An interesting object in the museum collection is a large plaster model
of the house, crafted in the late 1930s.
On display in the Visitors Center, the model is used as a tool to
explain the theory behind the floor plan and massing of the house, especially
on days when the weather prevents visitors from getting a good tour of the
street elevations and courtyard.
The model was one of thousands created by the Museum Extension Project (MEP)
of the Pennsylvania Work Projects Administration, organized in 1935. The purposes for the MEP were explained in
the catalog which accompanied the model:
“In the first year of
its existence the Work Projects Administration in Pennsylvania gained the
distinction of originating the State-Wide Museum Extension type of Project . .
. Pride can be taken in the fact that along its original line of activity the Project
has produced approximately one million articles primarily designed for visual
education purposes in Pennsylvania’s tax-supported public schools, colleges and
libraries. The maps, charts, models and
other devices originated by the Project and put in the hands of children are
enabling all young minds more readily to get a realistic grasp of vital
subjects they may be studying.
“Operating as a
segment of the Federal Work Projects Administration the Museum Extension
Project in Pennsylvania for several years has tended to give employment to an
average of 1,200 persons who otherwise apparently would have been idle. Through the systematic development of
processes that have combined the varied skills of a considerable number of the
workers with the opportunity to train hitherto unskilled personnel, the Project
has found it possible to create and to offer to the educational world authentic
and comparatively complete graphic presentations of the human race’s
evolutionary efforts to house and clothe itself.”
Glessner model, north elevation
The MEP had three main divisions.
The first consisted of the work units in which the items were actually
produced. There were seven work units
across the state, including the Pittsburgh unit where the Glessner model was
produced. The models became the property
of the schools which ordered them, in order to create Chidren’s Museums. Since it was not possible to equip every
school with all of the materials, the second division of the MEP created
regional Children’s Museums. The third
division involved actual museum work – the cleaning, restoring, repairing, and
cataloging of objects owned by numerous organizations around the state including
the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Philadelphia Art Museum, Pennsylvania
Museum of Natural Sciences, and many others.
The Pennsylvania Project became a model that was copied by many other
states. In fact, the Pennsylvania MEP
freely offered to share their blue prints and other plans with any other state
MEP who requested them.
The Glessner house model was offered in the third catalog of the MEP,
issued in late 1939. A review of the
table of contents reveals the breadth of materials that were produced:
-Costume Plates
-Flags of the Nations Plates
-Benjamin Franklin Plates
-Architectural Models
-Games
-Maps
-Geologic and Industrial Miniature Models
-Native Handcraft and Handcraft Designs
-Lantern Slides
-Fish Plaques
-Dioramas
-Decorative Panels
-Pamphlets and Handbooks
-Marionettes and Puppets
-Food Models
-Flash Cards
-Materials for the Blind
Models of the 1810 Nixon Tavern in
Fairchance, PA awaiting distribution to schools
Fairchance, PA awaiting distribution to schools
The catalog included a series of 110 plaster architectural models, made
to scale and antiqued. Each school could
order up to 15 models. Categories
included:
-Prehistoric dwellings
-Primitive Dwellings
-Egyptian
-Greek
-Roman
-Byzantine
-Romanesque
-Gothic
-Renaissance
-Early American
-Pennsylvania Historic
-Late American
-Racial & Nationalistic
Glessner house was included in the Late American category along with
such examples as an 1860 Victorian Gothic country house, a modern San Francisco
town house, and a modern country house “after Frank Lloyd Wright.”
The model bears the official emblem of the WPA. Instructions for the recipients specifically
required that the emblem not be removed or defaced, as they were the “unqualified
guarantee of authenticity.” The Glessner
emblem reads “W.P.A. PITTSBURGH PA DISTRICT 15” indicating it was made in
District 15, the Pittsburgh office, which was one of the largest and most
active in the state. It was sponsored by
the Pittsburgh School Board and occupied a five-story building at 3400 Forbes
Street. A description of the District 15
facility written in 1936 indicated that it:
“employs 880 people,
namely: sculptors, painters, architects, draftsmen, teachers, librarians,
biologists, researchers, writers, designers, musicians, skilled tradesmen and
hundreds of (other) workers. . . Its supervisory staff is 100% college trained.”
The Pennsylvania WPA employed approximately 250,000 workers at any one
time and nearly 640,000 during the time period of 1935 to 1942, so the MEP was
a very small part of the overall work, employing on average 1,200 persons at
any one time. World War II and the need
for workers in war-related industries led to the disbanding of the WPA in
1942.
The Glessner model, labeled “Richardsonian Romanesque, 1885 Glessner
House, Chicago” is a fairly accurate representation of the house, although
there are some differences, such as the absence of the large hayloft dormer on
the west side of the house. These are
probably explained by the fact that the architects and designers working on the
model were working off of Richardson plans available in libraries, rather than
examining the actual building itself.
The design of the house evolved over time, so elements missing in
earlier plans were added later; other elements were later removed or altered before
construction commenced.
Glessner model, courtyard
It is not known how many of the original architectural models survive
today, although several are owned by the Broward County Library system in
Southern Florida. These include the two
models shown below which depict the Palazzo Contarini-Fasan in Venice, and
Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Their
website includes additional information on the WPA and the MEP in particular:
Palazzo Contarini-Fasan, Venice, Italy
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA
The museum is fortunate to possess this model for two reasons. For one, the creation of the model indicates
the recognition of the importance of Glessner house in the history of American
residential architecture. Secondly, the
model serves as a record of the talented individuals who produced these items
by the thousands as part of the Museum Extension Project of the Work Projects
Administration in the State of Pennsylvania.
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