Edwards Stadium, Berkerley

Edwards Stadium is the track and field venue for the University of California - Berkeley. It was designed by Warren C Perry and George Kelham and opened in 1932 just two years after the man it is dedicated to died.

A large dedication panel on the outside wall of the stadium reads

George Cunningham Edwards freshman in the first class of this University. Member of its facility continuously from graduation till death in 1930. Patron of sport and fine example of sportsmanship he believed in youth and youth made him its confidant. Modest, Kindly. Selfless. To him and his ideals these fields are dedicated.

The walls are punctuated by several monolithic obelisks, each one surrounded four much smaller obelisks. The decoration also includes rounded columns, demispheres and zig-zags.

And I particularly liked this decoration on the outside corner of the terraced seating.

In 2000, the stadium was upgraded to include a soccer pitch for the University men's and women's teams. The Goldman family contributed money towards the upgrade and the soccer pitch was named Goldman Field in honour of Richard Samuel Goldman who had competed for the California Golden Bears under Walter M Christie, the legendary Cal track and field coach from 1900 to 1932.

References:
San Francisco & 20th Century Design tour booklet, organised by tcscm.org
University of California - Berkeley, Recreational Sports - Edwards Track Stadium
University of California - Berkeley, Press Release - 5 Apr 2000 - UC Berkeley to dedicate renovated Goldman Field on Saturday at invitational track meet
Calisphere, George Cunningham Edwards, Mathematics: Berkeley

Château Theatre, Rosemont

This is the Château Theatre in Montreal.

It was built in 1931 René Charbonneau as the main architect working with designers Emmanuel Briffa on the interior and Joseph Guardo on the exterior.

The central section of the facade features an arched form flanked by stone figures and including long-necked waterbirds, stylised floral decoration and a horizontal band with a wave motif.

There is minimal decoration on the side of the building but it does include reliefs of Comedy and Tragedy masks representative motifs of the performing arts.

Just about the only colour on the facade is in the form of two large stained-glass windows with a rising or setting sun. I like to think that even through Emmanuel Briffa worked on the interior of this theatre he may have brought some Egyptian inspiration from his work several years early on another Montreal cinema, the Empress Theatre, and influenced the design of these windows. The window on the left could show a rising sun against a seascape but the other window, to my mind, is a setting sun against the Giza pyramids. Egyptians considered the west, where the sun sets, as the realm of the dead and sited their pyramids and tombs accordingly.

Even if Briffa did not influence the design of the exterior of the Chateau Theatre, his work on the interior is glorious.

This is some of the detail from the foyer.

It is rich in decoration whereever you look. From the stylised sunburst to the stained glass built into the cornice and the central lamp fitting.

I'm not sure what the dark disk in the ceiling is, perhaps a vent of the remains of an earlier light fitting. Even so it has a quality look to it.

The detail above the exit of the main auditorium shows some more of the rich decoration in this theatre. Here you can see griffins an perhaps a winged horse alongside stylised floral forms.

I don't usually post photos with people in them but this one at the Château shows what we are like when we tour a building during a World Congress on Art Deco. And I had fun picking out some people. Our guides Jack & Jean-Yves. Colin from Montreal, Lynley from Melbourne, Peter from Sydney, Mick from Asheville, Rory from Los Angeles, Bob from Dublin, Robyn from Melbourne, Jo from London, Jan from Sydney and Mary from Dublin.

But forget about the people and have a look at the decoration on the wall and proscenium arch of this glorious theatre.

Reference:
Little Italy Tour Booklet, 10th World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal

Chamber of Commerce Building, Tulsa

This is the frieze on the Chamber of Commerce Building in Tulsa, OK. It shows items associated with local commerce such as agriculture and oil production.

Evelyn, Miami

When I was in Miami in 2005 not everything was perfect and well maintained. A lot was, but I wonder what has happened to Evelyn in the past five years?

Troxy, Stepney

This is the former Troxy Cinema in Stepney, London during its days as a Mecca bingo hall. It stopped as a bingo venue around 2005 and, renovated, it now serves as a concert, sports and events venue.

The cinema was designed by George Coles and openned in September 1933 but was closed in 1960 as a lot of the local population had been relocated due to war damage and subsequent slum clearance.

After lying vacant for three years it became the London Opera Centre and was used by the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to construct sets and as their rehearsal space.

In the 1990s it became a bingo hall and remained so for around 15 years.

This photo shows one of the three identical decorative panels above the large windows on the front of the cinema. They have been painted over as this 1961 photo posted on Flickr by dusashenka shows them as gold on a black background.

Many of the interior elements seemed to be intact (in 2000-01) including this wonderful (and grainy, sorry!) ceiling light fitting.

References:
Troxy Cinema, cinematreasures.org
www.troxy.co.uk

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

Six Pillars, Dulwich

The look of Six Pillars, a Modernist house in Dulwich, South London belies its age. It looks like it could have been built yesterday but I took these photos ten years ago and the house was already over sixty-five years old then.

Six Pillars was constructed from 1932-34 for Rev J H Leakey, headmaster of Dulwich College Preparatory School, and his wife. Architect, Valentine Harding secured the commission for Six Pillars and worked as lead designer on the project through Berthold Lubetkin's architectural firm Tecton.

Harding maintained a good relationship with the Leakeys and later worked, through them, on other projects for the preparatory school.

References:
Homes with History: Six Pillars, by Fiona McAuslan, Time Out Magazine
Dulwich Architects - Valentine Harding, by Ian McInnes, The Dulwich Society Journal - Summer 2007

1790 Jackson, Pacific Heights

The Pacific Heights area of San Francisco is packed with Art Deco apartments like this on at 1790 Jackson Street.

It was designed in 1940 by Herman C Baumann and demonstrates the quality and areas of decoration of many of the residential buildings in these streets.

The main decoration is along the roofline with a usually more ornate entrance at street level.

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