The Man Behind the Upside-Down “H”
Part Two of our investigation into the typography on a historic Frank Lloyd Wright building. Plus a new Inconspicuous News Roundup!
Note: This is the second article in a two-part series. If you haven’t already read the first part, I strongly recommend that you start with that one. — Paul
Yesterday I wrote about the history of the metal lettering at Unity Temple, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building in Oak Park, Illinois, and how some of those letters have inadvertently been positioned upside-down at various points over the past 115 years. Today we’re going to learn more about the letters, from an architect who worked with them.
Remember how most of Unity Temple’s lettering was stolen in 2010? I learned during my reporting that the replacement lettering was created and installed by the Chicago architecture firm Harboe Architects. A few years later, that same firm handled Unity Temple’s $25 million restoration, during which the replacement letters were taken down and then reinstalled. And that in turn means Harboe Architects is responsible for the current upside-down “H” above Unity Temple’s western entrance — the one that got us started on this topic when typographer Jonathan Hoefler recently spotted it during a tour of the site.
Harboe Architects is run by Gunny Harboe. Naturally, I wanted to ask him about the upside-down “H,” but I also wanted to learn more about the lettering itself. Here’s the transcript of a Zoom call we had last month, edited for length and clarity.
