California Theatre, Berkeley

The California Theatre in Berkeley, California or The Cal, as it is known locally, was built in 1920 as a T&D Theatre offering live shows and films. It was originally designed by Albert W Cornelius but was renovated in the 1930s taking on the California name.

The roofline is slightly stepped and with each step the front wall also steps out.

The main decoration consists of a series of six Art Deco panels.

The people working in the ticket booth and concession stand welcomed me to the theatre and were pleased that I was taking an interest in it. There was a session on so they couldn't let me take photos in the main cinema but they encouraged me to have a look at the upstairs lobby.

I like the unusual shape of the openings at the top of the stairs and the detail of the metal work in the ballustrade.

Reference:
California Theatre, cinematreasures.org

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

Oxford Art Supplies, Darlinghurst

I don't know what is more impressive about the 225 Oxford St half of Oxford Art Supplies. The amazing geometric pattern on the facade or the amazing collection of air conditioners on top of the verandah.

And I don't know what is less impressive. The appalling remodelled shopfront at street level or the appalling collection of air conditioners on top of the verandah.

I do know that the business which started as a hardware store in 1964 run by Alf and Bessie Altshuler morphed into an art store in the 1970's under their son David and their grandson, Marc, is associated with the store today. That, at least, is a good thing.

Reference:
Oxford Art Supplies website

Huntingdon, Elizabeth Bay

This is another one of those red brick Art Deco apartment blocks in Sydney. This is Huntingdon in Elizabeth Bay and I am not sure about the awning over the entrance bearing the block's name. I presume it is a later addition and I suppose it is a deco font but seems a bit cliched to me.

However, I do like the brickwork. Again a common feature of Sydney, and in fact Australian, Art Deco.