drawings. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he ever floated text. Wright tended to use text in an “active” way to emphasize building lines and datums; or packed in a square panel, expressing a planning module. (Mies van der Rohe would float signage, but generally preferred to have none.)
Guggenheim Museum, perspective drawing by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1951.
I’m not sure that it was Frank Lloyd Wright who art directed this correction. It could have happened years later. (Perhaps an architectural historian or typographer among our audience can shed some light on this.)
As they say, though, design is in the details. These are the kinds of little decisions, one at a time, hundreds cumulatively, that make a great building great.
Observed
View all
Observed
By William Drenttel
Related Posts

Business
Courtney L. McCluney, PhD|Essays
Rest as reparations: reimagining how we invest in Black women entrepreneurs

Design Impact
Seher Anand|Essays
Food branding without borders: chai, culture, and the politics of packaging

Graphic Design
Sarah Gephart|Essays
A new alphabet for a shared lived experience

Arts + Culture
Nila Rezaei|Essays
“Dear mother, I made us a seat”: a Mother’s Day tribute to the women of Iran
Recent Posts
Candace Parker & Michael C. Bush on Purpose, Leadership and Meeting the MomentCourtney L. McCluney, PhD|Essays
Rest as reparations: reimagining how we invest in Black women entrepreneurs Food branding without borders: chai, culture, and the politics of packaging Why scaling back on equity is more than risky — it’s economically irresponsibleRelated Posts

Business
Courtney L. McCluney, PhD|Essays
Rest as reparations: reimagining how we invest in Black women entrepreneurs

Design Impact
Seher Anand|Essays
Food branding without borders: chai, culture, and the politics of packaging

Graphic Design
Sarah Gephart|Essays
A new alphabet for a shared lived experience

Arts + Culture
Nila Rezaei|Essays