Docomomo US is pleased to announce the schedule of tours and events taking place on October 12, 2019 and throughout the month of October for Tour Day 2019. The only national program of its kind, Tour Day is devoted to the appreciation of modern architecture in the United States. Tours and events focused on architecture and design of the Modern Movement are hosted by Docomomo US chapters, partners,and leading voices in preservation. This year’s thematic focus is the diversity of modernism. As mid century buildings and sites have become increasingly endangered, Docomomo US and its chapters have become more aware of sites designed by minority and female architects, landscape architects, designers, and engineers. In many cases,little is known about the designer or their legacy. This year’s Tour Day events will cast alight on the significance of these sites and the need to preserve them.
A list of tours and map of tour locations is available at www.docomomo-us.org/events/tour-day.
Participants can share their Tour Day experience using the hashtags: #DiversityofModernism #TourDay2019 #ExploreModern #DocomomoUS
Featured Tours
Docomomo US / Michigan
The Shape of Things to Come:
Reclaiming the Legacy of Detroit’s Black Architects
Detroit, MI, October 12
Docomomo US/Michigan will explore two mid century churches designed by architect Nathan Johnson, one of the many black architects who shaped Detroit, yet whose work and legacy remains largely unknown.
Docomomo US / MidTexMod
Norcell Haywood: The Community Architect
San Antonio, TX, October 12
The MidTexMod chapter of Docomomo US will host an open house and oral history opportunity at the Second Baptist Church and San Antonia Public Library. Both were designed by Norcell Haywood, who championed the concept of the community architect.
Docomomo US / NY Tri-State
Kaneji Domoto in Usonia
Pleasantville, NY, October 12
Kaneji Domoto designed five of the Usonian homes in Frank Lloyd Wright’s planned community in Pleasantville, NY. Docomomo US/New York Tri-State takes participants on exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of all five.
Docomomo US / Southern California
Under/Represented:
A Conversation about Diversity in Modernism
Los Angeles, CA October 12
Docomomo US/Southern California will host a panel discussion in celebration of four architects who helped to shape LA’s Modernist legacy: Gin Wong, Norma Sklarek, Robert Kennard, and Paul R. Williams.
Docomomo US / Northern California
Modernism in San Francisco’s Chinatown
San Francisco, CA, October 12
Although commonly known for its narrow streets lined with red lanterns and eclectic shops, Chinatown in fact has some of San Francisco’s best modernist architecture, much of it designed by Chinese American architects. Explore the modern side of Chinatown with Docomomo US/NOCA.
Docomomo US / DC
Howard Modern: The Legacy of the African American University’s Architects and Architecture
Washington, DC, October 26
Docomomo US/DC and Howard University’s Department of Architecture will host a tour of modern sites on the historically black university’s campus in Washington, DC, designed by architects such as Hilyard Robinson and Paul R.Williams.
As a collective, national event, Docomomo US Tour Day is able to offer distinctive tours and events that are open to the public, as well as opportunities to celebrate recent preservation achievements and identify new issues affecting local communities. This year anticipates the participation of thousands of attendees, made possible through a wide variety of partnerships that collectively offer an exciting range of tours and events.