BUMBLE BEE TO COVINGTON / pilgrimage 2014

+FELICIANA JUNGLE RADIANCE+

>entered my metaphysical life as a young boy<

>during summer weeks spent w/ our staigg<

>cavaroc grandmother in the sleepy town<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>>/ SANSOUCI FOREST)+

>of covington where in 1959 i opted to<

>settle, open an office & build my first<

>structures that formed our foundation<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+OUR MOTHER & FATHER HAD+

+MET AT A DANCE ONE NIGHT+

>(the dance pavilion is still<

>there down in the park)<

+ON THE TCHEFUNCTE RIVER+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>tonight's blog is is based on a series of<

>photos taken in the southern hotel at<

+(DEDICATED TO BROTHER+

+WALKER & WIFE DELLA)+

>the end of our pilgrimage this week<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+WE WENT TO CELEBRATE THE+

+82nd BIRTHDAY OF LORRAINE+

>(wife of cousin, friend &<

>architect neal pendleton)<

+PENDLETON, CREOLE BEAUTY+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>this photo was taken last year at anabel's cov.<

>restaurant / (r. to l.) walker & della, marianne<

+(ANABEL'S RESTAURANT+

+ CLAIBORNE HILL, 2013)+

>& i, neal & lorraine / ( friend robin lobdell<

>beeman's childhood home is nearby )<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                                     
>the aboriginal people of st tammany jungles<
>possessed great organic & cosmic abilities<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >choctaw indian villages were important in the<
>thick forests (jungle) of st. tammany parish &<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ MAYAN INFLUENCE)+
>it pleased me to see this wooden "chief" at<
>the side entrance of the grt. southern hotel<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the steamer josie w/ captain dudley weaver<
>at the helm was one of our dad's favorite<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>> / STEAMER JOSIE)+
>early memories of employment and his<
>introduction to nola's new basin canal<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >mature trees are prolific in the ambience of<
>old covington village along the tchefuncte<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>>/ COSMIC VISION)+
>river where i built the first structures of<
>my oeuvre w/ intense cosmic vision<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>tuggy's bar was a favorite watering hole in the<
>southern hotel & tuggy himself an institution<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ COVINGTON OZONE)+
>who i remember well for his good humor<
>some wives were not enthusiastic at all<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the "bumble bee" interurban train was a very<
>popular sight for my youthful eyes around<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+/ CAVAROC MEMERE)+
>the time of my summer vacation in 1937<
>it became legendary in my early years<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the new orleans new basin canal was a few<
>steps from storeyville, the red-light district<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+/ "THE JAZZ WORKSHOP")+
>where louis armstrong and other famed<
>dixieland jazz musicians got their start<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >when i opened my office in covington<
>h.j. smith & sons was still in business<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+>/ COVINGTON DESIGN)+
>& actually furnished some material<
>for constructing my early projects<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >it was heartening to see this sign in a hall<
>of the second floor in honor of one of my<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>/ WALKER PERCY)+
>favorite covingtonians the great southern<
>writer who developed a cosmic vision<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>saint scholastica academy is where my<
>beloved first wife, marian went for her<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ MARIAN OLSEN RAY)+
>early schooling from new orleans by<
>commuting on greyhound weekends<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >this egyptological photo in lorraine pendleton's<
>family collection is my favorite and reminds me<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ KING AKEHNATEN)+
>of one in our childhood living room at 430 8th<
>st., baton rouge which inspired a life research<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >after photographing the southern hotel graphics<
>walker, della, marianne & i met neal & lorraine<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+/ CREOLE GRAPHICS)+
>for lunch after which we visited their home &
>found these two wonderful family graphics<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+APOLOGY+
>i apologise to our covington friends who<
>i would have liked to have seen during<
+(TEN YEARS DEVOTED TO+
+OUR CREATIVE OEUVRE)+
>this journey but there was a mistake in<
>thinking we would not visit covington<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+COVINGTON IS VERY SPECIAL+
+W/ ITS ARTISTIC STRENGTH+
>(ambience of pine forests<
>and >fine multiple rivers<
>(inspiring organic ideals)<
+(ATTRACTING TALENTED+
+PEOPLE TO ITS JUNGLES)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

