Happy 4th from S+C!

We are honored to work in an industry that has the opportunity to, both literally and figuratively, influence the building blocks of history. We can only hope that our buildings might have a chance to stand for something great.

As we prepare to gather with our families and watch the fireworks, we’d also like to look back at buildings that have become synonymous with our country’s history.

Building Blocks of Independence

INDEPENDENCE HALL

Via Architectural Digest – Click to view full article.

It can be argued that Independence Hall is the most important building in the founding of the United States of America. Completed in 1756, and originally used as the Pennsylvania State House, it was outfitted in red brick by Edmund Woolley in a Georgian-style architecture.

The building was the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (1776), the ratification of the Articles of Confederation (1781), and the development of the U.S. Constitution during the Constitutional Convention (1787).

THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

Via Architectural Digest – Click to view full article.

Completed in 1922, Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial was built in the style of the ancient Greek temple, the Parthenon. Rising 30 feet off the memorial floor is a marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, a keystone that architect Henry Bacon thought would be appropriate for a president who defended democracy.

Since then, it has been an attraction for students and tourists, and a site for civil rights demonstrations and events. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the memorial before a crowd of thousands.