From All of Us at MedChi,
We Wish You a Safe and Happy 2019.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
Picture Hanging
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we uncovered our beautiful skylight at the top of our main staircase. To our shock (and I am not kidding!), there was a huge wall there. Of course, logically, we knew there was a wall, but since the top of the staircase was so dim, it was just darkness!
After a bit of plastering and painting, the wall looked great. Bare, but great. So instantly, my next project suggested itself. I needed to find some paintings to highlight the space.
There are more than 120 paintings in our collection, but not all of them are widely seen, so I scouted four paintings that were in little-used spaces. There was already one hanging on the staircase, so we just shifted his position.
I realized a few years ago, when we were redoing Osler Hall, that it made a world of difference to hire a professional art installer, so we called him and his crew back to help.
We took the original picture hanging on the staircase and centered it and then added paintings on either side.
Then we took two more and staggered them down the stairs.
During all of this hanging, I came across a picture from Roosevelt Hospital in New York, taken in 1937.
I think that it would be a lot of fun to arrange the MedChi staff around the stairs and take a picture for posterity.
Here's the final layout of the paintings. It's a little hard to capture the width and length of the staircase though.
Stop by if you're in the area and see this now-bright staircase!
There are more than 120 paintings in our collection, but not all of them are widely seen, so I scouted four paintings that were in little-used spaces. There was already one hanging on the staircase, so we just shifted his position.
Then we took two more and staggered them down the stairs.
During all of this hanging, I came across a picture from Roosevelt Hospital in New York, taken in 1937.
Here's the final layout of the paintings. It's a little hard to capture the width and length of the staircase though.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Seeing in 3-D, Circa 1905
One of the most interesting things in our collection is a number of boxes of photographs from "Edinburgh Anatomy" which contain hundreds of slides.
In 1905, David Waterston edited "The Edinburgh Stereoscopic Atlas of Anatomy", which consisted of 250 stereograms, mounted on cards, and housed in five volumes.
The "Edinburgh Atlas" was prepared under the control of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. In 1908-1909, the general anatomy was followed by the more specialized Edinburgh Stereoscopic Atlas of Obstetrics in four volumes.
At the same auction where I found the Yardley map of Johns Hopkins, I also found one of the devices used to view the stereograms.
Although we already have one of the stereoscopes, it's in another cabinet, in another part of the building.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
The Skylight is OPEN!
At the top of the main staircase at MedChi, there is a leaded glass skylight. Not that you'd ever have noticed it, because it's been covered up.
The skylight was on the original specs and plans for the building, which was dedicated in May of 1909. Since Marcia had her apartment at the top of the stairs on the fourth floor (far right), it would have lit up the whole area.
The skylight was originally covered during World War II, as many were during that period.
We investigated opening the skylight again and began working with a local roofer on the project. They needed to uncover the skylight, and fabricate a clear cover to protect the leaded glass. Because the skylight is inset into the roof, there needed to be a way for the water not to pond on the glass. And of course, we wanted to protect the 110-year old glass.
After making sure it wasn't going to rain (haha) and bringing in a massive boom crane (with an extension!), the cover arrived and was placed on the roof.
Once that was finished, the old cover was pulled off, the leaded glass skylight was cleaned and the new cover was installed. It was an all-day job!
But when it was finished and the sun shone through it, we knew it was worth every bit of effort!
But of course, nothing's easy, is it? Once the top of the staircase was lit up with natural light, we realized that we needed to paint the walls (they are pink!) and also the stairs themselves. The darkness of the staircase hid a lot. But once we've accomplished the painting, it will be beautiful once again. We hope that this makes Marcia happy!
The skylight was on the original specs and plans for the building, which was dedicated in May of 1909. Since Marcia had her apartment at the top of the stairs on the fourth floor (far right), it would have lit up the whole area.
Blackout regulations were imposed on 1 September 1939, before the declaration of war. These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft.Fast forward to this year. We are now using the apartment for offices, and the top of the staircase is lit by one light, which was not enough to chase away the gloom.
We investigated opening the skylight again and began working with a local roofer on the project. They needed to uncover the skylight, and fabricate a clear cover to protect the leaded glass. Because the skylight is inset into the roof, there needed to be a way for the water not to pond on the glass. And of course, we wanted to protect the 110-year old glass.
After making sure it wasn't going to rain (haha) and bringing in a massive boom crane (with an extension!), the cover arrived and was placed on the roof.
Once that was finished, the old cover was pulled off, the leaded glass skylight was cleaned and the new cover was installed. It was an all-day job!
But when it was finished and the sun shone through it, we knew it was worth every bit of effort!
But of course, nothing's easy, is it? Once the top of the staircase was lit up with natural light, we realized that we needed to paint the walls (they are pink!) and also the stairs themselves. The darkness of the staircase hid a lot. But once we've accomplished the painting, it will be beautiful once again. We hope that this makes Marcia happy!
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Happy Thanksgiving
Marcia and the entire MedChi family send their
wishes for a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
A Map of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Circa 1950
I was at a country auction this weekend and one of the items that came up for bid was an old "map" of Johns Hopkins Hospital by the cartoonist, Richard Q. "Moco" Yardley. The Moco comes from his old nickname, a play on Eskimo.
Yardley drew a number of these fun maps. I know of ones for Baltimore County, the Eastern Shore, Anne Arundel County, and of course, Baltimore City, which was done for the Orioles. Yardley was the Sun's cartoonist from 1939 to 1969 and did mostly editorial cartoons.
Yardley's maps are very detailed and have a lot of little "inside" jokes in them. Readers must remember that they were drawn in the 1950's and things that were common then, can be offensive to some today. With that said, here's the map I found.
Yardley drew a number of these fun maps. I know of ones for Baltimore County, the Eastern Shore, Anne Arundel County, and of course, Baltimore City, which was done for the Orioles. Yardley was the Sun's cartoonist from 1939 to 1969 and did mostly editorial cartoons.
The map references Osler, Halsted and Walsh, but Kelly is missing. You can see the Phipps and Wilmer Clinics and the main building. And as in all of Yardley's cartoons, there is a little rendering of him, which looks nothing at all like he did in real life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)