NCAS President Justin Shubow Interviewed on First Things' Podcast Regarding Federal Architecture Legislation

First Things magazine's podcast features an interview of National Civic Art Society president Justin Shubow by senior editor Mark Bauerlein in which they discuss legislation pending in the U.S. House and Senate that would dramatically re-orient federal architecture from modernism to classical and traditional design. The bills would require that public input be given substantial weight when the government makes design decisions.

You can listen to the podcast HERE.

Relatedly, Politico interviewed Shubow about the aforementioned legislation. To quote the article:

The growth of government in the decades after World War II happened to take place during one of the most maligned periods in public architecture. Like college campuses, government properties have been among the modernist era’s most conspicuous offenders, perhaps because the people commissioning the buildings were not the ones who would have to live or work in them. When it’s their own private home or business, people tend to be much less deferential to the artistes drawing up the blueprints.

In Shubow’s telling, that deference is the problem — baked right into the 1962 [Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture] his rivals want to enshrine in law. “Design must flow from the architectural profession to the Government,” it declares, “and not vice versa.” Rather than a gesture of support for creativity, he says, the language essentially orders public servants to abandon their duty of keeping an eye on the contractors. (He notes that the AIA, which has blasted the GOP bill in the name of free expression, isn’t quite a dispassionate academic group: It’s a trade association for architects, i.e. those very same contractors.) ...

Shubow takes satisfaction in a June report from the Government Accountability Office that advises the GSA to formally require and incorporate community input on building designs — a byproduct, he says, of the attention given to Trump’s classical-architecture orders.

It’s a recommendation that’s going to be hard for anyone in politics to criticize, no matter what their opinions on au courant architecture. For elected officials, it may feel un-American to legislate a default national style — but it would seem downright suicidal to openly tell the general public that their views don’t count.

Wall Street Journal Publishes Op-Ed by NCAS Research Fellow Myron Magnet Supporting Federal Architecture Bill

The June 27, 2023 edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an op-ed by National Civic Art Society Research Fellow Myron Magnet:

Government Buildings Don’t Have to Be Ugly

The Founders favored the classical style. The Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act would make it the standard.

By Myron Magnet

Federal architecture for 60 years embodied the administrative state’s rules and regulations. Imposed by unelected mandarins, federal designs celebrate technocracy and faceless power. Yet thanks to a joint effort in Congress, our era of elitist and spiritually impoverished government buildings may soon come to an end.

Federal design should “uplift and beautify public spaces,” “ennoble” the U.S, and “command respect from the general public.” These are three provisions from the Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act, which Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana have introduced. The legislation would make classical architecture the default style for major federal buildings in Washington and classical or traditional regional architecture the norm elsewhere. Any deviation would require that the General Services Administration explain its decision to Congress. . . .

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You can read the complete op-ed HERE.

National Civic Art Society Hails Bicameral Legislation That Would Beautify Federal Architecture

Today, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill, ‘‘Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act,’’ that would dramatically re-orient federal architecture from modernism to classical and traditional design. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Mike Lee (R-UT) are original co-sponsors. You can find Senator Rubio's announcement here.

The Act is a companion to a bill of the same title (H.R.3627) recently introduced in the U.S. House by Representative Jim Banks (R-IN), who published an op-ed about it at Townhall.com.

The National Civic Art Society (NCAS) strongly endorses this much-needed bicameral legislation.

Justin Shubow, President of the National Civic Art Society, issued the following statement:

“The National Civic Art Society strongly supports the Beautifying Federal Civic Architecture Act. It is crucial that the design of federal buildings reflects the preferences of ordinary Americans—namely, that such buildings be beautiful, uplifting, and designed in a classical or traditional style. Whereas the current government process for choosing building designs involves zero input from the community, this legislation democratizes design by requiring that there be substantial input from the general public. We applaud Senator Rubio and Representative Banks for their leadership on this important issue. The National Civic Art Society looks forward to working with Senator Rubio’s and Representatives Banks’ offices to ensure they succeed in making their bills law.”

