Artist Alexandre Arrechea’s Building Sculptures

At first glance, these sculptures look as though they were extruded from a building-shaped play-doh toy. Then, you realized they are made of cold, hard steel. The snake-like buildings seem to unroll like a coiled fire hose. Artist  Alexandre Arrechea’s vision of the Met Life, CitiCorp, Empire State Building and Chrysler Building are represented. Building Collector reader Howie G. sent me a tip about this exhibit. For three months beginning March 1, 2013 through June 9, a public art series known as No Limit will line New York’s Park Avenue with 10 different sculptures some of which reach a height of 20 feet. The artist also makes metal bridges and buildings atop rotating tops. Arrechea's watercolors, video work and smaller sculptures will also be displayed at Phillips's Park Avenue gallery in New York in April. In case any building fans want to add some of these to their collection, all of the pieces are for sale – including those that weigh 12,000 pounds. View the video, below, about the artist and preparing for the exhibit. 

U.S. Capitol Architect with Miniature Monuments

Check out this historic photo of David Lynn, architect of the capitol, with two miniature monuments presented to him by Joe Sullivan, an inspector in the Washington Fire Department, and Thomas Bell. The miniatures were built with 14 different kinds of mosaic which were collected by Sullivan’s Father when he worked as a laborer on construction of the Capitol’s east and west wings from 1859-1860. The photo is from December 1924.  Can anyone identify the monuments? David Lynn was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1923 by President Calvin Coolidge. During his tenure, the Capitol Grounds increase dramatically with construction of major buildings for the House of Representatives (the Longworth House Office Building), the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the Botanic Garden. In addition, the wing of the Russell Senate Office Building was built, the Capitol Power Plant was enlarged, and construction on the Dirksen Senate Office Building began.

Steven & Ethan’s Souvenir Building Collection

The father and son collecting team of Steven and Ethan are a dynamic duo with a diverse display. Steven was kind enough to send photos and answers some questions about their collection.

Q: How did you get started collecting souvenir buildings?

A: We started collecting buildings in 2003. I bought the first ones as a gift for my then 3 ½-year-old son, Ethan. I bought him pewter versions of the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame on the banks of the Seine River when I was in Paris giving a lecture. Following that, my wife and I bought him souvenir buildings on all of our trips. If we were in NYC, we brought him the Empire State and a Statue of Liberty; in San Francisco, we would bring him the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower, etc. We bought at first only on trips at the attraction’s gift shops or from street vendors/souvenir shops. Until 2008/2009, we only bought in this manner. For the last 4 years, my son started buying them on his own at flea markets, antique shops, and on eBay. I joined him in earnest having a blast along the way! We now buy anywhere we can. 

Q: Why do you collect souvenir buildings?

A: We love architecture and art, so building collecting is a natural fit. My son plans to be an architect and I love travel, so we have joined these loves/hobbies together to collect building miniatures.

Q: How many total souvenir buildings do you have in your collection?

A: Almost 1200 

Q: How long have you been collecting?

A: 10 years

Q: Which are your favorite and why?

A: My son’s favorites are Grand Tour versions of Trajan's Column and the Colon de Austerlitz. He loves the antiquity of them. My favorites are the Mercedes Benz Museum, Harvard Stadium, the Paris Casino table topper from the Y2K party, the Warner Brothers water tower and BMW building. I love the structures and what they represent.

Q: What is the most rare replica you have?

A: Probably the two Grand Tours souvenirs mentioned above.

Q: How and where do you buy most of your items?

A: The majority are bought on eBay. We also buy from flea markets, antique stores, gift shops, souvenir stands, and tourist sites. We have bought an entire collection from an Atlanta collector consisting of 357 different buildings and roughly 40 duplicates. We have also made purchases and trades with fellow members of the SBCS (Souvenir Building Collector’s Society).

Q: How do you display your collection?

