(Oneida, NY) Join the Oneida Community Mansion House for an informative spring Adult Enrichment Series on successive Wednesdays at 7 p.m. beginning April 22. “Buildings by Design: Your Neighborhood Architects” is free and open to the public and will take place in the Big Hall of the Mansion House.
On April 22, Mansion House Curator Tony Wonderley speaks on “Designers of the Mansion House,” the building planned by the utopian Oneida Community to reflect and facilitate communal life (1848-1878). Reviewing original design drawings (many by Community architect Erastus Hamilton), the presentation shows how the different stages of construction fitted together to produce the architectural jewel familiar today.
On April 29, Elizabeth Crawford addresses “Albert L. Brockway: An Architectural Career.” Known locally for the Oneida Ltd. Sales Office near the Mansion House, Brockway (1864-1933) was a classically-trained designer whose numerous residential and commercial projects in the Syracuse area are illustrated in photograph and blueprint. Crawford, an Associate with Crawford & Stearns, Architects and Preservation Planners, has preserved and rehabilitated hundreds of buildings across New York State.
On May 6, Bill Bowen presents “Ward Wellington Ward: Central New York Architect of the Arts and Crafts Movement.” Inspired by a wide range of eclectic, early twentieth-century styles, this Syracuse designer (1875-1932) was hailed for his use of handcrafted materials still in evidence in homes near the Mansion House. Bowen, of the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York, is a recognized authority on Ward, the Stickleys, Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Arts and Crafts phenomenon.
On May 13, Giles Wayland-Smith discusses works by Theodore Skinner (1878-1944), an Oneida Community-born architect who apprenticed with the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. Skinner’s local designs of the early 1900s show a classical bent tastefully adapted to client preference and physical context. A descendant both of Skinner and of the Oneida Community, Dr. Wayland-Smith is an emeritus professor of Allegheny College and long-term trustee of the Oneida Community Mansion House.
The Oneida Community Mansion House is located at 170 Kenwood Ave., Oneida.
For information call 315-363-0745 or visit www.oneidacommunity.org.