Both bills:

• Require that applicable Federal public buildings (i.e., federal courthouses, federal agency headquarters, federal public buildings in Washington, D.C., and any other federal public building that could cost more than $50 million to erect) should uplift and beautify public spaces, inspire the human spirit, ennoble the United States, command respect from the general public, be visually identifiable as civic buildings, and respect regional architectural heritage;

• Make classical and traditional architecture the preferred style for said federal public buildings;

• Make classical architecture the preferred and default style for federal public buildings in Washington, D.C. absent exceptional factors necessitating another kind of architecture;

• Require input from the general public and future users of an applicable federal public building, and give the former substantial consideration, before the selection of an architectural firm or design style;

• Establish a council that would recommend updates to policies, procedures, and practices of the GSA so that GSA adheres to the bill’s requirements.

In 2020, NCAS commissioned a poll conducted by the non-partisan polling firm The Harris Poll gauging Americans’ preferences for federal architecture. This poll of over 2,000 U.S. adults found that nearly three-quarters of Americans (72%)—including majorities across political, racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic lines—prefer traditional architecture for federal office buildings and U.S. courthouses. The survey found that 70% of Democrats prefer tradition, compared with 73% of Republicans. The survey report and its methodology can be found here.

The National Civic Art Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. that educates and empowers civic leaders in the promotion of public art and architecture worthy of our great Republic. Among NCAS’s activities and accomplishments, we:

• spearheaded a presidential Executive Order re-orienting federal architecture in a classical and traditional direction.

• direct an effort in New York City to build a new classical Pennsylvania Station inspired by the original by McKim, Mead & White.

• led a successful advocacy campaign for a classical design for the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• launched and led a six-year campaign to stop Frank Gehry’s design for the National Eisenhower Memorial, which resulted in Congress holding up funding for four years.

• produced the documentary “Washington: The Classical City,” about how the nation’s capital became an iconic classical city.

Video of a Debate: Should Washington, D.C. Raise Its Height Limit?

Ellen McCarthy, Brian O’Looney, Harriet Tregoning, and Justin Shubow Debated Whether Washington, D.C. Should Raise Its Height Limit. Matt Bell moderated.

Since 1910, the maximum height of buildings in Washington, D.C. has been greatly limited by federal law. On April 2, 2023, the National Civic Art Society and Congress for the New Urbanism sponsored a debate over whether D.C.'s limit should be raised.

Arguing for the negative were Justin Shubow, President of the National Civic Art Society, and Brian O'Looney, Partner at Torti + Gallas. Arguing for the positive were Ellen McCarthy, Partner at The Urban Partnership, and Harriet Tregoning, Director of the New Urban Mobility Alliance. Both McCarthy and Tregoning are former Directors of the D.C. Office of Planning.

The moderator was Matt Bell, Professor of Architecture at the University of Maryland and Principal at Perkins Eastman.

Watch the video HERE.

National Civic Art Society President Justin Shubow Argued That Washington, D.C.’s Height Limit Should Not Be Raised

A Debate Co-sponsored by the National Civic Art Society and Congress for New Urbanism: Should D.C. Raise its Height Limit?

The National Civic Art Society and Congress for New Urbanism cordially invite you to attend a debate on whether Washington, D.C. should raise its height limit.

NCAS President Justin Shubow will be arguing for the negative position, along with Brian O'Looney, partner at Torti Gallas + Partners. Arguing for the affirmative will be Ellen McCarthy, partner at The Urban Partnership, and Harriet Tregoning, director of the New Urban Mobility Alliance.

The debate will take place the morning of Sunday April 2, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the event are $50. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. For details, see above.

In the afternoon, local architects and planners will lead two separate tours around the city. The Classical Washington Tour will focus on the National Mall and surrounding area. The Waterfront Development Tour will look at the new developments of Navy Yard and The Wharf. Both tours will rejoin at the end for a happy hour -- location TBA.

Register HERE. Note that registration closes March 27.

NCAS Co-Sponsors Juried Charrette for the Siting of New Smithsonian Museums

Looking south from the Smithsonian Castle to the Forrestal Building, NCAS's proposed site for two new Smithsonian museums.

