50S THEME DECORATIONS

Downtown Brooklyn, New York, New York City, United States

The Long Island Headquarters of the New York Telephone Company, built in 1929-30, is a masterful example of the series of tall structures issuing from architect Ralph Walker's long and productive association with the communications industry. Walker was a prominent New York architect whose expressive tall buildings, prolific writings and professional leadership made him one of the foremost representatives of his field during his long life. In this dramatically-massed, orange brick skyscraper, Walker illustrates his exceptional ability to apply the Art Deco style to a large office tower.

Its abstract, metal ornament on the ground story display windows and the main entrance on Bridge Street, suggests constant movement, and is typical of the art of late 1920s. The structure is faced with multiple sizes of brick, laid in a variety of patterns and planes to create a rich facade design. Horizontal panels of patterned brick enhance each setback leading to the central tower. At the same time, the verticality of the structure is emphasised by narrow sections of facade that soar upward, above others, and by the way the brick is laid to create undulating vertical planes suggestive of draperies.

Through his series of telephone company buildings, many of Walker's design ideas evolved so that here he achieved a tremendous sense of harmony and refinement in his use of brick and metalwork, as well as in the overall massing. The location of this large, important structure in downtown Brooklyn emphasized the commitment of New York Telephone Company to the growth and advancement of the most modern telephone service to the expanding area of Brooklyn and Long Island. In this Long Island Headquarters Building Walker was able to apply the Art Deco style and create a skyscraper which met the technological needs of the client and the demands of the New York City Building Code.

Art Deco Style

The Art Deco or Modernistic style of architecture primarily appeared in this country from the mid-1920s through the 1930s. It has been called an "avant-garde traditionalist'"" approach to creating a contemporary idiom for buildings of the period. As in other self-conscious modern periods, designers and critics of this time articulated the need for a new style that could be deemed appropriate for the vibrant period dubbed the "Jazz Age," and all its accompanying technological developments. They believed that the historically-derived ornamental motifs applied to most of the tall buildings up to this point were unsuitable for their contemporary era. They were trying to relate architecture to the functionally-derived designs of objects made possible and fostered by the burgeoning machine technology™

Much of the architecture that we know as Art Deco was based on accepted, standard forms and construction techniques, which were given a modern cast through the use of a characteristic ornament, and a variety of materials, some new and some simply used in a new way. Most of the architects active in this style had received traditional Beaux-Arts training that called for the creation of the plan and elevations as the first and most important phases in the conception of a building. Ornament was then added to these initial designs, based on ideas which evolved from a variety of influences including: the Paris 1925 Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs, the well-publicized designs of the Vienna Secessionists and the Wiener Werkstatte, the German Expressionists, as well as American architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis H. Sullivan, contemporary theatrical set designs, and Mayan and other Native American forms.

The overall shape of tall buildings of this period came about as a result of the 1916 Building Zone Resolution of New York, which mandated setbacks at numerous levels to allow light and air to reach the lower stories of buildings in an increasingly dense city. In 1922, architect and critic Harvey Wiley Corbett (18731954) and architectural renderer Hugh Ferriss (1889-1962) explored the possibilities created by the zoning law in a series of drawings that illustrated progressive stages of design based on the law's height and mass restrictions. These dramatic renderings, published in Pencil Points (1923) and in Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929), significantly influenced architects of the period. The drawings and the laws from which they came directed the architects' attention to the building as a whole rather than to a single facade of the structure, thus altering the whole design process.

By visualizing buildings "from every possible angle" the architect was transformed from a designer of facades into a "sculptor in building masses."xui The zoning law provided architects with a sound, rational basis for the form and appearance of the skyscraper as well as a new source of creativity; historical styles did not seem to express the moder

In 1931 Sidney Myer (1878 – 1934) Russian emigre turned Melbourne businessman and philanthropist decided to reinvigorate his store the Myer Emporium by redeveloping his flagship Bourke Street store at 314-336 Bourke Street. Part of this included a new facade in the prevailing interwar style of the time – Art Deco and the addition of several more floors to what was already a very large department store. On the sixth floor a chic European style ballroom with soaring ceilings, sweeping stairs and parquet flooring was planned for use by the emporium’s patrons as a dining room by day and in which Myer could host Parisian fashion shows and hold exclusive Melbourne society events by night. The Myer Mural Hall, so called because of an impressive collection of ten murals by Australian artist Napier Waller, was the realisation of Sidney Myer’s dream.

The Mural Hall, a dining hall suitable for a sitting for one thousand people and a venue for fashion parades and performances, was completed in 1933 as part of the sixth floor which was set aside for dining. It is a large rectangular space with a decorative plaster ceiling and balconies and wall panels in a Streamline Moderne style. However, it is the decoration of ten murals by renowned artist Napier Waller (1893-1972) that are the Mural Hall’s claim to fame. The murals took a little over a year to complete and were painted at Napier Waller’s home at Fairy Hills in Ivanhoe before being transported to the department store where they were hung. Completed in 1934, just after Sidney Myer’s death, eight of the murals are almost floor to ceiling, whilst the remaining two are located over the two side entrances. All pay homage to the seasons and to women and their achievements through history in the areas of art, opera, literature, dance, sport and fashion.

The western wall features (running south to north) the full length murals; “Spring – The Dance Through the Centuries”, “Summer – Sports Through the Centuries”, “Autumn – Women in Literature” and the smaller mural “Modes of Transport by Land” above the door. The eastern wall features (running north to south) the full length murals; “Winter – Of Actresses and the Drama from Medieval Times to the Present”, “Pageant of Beautiful Women in History”, “Pageant of Women Famous in History”, “Revelation of Fashion” and the smaller mural “Modes of Transport by Sea” above the door.

At the north end of the hall, a pair of "mannequin stairs" lead down from two balconies and the change rooms to a common landing. A temporary catwalk or stage was installed at this landing level for fashion parades and performances. The balustrading of the stairs is formed from 'Staybrite' stainless steel in an abstract ribbon design and the handrail is polished timber. The original timber flooring was replaced by parquetry in 1960. The hall is lit by three large and elaborate chandeliers from the original decorative scheme which were designed to provide up to ten different lighting effects. The National Trust classified the Myer Mural Hall noting it as “one of the finest Art Deco interiors in Australia and… one of the most impressive with few parallels anywhere in the world”.

Napier Waller (1893 – 1972) was a noted Australian muralist, mosaicist and painter. He served in France from 1916, being so seriously wounded at Bullecourt that he lost his right arm. He was right-handed but learned to use his left hand while recuperating. Back in Australia, he established his reputation by exhibiting more paintings. He is perhaps best known for the mosaics and stained glass for the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, completed in 1958. However, Melbourne has been described as "a gallery of Napier Waller’s work". Pieces of Napier Waller’s works may be found in the Melbourne Town Hall (1927), the State Library of Victoria (1928), the T & G Life Building (1929), Newspaper House (1933), Florentino’s Restaurant (1934), the Wesley Church (1935) and the University of Melbourne (1940) as well as the Myer Mural Hall.