World’s Largest Albatross
Our May/June cover story, “Field of Golden Dreams,” told the story of Champ d’Or–a 35,000-square-foot mansion near Hickory Creek that was built by cellphone magnate Alan Goldfield and his wife, Shirley. The story, written by Mark Vamos, pointed out that the Goldfield home has been on the market for more than seven years.
I loved your May cover story on the mansion and detailed explanation of how it came to be, and became the world’s largest albatross.
It happens to be my personal favorite example of Metroplex world-classness.
I used to think that a folly was a useless, romantic, architectural curiosity in the rear garden, but now I realize it can be so much, much more. It can be a temple to the gods of luck and laissez-faire.
Alas, [the mansion is] too big to burn down, which would cause the further acceleration of global warming.
So I would allow it to collapse over time from abandonment, as a nonprofit ruin-monument cathedral, where new-money moguls and their wives can go on pilgrimages to worship each other.
Now, that would be world-class.
Gary Skotnicki
President
ARCHITEXAS,
architecture,planning and historic preservation, inc.
Dallas
Enjoyable Article
The May/June Advertising column by Spencer Michlin looked at jimbobkrause, a new Dallas ad agency showcasing industry stalwarts Jim Krause, Jim Ferguson and Bob Shallcross.
Kudos to Spencer Michlin for his article on the red-hot firm of jimbobkrause.
The imagery of this article was fantastic, starting with “… they lugged their heavy reputations, heavier satchels of awards, and bulging Rolodexes to the shop of longtime local adman Jim Krause to create jimbobkrause.”
The fantastic imagery continued with, “Ferguson is a weighty cumulous cloud of a man and just as contradictory—big and fluffy, yet capable of sudden lightning. He shifts his 55-year-old unkempt bulk in the chair beneath the pride of Cannes Lions awards on the shelf behind him…”
If the story had run without a photo, I still would have had a great visual. Once I started reading the article, I could not stop. (And, just so you know, I’ve never met any of the gentlemen described, nor has our firm had any business dealings with them, to the best of my knowledge.)
It just proves that business articles can be just as interesting as the latest best seller. If this team is half as passionate as the article describes, I am positive they will be successful.
Thank you for an enjoyable article. I can hardly wait for the sequel next year.
Nora Hogan
Principal
Transwestern
Dallas