A few months ago the Smithsonian Institution announced it will be building the American Women's History Museum and National Museum of the American Latino on sites in the Reserve on the National Mall--one site just next to the Washington Monument, the other on the Tidal Basin (see illustration below).

While the National Civic Art Society is strongly supportive of the construction of the museums, we believe that the proposed sites are wholly inappropriate. As NCAS President Justin Shubow commented in Politico, "There’s no grander or more symbolic axis in America. ... We must ensure that no buildings spoil these and other sight lines and symbolic landscapes, as well as public open space in general."

NCAS believes that a far superior site for the museums is the site currently occupied by the Forrestal Building (see photo above), an ugly Brutalist hulk that is currently occupied by the Department of Energy. Located at 1000 Independence Avenue SW, the prominent, honorific, and accessible site is just across the street to the south of the Smithsonian Castle.

To encourage the use of that site, we have partnered with Catholic University's architecture school to support a juried design charrette for CUA graduate students. The charrette is producing urbanistic proposals for siting the museums at the Forrestal site. 

The jury comprises former New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger; architects Anne Fairfax, Elizabeth Moule, David Schwarz, and Teófilo Victoria; and urban planners Dhiru Thadani and John Torti.

The students will make their presentations to the jury, which will provide constructive feedback, on Tuesday March 21, 2023 at Catholic University from 9:00 AM to until noon. The location is Miller Hall at the Crough Center (620 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, D.C.). The event is free and open to the public. A light breakfast will be served.

We cordially invite you to attend. 

The Smithsonian's preferred sites for the American Women's History Museum and National Museum of the American Latino.

National Civic Art Society Appoints Myron Magnet Research Fellow

The National Civic Art Society is proud to announce that it has appointed Myron Magnet as its Research Fellow. A journalist and historian, Magnet is editor-at-large of City Journal magazine and was editor from 1994 through 2006. As editor, he oversaw special issues for which he commissioned designs for a new classical Lincoln Center, an inspiring new development at Ground Zero (including classical monuments by Alexander Stoddart), and proposed skyscrapers featuring traditional architecture.

A former member of the board of editors of Fortune, Magnet has written about a wide variety of topics, from American society and social policy, economics, and corporate management to intellectual history, literature, architecture, and the country’s founding. In addition to his many City Journal and Fortune articles, Magnet has written for The Wall Street Journal, New Criterion, and New York Times, among others. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs.

Among Magnet's most recent books is The Founders at Home: The Building of America, 1735-1817, which examines how the homes of the Founding Fathers reflect their values and ideals, as well as their aspirations for the new nation.

Magnet holds B.A.s from Columbia University and the University of Cambridge, as well as an M.A. from Cambridge and a Ph.D. from Columbia, where he taught for several years.

In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Magnet the National Humanities Medal.

National Civic Art Society Elects Richard Hough as New Chairman

The National Civic Art Society is proud to announce that its Board of Directors has elected Richard R. Hough III as its new Chairman. A longtime member of the NCAS Board, Hough is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, a New York-based registered investment advisor firm with nearly $30 billion in assets under management.

Hough is a former member of the Board of Governors and executive committee of the Investment Adviser Association. Hough also serves as Chairman of Board of the Institute for Family Studies, and he serves on the boards of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation; The Tunison Foundation; Christendom College; and the advisory council of The New Criterion. Hough received a B.A. in politics and philosophy from Princeton University.

Hough replaces Marion Smith, President of the Common Sense Society, who stepped down as chairman of NCAS after serving in that role for 10 momentous years.

According to Hough, “I am honored to serve as chairman of NCAS. Under Marion Smith’s visionary leadership, NCAS made history with its victories and achievements. I look forward to building on Marion’s success and stewarding the organization in a new era of promoting beautiful, meaningful public art and architecture that embodies America’s highest ideals.”

