I scream, you scream, we all scream for the Eameses.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for the Eameses.
  • I scream, you scream, we all scream for the Eameses.

The Street of Eames home tour event took place on Saturday, a tour of modern-era homes in the Portland area. It was expensive. I didn’t go. However, a photographic exhibit of the homes on this year’s tour is on display through the end of April at the AIA-Portland Center for Architecture (403 NW 11th, 9 am-5 pm weekdays).

Now, about that name: “Street of Eames.” I had to be gently informed by my co-workers that the title is a joke. And then the joke had to be patiently explained to me. (Because “Eames” were two famous architects and because “street of dreams” and hahaHAHAA hilarious.) So, I have taken some time out of my busy workday to come up with a list of potential alternate names for this tour, and I am certain you will agree they are as good, if not better, than Street of Eames. Enjoy:

The Wright Stuff
There’ll Be Hell to I.M. Pei
The Lion’s Roark
Get Your Ass in Gehry
Better Safe than Saarinen
A Stitch in Time Saves, uh, Brunelleschi…

Okay, I’m out of ideas. Got any?

Ned Lannamann is a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon. He writes about film, music, TV, books, travel, tech, food, drink, outdoors, and other things.

13 replies on “A Few Words About Street of Eames and Terrible Architecture Puns”

  6. I got free tickets. Besides the stunning Yeon house, they were all Street of Ikea houses.
    I could not believe all the Ikea crap in those homes. Felt like I was walking thru the endless maze of Ikea floor models instead of cool houses.

  7. ehhhh. while it’s true there was a fair amount of ikea, there was also a fair amount of totally effing expensive design furniture and objects. i felt the Yeon house was throughly underwhelming, compared to others i’ve seen on past tours. and… to be fair, ikea is good design. it might not be constructed the best or of the highest quality materials, but it’s good design. and with some of these homes, the construction/remodel budgets probably don’t allow for dropping tons of cash on new or vintage design pieces. give ’em a break.

  11. “ikea is good design.”

    Tell that to my kid’s loft bed that can’t hold more than 120 lbs., or that stripped the top screw holding the ladder into the loft? It fell off a month after the 5 hour setup.

    IKEA HAS good designs, but I would never say they universally design good furniture or items. Let me guess, everything Apple makes is also well designed? Tell that to the cracked/offwhite macs people purchased.

  12. the problem isn’t in the design, rather the engineering, or execution of the design. we’re splitting hairs at this point, tho. As is often said, you get what you pay for – which in the case of IKEA is often cheap.

  13. The Rummer was an AMAZING house…a true sense of what 50’s and 60’s “contemporary” was about! The furniture that filled that house was more expensive than most of us have paid for an actual house. Herman Miller, Knoll, Vitra, etc. are not cheap companies…

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