ASU Gammage

Today, I ventured to Tempe where Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium is considered to be the last public commission of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Construction on the building began on May 23, 1962; it took 25 months to complete.  Fifty concrete columns support the round roof with its pattern of interlocking circles; it seats 3,011people on three levels.  The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

 
It's a beautiful building .... and as I walked around, I could almost envision the couples strolling around, waiting to be seated for a performance, most of them dressed to the 'nines as they did in the 30s and 40s.  Long dresses for the ladies, tuxedos for the men .... an age where an effort was made to dress up for one another, to see and be seen, back when there was a distinct difference between dressed up and casual.

I paused to think about a moment:  dressing up and going out WAS the event.  An evening out wasn't crammed between gym workouts, kids music recitals and the latest on ESPN.  It was anticipated, savored; there was a finesse to the rituals.  Oh, I'm sure somewhere in America, or the world, people still live that lifestyle to a point -- those with money and the means, perhaps.  Definitely a bygone era.  Thankfully, the building still stands, and is still used, to remind us of those days.