According to Smith, “It’s been an honor to serve as chairman of NCAS for the last 10 years. Much good work has been done in that time due to the courageous leadership of our Directors, the generosity of our many members and supporters, and the tenacious work of our President Justin Shubow. We are fortunate to have Rick Hough as our new chairman and I look forward to remaining on the board of NCAS as we continue to advocate for classical architecture in Washington, D.C., for enduring civic art around the country, and for a sounder process in Federal building design which is funded by taxpayers and intended to benefit the American public.”

Panel Discussion on "The Golden City"

The National Civic Art Society and The American Conservative cordially invite you to attend a panel discussion on the re-issue of Henry Hope Reed's book The Golden City, a 1959 manifesto on the need for classical principles in contemporary architecture. The event will take place on November 30, 2022 at the University Club in Washington, D.C.

The Golden City was a seminal, critical document that developed one of the earliest and most compelling arguments against the then-dominant hegemony of modernism by reawakening interest in the value of our country’s built patrimony, particularly with respect to its notable classical architecture, classical sculpture, and ornament in the built environment. The book’s argument remains vital today.

The Golden City was recently re-published with new essays by critic Catesby Leigh and architect Alvin Holm. Join us as Leigh and Holm participate in a discussion about the book moderated by Reed disciple Seth Weine, an architectural and graphic designer.

The event, which will be followed by a reception, is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click HERE to register. 

Date: Wednesday November 30, 2022

Reception: 5:00 PM

Panel: 6:00 PM

Location: University Club, 1135 16th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Cost: Free

Using NCAS Materials, Scientific Study Shows Preference for Traditional Architecture in Federal Buildings

Heat maps from theHapi study. Left: U.S. Courthouse in Toledo, Ohio. Right: Hansen Federal Building in Ogden, Utah. 

In 2020 the National Civic Art Society conducted a survey by the Harris Poll of Americans’ preferred architecture for federal buildings and U.S. courthouses. We carefully paired photos of existing government buildings—a Modernist one versus a traditional one in each pair—and asked participants which building they preferred.

Recently, NCAS funded a scientific study by the Human Architecture + Planning Institute (theHapi) that used eye-tracking technology to study how participants experienced the photos used in our survey. Data was collected and aggregated to form "heat maps" that glow reddest where people look most, and fade to yellow, then green, and finally, no color at all, in areas ignored. Such heat maps indicate viewers' conscious and subconscious interest.

TheHapi published the study’s results, which demonstrated the public’s preference for classical and traditional designs: “the remarkable, and remarkably consistent, finding this eye-tracking pilot-study revealed: no matter where the buildings were in the U.S., traditional civic architecture consistently drew viewer attention and focus while modern-style counterparts did not.”

For the full study results, click HERE.

Announcing the 2022 National Civic Art Society Tour Series

The National Civic Art Society cordially invites you to take part in our 2022 walking tour series of architecture and public art in Washington, D.C. Local historian Jeanne Fogle will bring Washington’s past alive through stories of residents and government officials, the background of lesser known monuments, and insight into the city’s distinctive architectural development, both public and private.

About the tour guide: Jeanne Fogle is a Washington, D.C., historian who was born in the nation’s capital, where her family has lived for more than 150 years. She has authored three books on Washington, D.C.’s social and architectural history: Two Hundred Years: Stories of the Nation’s Capital, Proximity to Power, Neighbors to the Presidents Near Lafayette Square, and Washington, D.C., a Pictorial Celebration. Fogle serves as an adjunct professor of Washington History and Regional Tour Guiding and Tour Managing at NOVA. Her great-grandfather George F. W. Strieby was an accomplished fresco artist whose work adorns the U.S. Capitol.

Tours are limited to two hours in length and begin at 10:00am at the location indicated. The cost per tour is $10. NCAS members, students, interns, and Hill staffers may obtain free tickets by e-mailing info@civicart.org. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@civicart.org or call (202) 670-1776.

Tour 1. Embassy Row Architecture on Massachusetts Ave. – May 8, 10:00am-Noon

The Embassy Row architecture along Massachusetts Ave. evolved in the past century, when large diplomatic delegations came to Washington and began to occupy the city’s older magnificent mansions, originally commissioned by wealthy owners, designed by the leading architects of the day. Later, foreign governments built embassies near these grand mansions, respecting their grandeur, but adding a sense of utility. This tour will cover 2-3 miles.

