Speakeasies

I've mentioned Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco before, but this article from the NY Times is just chock full of speakeasy-type bars.

Bar? What Bar?
Speakeasy-style bars and restaurants opening in cities across the country represent a strange exercise in nostalgia: an infatuation with the good old days of Prohibition.

Secret Rooms & Other Cool Stuff

This house is insane. Its not a house, its a castle. So, of course, it has a secret room. Read all about it here.

Here's a news article about the same house and the woes of trying to sell a home for over $30 million. My heart goes out to them. (/sarcasm)



I've seen something similar to this car lift used in parking garages, but this is the first I've seen of its use in a residential application. How cool is that? It would only be better if it was also serving as the exit from your secret lair, a la Batman.


Nothing secret about this, I just think its interesting: Student Works: Rock and Roll Fantasy - SCI-Arc at Coachella: Elastic Plastic Sponge. The image above is of the pre-construction rendering; follow the link to the article for osme images of the real thing. Best quote:

One big lesson that people got out of it was that materials and their aggregations can generate the parameters for form making... you couldn't just twist the big ribbon in Maya and expect it to perform the same way in meat space.

Meat space? Ew. (oh, and see my previous posts about sci-arc (here and here) and blobs.)

Secret Room Round-up

As you may have figured out by now, I love secret places in a building. I find articles about them all the time, though most of the time there aren't any photos, so I don't bother passing them along (and most of them are of the "police found drugs in secret room" vein, which I'm decidedly not interested in). Here are some more links and photos of secret rooms and doors that caught my eye:

From Dornob: Modern Secret Rooms and Hidden Doors. I like the stair/door.



Have you ever heard of Chicheley Hall? It was just purchased by the Royal Society, which brought it to my attention.

The most remarkable room is the 'secret' library on the upper floor, with all shelving and books concealed behind what appears to be panelling, thus disguising the room's true use. The interior includes some of the finest woodcarving, joinery and plasterwork in any English country house of its period.

If any of you have ever been there, I would love to see what it looks like inside! I can only find exterior photos online.

Proof that its not just castles that have secret rooms and that wardrobes really can lead to a secret place (even if its just a dusty bedroom). abandoned place... behind my own wardrobe

No photos unfortunately, but this article is about a new home that Richard Dreyfuss (yes, the actor) is building. In addition to being a model for green building/sustainability practices, the home also has planned a "two-story library for Dreyfuss' 15,000-volume book collection, with a hidden panel leading to a secret room." Am I jealous? Yes, yes, I am.

That's it for now. I'd love to hear from you about any secret rooms, etc that you've visited or heard about recently!

Architecture Links ... and a Secret Room

Here's a wonderful post of beautiful libraries from Curious Expeditions. I've written about a few before, including the Boston Copley Square Library and Beinecke Library at Yale.

More ecclesiastical design from WebUrbanist - this time, it's 15 Amazing Monasteries, Sanctuaries and Abbies. I'd like to point out, though, that there are really only 14 on the list, as the Monastery at Petra is not actually a monastery.

What's behind the bookcase?


Find out at Apartment Therapy.

I also found online directions to build a bookshelf door for your very own secret room.

The Hotel for me?

The midtown NY's Hilton has a hidden something for you to enjoy on your stay in their luxury penthouse suite: a secret room! Find out more at Scouting NY.

Bookshelves

Some inspiration for those of you who like creative bookshelves (with a few secret rooms thrown in for good measure) from WebUrbanist:

20 Unusually Brilliant Bookcase and Bookshelf Designs: Creative, Modular and Unique Furniture

15 (More!) Unusually Brilliant Book Shelving Systems: Creative and Modular Urban Furniture

I've seen many of these before but thought the links were worth sharing. I do like this chair quite a bit. I'd never move on a Sunday afternoon!

Speakeasy

I know this is a little late, but Happy Repeal Day! Maybe next year I'll celebrate at Bourbon & Branch, a 20's-style Prohibition themed bar in San Francisco. They even have a secret library!

Stylish Secret Room

I'm loving this posh secret room. See more from this designer at desire to inspire.

A Secret Bar

The History Channel had a show on today about a cool bar in Milwaukee, the Safe House. Its a spy-themed bar/restaurant filled with secret passages and tricks. (Here's a good description.) If I'm ever back in Wisconsin, I'd love to check it out.

Photo of the secret entrance above from flickr.

Staircase/Library

Check out this cool staircase/library on Apartment Therapy.

Secret Library

Wow! A (mostly) secret library in a regular house! Okay, sure, the people who own it are probably fairly well-to-do since she wrote a series of books that were recently made into a movie, but still, its cool. It makes me feel like maybe someday I really will have my own secret library.

Thanks for the link, bookshelves of doom.

London's Secret Tunnels

Continuing on my interest in secret rooms and tunnels, comes word that the (no longer) secret WWII/Cold War tunnels under London are for sale (link via Archinect). See the BBC for a slide show. 

You'd  think secret tunnels would look a little more mysterious, you know? Maybe a pool (or snooker) table kills the mystique a bit.

Secret Rooms and Passages

WebUrbanist has a great story today about secret rooms and passages. Some of them are well-known, and most are kind of gory (like the secret murder room constructed by H. H. Holmes, which you can read all about in The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson). The coolest one, I think, is the secret bookcase door at the Mont Sainte-Odile convent library (see photo above). I definitely need one of these for my dream library!