Saturday, June 12, 2010

former I Magnin Department Store, Oakland

I Magnin Store, Oakland

The former I Magnin Department Store in Oakland was designed by Weeks & Day and constructed in 1930.

I Magnin Store, Oakland

The upper floors of the facade are bright green terra cotta with Art Deco panels above the windows.

I Magnin Store, Oakland

Reference: San Francisco & 20th Century Design Tour Book, organised by the 20th Century Society of the Carolina Mountains

Posted by David Thompson
Place: ,

8 comments:

  1. HelsJune 12, 2010 at 10:56 PM

    The panels above the windows are gorgeous, but I am amazed that the local council planning officers allowed the bright green terra cotta to go ahead. What is the building used for today?

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  2. KarenaJune 13, 2010 at 4:16 AM

    David I just love this building, how utterly fabulous!!

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  3. MJune 13, 2010 at 7:19 PM

    David, thanks for this post. I'd never seen the Oakland I. Magnin building, but I was very familiar with the Seattle store, which was a beautiful cube of white marble. I'm not sure if the white marble facade dates to 1926, but that's when the original I. Magnin openened up on 6th and Pine. But just the name "I. Magnin" alone conjures up visions of hushed luxury that I as a young child in the 70's would soak up with big eyes. It's where I first registered wonderful things like Agraria incense or Chanel fragrances; glad my aunt from San Francisco would take me to I. Magnin, her favorite store! Lessons for life, indeed. But alas, the Seattle store's fate was an awful one: An "Old Navy" moved in when I. Magnin went out of business in the mid-90s. Scary.
    CU,
    Michael

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  4. David ThompsonJune 13, 2010 at 10:02 PM

    Thanks for you comments Helen, Karena & Michael, especially your memories Michael.

    Helen, SRM Associates list the conversion of the I Magnin building into Offices as one of their fetured projects. http://www.srmassociates.com/projects.shtml

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  5. AnonymousAugust 26, 2010 at 6:42 AM

    I (temporarily) work across the street from this building, and have spent a lot of lunch breaks walking around the neighborhood. Far from standing out, this is just one of many buildings here with a distinctive design. I often wish I knew more about the history of the area. Far from discouraging unusual buildings, the local planners seem to have encouraged distinctive architecture, with a particular emphasize on Deco. Nowadays, alas, these buildings are overshadowed by the usual soulless boxes. But there are still a lot of gems:

    http://www.paramounttheatre.com/exterior1.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fox_Oakland_Theatre_%28Oakland,_CA%29.JPG
    http://oaktownart.com/2010/03/18/the-breuner-building-a-gem-in-sea-glass-green/
    http://www.home-buy-sell.com/bayarea/arch/artdeco/artdeco.html
    http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-12-14/real-estate/17132097_1_13th-floor-full-floor-fox-theatre
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_City_Hall
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/sets/72157610597851468/

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  6. David ThompsonAugust 26, 2010 at 9:20 AM

    Thank you for your comment Isaac. We had a short tour of Oakland so we saw some of the buildings around the area and you are right there are still a lot of gems. We were given a tour of the Paramount which is fantatsic. If you haven't managed to get inside there yet I highly reccommend it.

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  7. chrisApril 25, 2012 at 10:03 AM

    The fox is also pretty impressive inside and wonderfully restored from my dad's description of the one that used to be in SF.

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    Replies
    1. David ThompsonApril 25, 2012 at 12:54 PM

      Thanks Chris,
      Didn't get a chance to get into the Fox Theatre ... I went to the baseball instead!!!

      Delete

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