As the tryptophan-induced Thanksgiving haze wears off, I thought I’d share a couple examples of accordion-inspired architecture that I’d run across recently. The first comes from Buenos Aires, where the city has just dedicated a new monument to tango music in the shape of a giant steel bandoneon. The tango has long been an integral part of Argentinian culture and this monument joins statues and plaques in Buenos Aires honoring tango legends like Carlos Gardel, Osvaldo Pugliese and Astor Piazzolla.
The second isn’t reality (yet), but is a design by London architect Ken Shuttleworth for a 10-story accordion-shaped building that will border Christopher Wren’s Monument to The Great Fire Of London. The building’s rooftop garden will double as a sundial, using the shadow from Wren’s Monument to indicate the time.
My favorite piece of accordion architecture, though, is still the old San Francisco accordion school — Theodore School of Music on Union Street — with its entire second floor shaped like an accordion.
5 Comments:
Awesome. Is the SF build still up? I’d love to take a field trip.
by Scott S on November 26th, 2007
Sadly, it’s no longer there. I’m not sure exactly when it was torn down.
by Chris on November 26th, 2007
My dad actually studied accordion there!!! LMAO!
He was just telling me about this place, and his old teacher Theodore Pezzolo, and I found this great picture for him! HA HA! Thanks for the pic…do you know what happened to Pezzolo? Like when he died or anything?
by Vince on September 14th, 2008
Hello Accordianists,
My father was a student of John Pezzolo who was also my mother’s uncle. I am working on a family tree including the 6 Pezzolo brothers, John, Cesare, S. Pezzolo, Theodore, Ralph, and Gene who were all in the San Francisco area in the 1930s.
I would appreciate any guidance the accordian community can provide into where the brothers moved to (or died) as they retired.It would be nice to trace their “roots” to living relatives.
John (“Uncle Johnnie”) as we knew him retired to Sunnyvale and died in 1973. My records show that S. (first name unknown) died in 1971, Theodore in 1973, Ralph in 1972, and Gene in 1966.
I did find a fantastic picture of all the Pezzolo brothers with their accordians in the office of the Italian Cemetery in Colma in 2008.
Thank you in advance!
Tully
trsimoni@yahoo.com
by Tully Simoni Jr. on September 20th, 2009
Did not john pezzolo have a resort around clear lake in the thirties and forties? I think he used to give accordion concerts—perhaps with as many as 20 accordions. I think my cousin met him a few times. Ihis resort was a very popular place and I knew many poeple from san francisco that used to go up there.
Don Giannoni
by don giannoni on August 21st, 2010