Wikipedia

Cranbrook Educational Community

TheCranbrook Educational Communityis an education, research, and public museum complex inBloomfield Hills, Michigan.ThisNational Historic Landmarkwas founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogulGeorge Gough Booth.It consists ofCranbrook Schools,Cranbrook Academy of Art,Cranbrook Art Museum,Cranbrook Institute of Science,andCranbrook House and Gardens.The founders also built Christ Church Cranbrook as a focal point in order to serve the educational complex. However, the church is a separate entity under theEpiscopal Diocese of Michigan.[3]The sprawling 319-acre (1,290,000 m2) campus began as a 174-acre (700,000 m2) farm, purchased in 1904. The organization takes its name fromCranbrook, England,the birthplace of the founder's father.

Cranbrook
Cranbrook Art Museum
Location39221 Woodward Avenue
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Coordinates42°34′3.4″N83°14′36.9″W/ 42.567611°N 83.243583°W/42.567611; -83.243583
Built1926–99
ArchitectEliel Saarinen
Architectural style20th Century American
NRHP referenceNo.73000954
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 7, 1973[1]
Designated NHLDJune 29, 1989[2]

Cranbrook is renowned for its architecture in theArts and CraftsandArt Decostyles. The chief architect wasEliel SaarinenwhileAlbert Kahnwas responsible for the Booth mansion. SculptorsCarl MillesandMarshall Fredericksalso spent many years in residence at Cranbrook.

Schools at Cranbrook

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Main article:Cranbrook Schools

Cranbrook Schools comprise a co-educational day and boarding college preparatory "upper" school, a middle school, and Brookside Lower School.[4]

In 1922, the Bloomfield Hills School was the first school to open on the Cranbrook grounds. Founded by George Booth, the Bloomfield Hills School was intended as thecommunity schoolfor local area children. The Bloomfield Hills School ultimately evolved into Brookside School. Following completion of the Bloomfield Hills School, Booth looked forward to building Cranbrook School for Boys, an all-boys College-Preparatory school at which students from theDetroitarea and abroad would come to reside. Booth wanted the Cranbrook School to possess an architecture reminiscent of the finest British boarding schools; he hired Finnish architectEliel Saarinento design the campus. Cranbrook's initial phase of building was completed in 1928.

Christ Church Cranbrook (1925–1928), by architectBertram Goodhue,with windows byHarry Wright Goodhue

Over the years, the Cranbrook School for Boys campus grew to include Stevens Hall, Page Hall, and Coulter Hall. While primarily functioning as only residential spaces, Page Hall featured a smoking lounge as well as a shooting range. Lerchen Gymnasium, Keppel Gymnasium, and Thompson Oval were also constructed on the campus. In the 1960s, Cranbrook School for Boys also constructed a state-of-the-art Science Building named the Gordon Science Center.

Realizing that young women would also need a place of their own to learn, Ellen Scripps Booth, Booth's wife, pressured Booth into building a school for girls. Scripps Booth supervised the project, which she named the Kingswood School Cranbrook. Unlike her husband, Scripps Booth encouraged Eliel Saarinen to come up with a unique interior design for the campus completely on his own. Instead of the several buildings that housed the Cranbrook School for Boys, the Kingswood School Cranbrook was contained within one building that included all necessary features, including dormitories, a dining hall, an auditorium, classrooms, a bowling alley, a ballroom, and lounges and common areas. The education at Kingswood School Cranbrook was initially viewed as a "finishing school",though that changed over time.

In 1986, the Cranbrook School for Boys and Kingswood School Cranbrook entered a joint agreement, renaming the new institution the Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School.

