Art Deco Treasure Hidden Away in New York City Post Office
Did you ever notice that some of the most gorgeous works of Twentieth Century art can often be found in the most unlikely places? One such example is the gorgeous Art Deco mural by Louis Lozowick that graces Manhattan’s 8th Avenue Post Office Building. Thank you to Scouting NY for bringing this treasure to our attention. Read more about the mural on scoutingny.com.
Louis Lozowick, Mural (circa 1930s), 8th Avenue United States Post Office Building, New York City.
Photo Credit: Copyright 2011 ScoutingNY.com
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutingny/6215953551/
An Art Deco Masterpiece in the Bronx
Last October we shared a post from Art Deco Buildings on several Art Deco architectural details found in The Bronx. Scouting New York has recently discovered a masterpiece of an Art Deco apartment house in the Bronx. This building features an aquatic inspired exterior mosaic mural and two stunning Rene and CP Graves murals in the lobby.
Read Scouting New York’s post here.
For more background on this amazing building visit Grand Concourse.
Architect unknown, entrance, apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6618383711_f47eaf5414_o.jpg
Architect unknown, lobby apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6628828031_db2fbe5cff_o.jpg
It’s All in the Details: Art Deco in the Bronx
Art Deco Buildings Blog has posted some fine examples of Art Deco architectural design in the Bronx. First off is the Herman Ridder Junior High School designed by Walter C Martin and dates from 1929-31. See more photos and read the entire post.
Tiles, Herman Ridder Junior High School, Bronx, NY (1929-1931), Walter C. Martin, Architect.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dct66/3151485905/
Next, is an apartment building on The Grand Concourse. A frieze on the facade is shown below. Read more about the building.
Tiles, Apartment House, Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, architect and date unknown.
Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2891355247_a69c09fe66_m.jpg
Last is the 1934 Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gate at the Bronx Zoo with animals sculpted by Paul Manship. Read the post on Art Deco Buildings.
Paul Manship, Paul J. Rainey Memorial Gate (1934), Bronx Zoo.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dct66/3506732077/
Delano Hotel, Miami Beach
This photo taken by Australian photographer David Thompson shows the Ritz Plaza Hotel (1940) L Murray Dixon, architect on the left, with Robert Swartburg’s Delano Hotel (1947) at Miami’s South Beach.
Photo: David Thompson. Ritz Plaza Hotel (1940) at left and Delano Hotel (1947) on right, South Beach, Miami, FL.
Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/5823314939_5109aac784.jpg
Visit David Thompson’s Art Deco Buildings blog for more on the Delano Hotel.
Eve, 2000 A.D.
In keeping with our blog’s looking “back to the future,” here’s an amusing Pathetone Weekly newsreel from the 1930s depicting what designers of the period thought that the well dressed woman of the 2000s would be wearing. Video originally posted by HarmoniousPosh.
Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s
In an article for Antiques and the Arts Online, Stephen May, independent scholar lecturer, and writer wrote:
“In the 1930s, amid the Great Depression and the rise of fascism in Europe, millions flocked to World’s Fairs in Chicago, San Diego, Dallas, Cleveland, San Francisco and New York City, some of which ran for two seasons. Visitors encountered American optimism and progress in many forms, offering visions of a modern, technological tomorrow unlike anything seen before. The fairs popularized modern design and promoted the concept of science and consumerism as salvations from the nation’s economic woes.”
The visions May refers to manifested themselves in architectural, industrial and graphic designs, some fanciful, others quite practical. Several notable designs are illustrated in the video here.
Read Stephen May’s article in its entirety.
The exhibition “Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs Of The 1930s” is currently running through July 10, 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
Links to New York World’s Fair Videos
GM Futurama - 1939 World’s Fair - Part 1
One Word: Plastics
Plastics” was the career advice given to Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin in Mike Nichols’ 1969 film, “The Graduate.” While the plastics industry may not be on the minds of many of today’s graduates, the Syracuse University Library’s Special Collections Research Center has just launched a comprehensive Web site that supports its Plastics Collection. The site, “a joint project of the Syracuse University Library and the Plastics History & Artifacts Committee (PHAC) of the Plastics Pioneers Association” (1), includes objects, books and manuscripts from the 19th and 20th centuries related to the plastics industry.
Fire Chief Radio Car. Thomas Manufacturing Corp., (1951). Injection molded polystyrene.
Source: http://digilib.syr.edu/cgi-bin/getimage.exe?CISOROOT=/plastics&CISOPTR=734&DMSCALE=18.47291&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&REC=1&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0
According the collection’s Web site, “The Plastics Collection at the Syracuse University Library, founded in 2008, is the largest university-based resource on the history of plastics.” The collection is funded by Harry Greenwald and the Greenwald-Haupt Charitable Foundation along with additional support from individual contributors.
The collection’s Web site is an excellent resource for anyone researching the objects, processes, people and companies of the plastics industry. The site also boasts many interesting, detailed photographs; it’s well worth bookmarking for any designer, student, researcher, or collector.
References
- Syracuse University. (2011) The Plastics Collection : About Us. Retrieved from http://plastics.syr.edu/about.php
Stationery Box. American Stationery Co., (1937). Compression Molded Phenol Formaldehyde.
Source: http://digilib.syr.edu/cgi-bin/getimage.exe?CISOROOT=/plastics&CISOPTR=1561&DMSCALE=9.92063&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&REC=1&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0
Mario Maccaferri, designer. Guitar (1953-1964). Mastro Plastics Corporation. Polystyrene.
Source: http://plastics.syr.edu/content/guitar_256.png
André Durenceau (1904–1985)
Thank you to Aqua Velvet for bringing the work of French-American designer, artist, colorist and muralist André Durenceau to our attention. View more examples of this artist’s work and read his biography on Aqua Velvet.
André Durenceau (circa 1928). Two geometric compositions from “Inspirations.”
Source: New York Public Library Digital Gallery http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?102141
Colorfast: Sonia Delaunay
“Color is the skin of the world. Nothing is presented to the sight of the viewer which is not colored.” —Sonia Delaunay
Painter and colorist Sonia Delaunay’s major contributions to Twentieth Century textile design and fashion are featured in a exhibit of over 300 examples of her work now through June 5 at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City. Delaunay’s work introduces viewers to the vibrant “electric” colors of the early Twentieth century and celebrates the era’s technology.
Sonia Delaunay in a dress she designed. Date unknown.
Source: http://obit-mag.com/media/image/delaunay_dress.jpg
Born as Sophie Stern in 1885 in the Ukraine, at age five young Sophie was sent to St. Petersburg to live with her rich uncle who later adopted her and later changed her name to Sonia Terk (1). At age 14 she became interested in painting and drawing. She studied “two years at the university at Karlsruhe” (2), then left for “Paris to become an artist”(2). While in Paris “she entered into a marriage of convenience with” (1) German art critic, Wilhelm Uhde. Uhde was responsible for arranging Sonia’s first solo show in 1908. The following year Sonia fell in love with her neighbor, painter Robert Delaunay. In 1910 she divorced Uhde and married Delaunay (2). “The couple’s son, Charles, was born soon afterwards”(2).
Quite a Show
From our friend photographer David Thompson, a stunning interior shot of the Grand Lobby of Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. One almost expects to see Busby Berkeley’s dancers tap dancing in front of its fabulous facade. For more, see the entire post at Art-Deco Buildings.
Gerald Fitzgerald. Oakland Theatre, Grand Lobby (1931).
Architect: Timothy L. Pflueger
Source: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5007303571_277df0e109.jpg