A:  We have the buildings displayed in 2 rooms. My upstairs office is where roughly 900 are housed and the other 300 live in my son’s room. They are on built-in shelves, graduated antique shelves, chests, dressers, desks, etc. Essentially every flat surface!

Q: Any interesting stories about your collecting experience?

A: The best story is how we bought the collection in Atlanta. It is a true 6 degrees of separation. I have a friend from Mississippi who now lives in Atlanta and works as a picker and antique dealer. We were visiting Atlanta and I told him of our collection. He took us to the antique store of a friend who got him in the business. We bought 14 buildings in his store including the General Motors office building and the large Boulder Dam bookends. After returning home to Jackson, we tried in vain to contact his dealer to buy a few buildings we left behind. After giving up, I got an email from him asking if it was ok to give my contact info to a collector who frequented his shop. I said ok and after many emails, we ended up buying 95% of his guy’s collection. As stated above, this added 357 new and different buildings to he collection and fueled the fire for adding more and more! The best part about collecting souvenir buildings has been the people we have met and the relationships we have grown. Awesome folks, always willing to share info. Howie G. has been wonderful to my son and we have enjoyed getting to know each other. He is a wealth of knowledge. We have learned so much and had so much fun with folks like Jerry & Al H., Katherine I., Bob K., Tom D., Paul C., Elizabeth L., Jay H., Jim & Judy T., and the list goes on! We went to our first convention this past summer in Toronto and can't wait to go to this year’s in June in Minneapolis. When we left Toronto, my son stated that he felt like he now had a second family and I agree completely! 

Old Statehouse in Boston Cast Iron Replica

Reader and fellow collector, Donna, sent me some photos of what she believes may be a doorstop. This cast iron replica depicts one end of the Old Statehouse building in Boston and stands 14" high, 7 1/4" wide, and 2 3/4 deep (counting the balcony). The back is filled with wood. Paper labels on the back show two pictures: The one on top shows the building and, handwritten on it is, "The Old Statehouse" and the number 4 in the lower right corner. The lower paper shows Faneuil Hall with a number 5 in the lower right corner and again the handwritten words, "Faneuil Hall." Collector Steve V. says other versions of the Old Statehouse in include cast iron coin banks in two sizes and a non-bank pot metal replica. Built in 1713, the real building is the oldest surviving public building in Boston and was the seat of the state's legislature until 1798. It is now a history museum operated by the Bostonian Society. It is one of many historic landmarks that can be visited along the Freedom Trail.

Figural Building Teapots

On a cold winter day, what’s better than staying indoors and enjoying a hot cup of tea? I noticed some teapots with building designs at a store called World Market. Big Ben, Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal are all represented. I found other teapots with architectural themes as well including a finely made Tower of London teapot and porcelain Guggenheim Museum teapot. I've written before about architecture in the kitchen. 

What Not to Buy When Traveling? I Beg to Differ.

I'm sure building collectors will agree with my disagreement with CNN's travel writers who suggest avoiding the purchase souvenir buildings when traveling. Check out number 6 in CNN's photo gallery. Julio T. sent me this tip and link. The writer points out what not to buy with a long list, but no suggestions of what you should buy. Yes, sometimes travelers buy too much junk when visiting countries, landmarks and cities. But, if you're a collector of these items you make a beeline to the gift shop in search of an addition to your collection. I wrote previously about a New York Times piece  also discussing travel souvenirs.

What’s That on Top of The Bank Building?

Have you notice those oddly paired combination of ‘something’ mounted atop a generic building coin bank? That ‘something’ can be another building (U.S. Capitol, Church in New Orleans), or a monument (Vulcan statue, Liberty Bell, tank, cannon), or a bizarre object (The head of Will Rogers, cowboy boots, airplane, alligator, or horse). Quite a few different parings exist of these banks, which were made by the 'Character Mfg. Co.' in Reno, Nevada. Many more than I first knew about until I began collecting photos of different varieties. Check out the photos above and below. Do you know of any not pictured here?