Meet at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave. and 17th St. NW (SW corner / Peruvian Embassy).

Tour 2. 16th Street Architecture Above Florida Ave. – May 15, 10:00am-Noon

Sixteenth Street north of Florida Avenue offers a glimpse of diverse architectural styles reflecting many different uses and purposes of the structures from mansions built private residences or as Embassies, to early 19th century luxury apartment buildings, impressive churches, and a grand public Garden Park “fit for an Aristocrat.” This tour will cover 2-3 miles.

Meet at the intersection of 16th St. and Florida Ave. NW (NW corner / Henderson Castle Wall).

Tour 3. Monumental Architecture of Capitol Hill – May 22, 10:00am-Noon

The monumental buildings of Capitol Hill form a unique cluster Federal and privately built structures of diverse architectural styles that include the marble-clad congressional and judiciary office buildings, federal and private library buildings, and the Roman-inspired train station and neoclassical post office. Many of the buildings are adorned with wonderful sculptures and works of art. This tour will cover 2-3 miles.

Meet at the U.S. Botanic Gardens (Maryland Ave. SW side).

Tour 4. Apartment Architecture of the Kalorama Triangle – June 12, 10:00am-Noon

The Kalorama Triangle neighborhood boasts of some of the finest apartment buildings in Washington, designed by the best-known architects of the time. There are also a number of eye-catching apartment buildings built for those of more modest means. Together, these grand residential buildings showcase imaginative architectural styles to accommodate a diverse population. This tour will cover about 2 miles.

Meet at the intersection of Connecticut Ave. NW and Columbia Rd. NW (above the Hilton hotel)

Tour 5. Outdoor Sculpture West of the U.S. Capitol – June 19, 10:000am-Noon

A multitude of unusual sculptural art fills nearly every large and small park and adorns many buildings within a mile radius of the west front of the Capitol. There are presidential memorials, military memorials, classical and art deco relief sculptures, and a multitude of monuments to commemorate major and minor historical figures and events. This tour will cover about 2-3 miles.

Meet at the intersection of First St. SW and Maryland Ave. SW (near the Garfield Statue).

NCAS Publishes "Modern Art" Book of Poems

The National Civic Art Society is proud to announce its publication of Modern Art: An Exhibition in Criticism, a book of witty and amusing poems by NCAS Research Fellow Michael Curtis.

The poems are intended to be employed like a rusty-nailed fencepost by which you may beat pretentious Modernist artists and architects about the head, repeatedly. The author leaves out no cheap trick of meter or rhyme to achieve his ends. He employs adolescent sing-song, doggerel, slanting rhyme--in short, every mischief-making device he can borrow or invent is used in a manner that would shame lesser poets. Yes, he stoops to conquer. Indeed, conquest is his aim; his tactic, wit; his weapons, mudslinging, ridicule, name-calling, and other dirty tricks of antique pedigree.

According to a review from the Society of Classical Poets, Modern Art is a “bitingly brilliant book.” Curtis “offers a way forward in the sheer pluckiness of this book and his complete comfort in defaulting to traditional forms in his writing. There is something great worth living and creating for, and while he never comes out and says it, we get the sense that Curtis knows it well.”

You can purchase the book HERE.

Video of Panel on "Authenticity, Beauty, and Human Well-being"

On September 14, 2021, the National Civic Art Society and The American Conservative co-hosted a panel discussion on “Authenticity, Beauty, and Human Well-being: Why There Cannot Be Good Urbanism Without Good Architecture” at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.

The speakers and individual topics were:

Architect Nir Buras -- Neuroaesthetics, Technology, and a City of Makers

NCAS Research Fellow Michael Curtis -- a Mid-Career Portfolio

Ann Sussman -- How New Understandings in Psychology and Neuroscience Change How We “See” Architecture and Ourselves

Watch the video HERE. 