eugene ray, mfa, architect

professor emeritus, sdsu

BOULIGNY SECRETS / fabulous pilgrimage

+BARATARIA PILIGRIMAGE+

>thanks to tommy & chris mcintosh, mary lynn hyde<

>& especially john lawrence & daniel hammer our<

>2014 NOLA jungle pilgrimage was fantastic w/<

+(PRESENTATION SLIDES TO+

+BE DIGITIZED FOR COLOR)+

>THNOC sending word that our slides would be<

>digitized for preservation of their color quality<        

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+BOULIGNY=BOUILLION+

>returning from new orleans, i re-read<

>bouillion-french history on the plane<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+HOLY BLOOD & GRAIL)+

>they had an amazing templar history<

>it reads like fiction w/ great intrigue<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

+(ORIENT & STENAY FORESTS+

>(google me w/ each of these,<

>scholarly research pays off)<

+/DAGOBERT & CLAIRVAUX)+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>the bouligny plantation house was very special<

>and thanks to tommy i was able to photograph<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>> / PRIORY de SION)+

>it moments after we landed at the nola airport< 

>/we arrived at the site just as the sun was set<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >we remember the de gruy bought bouligny<
>land for their knights templar domed sugar<
+(BOULIGNY PLANTATION+
+HAD TEMPLAR SECRETS)+
>mill…these 2 families were leaders of the<
>first crusade and later the knights templar<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >tommy and chris mcintosh and son zac are<
>wonderful friends who were evacuated in<
+TOM A CINEMATOGRAPHER+
+/ CHRIS IS A LEGAL EXPERT+
>hurricane katrina but have found a fine<
>new home in the laplace tropic zone<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>marianne loves new orleans almost as much<

>as i and mary lynn hyde drove us out to city<

>park where i once designed an extension in<

+GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>> / ODILON REDON)+

>a competition & cavaroc-lelong family had<

>been important to the NOLA art museum<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                                      
 >i have written much about john h. lawrence<
>(l), son of my tulane patron, dean lawrence<
>head of the architecture school whe hired<
+(JOHN & DANIEL IN THNOC+
+WILLIAMS RESEARCH CTR)+
>me to teach while i earned a mfa degree<
>/ daniel hammer ® is also a tulane prof<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >tommy mcintosh drove mary lynn hyde, marianne<
>& i to the barataria lafitte jungle & enroute we<
>stopped to film the site of the gruy plantation<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+/ DOMED SUGAR MILL)+
>now covered w/ industrial buildings and to<
>our amazement found "the promised land"<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >i took about forty jungle photos of palmetto<
>in a beautiful hike very close to the site of<
>a degruy indian mound plantation where<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+INDIAN MOUND HOUSE)+
>j.b. degruy married the aristocratic widow<
>elizabeth sabine montaut de monberaud<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >while out at city park, mary lynn hyde, marianne<
>& i dined at the elegant "inn at the park" on an<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>/ CREOLE COOKING)+
>interesting chicken & ham creole type dish / we<
>had a jam-packed 3 days w/ mary lynn in nola<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >my two fine book dealer friends, russell desmond<
>and carey beckham have been located in the nola,
+(ARCADIAN BOOK SHOP /+
+& LIBRAIRE BOOKSHOP)+
>vieux carre for many years and both as i were,
>raised in baton rouge w/ nola connections<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >still life in a corner of the "napoleon house"<
>my favorite oasis in the vieux carre where,
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>> / NAPOLEON HOUSE)+
>classic music enriches environment while<
>sazaracs & muffelettas enrich the body<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the interior of the st. louis cathedral reminds us<
>that in the 18th century pere dagobert married<
+GOOGLE :>> EUGENE RAY /+
+MARIE THERESE AUFRERE+
>our first de gruy immigre, antoine j.b. verloin<
>de gruy to marie therese aufrere on this site<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >marianne is a great fan of "cafe du mond" beignets<
>& coffee which is a new orleans institution located<
+(GOOGLE :> EUGENE RAY /+
+>>/ CALLAS TOUT CHAUD)+
>only a block from our hotel but my favorite is "the<
>coffee pot" where one can have callas tout chaud<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >synchronistically, our hotel in the vieux carre<
>where we spent the last 3 nights in nola was<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>> / AUFRERE-PERRY)+
>located on the site of our aufrere-perry town<
>house, ancestors of the de gruy in-law fmly
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>two stars of our 2014 nola pilgrimage are good<
>friend / cousin, architect, neal (gruy) pendleton<
+(>>LORRAINE PENDLETON / +
+CLASSIC CREOLE BEAUTY)+
>and wife lorraine, a classic creole beauty who<
>celebrated her 82 nd b-day on our pilgrimage<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+NEAL GAVE ME AN EXCELLENT+
>history book of historical<
+NEW ORLEANS ARCHITECTURE+
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
eugene ray, mfa, architect
professor emeritus, sdsu
 

