Marché Jean-Talon, Montreal

Established in the thirties, Marché Jean-Talon is a farmer's market in the Little Italy district of Montreal.

Astrid, Shanghai

Astrid is one of my favourite buildings in Shanghai.

That amazing decorative element is featured on the cover of Shanghai Art Deco by Deke Erh and Tess Johnston and I was pleased to catch it in its best light.

Both the main entrance and side entrance have their own stunning decoration as well.

And, yes, the dog does have orange ears and a purple tail. As if that isn't enough (s)he's wearing a red and white shirt, blue jeans and four white boots.

But back to the building. Astrid was completed in 1933 and was designed by W Livin-Goldstaedt.

Reference:
Shanghai Art Deco by Deke Erh and Tess Johnston

A Miller & Co, Benalla

former ANA Building, Melbourne

Derwent Valley Visitor Information Centre, New Norfolk

Le Cercle Sportif Français, Shanghai

In 1922 Alexandre Léonard and Paul Veysseyre, working freelance for the Shanghai firm of Ledreux, Minutti & Cie, designed a new building for the Cercle Sportif Français (CSF). Rather than continue their freelance arrangement the two young French architects decided to form their own company, A Léonard & P Veysseyre à Shanghai. Ledreux & Minutti took legal action to retain the CSF drawings but ultimately Léonard & Veysseyre were declared the rightful owners of the project design. Construction began in December 1923 continuing through to 1926.

The club wound up its membership in 1955 when it was clear that there was no place for such an institution in Mao Zedong's China. In any case private ownership of property had been made illegal the previous year and shortly after the CSF closed its accounts the building was taken over by the authorities.

It's not known how the CSF survived the worst of the Cultural Revolution but somehow it did and today the clubhouse forms part of the Okura Garden Hotel. While many areas of the old CSF have been altered and found new uses within the hotel, the magnificent oval-shaped ballroom is virtually unchanged.

Undoubtedly the most striking feature of the space is the enormous multi-coloured light but there are many other deco features around the room.

The 1st floor landing, just outside the ballroom, also boasts a wealth of deco features including nude female figures and geometric patterns on the columns.

Reference:
Shanghai's Art Deco Master: Paul Veysseyre's Architecture in the French Concession by Spencer Dodington & Charles Lagrange

Water Tank, Catonsville

I've heard that this structure is not actually a water tank. It is probably more accurately referred to as a reservoir but to my uneducated eyes it looks like a water tank so that's what I've called it. To my mind a reservoir is an open body of water, at least that's what I picture in Australia, but I can also see that an enclosed container such as this can also be a reservoir but frankly, who care! For a purely functional structure it's got some nice decoration.

As you can see from the wording above the door it was built in 1937 for the City of Baltimore Bureau of Water Supply.

There is a lovely band of chevrons running around the top of the wall just below the domed roof and the regularly spaced concrete ribs are topped with ziggurat style decoration.

Public Service Building, Boston

Now a Hilton hotel, this tripartite building at 54-68 Batterymarch, Boston was the Public Service Building also known as the Batterymarch Building.

The 14 storey skyscraper was designed in 1928 by Harold Field Kellogg.

Reference:
Art Deco Society of Boston website