Panel on "Authenticity, Beauty, and Human Well-being" Sept. 14 in D.C.

The National Civic Art Society and The American Conservative cordially invite you to attend a panel discussion on architecture and urbanism on Tuesday September 14 at 6:00 PM ET the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. You can watch the live stream of the event HERE.

The subject is “Authenticity, Beauty, and Human Well-being: Why There Cannot Be Good Urbanism Without Good Architecture.” The event, which will be followed by a reception, is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

If the event is sold-out, you may e-mail info@civicart.org to be added to the waitlist.

The speakers and individual topics are:

Architect Nir Buras -- Neuroaesthetics, Technology, and a City of Makers

NCAS Research Fellow Michael Curtis -- a Mid-Career Portfolio

Ann Sussman -- How New Understandings in Psychology and Neuroscience Change How We “See” Architecture and Ourselves

Date: Tuesday September 14, 2021

Time: 6:00 PM ET

Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

Cost: Free

REGISTER HERE or WATCH THE LIVE STREAM

NCAS Launches 2021 Walking tour Series “The Classive Tradition: The Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of Washington, D.C.”

The National Civic Art Society invites you to take part in our 2021 outdoor walking tour series “The Classive Tradition: The Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of Washington, D.C.” led by NCAS Research Fellow Michael Curtis. You can register for them HERE.

About the tour guide: Michael Curtis is a sculptor, painter, historian, architectural designer, and poet who has taught and lectured at widely, including at The Institute of Classical Architecture, The Center for Creative Studies, and The National Gallery of Art. His pictures and statues are housed in over 400 private and public collections, including the Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, and U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Curtis has made statues and medals of presidents, generals, Supreme Court justices, captains of industry, and national heroes, including Davey Crockett, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Justice Thurgood Marshall. Curtis' History of Texas, located at the Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington, Texas, is the largest American frieze of the 20th century. Mr. Curtis' plays, essays, verse, and translations have been published in over 30 journals. His most recent nonfiction books include The Classical Architecture and Monuments of Washington, D.C. Curtis studied classical architecture at the University of Michigan, and painting, sculpture, and engraving at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, Italy.

Tours, which are outdoors, are limited to two hours in length and begin at 10:00 AM at the location indicated. The cost per tour is $10. NCAS members, students, interns, and Hill staffers may obtain free tickets by e-mailing info@civicart.org. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@civicart.org or call (202) 670-1776.

Tour I: Capitol Hill - Saturday May 15, 10:00 AM - noon

Classive Order: The challenge of Knowledge, Justice, Governance embodied in American Classive temples.

• U.S. Capitol

• U.S. Supreme Court

• Library of Congress, Jefferson Building

Meet at Le Bon Café, 210 2nd St SE.

Tour II: The Grand Avenue - Saturday May 22, 10:00 AM - noon

Classical America: The Muse, the Father, the People symbolized.

• National Mall

• Washington Monument

• Jefferson Memorial

Meet outside the Washington Monument Bookstore, 15th St., National Mall.

Tour III: President’s Park - Saturday June 5, 10:00 AM - noon

A Republic of Virtue: Virtues necessary to a republic, Authority, Community, Commerce.

• White House

• Lafayette Square

• U.S. Treasury Department

Meet at the entrance of Teaism at 800 Connecticut Ave NW.

Tour IV: Liberty Stroll - Saturday June 12, 10:00 AM - noon

National, Political, and Personal Liberty: The Statue: not free, at Liberty to approach Divinity.

• Lafayette Park; Lafayette, Rochambeau, Kosciusko, Von Steuben

• Treasury; Hamilton & Gallatin

• Decatur House

Meet at the entrance of Teaism at 800 Connecticut Ave NW.

Tour V: Honoring Heroes - Saturday June 19, 10:00 AM - noon

Sacrifice and Remembrance: Memory, Honor, Forgetfulness.

• Lincoln Memorial

• National World War II Memorial

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial (and other memorials as time permits)

Meet outside the Lincoln Memorial Bookstore.

