The Civic Center in San Francisco is an example of classical Greek architecture. It follows two main concepts of architecture- the dome and columns. The dome was used by early Greeks as the center of their building. It can be designed in any way- but there is only one shape for a dome- a semi-sphere. Domes can be lighted interiorly, or in some unusual exterior lights. At night, the domes are usually visible- since they are lighted interiorly. However, in the past- there were only candles and fires. The Greek domes, over 200 years ago, were never visible. They had no lightning inside that would give it a glow. The Civic Center also has columns. The columns were used widely over 200 years ago, by the Greeks- as well as the Romans. The columns are used to distribute the weight of the building into the pillars.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Civic Center in San Francisco is an example of classical Greek architecture. It follows two main concepts of architecture- the dome and columns. The dome was used by early Greeks as the center of their building. It can be designed in any way- but there is only one shape for a dome- a semi-sphere. Domes can be lighted interiorly, or in some unusual exterior lights. At night, the domes are usually visible- since they are lighted interiorly. However, in the past- there were only candles and fires. The Greek domes, over 200 years ago, were never visible. They had no lightning inside that would give it a glow. The Civic Center also has columns. The columns were used widely over 200 years ago, by the Greeks- as well as the Romans. The columns are used to distribute the weight of the building into the pillars.
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I really like how you talk about the Civic Center here because until reading this post, I never realized that the architecture on the building was Greek. You did an amazing job of informing those that know little to nothing about the Civic Center and its history. I had lived in SF for half of my life and never once realized the Greek architecture on the building or the significance that many of its features had.
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