Designing Worlds

First of all, I want to thank everyone who bought or even thought about buying Fool's Errand during the past week's sale. If you did buy it, I'd love to know what you think after reading it --and if you read The Beat on Ruby's Street, too.

Meanwhile, I woke up thinking about architecture - no idea why! Well, maybe a small idea. I've been watching old episodes of The West Wing lately and there are a lot of shots of the White House. I was curious about the style of this legendary building, so looked it up.

The White House was designed by Irish architect James Hoban in 1793 and is described as "a refined Georgian mansion in the Palladian style." That style comes from the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio whose designs were formed around the classical style of ancient Greece -- and it's what brought us the Greek-Temple style columns.

You can learn a lot more about White House architecture here. What I want to talk about is how architecture can make us feel about the space we're in. Walking through Greenwich Village in New York City can make you feel a little like London, a little like Boston, but with its own flavors too. I tried to think about my Beat Street characters on Village streets when I was writing them because I think architecture shapes us in ways we don't always understand.

The White House and other buildings at the heart of the Washington D. C. Mall are our own version of Greek temples--designed to take us to a world that's grand and imposing and meant to inspire awe. I think the architects who designed the city's buildings wanted the people in them to be awed by the work they were doing--to feel it was a kind of sacred space for the sacred work of serving our country's people.

The Inauguration this week was a real match for the architecture--even and especially in the times we're going through. The choice of Amanda Gorman's poetry made that even clearer--by turns stately and hopeful, fitting everything we've been through and everything we want to change. And what a great teaching moment for all the kids who were watching.

I don't expect change to come overnight--but seeing the events of this week gave me a sense of possibility I've been missing for way too long. Because there really are some exceptional buildings on the Washington Mall. It's great to see people in office who want to earn what it means to be in them.

White House photo: Rob Young