I placed my water bottle carefully on the carpet under my seat in the amphitheater. A quick glance to the stage four rows away revealed the next speaker was almost ready to start their talk at the conference.
And my eyes stopped as I saw two eyes staring at me intently.
I smiled.
But there was no smile in return.
And not likely to be one.
The eyes watching me belonged to an Art Deco style owl, part of the bronze railing dividing the seating sections in the amphitheater at the Rackham Building at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The amphitheater was the venue for the World IA Day 2015 Ann Arbor conference I attended yesterday.
I had a great time at the conference, which I’ll likely share in a future post.
While I’ve been at the Rackham Building many times for events, yesterday I took a closer look at some of the beautiful details and impressive architecture.
The Art Deco style is seen throughout the building in the gorgeous ceiling decorations and bronze stairwell railings.
Natural light fills the walkways on each floor. I remember when I was a college student, one of my favorite places to study was the second floor study rooms at Rackham.
Dedicated in 1938, the Rackham Building was designed by William E. Kapp, who once worked under Albert Kahn.
The building is made of Indiana limestone and topped with a copper roof (a beautiful view from the upper floors of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library at the other side of campus).
With a Chinese New Year celebration at the first floor Rackham Auditorium last evening, our group had to leave the building by 5pm. I’ll need to plan a return trip to explore the building further.
