Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center is one of the most significant examples of mid-century architecture in the world and a symbol of 1960's Jet Age optimism. At the other end of the American experience is the long-abandoned City Church in Gary, IN., mute testimony to the racist and xenophobic forces that caused its downfall. Music by Stephanie Ann Boyd and Gustavo Leone.
Built to resemble a complex of 18th century German castles, the historic Pabst brewery in Milwaukee was once the largest brewer in the country and the Richard H. Driehaus Museum was designed as a fireproof sanctuary to keep the world out, and a horde of treasure in. Music by Christian Ellenwood and Seth Boustead
The First Church of Deliverance, designed by Illinois' first licensed Black architect, has been instrumental in the dissemination of Gospel music and the Emil Bach house by Frank Lloyd Wright is a perfect example of his signature Prarie style architecture. Milwaukee's Central Library is a monumental structure that transported composer Brian Packham back to his library-filled youth. Music by Regina Harris Baiocchi and Brian Packham
Santiago Calatrava's new wing for the Milwaukee Art Museum caused an international sensation with its iconic sun screens that open and close, giving the building the look of a bird just about to take flight. The Morris-Jumel Mansion is Manhattan's oldest still-standing residence and has hosted everyone from George Washington to Lynn-Manuel Miranda who wrote part of Hamilton there. Music by Brianna Ware-Boggs and Nailah Nombeko
The Emil Bach house by Frank Lloyd Wright is a gem on Chicago's north side and a perfect example of his signature Prarie style architecture. Milwaukee's City Hall has been a civic icon since it opened in 1895. It's striking Flemish Renaissance style is an homage to the German immigrants who helped build Milwaukee. Music by Amos Gillespie and Chiayu Hsu
Ex Teresa Arte Actual is a former 17th century convent in Mexico City's historic Zocalo neighborhood that has been reimagined as a vital center for contemporary art and music. The George Peabody Library in Baltimore is one of the most beautiful library spaces in the world with a historic collection to match.
Estudios Churubusco is Mexico's premiere film production studio and the birthplace of Mexico's Golden Era of Cinema and host of numerous American productions while Detroit's Fisher Building is architect Albert Kahn's masterpiece and a poignant symbol of Detroit's glorious past and hopeful future.
Shelves hung from the ceiling give the tens of thousands of books in Mexico City's Biblioteca Vasconcelos the illusion of floating in the air. The library is a thriving culture hub hosting dance, film, music, art exhibits and more. Ohio State Reformatory was a notorious maximum security prison that would later serve as the set for the film The Shawshank Redemption.
Brooklyn's first super-tall tower looms over one of the most beautiful bank interiors in the country in the Dime Savings Bank which was originally built to serve workers building the first subway tunnels between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Built on five-cent sticks of chewing gum, Chicago's Wrigley Building is an iconic masterpiece that defines Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
Once a thriving bank that was abandoned by white residents during the Great Migration, the Stony Island Arts Bank has been repurposed and reimagined by Theaster Gates' Rebuild Foundation as a thriving hub for Black culture. The Cranbrook Academy of Art is a stunning mecca of design just outside of Detroit created by renowned architect Eliel Saarinen.