CoL49 (5) German Baroque

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

>
> She purred along up the east side of the bay, presently climbed
> into the Berkeley hills and arrived close to midnight at a
> sprawling, many-leveled, German-baroque hotel, carpeted in
> deep green, going in for curved corridors and ornamental
> chandeliers. A sign in the lobby said WELCOME CALIFORNIA
> CHAPTER AMERICAN DEAF-MUTE ASSEMBLY.
> PC 80
>


Do also see -- Gilles Deleuze: Le pli. Leibniz et le baroque [1988].

In English: http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/D/deleuze_fold.html


"Was die neue Harmonie möglich machen wird, ist zunächst die Unterscheidung 
von zwei Etagen, insofern sie die Spannung auflöst oder die Spaltung aufteilt.
Die untere Etage übernimmt die Fassade, streckt und löchert sich, krümmt sich 
je nach den von einer schweren Materie bestimmten Faltungen und bildet ein 
unendliches Zimmer des Empfangs oder der Empfänglichkeit. Die obere Etage 
schließt sich, reines Inneres ohne Äußeres, in Schwerelosigkeit geschlossene
Innerlichkeit, ausgekleidet mit spontanen Falten, die nur noch diejenigen 
einer Seele oder eines Geistes sind. Wie Wölfflin gezeigt hat, organisiert 
sich die barocke Welt so nach zwei Vektoren, als Einsinken nach unten und 
als Drang nach oben. Es ist Leibniz, der die Tendenz eines Schweresystems,
sein Gleichgewicht so tief als möglich auszutarieren, wo die Massensumme 
nicht weiter sinken kann, wie in einem Gemälde Tintorettos mit der Tendenz
koexistieren lässt, sich zu erheben, ein System in Schwerelosigkeit zu 
erlangen, wo es den Seelen bestimmt ist, vernünftig zu werden. Dass 
der eine Vektor metaphysisch ist und die Seelen betrifft, der andere 
physisch und die Körper betrifft, hindert nicht, dass beide eine selbe
Welt zusammensetzen, ein selbes Haus. Und nicht allein verteilen sie 
sich gemäß einer idealen Linie, die sich auf der einen Etage aktualisiert
und sich auf der anderen realisiert, vielmehr bezieht sie eine höhere 
Entsprechung unaufhörlich aufeinander. Eine solche Architektur des Hauses ist
keine Konstante der Kunst, des Denkens. Was eigentlich barock ist, ist diese
Unterscheidung und Aufteilung zweier Etagen."
 
(Gilles Deleuze: Die Falte. Leibniz und der Barock. Ffm 2000: Suhrkamp, p. 52.)
 
 
kfl 


>
> The local landmark Pynchon cites [but does not name] is the Claremont
> Hotel. As one enters the town of Berkeley via 13 and drops off on
> Ashby, the Claremont is the most visible local landmark, looming over
> the town like Kane's Xanadu.
>
> http://farm1.static.flickr.com/49/163457239_771127ab27.jpg?v=0
>
> http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=claremont%20hotel%20berkeley&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
>
> Using the Claremont as Oedipa's base of operations during her stay in
> the Bay area underlines the history of that resort in the region. The
> presence of the California Chapter of the Deaf Mute Assembly serves to
> remind us once again of the muted horn.
>
> The Claremont Hotel:
>
> A Castle on the Hill
> Born of a golden era, the history of The Claremont dates back to
> the early days of the Gold Rush, when a Kansas farmer by the
> name of Bill Thornburg "struck it rich." He came to California
> with his daughter and his wife who dreamed of living in an
> English Castle. Thornburg purchased 13,000 acres (part of the
> old Peralta and Vicente Spanish grants) to fulfill his wife’s
> dream and built the castle and several stables, which housed
> pedigreed hunters and jumpers. He hired Cockney grooms to
> care for them and raised English foxes for hunting parties.
>
> Harder Times
> Shortly after Thornburg's daughter married a British Lord and
> moved to England, Mrs. Thornburg died. Bill Thornburg
> subsequently sold the "castle" to a family by the name of
> Ballard. While the Ballard family was out on July 14, 1901, a dry
> and windy day, tragedy struck and the castle burned to the
> ground. As the municipal water supply was not well regulated,
> the volunteer fire department was helpless when the hot, dry
> summer winds blew flames across the Berkeley Hills, also
> destroying many other homes in the area. Only the Ballard
> livery stables, barn and some of the costly furnishings survived
> the fire.
>
> A Lucky Game of Checkers
> The destroyed property fell into the hands of Frank Havens and
> “Borax” Smith, a famous miner. They planned to erect a resort
> hotel on the property with trains running directly into the lobby.
> However, these plans were abandoned. One night, Havens,
> Smith and John Spring, a Berkeley capitalist, played a game of
> checkers in the old Athenian Club of Oakland with the stakes
> being the property. As legend goes, Havens won.
>
> Born of Romanticism
> The grounds and natural settings give The Claremont a
> picturesque quality reminiscent of the Age of Romanticism. In
> the 1930’s, the entire second floor was flanked by a large porch
> where visitors would sit, take walks and admire the
> surroundings and spectacular sunsets. Some will remember
> The Claremont’s Garden Room “high atop the hill” where such
> famous bands as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Tommy
> Dorsey performed. During this period, lawn sports such as
> tennis, badminton and croquet were gaining popularity and the
> resort’s first tennis courts and pool were built. Around 1940, the
> porch was enclosed and transformed into office and dining
> space. At that time, The Claremont was painted entirely white,
> the roof was fire-proofed, and the shingles were turned a
> whitish-silver color.
>
> In 1954, Mr. Harold J. Schnitzer of Harsh Investment
> Corporation bought the property and leased it to Mr. Murray
> Lehr. It became a popular site for conventions held in the Bay
> Area. By 1959, The Claremont had more convention and exhibit
> space than any hotel west of Chicago and represented the
> largest convention resort in the Bay Area.
>
> http://www.claremontresort.com/
>
> Here are some vintage postcards of the Claremont:
>
> http://www.alamedainfo.com/claremont_hotel_berkeley_ca.htm