My previous post covered the Best Products showroom built by
SITE Inc. during what was probably the company’s most profitable period. The late 70s brought great prosperity to
company founders Sydney and Francis Lewis, and they continued to bring art to the
masses in the form of SITE’s strange, seemingly precarious showrooms. Best operated hundreds of stores across
America (not all of them were designed by SITE, of course) and they were still
working to create the unique “signature showrooms” that made their business legendary
in the late 20th century. The 1980s brought some of the most daring
designs so far, but also marked the end on an era. Best started experiencing financial problem
in the mid-80s and their collaboration with SITE and architect James Wines
effectively ended in 1984 after the construction of the ambitious
Inside/Outside Showroom in Milwaukee (see below). By the start of the 1990s, consumerism in the
United States was changing, and the catalog showroom format that Best
epitomized in the sixties and seventies was becoming quickly outdated. By the time a new form of buying goods called
on-line shopping emerged in the mid-90s, Best Products was all but done. They officially closed their doors in 1998,
but not before leaving the art world with some truly unique combinations of art
and consumerism. The last three SITE
designed showrooms are spotlighted below.
Cutler Ridge Showroom
Built: 1980
Location: 19600 South Dixie Highway
Cutler Ridge, FL 33157
The Cutler Ridge Showroom (built just outside of Miami, not
far from SITE’s Rainforest Showroom) continued the theme of deconstruction and
precariousness that typified the designs that James Wines provided for Best
Products. Here, the basic Best Products
store (we would call it a “big box” today) was separated from its façade, which
floated in front of the building.
Jagged sections from the main façade were
further removed, creating a progression from the largest section (which contained
the Best Products sign), to the middle section, where the awning over the doors
was located, and concluding with three smaller sections that contained operable
doors. Overall, the main sections of the
front of the building were each highlighted, and to a certain extent removed
from their normal, useful context. The
awning that normally protected shoppers as they entered the store now shielded
empty space, and the three sets of entry doors opened onto nothing. As passers-by traveled past the building, the
different section would appear to shift, sometimes seeming disparate, sometimes
coming together to form a complete façade.
On a side note, the Cutler Ridge Showroom was the only SITE designed
showroom that wasn’t given a title (like the Indeterminate Façade or Peeling
Project).
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I'm not sure if people actually used the false doors on a regular basis, or if this was set up for a photo shoot. |
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From certain vantage points, the facade appeared complete. |
The fate of the Cutler Ridge Showroom
It was completely torn down and replaced with a new
structure. This made its original
location very difficult to find. When I
started researching the Best Products showrooms a few years ago, I found that
some of the addresses for the former locations were easy to find on-line, and information
was plentiful. Others, like Cutler Ridge, proved a little more elusive, mainly
because there’s no longer any physical evidence of its existence (the search
for the physical location of these buildings is one of the main things that
lead to the creation of this blog in the first place). Only after I found an
old architectural rendering of the original site plan was I able to pinpoint its
exact location on a map. The photo below shows
that architectural plan laid over the site as it appears today.
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The red lines indicate the location of the store as well as the wall sections. |
Forest Showroom
Built: 1980
Location: 9008 Quioccasin Road
Richmond, VA 23229
This showroom was the second SITE design to be built in Best
Products hometown of Richmond, Virginia (the first was the Peeling
Project). Like Cutler Ridge built
shortly before it, the Forest Showroom appeared to have a large chunk removed
from the front. Approaching the building
from the road, it looked fairly normal and had the overt appearance of a typical
Best Showroom. But, once a shopper got
closer they could see that the whole front section of the structure was
disengaged from the main store, and a shallow
trench overflowing with vegetation filled the space between the two
fragments. Trees grew up between the
sections, making it seem as if nature was reclaiming the area. A short bridge over the trench allowed access
to the showroom. The showroom was
located in a fairly wooded area, so the forest-themed design complimented the
natural surroundings and celebrated the setting as opposed to the more
commercial aspects of the site.
