Deco is Everywhere

New York ~ May 8, 2009

One of the many fun things about being in New York City after having not visited for so many years (decades) was finding delightful Art Deco designs everywhere I looked. I'm sure that when I was there in 1969 (?) I didn't even know what Deco was.

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Deco Delight

Portland, Oregon ~ August 7, 2010

The Charles F. Berg Building

SW Broadway near Pioneer Square

First, please excuse the crazy angles. I didn't take enough photos to find a straight one, and I didn't want to lose anything in the cropping. I think one crazy angle is fine, but these two going in opposite directions . . . not so much. I love the jungle theme in the dark areas. I also left the photo below at a large size so you can check out the details when you click on it. The inside seems to be worth looking at as well. Hopefully next time I'll go in.

I posted a close-up of some of the detail on my Animal Art Along the Way blog today. To enlarge the photo above, click it once, then click the photo again when it pops up in a window.

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La Samaritaine: Wrought Iron

Paris ~ May 4, 2004

La Samaritane

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La Samaritaine: Pieces of Sky

Paris ~ May 4, 2004

La Samaritane from Pont Neuf

I was so sad when I read Cieldequimper's and Halcyon's comments on yesterdays post featuring one of the lighting fixtures on this beautiful building (now extinct), that I went searching for more photos. I found a few of the outside and the inside. Here's one taken from Pont Neuf.

Cieldequimper gave me the first clue when she said, "It used to be a favourite of my Gran's and I have many fond memories there. To answer your question, it's now closed - forever." (Oh, no!)

Halcyon filled in the bad news: "Sadly the Samaritaine was closed due to asbestos. It would have cost too much to refurbish. I hope someone salvaged those lamps though. They are nice. I used to like to go to the top floor and have a coffee and enjoy the view."

Does anyone else have memories of this historic and beautiful landmark?

See Weekend Reflections from around the world.

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Light on La Samaritaine

Paris ~ May 4, 2004

La Samaritaine Department Store

I've enjoyed these lighting fixtures along the Seine side of La Samaritaine Department Store in Paris since I first saw the building in the late 1960s or early 1970s, so I was dismayed to see the fixtures gone on my last visit in 2008. I hope it was only for refurbishing and repair. The fixture looks to be somewhere between Art Deco and Art Nouveau in style, doesn't it? Or is it truly a Deco piece? What do you think? The current building was in progress between 1883 and 1933, so it spans both periods.

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Art Deco in the desert

Parking structure

Hoover Dam, California ~ April 2, 2003

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