Fair Park Deco

Fair Park Deco PDF Author: Jim Parsons
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
ISBN: 9780875655017
Category : Art deco
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Fair Park Deco is a fascinating tour of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Like every American exposition in the 1930s, it began in economic depression. Although its economy had been buoyed by major oil discoveries in the early '30s, Texas agriculture was hard hit by the Great Depression. By the middle of the decade, state officials had set their sights on a great centennial celebration to help stimulate the economy and attract tourist dollars. "If during the next six months the people of the state could become filled with the idea of holding a big celebration on the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Texas independence," the state's centennial commission speculated in July, 1934, "it would have the effect of creating a general forward-looking spirit through the state. It would be more stimulating than anything we can think of, and this effect would be immediate." This book focuses specifically on the Art Deco art and architecture of Fair Park--the public spaces, buildings, sculptures and murals that were designed for the 1936 exposition. Most of the chapters in the book represent different areas of Fair Park, with buildings and artwork effectively arranged in the same order that a visitor to the Texas Centennial Exposition might have seen them. The art and architecture are featured in original photography by Jim Parsons and David Bush as well as in historic photographs. Fair Park is one of the finest collections of Deco architecture in the country, but it is so much more: the embodiment of Texan swagger, it is a testament to the Texanic task of creating a dazzling spectacle in the darkest days of the Depression.

Fair Park Deco

Fair Park Deco PDF Author: Jim Parsons
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
ISBN: 9780875655017
Category : Art deco
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Fair Park Deco is a fascinating tour of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Like every American exposition in the 1930s, it began in economic depression. Although its economy had been buoyed by major oil discoveries in the early '30s, Texas agriculture was hard hit by the Great Depression. By the middle of the decade, state officials had set their sights on a great centennial celebration to help stimulate the economy and attract tourist dollars. "If during the next six months the people of the state could become filled with the idea of holding a big celebration on the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Texas independence," the state's centennial commission speculated in July, 1934, "it would have the effect of creating a general forward-looking spirit through the state. It would be more stimulating than anything we can think of, and this effect would be immediate." This book focuses specifically on the Art Deco art and architecture of Fair Park--the public spaces, buildings, sculptures and murals that were designed for the 1936 exposition. Most of the chapters in the book represent different areas of Fair Park, with buildings and artwork effectively arranged in the same order that a visitor to the Texas Centennial Exposition might have seen them. The art and architecture are featured in original photography by Jim Parsons and David Bush as well as in historic photographs. Fair Park is one of the finest collections of Deco architecture in the country, but it is so much more: the embodiment of Texan swagger, it is a testament to the Texanic task of creating a dazzling spectacle in the darkest days of the Depression.

Fair Park

Fair Park PDF Author: Willis Cecil Winters
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738579399
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
In 1936, Texas commemorated the 100th anniversary of its independence from Mexico with a series of statewide celebrations. A central exposition was proposed, with four cities waging a sometimes bitter campaign to secure the rights to stage this auspicious event. At stake for the host city was unparalleled national exposure and a strong economic boost in the midst of the Great Depression. Using the existing grounds and buildings at Fair Park as the basis of its bid, Dallas outhustled and outspent its competitors to be designated as the host city of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. The fair was planned by chief architect George Dahl with legions of talented designers and artists who collaborated to produce one of the great American world's fairs of the 1930s. In addition to the centennial celebration, 1936 marked the 50th anniversary of Fair Park as the site of the great State Fair of Texas. Many of the exhibition structures, livestock barns, and sports and performance venues built for the fair over the previous 50 years were incorporated into the new layout and design of the exposition. The architectural style that was applied to the old and new buildings at Fair Park was described as "Texanic," a combination of Texas iconography and classical motifs with the more spare, streamlined regimen of the moderne style. The result was a revelation to the millions of visitors that attended the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.

Hill Country Deco

Hill Country Deco PDF Author: David Bush
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
ISBN: 9780875654133
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
David Bush and Jim Parsons' Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas captures the essence of the Art Deco style of architecture as represented in the Hill Country of Texas. This collection of historical and modern photographs will offer insight on architectural preservation while providing an appreciative view of sometimes overlooked corners of Central Texas.

DFW Deco

DFW Deco PDF Author: Jim Parsons
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
ISBN: 9780875656359
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Vivid imagery and original research are the hallmarks of DFW Deco: Modernistic Architecture of North Texas, the latest in Jim Parsons and David Bush's series of books documenting Art Deco and Art Moderne design in the Lone Star State. DFW Deco examines a vibrant architectural heritage that spans legendary eras in American history, from the Roaring Twenties through the Great Depression to World War II. DFW Deco explores the full range of modernistic building styles and some of the uniquely Texan influences that shaped the growing cities of North Texas. Classic zigzag skyscrapers promoted by Fort Worth boosters and Dallas businessmen, Art Deco storefronts in the booming towns of the great East Texas oilfield, and streamlined facilities inspired by innovations in transportation and communications all have a place in this book. DFW Deco looks not only at whole buildings, but also at their finely crafted details, ranging from vibrant tile murals depicting the scope of Texas history on Fort Worth's monumental Will Rogers Memorial Center to stylized gold-leaf pinecones and cotton bolls in the ornate People's National Bank Building in Tyler. Using a mix of original and historical photographs, this lavishly illustrated book promotes an appreciation of Main Street movie theaters, innovative suburban homes, and even a surprising collection of modernistic soft drink bottling plants. DFW Deco also documents the federal programs that helped build exceptional courthouses, schools, and post offices from small towns to big cities. The book ends with a chapter of short biographies of the architects and artists who created these landmarks. By illustrating the broad reach of modernistic design in North Texas, the authors hope to advance the preservation of significant buildings and encourage readers to explore the region themselves and discover their own Art Deco treasures.