Cranbrook Academy of Art

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Main article:Cranbrook Academy of Art

The Cranbrook Academy of Art, agraduate schoolforarchitecture,art,anddesign,was founded by George Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. In 1984,The New York Timeswrote that "the effect of Cranbrook and its graduates and faculty on the physical environment of this country has been profound... Cranbrook, surely more than any other institution, has a right to think of itself as synonymous with contemporary American design."[5]

The buildings were designed and the school first headed byEliel Saarinen,who integrated design practices and theories from theArts and Crafts movementthrough theinternational style.The school continues to be known for itsapprenticeshipmethod of teaching, in which a small group of students—usually only 10 to 16 per class, or 150 students in total for the ten departments—study under a singleartist-in-residencefor the duration of their curriculum. There are no traditional courses; all learning is self-directed under the guidance and supervision of the respective artist-in-residence.[6]

Academics

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The Cranbrook School Quadrangle

The school currently confers two degrees:Master of Fine ArtsandMaster of Architecture.The Master of Architecture degree is a post-professional degree and is not accredited by theNational Architectural Accrediting Board.Cranbrook Art Academy currently has 11 departments — 2D Design, 3D Design, 4D Design, Architecture, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media and Sculpture.[7]The latest department (4D Design) began taking students in the fall of 2019, under the leadership of Carla Diana, a Cranbrook Art Academy alumna.[8]In 2022, Paul Sacaridiz was appointed the Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.[9]

Cranbrook Art Museum

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Cranbrook gardens

The Cranbrook Art Museum is a museum ofcontemporary artwith a permanent collection, including works byCharles and Ray Eames,Harry Bertoia,Maija Grotell,Carl Milles,Robert Motherwell,Andy Warhol,andRoy Lichtenstein.[10]Completed in 1942 under the direction of architect Eliel Saarinen, the museum is housed in the same building as the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

The museum also offers tours of Saarinen House, which has undergone painstaking restoration beginning in 1977.[11]The remaining areas of the house were completed between 1988 and 1994.[12]The museum is accredited by theAmerican Alliance of Museums.

Sculptor Carl Milles' numerous works in Metro Detroit include those at Cranbrook Educational Community, such asMermaids & Tritons Fountain(1930),Sven Hedin on a Camel(1932),Jonah and the Whale Fountain(1932),Orpheus Fountain(1936), andSpirit of Transportation(1952), currently inCobo Center.[13]

In 2009, the museum closed for renovation and expansion, reopening in November 2011. The project restored aspects of the original building designed by Saarinen, made necessary structural repairs, replaced windows, and upgraded mechanical systems. The renovated museum features year-round, changing exhibitions and a new Collections and Education Wing—an additional 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) of storage and classroom space open to visitors by guided tour. Based on an open storage plan, the new wing allows the museum's entire collection to be seen.[14]

Cranbrook Institute of Science

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Cranbrook Institute of Science (2021)

The Cranbrook Institute of Science includes a permanent collection of scientific artifacts, as well as displays of annual temporary exhibits. It also features aplanetariumand a powerfultelescopethrough which visitors may peer on selected nights.

The museum grounds feature a life-sized statue of aStegosaurus.

From 1946 to 1970, the institute awarded theMary Soper Pope Medalfor notable achievement inplant sciences.[15]

Cranbrook House and Gardens

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Cranbrook House and Gardens

Cranbrook House and Gardens are the centerpiece of the Cranbrook Educational Community campus. The 1908 English Arts and Crafts-style house was designed byAlbert Kahnfor Cranbrook founders George Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth. Ten first-floor rooms can be seen on guided tours; the rooms containtapestries,hand-carvedwoodworking,and English antiques in theArts and Craftsstyle. The upper floors are used for the executive offices of the Cranbrook Educational Community.

Originally designed by George Booth, the 40-acre (160,000 m2) gardens include a sunken garden,formal gardens,abog garden,aherb garden,awildflower garden,aJapanese garden,sculpture,fountains, specimen trees, and a lake.

Leonard Bernsteinrecalled composing portions of his Symphony No. 2,The Age of Anxiety,on the Cranbrook HouseSteinway concert grand pianowhile residing there in April 1946.[16][17]Bernstein had come to Detroit at the request of Zoltan Sepeshy to conduct theDetroit Symphony OrchestraatMusic Hall.While visiting, he requested studio space where he could compose, and Sepeshy had the piano moved from Cranbrook House into St. Dunstan's Playhouse.[18]

The house and gardens are open to the public from May through October.

