Interior, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa

I've previously written about the exterior of the Supreme Court of Canada designed by Ernest Cormier and constructed in 1939. I also showed you the Judges' Gallery which is tucked in below these magnificent pair of staircases leading from the Grand Entrance Hall up to the Main Courtroom.

Natural light comes into the Grand Entrance Hall through a number of these stylish windows but the main feature is undoubtably the staircases.

The lights are another feature of the Supreme Court building with this style in the Grand Entrance Hall and the first floor.

While this amazing construction is in the Main Courtroom.

And of course there is more deco in the Main Courtroom with the wall lamps and furniture.

Reference:
Supreme Court of Canada website

69 Mooltan St, Ascot Vale

This is an interesting little house on the Travancore Estate in the Melbourne suburb of Ascot Vale. Recently, it could have been yours, for rent, for only $440 per week.

I like the flat roofed section at the front compared to the setback section with the conventional hipped roof. The low wall with brick detailing and the central rendered section is totally appropriate for the house. The line of bricks near the top of the wall above the entrance works well as does the brick decoration around the windows but I really don't know what is going on with the blue window frames.

This view shows how the moderne elements of the house and wall working well together and, if anything, highlighting how much the windows don't fit with the rest of house.

A House in Tulsa

This is a great looking house in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Everywhere I look I see the Art Deco 'Rule of Three'. Three square openings at the top of the chimney. Three square glass-brick windows stacked vertically next to the chimney and above those windows perhaps a series of three vents. There are also two sets of three smaller windows or vents on other parts of the structure.

Even the wall surrounding the property has three incised lines which is maintained as the height of the wall steps down with the level of the ground.

This view shows what could be classed as the public aspect of the house and while the 'Rule of Three' is less evident there is a series of three small windows high on the house near the chimney and again three incised lines on the side wall of the garage.

For me the other main features of this house are the overall form of stacked blocks creating many levels and interesting spaces and also the windows at the front of the house which cut into the corner of the building. This house still has a strut on the apex of the corner where many houses from this period allow the glass of the window to cut through the wall completely.

A lovely house and no doubt a lovely place to live.

Update
Since I wrote this post, I've been able to identify the house as the Fleeger Residence (1937) designed by Frederick V Kershner.

Reference:
Fleeger Residence, Art Deco Buildings in Tulsa, Tulsa Preservation Commission website

2124-2130 Chestnut St, Marina

2124-2130 Chestnut Street, Marina with its wonderful sunray facade.

According to Michael F Crowe in Deco by the Bay the shops were constructed in 1932 but the architect is unknown.

It is interesting that the shop closer to the camera has a semi-circular window above the main street level window while the other shop (Starbucks) has a series of three rectangular windows. I suspect the semi-circular window is original but without viewing an old photo or the original plans it is difficult to tell.

Reference:
Deco by the Bay: Art Deco Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area ~ Michael F Crowe

Claremont Municipal Chambers Destroyed by Fire

The Foundation Stone for the Claremont Municipal Chambers, designed by architect Edwin Summerhayes, was laid in March 1899. In 1935 Reginald Summerhayes, Edwin's son, designed an Art Deco facade for the building.

On 18 Nov 2010 much of the Municipal Chambers and Library complex were destroyed by fire. There are reports and photos of the fire on the ABC News and WA Today websites.

My photos were taken circa 2004.

Besides severe damage to the complex many historic photograph and Council records were lost. It looks from the photos that the facade may have survived but it is too early to tell whether it is structurally sound and can be incorporated into a new building, assuming they want to. The records, however, are gone and cannot be replaced.

By the way, these are raindrops but they could be tears.

Thanks to @caritamanas on Twitter for alerting me to this sad story.

References:
Claremont Town Centre Heritage Trail
Claremont fire causes millions of dollars damage, ABC News website
Claremont Council and Library Fire Photo Gallery, WA Today website

St John Ambulance, Claremont

This glorious little building is out in the Perth suburbs on the Stirling Highway. As you can see it is the Claremont Sub-Centre of St John Ambulance Australia.

I love that the decoration seems oversized for such a modest structure and the porch is almost as big as the building itself.

I wonder if there are any deco features inside?

Cahors, Potts Point

Cahors is a large block of flats in Macleay St, Potts Point, at the top end in Sydney's King's Cross area.

It was built in 1940 and designed by architects Joseland and Gilling. The State Library of NSW has a series of b+w photos taken around the time construction was completed.

Most of the building is free of decoration but at the top few floors there are panels bearing geometric Art Deco patterns. The tops of the three main brick columns on the building are capped with rounded structures, stepped back towards the flat face of the facade.

At ground level the entrance to the flats and the fronts of the two small shops have been finished with light blue tiles. They curve into the three doors along the street, the flats and the two shops, and extend above the canopy of the porch covering the central part of the first storey.

The windows above the entrance to the flats and on the central windows on the first floor above that contain amber glass and the decoration is completed with the name 'CAHORS' spelt out in large gold letters.

References:
Art Deco Sociey of New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales

Leadlight Windows in Napier

Yesterday I posted a selecton of Art Deco windows from Napier in New Zealand. Well we are still in Napier today but this I've got a selection of leadlight windows. Mostly they are from houses in Napier but a few are from the Rothman's Building.