Fox Theater, Oakland

Fox Theater, Oakland

Bay Bridge, San Francisco

When it was built in 1936, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was something of a design marvel.

To span the gap between San Francisco and Oakland two separate spans connecting to Yerba Bueno Island (YBI) were required.

The West Span in the deep waters of San Francisco as suspension bridge was needed, in fact two suspension bridges. That's one of them in my photo.

The East Span required a truss-cantilever design to cover the shallow mudflats closer to Oakland.

Then as if that wasn't enough, there needed to ba a tunnel, a 76ft wide tunnel, on YBI to connect the two spans.

I think that qualifies as a design marvel.

Reference:
Bay Bridge History, The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge website

Oakland Floral Depot

The old Oakland Floral Depot at 1900 Telegraph Avenue, designed by Albert Elvers and dating from 1931, is now a restaurant called Flora.

It is a glorious building covered with cobalt blue tiles and silver Art Deco decorative flourishes.

The corner tower is stunning. It takes quite a few minutes of concentrated effort to absorb all the decoration. I particularly like the band of chevrons about half-way up.

References:
Flora Restaurant & Bar website
Deco by the Bay: Art Deco Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area ~ Michael F Crowe

Grand Lobby, Paramount Theatre, Oakland

The final part that I want to show you of Oakland's Paramount Theatre is the grand lobby.

This representation of a goddess with her attendant handmaidens take up the side walls of the grand lobby and to understand the scale of the space I estimate they are about 1 metre (slightly more than 3¼ feet) tall.

The close-up view shows the details of the figures, the stylised nature of their faces and long hair.

The ceiling and one end of the lobby use the same type of metal fins used in the auditorium to provide the decoration and dampen the din of the theatre-goers in the space below.

This decoration was designed by Gerald Fitzgerald whose preliminary designs were also used for the facade decoration and the bas-reliefs in the auditorium.

The principle piece of decoration designed by Fitzgerald for the theatre is the glass 'fountain of light' above the main doors opening onto the street from the grand lobby.

It is a monumental and, along with the facade, is a defining feature of the Paramount Theatre.

References:
Paramount Theatre website
Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Therese Poletti

Interior, Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Over the past few days I have posted photos of the exterior, toilets and auditorium of the Paramount Theatre, Oakland.

Miller & Pfleuger, the architectural firm responsible for the design of the theatre, appointed Theodore Bernardi to oversee the artistic elements of the theatre. These photos show aspects of that program from various parts of the interior of this 1931 Art Deco gem.

Above the doors leading to the auditorium the decoration includes two parrots perching in stylised foliage. Those doors lead off this lavishly furnished passageway.

And who wouldn't want to park themselves on a lovely piece of furniture like this waiting for the main feature to start.

The balustrades on the stairs leading to the circle show exquisite Art Deco detailing.

And in the lower reaches of the theatre building there was a woman's smoking room decorated with this mural by Charles Stafford Duncan.

References:
Paramount Theatre website
Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Therese Poletti

Toilets, Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Continuing my posts on the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, today I'm looking in to the upstairs foyer and toilets. This photo (above) shows the entrance to the ante-room leading to the Ladies toilet.

Both the Mens and the Ladies have these wonderfully decorated entrances. A pair of peacocks worshipping, seemingly, a sunburst at the apex of the opening. On either side, a male and female figure dressed in period finery.

Beyond the ante-room, the ladies are provided with a powder room.

Here we can see a suitably Art Deco styled vent.

and a large skylight depicting seabirds.

The foyer linking the two toilet areas has a curved ceiling with heavy beams creating square niches for decoration of abstract patterns, stylised floral patterns and deer or antelope.

Across the foyer we can see the entrance to the Mens toilet and the ante-room beyond.

Unlike the Ladies ante-room which is carpeted, the Mens' has a fantastic tile floor.

References:
Paramount Theatre website
Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Therese Poletti

Auditorium, Paramount Theatre, Oakland

On Wednesday I wrote about the exterior of the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The theatre was designed by Timothy Pflueger and celebrated its opening with a gala premiere on 16 December 1931.

The auditorium was designed to seat 3,600 people and my photo of the back rows of the stalls (above) gives a taste of the lavish decoration of the lighting and on the ceiling and walls. The view from the circle, however, is breathtaking.

Pflueger brought Dorothy Wright Liebes onto the project as a special consultant on textiles and she would have had major input into the main stage curtain but it was Michael A Goodman who drew and painted the decoration.

Gerald Fitzgerald, who produced the cartoons that were used for the decoration on the facade of the theatre, also created preliminary designs for the bas-relief sculptured panels on the walls of the auditorium.

The panels were executed by Robert Boardman Howard.

Howard worked with Ralph Stackpole on the ceiling panel above the proscenium depicting the Greek god Poseidon.

The main part of the ceiling is constructed using metal fins to help with the accoustics. The fins arranged in a stylised representation of the Egyptian goddess Isis repeated across the five panels making up the rest of the ceiling.

References:
Paramount Theatre website
Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Therese Poletti

Paramount Theatre, Oakland

The Paramount Theatre in Oakland is one of the best, if not the best, Art Deco theatre I have ever been to. It was designed by Timothy Pflueger from the architectural firm J R Miller & T L Pflueger and opened on 16 December 1931 with the film The False Madonna.

Theodore Bernardi, a designer working for Miller & Pflueger, was made responsible for the overall decoration of the theatre and a number of artists were brought on to work on different aspects of the theatre.

Gerald Fitzgerald drew the cartoons that were used to create the enormous mosaics of a male puppeteer and a female puppeteer on the facade of the building.

Each puppeteer controls a variety of animals and people is various activities.

There is an exotic dancer with a snake draped across her body and a man wrestling a bear ...

... a Japanese dancer and a sailor doing the hornpipe (don't quote me on that, the hornpipe is the only sailor's dance that I know) ...

... boxers ...

... and three woman portrayed playing tennis, a bather wrapped in a luxurious towel and as a golfer.

Next time I'll show the interior of this spectacular building.

References:
Paramount Theatre website
Art Deco San Francisco: The Architecture of Timothy Pflueger, Therese Poletti

former I Magnin Department Store, Oakland

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

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

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

John Breuner Company Furniture Store, Oakland

The John Breuner Company Furniture Store which includes many Art Deco elements was designed by Albert Roller in 1931.

The building is clad in a very light green terra cotta referred to as 'sea-glass'. The decoration at the roofline consists of Art Deco panels of stylised floral forms. Originally a large 'Breuners' sign adorned the roof but now there is a single flagpole.

At the first floor level a narrow band of similar decoration is punctuated by cylindrical shapes.

The pinnacle of decoration is above the main doorway where the Bruener Company's trade to protrayed by two men building a chair.

References:
San Francisco & 20th Century Design Tour Book, 20th Century Society of the Carolina Mountains
Oaktown Art, The Breuner Building ~ a gem in sea glass green