Arnold Court, South Yarra

Arnold Court is another block of flats in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. Originally built in 1940, all the balconies would have been open like the top two in this picture.

The block is symmetrical with curved balconies leading to the central stairway above the front entrance. The centre of the building is marked on the roofline by a concave point with similar concave diamond patterns displayed in the render. A series of steps also draw the eye to the buildings apex while a horizontal band from each step turn into a vertical band leading back to the main entrance. Three bold horizontal provide simple decoration for each of the balconies.

This photo shows the decorative grills on the windows above the front entrance. The door has a similar grill. They seem to have a French influence to me, much like the door of nearby Abercarn flats. The name and street number are proudly displayed in relief ironwork above the doorway, another common deco feature.

Arnold Court is typical of art deco flats in Melbourne. They tend to be three storeys tall because the planning laws at the time dictated that any higher required a lift so three storey walk-up flats are very, very common in the Melbourne suburbs.

Abercarn, South Yarra

This fantastic Art Deco door belongs to a block of flats in South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The name Abercarn is nicely worked into the design of the door, sitting on top of a series of frozen fountains, decreasing in size as you move down the door.

I love that the paint is worn off at the bottom of the right-hand door. Purists might want a pristine paint finish but, to me, it shows that the building is lived in and the old door might sometimes stick and need a bit of persuasion with a well placed foot.

Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo

In the early 1920s, Imperial Prince Asaka Yasuhiko left his home in Japan to undertake military studies in France. After a car accident in Paris, his wife Princess Nobuko joined him and together they developed an interest in Art Deco. They both attended the Exposition Internationale des Art Decoratifs et Industriels Moderne in Paris in July 1925.

A few years after returning to Tokyo, Prince Asaka had a residence built for his family. It was completed in 1933 to plans from the Design & Construction Section of the Ministry of Imperial Household. It is a great looking building to come from such a stuffy sounding organisation.

The interior was largely designed by Frenchman Henri Rapin but one of the highlights is the front entrance featuring four frosted glass panels by the Rene Lalique. The panels are every bit as beautiful as any of Lalique’s delicate vases.

The building now houses the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum which allows the public to view the house and grounds as well as the current exhibitions. I stuck it lucky when I visited the Museum since there was an Art Deco exhibition on at the time. I don’t remember much detail of the exhibits since they were labelled in Japanese but that’s OK I can appreciate things for their style alone. I don’t need to know everything about an object.

Frinton-on-Sea, Essex

In 1933-34 British Architect Oliver Hill designed an estate in the Essex town of Frinton-on-Sea. The Frinton Park Estate was only partially realised but there were enough Art Deco and modernist houses built to get a feeling for how Hill planned the estate to look.

The first building to be completed was The Round House (above). Designed by Hill, it was used as the estate office and featured a mosaic of the estate layout on the floor designed by Clifford Ellis. The Round House has since been converted into a residence.

The house pictured right was possibly designed by Hill also. It demonstrates how streamline curves were used in conjunction with rectangular elements to create a pleasing overall design. Balconies, large windows (for 1930s England) and French Doors emphasis the seaside location.

Several architects worked on designs for the estate. The house shown on the left was probably designed by local Frinton architect JT Shelton who designed many houses in the area. This house is very different to the other example but expresses a lovely asymmetrical face. The windows on the right cut through the corner and the three small vertical windows beside the door echo the larger configuration above the door. It even includes a car garage, although it looks very narrow to me. I doubt if a modern car would fit through the doors.

Frinton-on-Sea is great place to explore, especially if you want to check out some British White Modernist Houses.

Daily Telegraph Building, Napier

The Daily Telegraph Building was built in 1932 to designs by architect E A Williams. It is a symmetrical two storey building with a central section sporting a small balcony and topped with a flagpole.

The balcony has an iron balustrade with a geometric pattern which reminds me of some of the decoration on the Hoover Building in west London. The rest of the building is beautifully decorated. Columns between each window are crowned with a complex arrangement of curves and arches separated from the smooth render of the columns by a zig-zag band.

A repeating pattern of short vertical blocks are separated with larger blocks at regular intervals. The name of the newspaper which occupies the building is spelt out in large letters across the whole façade. The decoration continues inside around the cornice of the main rooms and at the top of the internal supporting columns and interior lights.

The Daily Telegraph Building is a great Art Deco building and one of the highlights of Napier, New Zealand’s Art Deco city.

Etched Glass Kangaroo Doors, Melbourne

One of the things about Art Deco around the world it that local flora, fauna and indigenous art were often incorporated into the contemporary designs. So there are Maori decoration in New Zealand, baboons and elephants in South Africa and kangaroos in Australia.

These etched glass doors are in a block of flats in Melbourne. They portray a troop of kangaroos hopping amongst the eucalypts. It is a uniquely Australian scene and could only appear in Australia.

I’ve seen elephants on Art Deco buildings in Ireland and England which seems all right there even though obviously elephants are not native to that part of the world but I can’t imagine any of Australia’s native fauna being used anywhere else.

Piccadilly Theatre, North Adelaide

I found a few Art Deco cinemas in Adelaide but I think the Piccadilly in O’Connell Street, North Adelaide was my favourite.

The Piccadilly Theatre was built in 1940 to designs from Adelaide architects Evans, Bruer and Hall with Guy Crick and Bruce Furse from Sydney. Except for the circular tower above the main entrance, the cinema is not that spectacular on the outside. The main decoration coming from the large fin bearing the cinema’s name and the chevron shaped windows progressing around the tower.

Come inside and see what those same chevron windows do when a bit of sunlight comes through. The light is magical bringing the upper foyer to life. There are several other circular or semi-circular windows that are very nice as well as simple wall lights and elaborate spiral banister rails which add to the charm.

I’m not sure how many cinemas have been placed into the Piccadilly but it is nice to see these older cinemas like the Sun Theatre in Yarraville still being used and allowing people to celebrate going to the picture in a lovely building rather than the style-less mall multiplexes which could be anywhere … Los Angeles, Glasgow, Geelong, Chadstone … everywhere the same generic design.

Anyway that’s enough venting. If you have a nice old cinema in your neighbourhood make the effort to go there rather than driving down to the shopping centre or mall. Bestow your patronage on the things that make your town unique. It’s the best way for them to survive and thrive. Then when other places have lost all their charms, people will travel to see what you have preserved.

McGraw-Hill Building, New York

New York City is rich with Art Deco skyscrapers and the McGraw-Hill building in West 42nd Street is a beauty.

McGraw-Hill moved out in the 1970s and their name which was in a striking deco font was removed from above the door. McGraw-Hill is still on top of the building although it is somewhat compromised by the air-conditioner units sitting right next to it. There are three units on each side of the building so I guess they keep the symmetrical deco styling.

I quite like my photo taken from the Empire State Building (click on it to view a larger version). The green giant really stands out against the less colourful surrounding buildings.

But if you want to see colour, you just need to look at the entrance on 42nd Street. Bold aqua and gold bands set in a black surround. Sounds a bit much when you read it but look at the result in the picture. Stunning! The curved wall of the entrance work with the banding to draw you into the building.

The McGraw-Hill building may not be up there with the Theatres of 42nd Street but it is worth dragging yourself away from the bright lights of Times Square to venture across 8th Avenue, past the Port Authority Bus Terminal to check it out.