Exhibit Highlights Golden Age

By Leila Javitch

“Hidden in Plain Sight” is the name of the current exhibition at the Norfolk Historical Society. That title also describes this treasure of a show. Everyone with any interest in Norfolk should see it before it closes in mid-October.

The exhibition focuses on the artists, artisans and craftsmen of Norfolk’s Golden Age of Architecture, defined as 1880 to 1930. It is curated by Ann Havemeyer and Diane Pierce and beautifully designed by Barry Webber. There are large photographs of the 16 notable public buildings and monuments built during those 40 years. These four decades were indeed a Golden Age: a period of intense artistic creativity nurtured by wealthy local patrons and artists and craftsmen who believed in the transformational force of beauty and the role that handsome public institutions play in fostering a sense of civic pride and community.

The seed for the show was generated by the recent preservation efforts in Norfolk. Infinity Hall (Village Hall built in 1883) has been renovated. The Norfolk Library (1888) is adorned with a splendid new “historic” roof of clay tiles. The Norfolk Music Shed (1906) has a restored cupola and siding. And most recently, the Congregational Church has been mounting a major effort to preserve its exceptional Tiffany and Maitland Armstrong stained glass windows (1928) in Battell Chapel.

Besides photographs of each building, there are brief biographies of the architects who created them and the patrons (mainly patronesses) who paid for them. Interesting architectural elements are singled out. The late Victorian era stressed architectural sculpture; surfaces were meant to be rich and interesting. Hence the S-shaped terracotta tiles used for the library roof, the elegant stone surfaces of Battell Chapel, and the “lively roofline,” as the curators put it, of the Arcanum building.

Small artifacts of note in the exhibition include a reproduction of the owl (created by Albert Entress in 1911) that perches on the mantel in the library’s Great Hall. There is a replica of the exceptional bas-relief in the library reference room which is an image of Henry Longfellow by Augustus St. Gaudens. There is the original weather vane that graced the Stoeckel Carriage Barn, now the Yale Art Barn, depicting a lady (thought to be Ellen Battell Stoeckel) sedately astride a prancing horse. And there are handsome enlargements of details from the Tiffany and Armstrong windows, photographed by Babs Perkins. There is an excellent written description of the techniques developed for use in the stained glass windows, which included large and small faceted glass nuggets that look like real jewels and make the windows shimmer.

The small room just behind the main one has photographs and memorabilia in three sections: Lost, Restored, Saved. The photographs of “lost” buildings, such as the hardware store designed by Alfredo Taylor which burned to the ground in 1987, or the verandah running along an entire side of the Gymnasium (now Town Hall), are particularly interesting.

No one should miss this superb exhibition. It will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. through Columbus Day weekend. Barry Webber will also be leading tours of the architectural treasures of Norfolk on Labor Day weekend and September 17. Mark your calendars!