{"id":14839,"date":"2014-03-30T10:39:17","date_gmt":"2014-03-30T15:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=14839"},"modified":"2024-04-25T08:45:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:45:40","slug":"swastika-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/swastika-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Nazi Swastika Architectural Details"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I traveled into the Twelve Mile Circle — the Delaware geo-oddity that inspired the name for this site — while visiting with some dear friends last weekend. In Wilmington, at Rodney Square specifically, I happened to glance up. There I noticed the wonderful Egyptian Revival architectural details on the Wilmington Public Library. My earlier Egyptian Revival Churches<\/a> research somehow sensitized me to the style. So I suppose that offered evidence that I’ve actually learned a few things while publishing this rag. Now I could bore my companions with additional tales of trivial knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Unexpected Sight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Wilmington<\/a>
Wilmington Public Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then I noticed the swastika. I already understood that it was an ancient symbol. It existing for thousands of years before the Nazis co-opted it and converted it into a symbol of hate.(\u00b9<\/a>) As the US Holocaust Memorial Museum explained<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The swastika has an extensive history. It was used at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler designed the Nazi flag. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means ‘good fortune’ or ‘well-being’… In the beginning of the twentieth century the swastika was widely used in Europe… Despite its origins, the swastika has become so widely associated with Nazi Germany that contemporary uses frequently incite controversy.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I Couldn’t Have Agreed More<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Wilmington swastika jumped like a bolt into my consciousness by its mere existence. That happened even though I understood its historical usage on an intellectual level. It reflects the severely negative connotations forever associated with its later usage. Edward Lippincott Tilton<\/a>, a master architect of public libraries in the United States, could not have foreseen the result of his decorative choice when he designed the building in 1922. Likely it would have appalled him had he not passed away before the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wilmington Public Library included various architectural details based on classical ideals. None of them became the least bit controversial except for the swastika. Feel free to check some of them out on Street View<\/a>. I’m a fan of the little owl sculptures<\/a> on the second-floor window ledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Unusual Is This?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I posted my discovery on a 12MC social media page(\u00b2<\/a>). Reader “Benjamin” kindly posted a couple of links including a vintage photo<\/a> with an advertisement for Swastika Sodas and a page on the Early Use of the Swastika in Washington State<\/a>. That led me to wonder about the prevalence of swastikas as a North American architectural detail during the early 20th Century. You know, before such usage became unthinkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More examples survived than I could have possibly imagined, both in clockwise and counter-clockwise orientations. Below are just a few that I noticed either photographically or on Street View.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Skillman Branch Library, Detroit, Michigan, USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Opposite<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notice the decorative fret running around the Skillman Branch Library perimeter. This included both attached and standalone swastikas (also visible<\/a> in Street View). Historically, the library dated to 1931\/32<\/span> [link no longer works<\/em>]. They originally called it the Downtown Library until its extensive renovation and re-opening<\/span> [link no longer works<\/em>] in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Skillman Branch derives most of its recognition as the location of the extensive National Automotive History Collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lampposts, Glendale, California, USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Glendale<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The City of Glendale, California erected a series of cast iron lampposts along some of its busier downtown commercial and residential streets in the 1920’s. Notably they adorned Broadway between Glendale Avenue and Brand Boulevard. So more than 900 vintage lampposts included decorative swastika bands within their design. In response to a complaint, the City Attorney conducted an extensive evaluation in 1995 and concluded<\/a>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The contention was that these approximately 2 inch by 3 inch symbols encircling the base of these old lampposts, were Nazi swastikas, were offensive and should be removed… Not a scintilla of evidence exists to indicate that the counter clockwise swastika design at the base of the lampposts was intended as a political or other statement in support of any group or organization.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The City Attorney offered several alternatives including “take no action and preserve the lampposts as they are<\/em>“. An April 2011 Street View image<\/a> seemed to confirm that selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jefferson County Courthouse, Birmingham, Alabama, USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n