October 21:
1959: Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City
On this day in 1959, on New York City's Fifth Avenue, thousands of people line up outside a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake. It was opening day at the new Guggenheim Museum, home to one of the world's top collections of contemporary art.
Mining tycoon Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting art seriously when he retired in the 1930s. With the help of Hilla Rebay, a German baroness and artist, Guggenheim displayed his purchases for the first time in 1939 in a former car showroom in New York. Within a few years, the collection-including works by Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Marc Chagall-had outgrown the small space. In 1943, Rebay contacted architect Frank Lloyd Wright and asked him to take on the work of designing not just a museum, but a "temple of spirit," where people would learn to see art in a new way.
Over the next 16 years, until his death six months before the museum opened, Wright worked to bring his unique vision to life. To Wright's fans, the museum that opened on October 21, 1959, was a work of art in itself. Inside, a long ramp spiraled upwards for a total of a quarter-mile around a large central rotunda, topped by a domed glass ceiling. Reflecting Wright's love of nature, the 50,000-meter space resembled a giant seashell, with each room opening fluidly into the next.
Wright's groundbreaking design drew criticism as well as admiration. Some felt the oddly-shaped building didn't complement the artwork. They complained the museum was less about art and more about Frank Lloyd Wright. On the flip side, many others thought the architect had achieved his goal: a museum where building and art work together to create "an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony."
Located on New York's impressive Museum Mile, at the edge of Central Park, the Guggenheim has become one of the city's most popular attractions. In 1993, the original building was renovated and expanded to create even more exhibition space. Today, Wright's creation continues to inspire awe, as well as odd comparisons-a Jello mold! a washing machine! a pile of twisted ribbon!-for many of the 900,000-plus visitors who visit the Guggenheim each year.
American Revolution
1779 : Henry Laurens named minister to Holland
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-laurens-named-minister-to-holland
Automotive
1929 : Henry Ford dedicates the Thomas Edison Institute
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-ford-dedicates-the-thomas-edison-institute
Civil War
1861 : Yankees suffer a defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-balls-bluff
Cold War
1967 : Thousands protest the war in Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thousands-protest-the-war-in-vietnam
Crime
1910 : A bomb explodes in the Los Angeles Times building
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-bomb-explodes-in-the-los-angeles-times-building
Disaster
1966 : Mudslide buries school in Wales
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mudslide-buries-school-in-wales
General Interest
1797 : USS Constitution launched
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-iconstitutioni-launched
1805 : Battle of Trafalgar
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-trafalgar
1959 : Von Braun moves to NASA
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/von-braun-moves-to-nasa
Hollywood
1988 : Mystic Pizza, with Julia Roberts, opens
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mystic-pizza-with-julia-roberts-opens
Literary
1772 : Samuel Taylor Coleridge is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/samuel-taylor-coleridge-is-born
Music
1917 : Dizzy Gillespie is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dizzy-gillespie-is-born
Old West
1867 : Plains Indians sign key provisions of the Medicine Lodge Treaty in Kansas
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/plains-indians-sign-key-provisions-of-the-medicine-lodge-treaty-in-kansas
Presidential
1921 : Harding publicly condemns lynching
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/harding-publicly-condemns-lynching
Sports
1975 : Fisk homers off foul pole
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fisk-homers-off-foul-pole
Vietnam War
1967 : 100,000 people march on the Pentagon
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/100000-people-march-on-the-pentagon
World War I
1918 : Germany ceases unrestricted submarine warfare
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-ceases-unrestricted-submarine-warfare
World War II
1941 : Germans massacre men, women, and children in Yugoslavia
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-massacre-men-women-and-children-in-yugoslavia
On this day in 1959, on New York City's Fifth Avenue, thousands of people line up outside a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake. It was opening day at the new Guggenheim Museum, home to one of the world's top collections of contemporary art.
Mining tycoon Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting art seriously when he retired in the 1930s. With the help of Hilla Rebay, a German baroness and artist, Guggenheim displayed his purchases for the first time in 1939 in a former car showroom in New York. Within a few years, the collection-including works by Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Marc Chagall-had outgrown the small space. In 1943, Rebay contacted architect Frank Lloyd Wright and asked him to take on the work of designing not just a museum, but a "temple of spirit," where people would learn to see art in a new way.
Over the next 16 years, until his death six months before the museum opened, Wright worked to bring his unique vision to life. To Wright's fans, the museum that opened on October 21, 1959, was a work of art in itself. Inside, a long ramp spiraled upwards for a total of a quarter-mile around a large central rotunda, topped by a domed glass ceiling. Reflecting Wright's love of nature, the 50,000-meter space resembled a giant seashell, with each room opening fluidly into the next.
Wright's groundbreaking design drew criticism as well as admiration. Some felt the oddly-shaped building didn't complement the artwork. They complained the museum was less about art and more about Frank Lloyd Wright. On the flip side, many others thought the architect had achieved his goal: a museum where building and art work together to create "an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony."
Located on New York's impressive Museum Mile, at the edge of Central Park, the Guggenheim has become one of the city's most popular attractions. In 1993, the original building was renovated and expanded to create even more exhibition space. Today, Wright's creation continues to inspire awe, as well as odd comparisons-a Jello mold! a washing machine! a pile of twisted ribbon!-for many of the 900,000-plus visitors who visit the Guggenheim each year.
American Revolution
1779 : Henry Laurens named minister to Holland
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-laurens-named-minister-to-holland
Automotive
1929 : Henry Ford dedicates the Thomas Edison Institute
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-ford-dedicates-the-thomas-edison-institute
Civil War
1861 : Yankees suffer a defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-balls-bluff
Cold War
1967 : Thousands protest the war in Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thousands-protest-the-war-in-vietnam
Crime
1910 : A bomb explodes in the Los Angeles Times building
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-bomb-explodes-in-the-los-angeles-times-building
Disaster
1966 : Mudslide buries school in Wales
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mudslide-buries-school-in-wales
General Interest
1797 : USS Constitution launched
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-iconstitutioni-launched
1805 : Battle of Trafalgar
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-trafalgar
1959 : Von Braun moves to NASA
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/von-braun-moves-to-nasa
Hollywood
1988 : Mystic Pizza, with Julia Roberts, opens
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mystic-pizza-with-julia-roberts-opens
Literary
1772 : Samuel Taylor Coleridge is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/samuel-taylor-coleridge-is-born
Music
1917 : Dizzy Gillespie is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dizzy-gillespie-is-born
Old West
1867 : Plains Indians sign key provisions of the Medicine Lodge Treaty in Kansas
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/plains-indians-sign-key-provisions-of-the-medicine-lodge-treaty-in-kansas
Presidential
1921 : Harding publicly condemns lynching
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/harding-publicly-condemns-lynching
Sports
1975 : Fisk homers off foul pole
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fisk-homers-off-foul-pole
Vietnam War
1967 : 100,000 people march on the Pentagon
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/100000-people-march-on-the-pentagon
World War I
1918 : Germany ceases unrestricted submarine warfare
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-ceases-unrestricted-submarine-warfare
World War II
1941 : Germans massacre men, women, and children in Yugoslavia
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-massacre-men-women-and-children-in-yugoslavia
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