What does "herr2ck" mean?
The name of this project comes from John Herrick, campus planner of Ohio State from 1956 to 1967. Herrick compiled documentation of every single building on campus, knowledge that is preserved to this day on Ohio State websites. "The Herrick archives...present what is likely the most complete record of a university campus to be found anywhere in the world." (2005 School of Architecture memo)
In his spirit I sought to document every building that is or ever was on campus, explain their history, and give my sardonic takes on the architecture or general contributions to campus in a way that’s reasonably accessible to the average college student (so a more Gen-Z perspective). Since I have concluded my campus architecture survey, I have expanded to buildings I find interesting elsewhere.
Who/what is herr2ck?
I'm an Ohio State undergraduate architecture student, amateur photographer, and armchair architectural historian. I write to expand public knowledge of the seemingly mundane buildings that make up our urban fabric in an effort to encourage people to slow down a bit and look around.
Why document a bunch of random old buildings?
My two inspirations for making this site were legendary architectural historian Richard Nickel and the website nailhed.com. The former is well known to preservationists: a photographer who documented Gilded Age architecture in Chicago as the Modernist-era plague of urban renewal knocked these buildings down with fervor. The latter I found randomly while browsing Reddit--a commenter linked his article on the Packard Plant in Detroit. Though his content depicts a much more desolate Detroit from 20 years ago, his thoughtfully researched and sometimes harshly worded blog posts were very entertaining to read. It’s said that architecture involves constantly changing and improving upon earlier precedents, and in that same vein I want to make my own way forward, taking inspiration from the work of these two. I also admire the work of Carol Highsmith and seek a similar approach in my photography.
What kind of places do I focus on?
Cities I have lived (or am currently living) in, county seats, large cities, places that have designs by my favorite architects (Sullivan, Wright, Elmslie, Burnham, Richardson, Furness, Yost), places I've visited on vacation, etc. I like skyscrapers but I enjoy things with a human scale more.
Why don't you have as many photos of building interiors, especially on your post-OSU stuff?
Interior photos are often difficult to get. The only places I've had guaranteed success are those that have a public/civic function (e.g. county courthouses, libraries, train stations). Many other building types limit public access and photography. I've particularly had trouble with banks (for security reasons) and historic office buildings that were converted to apartments.
Disclaimers
I try to stay objective as much as possible, but my thoughts in regards to historic preservation, certain styles of architecture, and social issues will become very apparent upon reading a few articles. My argument is this: no contemporary work of architecture, no matter how grand or ambitious, is worth tearing down an important historic building. Although restoration may not be the most cost-effective approach, it is the one that favors the aesthetics of the city and preserves character. If city officials focused less on profits and what’s in and out of style, and more on history and public opinion, our cities would become a lot more beautiful and functional.
I don't use AI for any purposes of this website, period. Everything featured is my own original writing.
I am a busy architecture student. I try to complete at least one article per day, but this is not always possible. In addition to my college workload, I have an ever-increasing backlog of photos to get through, so things are going to be posted much later than I actually photograph them. My "Entries by Location" page has the full list of places that are awaiting articles.
I don't edit my photos beyond cropping/rotating them, except in rare cases where I'm shooting into the sun (facing south) and need to correct the exposure.
I have a series of pages that briefly outline an architect or style, which are linked on my "Entries by ___" pages. When I started this blog in 2024, I intended to complete one of these for every single prominent architect that has a work featured on this website, but with my now-massive backlog of photos and scope creep, I doubt that will be possible at this point without extreme effort. I still intend to finish the style pages at some point, but they aren't a big priority to me right now.