Brittanay Miller
Humanities 101
Professor Bomboy
February 10, 2015
Classical
Greek Architecture in Franklin County
Most
of today’s architecture is clearly an indication of just how much the Greek
classical period made an impact so many years ago. The Franklin County Courthouse in
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania is a great example of a classical Greek building. It
is a place to hold trail cases and bring justice to victims. The Classical Order for the courthouse is mostly
related to the Ionic order. I think the
architectures who built the courthouse decided to use the order of Ionic
because the columns are more delicate and ornamental (Fiero 124). When you look at the front of this
courthouse, it is pretty obvious that it is an important building.
I
believe power, freedom and justice is what message the building conveys. Clearly for it being a court house, it needs
to show some type of empowerment. Not
just when I look at it, but when anyone else looks upon this tall building,
there is some type of empowerment emotion that comes over you. Without knowing that it is a courthouse, you
would know that it is a very important building because of the very large,
slender columns with the volutes, echinus, and abacus detailing each
column. I personally think that this
building being Classical Greek architecture is perfect for the use of the
building. In Neoclassical Architecture,
they decided to make a classical style for human society. Their outside architectures were ornamental
free and the insides were covered with rectilinear walls and columns inside.
(Fiero, Book 4, 150). The Classical
Greek style was the best looking and well thought out style out of all three
styles. It seems the Greeks were the
ones with architectures who were copied more than the architectures from the
Rome Age and Neoclassical Age. The
Classical Order of the Franklin County Courthouse being Ionic was a good
decision, but I think even if they would have decided to use the Corinthian
order that it would have been almost a better choice. The Doric order is very plain, but does
include triglyph and metope in the frieze.
The Ionic order, which is what the Courthouse’s columns are, includes a
more slender cornice, the volutes and echinus in its capital and also a base,
where the Doric order did not have one.
The Corinthian order consists of a more edgy cornice, a larger frieze
and capital, and more of its base. The
Ionic order is definitely fancy and important, but Corinthian is beyond the
fanciest. I personally think the Ionic
order was perfect for the Franklin County Courthouse because it shows how
important the architecture is to everyone who drives by or actually walks into
the building.
The
fact when you look at the Courthouse and your eyes are focused on the columns
and the front entrance, that is because of the points of emphasis. The point of emphasis is where your eyes are
directly focused on. If they are in one
spot, such as a square and you are looking at just what is in the square that
was developed in the Greek Age called stable.
If you would be looking all over the front of the building and not
directly at the columns or front entrance, then that would be called dynamic. The Hellenistic Age came upon this shift in
the architectural area. It’s a good
thing that the Courthouse was designed from the Classical Greek architecture
because it would not mean as much as it currently does if it was dynamic
instead of stable.
The
architect that that mostly influenced the design of the Franklin County
Courthouse was Thomas Jefferson. Not
only was he an architect, he was also the third president of the United
States. Thomas Jefferson designed quite
a few architectures in his time and most of them are or were located in
Virginia and Kentucky. According to the
Robinson Library’s article on the architecture of Thomas Jefferson, “the single
building that most influenced his ideas about architecture was the Maison
Carrée, a Roman ruin in Nimes, France, which Jefferson considered the finest
remaining example of classical design.” (Thomas Jefferson, Architect). All of Thomas Jefferson’s building designs
have the large columns with the Ionic or Corinthian orders including stylish
bases, capitals, friezes and cornices.
The other architects such as Brunelleschi and Palladio had a different
style of architecture that is more suitable for large churches and capital
buildings, such as the capital in Washington, DC. Thomas Jefferson’s choice of style and order was
very consistent for what the Courthouse was supposed to interpret. As I said in the beginning, when you look at
the Franklin County Courthouse you know that it is a very important building
due to the fact of the large columns at the entrance. Jefferson’s architectures interpretations
were to show importance, just as he designed the Charlotte County Courthouse in
Virginia. All of his influences were
from buildings in the Rome Age, but the Romans got the ideas based off of
architectures from the Classical Greek period.
The Franklin County Courthouse in Chambersburg is no doubt an
architecture designed from the Classical Greek period.
Works
Cited
Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill,
2011.
Print.
"Thomas Jefferson, Architect." Thomas
Jefferson, Architect. Robinson Library, n.d.
Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
Waterproofing, Keystone. Franklin
County Courthouse. 2010. Courthouse, Chambersburg.
Web. 09 Feb. 2015.