Thomas Blanck

Mention the name Cass Gilbert to this scholar and the facts fly faster than the pencil strokes of a quick sketch artist.

Thomas Blanck is an architect and one of the founders of the Cass Gilbert Society in St. Paul, Minn. The mission of the Cass Gilbert Society is to preserve and enhance the nation's cultural heritage through advancing scholarship and appreciation of Cass Gilbert's contribution to American architecture.

Blanck was interviewed by MotionMasters for the documentary "A Moving Monument: The West Virginia State Capitol" when he traveled to Charleston to visit the West Virginia Capitol. He shared his perspectives on Gilbert and the present day Capitol that was designed by the famed architect.

The subject of Gilbert is a familiar one to Blanck, who has been researching the architect for more than a decade. "Studying Cass Gilbert's work has helped me understand my own work," he says.

In an interview for the project, Blanck talks about some of Gilbert's designs at the West Virginia Capitol, from the very simple beauty of the East and West wings to the magnificent Georgian-American colonial revival space he carved out for the Governor's Reception Room.

He also talks about the how the design for the state Supreme Court, located in the West Virginia Capitol's East Wing, influenced his work years later when he designed the chambers in the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I was immediately impressed with how similar the spaces are to the United States Supreme Court . . . the white marble interiors . . . . the very clean, pure sort of character of these spaces. It's closely related. The great columns . . . The portico on the face of the building outside is clearly related to the United States Supreme Court . . . a grand run of steps up to magnificent columns," Blanck says.