These two weeks we have focused on the presence of Iberian and Colonial Latino American architectural heritage in five buildings: the Yaraab Temple/Fox Theatre, the Or Ve Shalom Synagogue, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (featured in this week’s Canvas page), the Cathedral of Christ the King, and the marketplaces of Sweet Auburn Curb Market on Edgewood Avenue.
For this week’s blog I ask that you connect TWO of these buildings with a corresponding building (a basilica, a cathedral, a mosque, a synagogue, a theatre, or a market place) in Spain or Latino America. In your comment, say how one or more of the readings by Said, Ruggles, Esteban-Chapapría, Dodds, Simpson, Claderwood, and Bailey can help us identify some of the reasons why it is difficult to point to this heritage. You can post your comment by MONDAY April 2 at 10AM.
The Fox Theater was initially intended to be the new headquarters for the Shriners of Atlanta, but the buildings purpose changed when finances for the group ran out and the lease was then given to William Fox of the Fox Film Corporation. The building’s original architecture and style was slightly modified as the purpose changed, but much of it remained the same. Other interior rooms were stylized after Egyptian architecture, as well as a set of other recognizable styles. This means the building is intentionally a mix of different architectural types and styles. Compared to an older structure, the Cathedral of Cordoba, it becomes clear that intentional or not, it can be difficult to isolate architectural styles from and purpose. The Cathedral of Cordoba was originally built as a mosque, but underwent multiple renovations that ultimately changed the purpose to a Cathedral while maintaining the structure of a Mosque. As Jennifer Dodds notes in Ruggle’s ‘The Stratigraphy of Forgetting’, ‘“The Christians who conquered Córdoba understood that there was much more power to be gained from appropriating this extraordinary metaphor of their conquest than
from destroying it.” In this way, most of its Islamic form and decoration was preserved for the next 300 years.’ Purpose and style often go hand-in-hand, but when style and purpose do not match, it can be more difficult to understand the origins of such architecture and style. The Fox Theater’s mix of style is of one that does not exist in history, while the Mosque of Cordoba can have a mix of style that does not have clear origin, yet exists in history.
Buildings become very complex in terms of their purpose and valorization when different cultures intersect it. On the surface level, the different cultural influence may seem interesting and unique, which makes for great tourism. However, two cultures may actually be opposing each other in a way that is not interesting but rather disrespectful. The influence of more than one building can be seen in the Fox Theatre and the Great Mosque of Cordoba. The Fox Theatre was once the Yaraab Temple, however it is now a place where people go to be entertained. To the public, this may seem like an interesting fact, but the Shriners may feel their society has been disrespected when people come to see The Wizard of Oz in a place they intended to have their sacred rituals. Similarly, The Great Mosque of Cordoba was converted into a Cathedral when the christians took over Spain. Calderwood made the point that the different cultures, specifically those in al-Andalus have been romanticized to interact cohesively, when in reality the christians took so much away from these cultures. This romantic image makes it hard for people decades later, to understand the cultural heritage of a building with a complex past.
I am investigating the buildings of Cathedral of Christ the King and Sweet Auburn Curb Market on Edgewood Avenue. Both of these buildings relate to the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, showcasing both cathedrals and open city markets. Specifically, as relating to Calderwood’s comments on glamorized coexistence of differing cultures and religions within Al-Andalus, this area within Spain showcases the feigned cohesion within the city. Dominated by cathedrals, I am specifically analyzing the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. Although founded with clear Christian links, the cathedral was converted into a mosque for Islamic worship upon the arrival Islamic influence in 8th century Barcelona. After a century of damage and alterations, the cathedral transitioned back to a place of Christian worship as it remains today. With this history of both Roman and Islamic influence, it becomes obvious that this building directly corresponds to Calderwood’s commentary. Atlanta’s Cathedral of Christ the King, built over a KKK meeting place, likewise exudes the same Gothic architectural qualities of the Barcelona Cathedral and demonstrates tattered regrowth following cultural dissonance. La Boqueria, an open market place adjacent to the Gothic Quarter, is surrounded by the same Gothic cathedrals that dominate the tourist attraction and relates clearly to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market on Edgewood Avenue. Just as the Barcelona Cathedral embodies a history of cultural shifts, the market place represents an area of cultural melding and all of these buildings showcase evident ties stemming from this.
Buildings are obviously constructed for a reason or purpose. Mosques and Cathedrals are made for the public to practice their religious rituals. Theaters are made for entertainment. But history proved that every building can be modified to provide something different. The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba and the Fox Theater are both great examples of this modifications but unfortunately they are also great examples of a certain conquest. The Fox Theater used to be a temple where shriners were supposed to practice their rituals until it was basically conquered by a corporation with money and turned into what it is now. This building used to be a sacred place for hundreds of people and now their culture and religion is offended every week with the building’s new purpose. Unfortunately, the same happened in Córdoba, when the spanish Catholics had to impose their religion, they built a Cathedral from what used to be the Great Mosque. Islam has been disrespected again by society and it was all because today money is more important than culture in the eyes of the government. As Said and Ruggles discussed in their works, many buildings have Jewish, Catholic and Muslim heritage because those three religions where constantly dominating each other. Some buildings will be a Cathedral hut the inside has Muslim and Jewish aspects to it. This mixture that Said and Ruggles discuss is what happened with the Mosque-Cathedral and with the Fox Theater, of course it is not a mixture because they were not coexisting, Catholics were actually taking over the others but a mixture happened.
Buildings often change as the surrounding people who use the building change cultures, and as time progresses different people come in to power and different political views are at play. This was once seen with the Great Mosque of Cordoba which was a mosque under the Ummayad Caliphate, but was then turned in to a cathedral when the Iberian Peninsula came under Catholic rule. A similar situation can be seen with the Fox Theater in Midtown which was once intended to be a place of worship for the shriners, but then turned in to a place of laughter and emotional lightening. As the culture changes people begin to think differently and impose their own ideas and practices on the buildings in their vicinity.