Architecture as a Reminder of Cultural Achievement

      From regional rainfall to preferred sports teams, the state of Texas is diverse. The Lone Star State’s diversity can be seen in the variety of architectural styles used across the land. Greek and Victorian Gothic Revivals, Classicalism, and the Mission style and Spanish Renaissance Revival all play a part in Texas history. The various forms of architecture in Texas are used to present a place’s history, show the purpose of a building, or display extravagance and luxury. But I believe all of these categories can be summed up in cultural achievement. In Fredericksburg, Texas, the original inhabitants and founders of the town were of German descent. The buildings all across town are elaborately decorated with gingerbread and similar adornments. Romanesque architecture not only displayed the wealth the prosperous Fredericksburg merchants accumulated, but also their knowledge of culture and refinement. Residents were proud of their German origin and the European culture they brought with them, thus “there was an urge not only to display prosperity but also demonstrate cultural achievement” (Rhysdale 472). Today the town’s blood is a lot less German, but the citizens still possess a fierce loyalty to the original spirit of the town. Beer gardens and German bakeries still thrive on Fredericksburg’s main street.

      Whether the architecture is Romanesque or Victorian Revival, places of cultural achievement from the courthouse in Weatherford to the Littlefield House in Austin reflect the nature of the interior of the building on the exterior. To clarify, the styles of the buildings display the intellectual or cultural refinement of the people inside. I’ve never seen a strip club with fine marble work and intricately carved columns. On the contrary, I have seen plenty of city halls and universities which merit fine architecture. Places like the Fredericksburg city hall and the University of Texas not only boast a hefty financial backing but also a sense of place in their history and a rich cultural achievement. Fine architecture represents a notion of culture, and buildings like churches, some mansions, and Parlin Hall house the people who foster that notion. If it were not for the students on this campus, what would the buildings mean? They would merely be images of a time when culture was advanced there. The Galveston Strip transformed from the Wall Street of the South into a dilapidated haven of pornography shops. Yet the buildings of Nicholas Clayton that still stand, regardless of their present use, remind the beholder of the golden age of Galveston, when it challenged Boston and New Orleans for control of the coast. Architecture of a place is the past’s way of reminding the present of the culture that was at that time advanced in that place. We should consider ourselves lucky that we are still advancing ourselves and our surroundings here at the University of Texas, and not just running a scummy business out of the shell of a building that once advanced our culture.