The fate of the Forest Showroom
It survives! Of the
eight showrooms designed by SITE for Best Products, this is the only one that
exists as it was designed. After Best
went out of business, it was bought by West End Presbyterian Church in
September of 1998. They operate at the
location to this day. They have carried
out extensive renovations inside the building in order to suit its new purpose,
but the outside of the building remains intact. Thanks to everyone at the church who was involved in preserving this unique structure for future generations.
Inside/Outside Building
Built: 1984
Location: 8604 West Brown Deer Road
Milwaukee, WI 53224
The Inside/Outside building was easily the most ambitious of
the Best/SITE collaborations and served as a fitting swan song to the
partnership. Even before the building
was completed in 1984, Best Products had made the decision to suspend the
signature showroom projects. The southeast
corner and front (east side) of the building appeared to be crumbling, opening
up several large holes in the side of the structure. This was not terribly different from previous
SITE designs. What made the Inside/Outside
Building so unique was that this building included “merchandise”. For the display, hundreds of everyday
household items were cast in aluminum and arranged on aluminum shelves. Everything was arranged to look like shelf
displays in a typical Best store. Metal
clocks, bicycles, and toys were displayed along with a lawn mower and garden
equipment hung on aluminum pegboard. The
structure around the objects seemed to be decaying, including the drywall and
studs as well as the acoustical ceiling tiles (all made out of metal). Openings at the top of the building revealed
the mechanicals, such as ventilation ducts. The building was highlighted in the May 1894
issue of The Architectural Record, and these photos are literally the only
detailed pictures I was able to find of this section of the building. The Inside/Outside Building is truly the
epitome of a Cultural Ghost. It existed
for only a short period of time (1984- c. 1998) and there’s virtually no record
of it online.
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The main entrance from the street is on the left. |
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Everything, even the pegboard, was reproduced in aluminum. |
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This is the view near the east entrance. The awning over the doors is visible on the right. |
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The bicycle crossed the boundary of the window. It was an actual bike on one side, a sculpture on the other. |
The fate of the Inside/Outside Building:
At this point, you probably wouldn’t be shocked to learn
that it was dismantled. Even when it was
new, it was the target of vandals trying to steal the aluminum “merchandise”
and I don’t know if this continued or not (as mentioned above, this design is
probably the least recorded of all the SITE/Best designs). There are some reports on the web that it
became a Wal-Mart after it was Best, but I was able to neither confirm nor deny
that. It was most recently a K & G
Fashion Superstore, but I don’t know if they’re still operating at the site.
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It just looks so boring today. |
Next time, some parting words on the Best Products/SITE
collaboration.
The Inside/outside building in Milwaukee, WI became a Kids 'R' Us quite some time after the renovation (it was never a Wal-Mart). Theres literally NO WAY the original SITE structure lasted until 1998, my best estimates are 1989. Very short lived, indeed. Also, I wouldnt be surprised if there was vandalism and theft at that location, as the residents of the neighborhood have managed to shut down an entire shopping mall (800,000 sq.ft +). Such a shame. Anyway, thanks for posting this amazing page!!!
ReplyDeleteI am actually in contact with one of the sculptors who worked on the site in the mid-80s. He also told me that the building did not remain intact for very long, mainly due to problems with rust. The arcade display was open to the elements and the epoxy coatings they covered the objects with failed to stop deterioration. He is tracking down some period photos of the creation and installation of the display and I hope to post an update soon. Thanks for reading!
DeleteDid you ever get the photos from the sculptor?
DeleteNo, he wasn't as good a source as I hoped.
DeleteI think a date was transposed, May 1984 issue of The Architectural Record, instead of May 1894?
ReplyDeleteNah, it was def 1894.
DeleteAccording to Milwaukee Sentinel archives, it closed in 1986 along with the other Milwaukee area locations. After Best closed, it became Highland Superstores and Kids R Us
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there was a lot of reports of theft at that location too
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Kids R Us and Highland Superstore, I remember it being an Office Max for a period of time. I grew up in the area.
ReplyDelete