National Civic Art Society Mourns the Passing of Benefactor Richard Driehaus

Richard Driehaus outside the Driehaus Museum in Chicago

The National Civic Art Society mourns the sudden passing of Chicago-based philanthropist Richard Driehaus, who created and funded the Driehaus Architecture Prize, the premier classical alternative to the predominantly modernist Pritzker Prize. He is also responsible for the Henry Hope Reed Award, which is given to an individual working outside the practice of architecture who has supported the cultivation of traditional architecture and art through writing, planning, or promotion.

Driehaus’ contributions to humanistic architecture, design, and the built environment exceeded $50 million.

He was a generous benefactor of the National Civic Art Society, and he played a momentous role in getting the organization off the ground. His support and enthusiasm for NCAS continued to his passing.

A man of exquisite taste, Driehaus also restored significant historic buildings, including the 1883 Gilded Age Samuel Mayo Nickerson Mansion, which now serves as The Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago; the 1886 Richardsonian Romanesque Ransom Cable Mansion, which served as headquarters for his business; and the 1906 Georgian-style estate built by Norman W. Harris in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

“Through his extraordinary visionary generosity, Richard Driehaus transformed the field of architecture,” said National Civic Art Society President Justin Shubow. “His prizes and related philanthropy invigorated contemporary classical architecture, which he rightfully believed was a worthy endeavor that brought beauty and delight into the lives of ordinary people. He is also to be remembered for his leadership in and financial backing of the opposition to Frank Gehry’s gargantuan deconstructivist design for the National Eisenhower Memorial—a campaign that improved the final design."

"Driehaus' support of the National Civic Art Society in our early years was crucial in putting us on a firm footing, and allowed us to grow by leaps and bounds. We are proud he said that supporting us was one of the best things he ever did. He will be sorely missed.”

National Civic Art Society Appoints Michael Curtis Research Fellow

The National Civic Art Society is proud to announce the appointment of Michael Curtis as the organization's Research Fellow. A sculptor, painter, historian, architectural designer, and poet, Curtis has taught and lectured at widely, including at The Institute of Classical Architecture, The Center for Creative Studies, and The National Gallery of Art. His pictures and statues are housed in over 400 private and public collections, including the Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, and U.S. Supreme Court.

Curtis has made statues and medals of presidents, generals, Supreme Court justices, captains of industry, and national heroes, including Davey Crockett, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Justice Thurgood Marshall. Curtis' History of Texas, located at the Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington, Texas, is the largest American frieze of the 20th century.

Curtis' plays, essays, verse, and translations have been published in over 30 journals. His most recent nonfiction books include The Classical Architecture and Monuments of Washington, D.C. You can find information on some of his other books at the Studio Press.

Curtis studied classical architecture at the University of Michigan, and painting, sculpture, and engraving at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, Italy.

Michael Curtis with bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall

Epoch Times Interview of NCAS President Justin Shubow

The February 2, 2021 issue of The Epoch Times features an extensive interview of National Civic Art Society president Justin Shubow. It is titled “Making America’s Civic Architecture Great Again,” and you can read it here HERE. The interview begins:

“Whenever it is proposed to prepare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the adoption of some one of the models of antiquity which have had the approbation of thousands of years,” Thomas Jefferson wrote to French engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant on April 10, 1791.

But why did Jefferson and America’s Founding Fathers admire classical architecture so much as to emulate it in federal buildings and U.S. courthouses? And why is classical and traditional architecture still relevant to Americans today? National Civic Art Society (NCAS) President Justin Shubow helps answer these questions, and more.

Shubow is also the chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency of seven presidential appointees who are the aesthetic guardians of Washington. Shubow’s architectural critical essays have been published widely in top national publications, and he’s a noted speaker at academic institutions and the U.S. State Department. Shubow explained by phone the importance of honoring America’s historic architecture, and the significance of President Trump’s recently signed executive order “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” which the NCAS (a nonprofit organization promoting public art and architecture worthy of the American Republic) championed.

