"I'LL PUT A GIRDLE ROUND ABOUT THE EARTH"

In a few hours it will be 2013, marking eighty years since this wonderful mosaic by Napier Waller was completed on the façade of Newspaper House in Melbourne. It is easy to miss since it is at the level of the first storey, a blind spot above the glitz of the display windows at street level. It is difficult to photograph because one of Collins Street's magnificent trees just happens to be directly in front of it. So you end up with an oblique angle like the image above.

You can try to position the tree across one of the windows but the title, "I'll put a girdle round about the earth" runs in a continuous band above the windows.

So you end up splitting it over a few photos.

The best time to see the mosaic is midwinter, when the leaves have fallen from the trees and if you pick the right time of day the weak sun reflects off the gold and the whole thing positively glows.

The best photo I have of the mosaic, is not of the mosaic at all. The Art Deco 1910-1939 exhibition at the NGV in 2008 included the large scale oil paintings that Waller did as part of the preparation for the mosaic. These were reproduced as posters promoting the exhibition and placed on the side of the NGV building.

By the way, did you notice the year, 1933, at bottom left of the middle panel.

Peace Hotel, Shanghai

The Peace Hotel goes by a few names. The Cathay Hotel and, as it is now, The Fairmont Peace Hotel and is actually made up of two buildings, the North Building and the South Building.

The South Building dates back to the mid 19th century when it was known as the Central Hotel. Early in the 20th century the hotel was restructured as the Palace Hotel. During the Second World War it was occupied by the Japanese and afterwards by the Municipal Construction Department between 1952 and 1965, then it returned to the function of a hotel as part of the Peace Hotel.

The North building, with its green pyramid shaped roof, was designed by architects Palmer & Turner and construction commenced in 1926. It was known as Sassoon House after its owner Sir Victor Sassoon with the Cathay Hotel operating out of several floors from 1929.

It became the Peace Hotel in 1956 and at the time the building was under the control of the Municipal Government.

In 2007, the hotel was closed for extensive refurbishment bringing the hotel back to its 1930s glamour.

Reference:
Fairmont Peace Hotel website

If you want to know more about the Sassoon family I recommend today's post Remarkable Sassoon family: the English branch at the ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly blog.

Custom House, Shanghai

The Custom House is one of the monumental buildings along The Bund in Shanghai. It was designed by Palmer & Turner and built in 1927 but it looks as though it could be from an earlier time.

Behind these gates, on the facade, is a wonderful revolutionary plaque.

At night the clock tower stands out among the buildings of The Bund.

Reference:
Shanghai Art Deco, by Tess Johnson & Deke Erh.

Interior, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban

Here's a peak inside the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. Designed by Powers & Powers and built in 1947.

Reference:
Durban Deco Directory

Luxford Appliance Repairs, Morwell

Here's a cute little deco building in Morwell, currently the home of Luxford Appliance Repairs. It even has a suitable sized flagpole.

A Building in Bairnsdale

I don't know anything about this building in Bairnsdale, Victoria. It has the most wonderful tower so it may have been a cinema but the plaque on the façade shows a horse-drawn carriage passing through a winged-tyre so it was perhaps related to transport, possibly a garage.

ANZ Bank, Sale

ANZ Bank, Sale

Centrepoint Shopping Mall, Leeton

The Centrepoint Shopping Mall in Leeton in rural New South Wales has an interesting history. It has only been a shopping arcade from the 1970s. Prior to that it was a the premises of S Richards & Co and goes back to before the Art Deco period. In 1936, local architect G W A Welch designed a new building to be built over the existing building without requiring the business to close. T J Ashton, a local builder, was charged with completing the works.

Reference:
Leeton - Yanco - Whitton Heritage Trail Booklet, Leeton Shire Council 2011

By the way, Leeton are planning another Art Deco Festival for March 2013. Visit the Leeton Shire Council website for more details.