313 W 57th St, New York

This is a great little survivor and it does surprise me that small buildings like this survive in New York City where the skyscraper is king. They do survive however and the city is richer for what they add to the streescape.

Tokyo Japanese Restaurant, New York

Tokyo Japanese Restaurant on Lexington Avenue occupies a sweet little Art Deco building. It is hard to beleive this restaurant is close to the Chrysler Building, probably the most recognisable Art Deco building in the world. It just highlights the range of Art Deco architecture.

Bryant Park Hotel, New York

I love the contrast of the black brick against the gold decoration and embellishments.

Originaly the American Radiator Building, this Art Deco building was designed in 1924 by architect Raymond Hood and now serves as the Bryant Park Hotel.

former Bickford's Cafeteria, New York

The sight of the New Yorker Hotel on the skyline drew me like a beacon to one of NYC's Art Deco gems but when I got there I found this modest little building across the road at 488 Eighth Avenue.

The name Bickford's can be seen clearly in a cartouche below the stepped roofline of the building surrounded by Art Deco chevrons and grecian design elements.

An internet search reveals a photo of the street level facade from the early 1940s when the building housed a Bickford's cafeteria and an article from the New York Times from 2000 entitled Breakfast at Bickford's prompted by this very building.

Both items are reproduced on www.plazaview.com, a financial forecasting website setup by Jeffrey S Bickford, a descendent of Samuel Bickford the founder of a chain of restaurants and cafeterias bearing the Bickford name which at one time had 48 branches all over New York dwindling to just 2 in 1980 when the name vanished from the New York streets.

The article explains that the Bickford name returned when a metal facade was removed from an Adult Entertainment Centre.

Now, in the summer of 2009, the building is vacant, seeking a retail tenant.

Hopefully a sympathetic business can see the potential in this building and keep the Bickford name on Eighth Avenue opposite it's grand deco neighbour.

Frank Lloyd Wright Retrospective, Guggenheim

I feel very lucky today.

Flew into New York on Saturday and found out part of the Guggenheim Museum's 50th anniversary they are staging a restrospective exhibition of Frank Lloyd Wright and it opened last Friday.

So I joined the queue at 10am and spent almost 2 hours looking at the original plans of many of Wright's greatest projects, built, demolished and unbuilt.

The plan for the Greater City of Baghdad was amazing, unrealised of course. It was great to see some of the buildings I have been lucky enough to visit such as Price Tower, Fallingwater and the Lloyd Jones house in Tulsa.

The exhibition also had lots of slide shows of many of the buildings during construction.

I highly recommend you visit the exhibition if you get the chance and it is perhaps all the more special that it is being staged in one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most recognisable buildings.

AIG Building, New York

I read with interest a recent post at the Mindful Walker entitled Wanna Buy an Art Deco Gem? Ask AIG which expands on recent news reports that the troubled international insurance company (and Manchester United shirt sponsor) is considering selling their New York headquarters.

The 66-storey building located at 70 Pine Street near Wall Street is as the title of the article say an Art Deco gem. Originally built for the Cities Service Company it was designed by Clinton & Russell and Holton & George and constructed from 1930-32.

I visited the area one dark day in 2005 although perhaps not as dark as those experienced by Wall Street in more recent times. It did allow me to capture the wonderful lights in the foyer through the windows above the entrance.

At street level the building includes such wonderful art deco features including this light fixture.

And one of the more interesting features is this 3D model of the entire tower included in the decoration above the doorway.

General Electric Building, New York

The first building I posted on this blog was the Chrysler Building because it is such an icon of the Art Deco skyscraper.

However, that first picture of the Chrysler Building had another fantastic Art Deco building in the foreground. The former RCA Victor Building, now known as the General Electric Building.

That is the amazing crown at the top of this page. It has flames, lightning bolts (or radio waves) and stylised faces and is truly amazing.

There is also plenty to see from street level. The lightning bolt/radio wave motif is presented on the 1st floor, placed in their own niches between the vertical banks of windows.

The panels below the windows feature zig-zag decoration and other art deco elements but in the top corners there is more fluid decoration giving an almost Art Nouveau feel.

The corner of the building has its own combination of bolt/wave motif and stylised face. This view also shows the decoration in the brickwork.

Also on the corner at street level is a clock bearing the GE logo and a pair of disembodied arms holding, perhaps, another variation of the lightning bolt/radio wave.

The General Electric Building was designed by John W Cross and dates from 1931.

Atlas, Rockefeller Center, New York

The stylised deco form of Atlas by Lee Lawrie stands in front of the International Building on the 5th Avenue edge of the Rockefeller Center opposite St Patrick's Cathedral.

It is one of 12 works by Lawrie in the Center and it was chosen the Art Deco Society of New York for the poster to promote the 8th World Congress on Art Deco which they hosted in May 2005.

Rats, New York

The Graybar Building in New York has three struts supporting an awning. They represent the moorlines of a ship and as such include these wonderful stylised rats complete with conical blocks to keep them off the ship.

Or at least from getting into the company.

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.

Associated Press Building, Rockefeller Center, New York

The Rockefeller Center in midtown New York is a fantastic place to explore and admire the art deco details. There are over 20 buildings making up the whole centre and it seems each doorway has a decorative relief or panel depicting the intended use of the building.

A case in point is the huge stainless steel panel above the entrance of the Associated Press Building called News. The panel depicts workers involved in activities related to producing newspapers and magazines. It was created by Isamu Noguchi and dates from 1938-40.

The whole panel is at least 5 metres tall with my picture only showing the top half. I love the photographer in the top left and the effect I’ve achieved by zooming in on the detail of the sculpture which I think sharpens the overall effect of Noguchi’s work.

Clicking on the pic will open a new flickr window to so you can view a bigger version.

Chrysler Building, New York

Welcome.

My favourite buildings can loosely be described as Art Deco in style. I don’t want to get lost in technical definitions of architecture styles. I'm not an architect so I think my approach is explained best if I paraphrase an old cliché ‘I don’t know much about architecture but I know what I like’. So I’ll write about my favourite buildings from around the world and include some of my photos of them.

Although not presented in any particular order, the first choice was easy. The Chrysler Building in New York is not just an icon for that city by for all Art Deco buildings and all skyscrapers.

The Chrysler Building was designed by Brooklyn born architect William Van Alen and has been a feature of the New York skyline for over 75 years since it opened in 1930. The building is decorated with motifs that echo the design of the cars manufactured by Chrysler.

The stepped silver crown with the semi-circular rows of triangle shaped windows is beautiful by day and stunning when illuminated at night. Even at ground level the entrances are beautifully decorated and the foyer, like most skyscraper foyers, is magnificent. If you get a chance to visit, make sure you check out the lift doors with their intricate design featuring inlaid wood.