How is this website organized?
I have two kinds of articles on this website. The first, which is the most common, documents an individual architecturally significant building in depth through its history, using historic photos, and then through my original photos of the exterior (and interior if I'm lucky). I try to make these as holistic as possible with as much relevant information as I can find. The second, which I nickname "dump posts" after the slang term "photo dump," covers a larger area with less significant buildings, such as a street or neighborhood. These are less in-depth, both in terms of history and photo count. Essentially, I don't want to spend hours researching a building I have a single photo of.
I also have a series of pages that briefly outline an architect, style, or city, which are linked on my "Entries by ___" pages and in the posts that feature buildings designed by that architect or in that style. When I started this blog in 2024, I intended to complete one of these for every single prominent architect that has a work featured on this website, but with my now-massive backlog of photos and scope creep, I doubt that will be possible at this point without extreme effort. (The amount of work I put into this blog rivals a part-time job.) As of right now, I plan to finish the style pages and the more significant architect pages after I finish uploading Columbus's posts (so within ~6 months).
What does "herr2ck" mean?
The name of this project comes from John Herrick, campus planner of Ohio State from 1956 to 1967. Herrick compiled historic/architectural documentation of every single building on campus, knowledge that is preserved to this day on Ohio State websites. "The Herrick archives...present what is likely the most complete record of a university campus to be found anywhere in the world." (2005 School of Architecture memo)
In his spirit I sought to document every building that is or ever was on campus, explain their history, and give my sardonic takes on the architecture or general contributions to campus in a way that’s reasonably accessible to the average college student (so a more Gen-Z perspective). Since I have concluded my campus architecture survey, I have expanded to buildings I find interesting elsewhere.
Who/what is herr2ck?
I'm a University of Illinois architecture graduate student (and Ohio State alumnus), amateur photographer, and armchair architectural historian. I write to expand public knowledge of the seemingly mundane buildings that make up our urban fabric in an effort to encourage people to slow down a bit and look around.
Why document a bunch of random old buildings?
My two original inspirations for making this site were legendary architectural historian Richard Nickel and the website nailhed.com. The former is well known to preservationists: a photographer who documented Gilded Age architecture in Chicago as the Modernist-era plague of urban renewal knocked these buildings down with fervor. The latter I found randomly while browsing Reddit--a commenter linked his articles on the former Packard Plant in Detroit. Though his content depicts a much more desolate Detroit from 20 years ago, his thoughtfully researched and sometimes harshly worded blog posts were very entertaining to read. In terms of photography, I admire the work of Carol Highsmith and seek a similar approach.
It’s said that architecture involves constantly changing and improving upon earlier precedents, and in that same vein I want to make my own way forward, taking inspiration from the work of these three. National Register listings are fickle and have historic importance requirements, whereas it's easy for me to take a single picture and say "this building is pretty" or "this building used to be pretty but has been grossly altered."
What kind of places do I focus on?
In terms of architecture, the period I find most appealing is 1860-1940, which aligns with the buildings I choose to focus on in-depth. The United States has very little remaining architecture prior to that period, and what does stand is usually in the less interesting (to me) Federal style. After 1940 is a bit of a gray area. I very much enjoy Mid-Century Modern architecture in its kookier interpretations, and I like some International work, but I dislike orthodox Modern architecture. Brutalism and Postmodernism can both be interesting; however, they are more uncommon styles. (The latter generally lends itself to undistinguished building types such as strip malls.) Finally, I dislike the Zaha Hadid-esque, Neo-Futurist architecture that has swept contemporary design, and I only appreciate a specific subset of contemporary architecture.
I started by focusing on the city I lived in (Ohio State University, then Columbus, Ohio), then expanded to cities with designs by my favorite architects (Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Elmslie, H. H. Richardson, Frank Furness, Yost & Packard, Daniel Burnham, Holabird & Roche/Root). I chose my first two destinations, Newark and Sidney, due to their historic "jewel box" banks designed by Louis Sullivan. I have since pivoted more towards similar county seats. I enjoy documenting historic county courthouses, which are commonly the largest and most elaborate buildings in a city. They also have a robust "Main Street" of historic buildings in many cases. Finally, I have brought my camera with me on family vacations, and I have photos from Canada (Montreal and Toronto) uploaded here and Europe (London and Paris) sitting on my hard drive.
How do you research your posts?
Pretty much all of my sources are publicly accessible online. For my earliest Ohio State stuff, I started with the John Herrick Archives (which usually painted 95% of the picture) and then filled in whatever else has happened since the the 1970s. Nowadays, I use several different sources:
- National Register of Historic Places listings (if applicable) - these go into exhaustive detail about a building's architectural and historic significance, frequently citing sources I would not otherwise have access to. They are written by professionals and very rarely make mistakes.
- Sanborn maps - basically the Google Maps of the late 19th century, these fire insurance maps detail historic buildings in their original context (which may have been altered since). They're good to pinpoint a range for date of construction, if it is unknown.
- County auditor websites - these generally note an approximate date of construction and the original owner of a building (if built after ~1920).
- Wikipedia - I know Wikipedia is controversial, but it's edited and monitored by a bunch of nerds like me who care about having correct information. I usually go through Wikipedia pages' sources, though they are sometimes dead links, and then I have to cite the Wikipedia article itself. It's usually a backup for me unless there's really nothing else I can find.
- Books - I don't use these super frequently. I own a few books like A Field Guide to American Houses and AIA Guide to Columbus that have been helpful for my posts, and I read the entirety of Architecture: Columbus and took notes. I like to read, but I don't always have time to sift through other books that I could be using as sources.
- My own architectural history knowledge - this actually gets me pretty far. Knowing a laundry list of architectural styles will reliably date a building within a certain range. Even if the architect and other information is unknown, both my education and experience writing all this stuff has given me a good eye for design.
Why don't you have as many photos of building interiors, especially on your post-OSU stuff?
Interior photos are often difficult to get. The only places I've had guaranteed success are those that have a public/civic function (e.g. county courthouses, libraries, train stations), or tourist destinations that are open to visitors (museums, Frank Lloyd Wright houses). Many other building types limit public access and photography. I've particularly had trouble with banks (for security reasons), residential buildings, and office buildings.
Disclaimers
I try to stay objective as much as possible, but my thoughts in regards to historic preservation, certain styles of architecture, and social issues will become very apparent upon reading a few articles. My argument is this: no contemporary work of architecture, no matter how grand or ambitious, is worth tearing down an important historic building. Although restoration may not be the most cost-effective approach, it is the one that favors the aesthetics of the city and preserves character. If city officials focused less on profits and what’s in and out of style, and more on history and public opinion, our cities would become a lot more beautiful and functional.
I don't use generative AI for any purpose related to posting on this website (e.g. proofreading, writing, generating/altering images), period. Everything featured is my own original writing. Aside from the ethical and environmental implications, I think that there is inherent value to human-written articles, which AI cannot match. (I will disclose that I used ChatGPT to code the rotating photo header, but I study architecture, not CS.)
I am a busy architecture student. I try to complete at least one article per day, but this is not always possible. In addition to my college workload, I have an ever-increasing backlog of photos to get through, so things are going to be posted much later than I actually photograph them. My "Entries by Location" page has the full list of places that are awaiting articles. Also, I have to do all of the administrative nonsense involved with maintaining this website, such as identifying places I want to go next, mapping out the places I want to go next, linking, re-linking, proofreading, updating every single page every time I post new stuff, updating the My Maps, etc. It eats up a LOT more time than you'd think.
I don't edit my photos beyond cropping/rotating them, except in rare cases where I'm shooting into the sun (facing south) and need to correct the exposure.