Posts tagged history
Art Deco Architecture
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B… Bangkok
Democracy Monument, Bangkok, Thailand
by Aiden McRae Thompson
Deco mixed in with traditional Thai design elements.
From Flickr:
The Democracy Monument was erected in 1939 to commemorate the Siamise coup d’etat that ushered in initial military rule along with the present constitutional system of monarchy. There are thus references to the military in the four wing like structures surrounding the centrepiece and the relief sculptures at their bases.
The monument is an attractive late flowering of the Art Deco style and was a symbol of the country’s desire for modernisation. The very much 20th century forms are however combined with traditional Thai elements, particularly the sculptural elements such as the gilt bronze reliefs in the central structure and Garuda and Naga sculptures at the outer corners of the monument.
Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo by Mark Hall from Historic Detroit
Beautiful black and white from what looks like the mezzanine/balcony above the main lobby. From up there the ceiling is right in your face!
(Source: historicdetroit.org)
Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan
from Historic Detroit
Powerful shot.
From Historic Detroit:
Looking up the Fisher Building in 1952
Penobscot Building
After that last batch of images, I really don’t think I will bother posting any more pictures of this one, because they were too amazing. But before we move on to some other Detroit Deco, here’s an essay from the Historic Detroit site:
BY DAN AUSTIN OF HISTORICDETROIT.ORG
The 47-story Greater Penobscot Building towers over Campus Martius, an Art Deco masterpiece that has dominated the city’s skyline for more than 80 years.
The building is named after a tribe of American Indians in New England. The name Penobscot means “the place where the rocks open out.” Simon J. Murphy, who made a fortune as a lumber baron before coming to Detroit, spent his youth working on the Penobscot River in Maine. As the nation moved west, Murphy’s lumber empire moved with it, and he settled in Detroit. When it came time to name his new building, his thoughts returned to his roots.
There are actually three Penobscot buildings. The first is the 13-story building Murphy erected in 1903. It was joined by a 24-story tower in 1916. The third, the 47-story tower known as the Greater Penobscot, was built at a cost of $5 million.
The Penobscot was the eighth-tallest building in the world when it opened in October 1928, and was the fourth tallest in the United States. At about 567 feet, it was the tallest building in Detroit until 1977, when it was surpassed by the 729-foot Renaissance Center. It is now the city’s third-tallest, also having been overshadowed in 1993 by Comerica Tower, which stands about 623 feet tall.
There is an urban legend that the building’s 100-foot tower with its winking red orb was once used as a port for a dirigible. In truth, it was simply an aviation beacon. These days, the tower and its blinking red light are simply for decoration. The orb, which is 12 feet in diameter, was first turned on when the building opened 79 years ago and can be seen 40 miles away.
The building has not been without controversy over its eight decades. For example, those are indeed swastikas adorning the exterior of the Penobscot, but they weren’t put there by Nazis. The swastikas are part of the building’s American Indian motif and symbolize sun worship. Suggestions during World War II to get rid of them were discarded. The swastikas on the Penobscot also are angled differently than those used in Nazi Germany.
Note: The bit about the swastikas being different is an example of the oft-repeated nonsense that one kind of swastika is good and another “bad.” In fact swastikas historically have pointed left and right and with many different angles and design variations. The swastika has been used all around the world and is still use (a lot) in some parts of the world, without any connection to Nazis. But often people will say “No, these swastikas are different than the Nazis” as if there’s a problem even if they are the same. More info here. (Yes, I will get off my soapbox.)
Postcards of the Penobscot
The Historic Detroit site has a whole GALLERY of postcards of the building. I see no point in reproducing it here pic by pic, so go here.
A favorite of mine:
Penobscot Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo from HistoricDetroit.org
Here you can see exactly how the building was stacked.
From Historic Detroit:
The Penobscot rises in 1927.
PHOTO FROM THE WALTER P. REUTHER LIBRARY, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Penobscot Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo from HistoricDetroit.org
Back in 1927, when buildings were shooting up and up in the Detroit skyline.
From Historic Detroit:
The Penobscot Building rises in 1927. This view is taken on Fort at Cass, looking east.
PHOTO FROM THE BURTON HISTORICAL COLLECTION, DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY
Penobscot Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo from HistoricDetroit.org
The “nob” on the Penobscot Building.
From Wikipedia:
On holidays, both the Penobscot Building and the nearby One Woodward Avenue light up for the night, with red, white and blue for Independence Day and Canada Day; and red, white and green for the Christmas season. In addition, during the Christmas season, the Penobscot Building’s radio broadcast tower is illuminated bright gold, to resemble a giant glowing Christmas tree topped with a flashing red beacon. The Penobscot Building has become a souvenir item along with other Detroit skyscrapers.
Lobby, Penobscot Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo from HistoricDetroit.org
A look inside.
From Historic Detroit:
The Penobscot’s original Art Deco lobby, which was covered with a drop ceiling.
Penobscot Building and Guardian Building, Detroit, Michigan
Photo from HistoricDetroit.org
Detroit Free Press pic showing the tops of the Penobscot Building and the Guardian Building (to be explored at length later in picture form here).