PILGRIMAGE 2014 / sacred nola relatives & friends

+NOLA RELATIVES & FRIENDS+

>are sacred in my perspective of life on earth<

>as we pack our bags for our fall pilgrimage<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>>> / NEW ORLEANS)+

>and this is my final blog before we leave<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+MARY LYNN HYDE+

>lajolla tulane alumni board member friend<

>awaits us in new orleans where she has<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>>/ MARY LYNN HYDE)+

>been kind enough to provide help for<

>our pilgrimage in several vital ways<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS+

+COLLECTION ALSO AWAITS+

>(john lawrence, daniel hammer<

>have always been v. generous)<

+OUR PILGRIMAGE W/ DATA+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>brother walker & wife della & family<

>shall join us on october 26th and we<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>/ WALKER JOHN RAY)+

>look forward to several other friends<

>(difficulty is to be fair w/ time-focus)<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

>the historic new orleans collection has a<
>superior archive and i have decided to<
+GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>> / T. H. N. O. C.+
>leave the louisiana portion of my work<
>to these devoted & scholarly people<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>our nightly blog has allowed me a medium<
>to present the previous five years research<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>> / FRENCH HISTORY)+
>into our french history augmented with<
>many images from my design oeuvre<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                      

 >our ray, degruy, cavaroc, bres, staigg, foucher<
>and other related creole families history has<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+NOLA CREOLE FAMILY)+
>provided much fascinating data leading us<
>to our ancient roots in "romand" europe<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >leonardo da vinci & saint king dagobert are<
>just two of the most profound persona who<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>> / KING DAGOBERT)+
>are important to creole european history<
>especially considering secret societies<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>the great haitian artist, hector hyppolite is one<
>of the lesser known but important artists who<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ HECTOR HYPPOLITE)+
>have been vital figures relating to our blog<
>in hyppoolte's resilient hut & magic talent<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>gruyere castle< has been a prime focus in<
>our knights templar history…the current<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+> / KNIGHTS TEMPLAR)+
>issue of "atlantis rising" magazine has<
>a fascinating article on swiss templars<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>design for the livingston parish court house<
>is just one of several designs i made during<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+> / LOUISIANA OEUVRE)+
>our years in louisiana for engineer patrons<
>which could be easily overlooked in time<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the remains of the gruy brothers barataria jungle<
>is a sad reflection of its former glory when the<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>/ BETSY SWANSON)+
>purple gallinule ruled over a plant kingdom of<
>giant palmetto 25 ft. tall, thick cane breaks,<
>mayan influenced temples & lafitte's camp<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >dear friends radiant lorraine & talented spouse<
>architect, cousin neal pendleton, seen here at<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+>>>NEAL PENDLETON)+
>the napoleon house w/ blessed marianne at our<
>ray/gruy fmly lunch in late october of last year<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>neal & i link via gilbert dufouchard degruy<
>and the new orleans sauton creole family<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+>>GILBERT D. de GRUY)+
>i published his gifted writing & graphics<
>during this last year for all to enjoy< !!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >"heart of gold" brother, walker j. ray w/ wife<
>gracious della. seen at the napoleon house w/<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ NAPOLEON HOUSE)+