National Civic Art Society Op-Ed in the New York Post: Trump’s Right: Americans Deserve Nice Public Buildings — Even if Elites Sneer

On October 24, 2020, the New York Post published the following op-ed by National Civic Art Society president Justin Shubow:

Trump’s Right: Americans Deserve Nice Public Buildings — Even if Elites Sneer

Government architecture is not a subject that typically gets much public attention. That changed in February with the leaking of a draft presidential executive order that would re-orient federal architecture in a traditional direction, including a requirement that new office buildings in Washington be classical in design.

Controversy erupted. The American Institute of Architects wailed: “President Trump, this draft order is antithetical to giving the ‘people’ a voice and would set an extremely harmful precedent.” Then came the media pile-on, with The New York Times sneering about “fake Roman temples,” and Wired fretting about the “new architects of fear.” Numerous other outlets rushed to make comparisons to Hitler.

In reality, an order like this would respect longstanding precedent and properly return federal architecture to its origins. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson conceived that classical architecture — harkening back to democratic Greece and republican Rome — best embodied the new nation’s ideals.

Seeing classical architecture as unsurpassed in beauty and grandeur, not to mention its reflection of reason and order, these two founders personally oversaw the design of the White House and Capitol, and ensured that the capital city was planned along classical lines. Such features as columns, pediments, pillars and domes came to visually symbolize American democracy and set the precedent for nearly 150 years. Indeed, in 1901, the Treasury Department codified existing practice by making classicism the official style.

In 1962, however, the White House’s “Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture” rejected official classicism in favor of Modernism — the austere, functionalist aesthetic, which, together with its post-modernist progeny, dominates federal architecture to this day. Since 1994, only six of the 78 federal buildings constructed under the current design program have been classical or traditional.

What do the American people have to show for all the post-war construction done in their name? Much of it would have looked more at home in the dreary cities of our Soviet rivals: buildings like the Brutalist J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, famously loathed by President Trump. The hulking concrete pile that is home to the Department of Housing and Urban Development has received bipartisan condemnation from its various occupants. Republican HUD Secretary Jack Kemp called it “10 floors of basement,” whereas a later Democratic successor, Shaun Donovan, said the building was “among the most reviled in all of Washington — and with good reason.”

The General Services Administration, the agency overseeing the design and construction of government buildings, insists on calling the HUD headquarters an “outstanding Modern achievement.” More recent GSA buildings, some of them avant-garde, have been variously derided as a “Borg cube,” “hulking, aggressive tower” and having a “sinister dimension.”

Is this really what American citizens actually want in their federal architecture? The opposition to Trump’s purportedly “undemocratic” order completely ignored that key democratic question.

Thanks to a Harris Poll survey (available at civicart.org) on behalf of the National Civic Art Society, the organization I lead, we now have the answer: Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) prefer classical and traditional architecture for US courthouses and federal office buildings. The poll found a widespread preference for traditional style among all demographic groups: women and men (77 and 67 percent respectively); African-Americans, whites and Hispanics (62, 75 and 65 percent); even across generations and income levels. The survey results were also strongly bipartisan, with 70 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans favoring the traditional option.

Our survey comports with prior studies. As The Wall Street Journal reported, a 2007 Harris poll commissioned by the AIA showed “Americans preferred older buildings that evoke ancient architectural styles such as Gothic, Greek and Roman traditions. Of the top 50 [buildings], only 12 can be described as ‘modern-looking.’ ” Numerous peer-reviewed academic studies have found a great disconnect between the aesthetic preferences of contemporary architects and ordinary people.

The architectural establishment has been trying to quash democratic preferences for years. But unlike the tiny minority of elites howling over the executive order, when normal people see a classical courthouse, they don’t see a “fake Roman temple” — they see a temple of justice. Nothing could be more democratic than an executive order that gives the American people what they want.

Video of NCAS President Justin Shubow Calling for An Executive Order to Re-orient Federal Architecture in a Classical and Traditional Direction

At an October 19, 2020 web event sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, National Civic Art Society president Justin Shubow called for an Executive Order that would re-orient federal architecture in a classical and traditional direction.