St. Dunstan's Playhouse

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St. Dunstan's Playhouse, while not formally a part of the Cranbrook Educational Community, is located on the Cranbrook grounds near the Cranbrook House. The Playhouse, a 206-seat theater, houses the St. Dunstan's Theatre Guild of Cranbrook. The guild was founded in 1932 by Henry Scripps Booth, the son of Cranbrook's founders George and Ellen Booth.

In the summer months, the St. Dunstan's Theatre Guild performs in the outdoorGreek Theatreadjacent to the Cranbrook House. The theater was restored in 1990–1991.[12]

Historic landmark

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Fourteen buildings making up the Cranbrook complex were added to theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1973[1]and were further designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989,[2]cited as being "one of the most important groups of educational and architectural structures in America".[19]

The contributing buildings are:[19]

  1. Brookside School Cranbrook
  2. Buildings & Grounds Offices
  3. Christ Church, Cranbrook
  4. Cranbrook Academy of Art
  5. Cranbrook Foundation Office
  6. Cranbrook House & Gardens
  7. Cranbrook Institute of Science
  8. Cranbrook School
  9. Cranbrook School Auditorium
  10. Edison House
  11. Faculty Housing
  12. Greek Theater at St. Dunstan's
  13. Kingswood School Cranbrook
  14. Visitors Entrance

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toCranbrook Educational Community.

References

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  1. ^ab"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ab"Cranbrook".National Historic Landmark summary listing.Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2014.RetrievedJune 27,2008.
  3. ^Coir, Mark (2005)."Cranbrook: A brief history"(PDF).Cranbrook Community.RetrievedMarch 22,2019.
  4. ^Newton-Matza, Mitchell (September 6, 2016).Historic Sites and Landmarks that Shaped America: From Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero [2 volumes]: From Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero.ABC-CLIO. p. 128.ISBN978-1-61069-750-7.
  5. ^Goldberger, Paul (April 8, 1984)."The Cranbrook Vision".The New York Times Magazine.RetrievedOctober 10,2009.
  6. ^Palacio, Bryony Gomez; Vit, Armin (December 1, 2011).Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design.Rockport Publishers. p. 130.ISBN978-1-59253-742-6.
  7. ^"Cranbrook Art Departments".Cranbrook Academy of Art.RetrievedJuly 4,2023.
  8. ^Heller, Steven (November 15, 2018)."Carla Diana Launches 4D Design at Cranbrook".Print.RetrievedJuly 4,2023.
  9. ^"Cranbrook Academy of Art Welcomes 12th Director, Paul Sacaridiz"(Press release). Cranbrook Academy of Art. January 18, 2022.RetrievedJuly 4,2023.
  10. ^"Cranbrook Art Museum".Cranbrook Community.Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2011.RetrievedApril 7,2011.
  11. ^Wittkopp, Gregory; Balmori, Diana (March 1995).Saarinen House and Garden: A Total Work of Art.Harry Abrams. pp. 8–9.ISBN978-0-8109-4462-6.RetrievedMarch 22,2019.
  12. ^ab"Building Chronology 1976-2000".Cranbrook Community.Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2012.RetrievedNovember 9,2011.
  13. ^Baluch, Vivian M. (September 6, 1999)."Michigan History: Carl Milles, Cranbrook's favorite sculptor".The Detroit News.Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2016.RetrievedNovember 23,2007.
  14. ^"At the Birthplace of Modernism, A Rebirth"(Press release). Cranbrook Community. July 27, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon November 28, 2011.RetrievedNovember 10,2011.
  15. ^"Cranbrook Institute of Science Director's Papers".Cranbrook Community. Retrieved Dec. 27, 2016.
  16. ^Your Gateway to Cranbrook,Cranbook Community. Accessed March 22, 2019.
  17. ^Presenter: Richard Guy Wilson (1997). "Newspaper Moguls, Pittock Mansion, Cranbrook House & Gardens, The American Swedish Institute".America's Castles.A&E.
  18. ^Luzenski, James (July 2006)."St. Dunstan's Guild Records (Summary)"(PDF).Cranbrook Archives.p. 4.RetrievedAugust 1,2013.
  19. ^abPitts, Carolyn (February 9, 1989)."National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Cranbrook".National Park Service.RetrievedJanuary 24,2016.Accompanying nine photos from 1959 and 1980.

Further reading

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