>our amazing magician nephew, joel ray, famed<

>as "dr. magic" on southern television stations<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>walker's two wonderful children by his first<
>wife mary, are smiling holly, w/ friend doug<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>> / BATON ROUGE)+
>and brother michael, who as a successful<
>restauranteur graciously hosted us in b.r.<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>michael ray is also a devoted historian & will<
>enjoy a puzzle that i found in a sam wilson<
>text suggesting a john ray was architect of<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+ / GEORGIA CHADWICK)+
>the lee circle monument…friend georgia<
>chadwick found a john roy architect &<
> i found this son of john ray possibility<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+I BELIEVE GEORGIA CHADWICK+
+IS PROBABLY CORRECT AND I+
>(georgia as head of the<
>louisiana law library<
>is a john ray scholar)<
+THANK HER SCHOLAR SHIP+
+(PLUS GRUY MASON HELP)+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

eugene ray, mfa, architect

professor emeritus, sdsu

RADIANT ARCHITECTURE / to new orleans

+PROFESSOR MATTHEW HIGGINS+

>of sdsu has invited me, upon our return from<

>new orleans to be a guest in his class that i<

+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+

+>>/ ENVIRON THEORY"+

>wrote and taught for a quarter of a century<

>and i am touched by that kind invitation<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+"DEATH OF ORTHODOXY"+

>is the title professor higgins has given to<

>the session that i will be the guest and he<

+(GOOGLE :> EUGENE RAY / +

+RADIANT ARCHITECTURE)+

>refers of the challenge to the very famed<

>international style so popular in the 50s<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+MY>LOUISIANA< WORK WAS+

+BORN IN THAT VERY VITAL+

>(international style possessed<

>affordable, healthy light but<

>its problem was in >boxes)<

+BREAK FROM ORTHODOXY+

+THAT WAS HEAVY & DARK+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

                                     
 >a key to radiant architecture can be seen in the<
>photo plates at the bottom of our last exhibition<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+SYNERGETIC ENVIRONS)+
>of sdsu student work in which biotronic energy<
>is seen out of my class ref to synergetic design<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>my california villas challenged the orthodoxy<
>of the international style by breaking away<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+/ BIOTRONIC ENERGY)+
>from boxes & incorporating energy design<
>both in solar heating & biotronic radiance<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>it was a pleasure to lecture on, exhibit & publish<
>my work in biotronic design in many countries<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+> / REYNER BANHAM)+
>and i am happy that the great scholar reyner<
>banam and his wife mary liked this work<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >something i shared with my archigram friends<
>from london was an effort to create a radiant<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+PICTORS RESTAURANT)+
>urban scape by incorporating super graphic<
>signage as i personally painted in this case<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >in 1980 i completed the silver ship studio home<
>for my family & myself aided by five devoted<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>>>>/ SILVER SHIP)+
>students from my sdsu classes….from this has<
>emerged the advanced biotronic design effort<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >a wide range of radiant architecture has<
>challenged the orthodoxy of the boxes<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+>/ CALIFORNIA VILLAS)+
>so common in the international style<
>& provided a vital energy dimension<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >synchronistically, the first structure i designed<
>in california was this concept for an art and<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY+
+. / GEODESIC DOME)+
>architecture building that incorporated the<
>major biotronic dome circular master plan<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the final phase of this blog on radiant architecture<
>relates to the decade of the 1990s when biotronic<
+(GOOGLE : EUGENE RAY /+
+> LONDON LECTURES)+
>design oriented to spherical & conical concepts<
>was my major focus & exhibitions world wide<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+ORTHODOXY+

>in relation to the international style was partially<

>correct,... certainly as the structures i built in<

+GOOGLE :>> EUGENE RAY /+

+POST & BEAM STRUCTURE+

>louisiana were affordable & healthier with<

>much glass providing more ambient light<

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+GOOGLE :>> EUGENE RAY /+
+CALIFORNIA BUNGALOW+

>to find that lajolla's california bungalows<

>were prototypes for more natural light<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+CONICAL & SPHERICAL VOLUME+

>PROVIDING BIOTRONIC ENERGY+

>(radiant architecture tapped<

>into nature's bio-radiance)<

+WAS MY MAJOR CONTRIBUTION+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

eugene ray, mfa, architect

professor emeritus, sdsu