French Art Deco

French Art Deco PDF Author: Jared Goss
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0300204302
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Art Deco—the term conjures up jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, glassware by Laique, furniture by Ruhlmann—is best exemplified in the work shown at the exhibition that gave the style its name: the Exposition Internationale des Art Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. The exquisite craftsmanship and artistry of the objects displayed spoke to a sophisticated modernity yet were rooted in past traditions. Although it quickly spread to other countries, Art Deco found its most coherent expression in France, where a rich cultural heritage was embraced as the impetus for creating something new. the style drew on inspirations as diverse as fashion, avant-garde trends in the fine arts—such as Cubism and Fauvism—and a taste for the exotic, all of which converged in exceptionally luxurious and innovative objects. While the practice of Art Deco ended with the Second World War, interest in it has not only endured to the present day but has grown steadily. Based on the Metropolitan Museum's renowned collection French Art Deco presents more than eighty masterpieces by forty-two designers. Examples include Süe et Mare's furniture from the 1925 Exposition; Dufy's Cubist-inspired textiles; Dunand's lacquered bedroom suite; Dupas's monumental glass wall panels from the SS Normandie; and Fouquet's spectacular dress ornament in the shape of a Chinese mask. Jared Goss's engaging text includes a discussion of each object together with a biography of the designer who created it and is enlivened by generous quotations from writings of the period. The extensive introduction provides historical context and explores the origins and aesthetic of Art Deco. With its rich text and sumptuous photographs, this is not only one of the rare books on French Art Deco in English, but an object d'art in its own right.

A History of Detroit's Palmer Park

A History of Detroit's Palmer Park PDF Author: Gregory C. Piazza
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 162585319X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Palmer Park is Detroit's underappreciated architectural jewel. Located around the intersection of McNichols Road (Six Mile) and Woodward Avenue, it embraces every style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. United States senator Thomas Palmer originally developed the property as farmland and donated it to the city in the 1890s. Between 1924 and 1964, its character changed with some of the best examples of modern apartment living from top local architects, including one of just five buildings credited to the world-renowned Albert Kahn. Author Gregory C. Piazza showcases the exceptional story of building Palmer Park.

Terror and Wonder

Terror and Wonder PDF Author: Blair Kamin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226423123
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Collects the best of Kamin's writings for the Chicago Tribune from the past decade.

Building a Century of Progress

Building a Century of Progress PDF Author: Lisa Diane Schrenk
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780816648368
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
From the summer of 1933 to the fall of 1934, more than 38 million fairgoers visited a 3-mile stretch along Lake Michigan, home to Chicago's second World's Fair. Millions more experienced the Century of Progress International Exposition through newspaper and magazine articles, newsreels, and souvenirs. Together, all marveled at the industrial, scientific, consumer, and cultural displays, many of which were housed in fifty massive and colorful exhibition halls, the largest architectural project realized in the United States during the Great Depression. In the richly illustrated Building a Century of Progress, Lisa D. Schrenk explores the pivotal role of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair in modern American architecture. She recounts how the exposition's architectural commission promoted a broad definition of modern architecture, not relying on purely aesthetic characteristics but instead focusing on new design solutions. The fair's pavilions incorporated recently introduced building materials such as masonite and gypsum board; structural innovations (for example, the first thin-shell concrete roof and the first suspended roof structures built in the United States); and new construction processes, most notably the use of prefabrication. They also featured curiosities like the giant, constantly operating mayonnaise maker and the glass-walled House of Tomorrow, which had no operable windows. Schrenk shows how the halls' designs reflected cultural and political developments of the period, including the expanding relationships between science, industry, and government; the rise of a corporate consumer culture; and the impact of the Great Depression. Many of the designs provoked intense responses from critics and other prominent architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Adams Cram, fueling heated debates over the appropriate direction for architecture in the United States. Demonstrating the rich diversity of progressive American building design seen at the fair, Building a Century of Progress captures a crucial moment in American modernism. Lisa D. Schrenk is assistant professor of architecture and art history at Norwich University and former education director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation.

Art Deco 1910-1939

Art Deco 1910-1939 PDF Author: Charlotte Benton
Publisher: Victoria & Albert Museum
ISBN: 9781851778331
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Originally published in 2003 as the catalog of an exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

South Beach Architectural Photographs

South Beach Architectural Photographs PDF Author: Paul Clemence
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
ISBN: 9780764320866
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Take a striking journey with photographer Paul Clemence through Miami's South Beach, home to some of the world's most extraordinary Art Deco architecture. Highlighting the elements that create and define the Art Deco style, this collection of 64 black-and-white photographs is a cross between a fine art photography and a travel book that captures the emotion and expresses the spirit of South Beach.