Union Square Subway Station Eagle Interior cast-stone shown with an antique dirty bronze finish The eagle plaque sculpture is a bas relief and after a design by Grueby Faience Co 1904. Grueby custom made tiles and ornaments for the NYC subway stations, and at the Union Square (14th Street), Brooklyn Bridge, and 33rd Street stations these eagle plaques were installed in two slightly different configurations. All the ornamentation had been designed to help passengers recognize his or her station without the necessity of listening for the announcement or reading the signs. The Interborough Rapid Transit Subway, or IRT, was the first subway company in New York City, and…
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Sculpture of the week (November 19th, 2019)
Sullivanesque panel, after historic artifacts once on the James W Scoville building, Chicago. I am excited to offer this interesting Sullivanesque 1884 design after the artifacts that were connected to Adler & Sullivan, George Elmslie, Kristian Schneider, and once installed on the James W Scoville building in Chicago. Those involved in creating the original 1884 Chicago design are said to have included; Dankmar Adler Louis Sullivan George Grant Elmslie Kristian Schneider Significance: The James W. Scoville factory building, designed by Adler & Sullivan contains three different designs belonging to the transitional period (1880 and 1890) of Louis Sullivan’s architectural ornament. This structure was the best and most ornamental of all…
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Sculpture of the week Nov 12, 2019
Art Deco Chanin Building Panel D10 “Enlightenment” Original design by Rene Paul Chambellan, smaller scaled reproduction modelled by Randall SIZE: Nominal 21″ high by 17″ wide WEIGHT:Approx 30-35# HISTORY of the building The 56 story tall Chanin Building is a brick and terra-cotta skyscraper located at 122 East 42nd Street, at the corner of Lexington Avenue, in Manhattan. Built by Irwin S. Chanin in 1929 It was designed by Sloan & Robertson in the Art Deco style, with the assistance of Chanin’s own architect Jacques Delamarre, and it incorporates architectural sculpture by noted sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan. In the lobbies, eight bronze reliefs designed by Rene Paul Chambellan are inset…
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Sculpture of the week
In addition to the new “Artifact of the month” feature in which I detail the story, history and more of each architectural artifact in my personal collection, I decided to start a new “Sculpture of the week” feature which will showcase one of my sculptures each week. Inspired by a terra cotta frieze on the historic Nortown Theater, Chicago, Illinois, ~ I present ~ Art Deco Nortown Spandrel Panel Nr D5 Nortown theater Art Deco D7 While the Nortown theater is long gone, you will be able to enjoy the lovely design in your home. Fans of Art Deco may have seen the Nortown theater in Chicago, the…
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Artifact of the month (November, 2019)
Artifact: Two Large and two smaller acanthus leaves, parts of interior capitals Material: Cast iron Length: 20-1/2” , 13-1/2″ and 10-1/2″ Origin: St Bridget of Erin church, 1100 North Jefferson st. St Louis. Architect: John F Mitchell, St Louis, (Cornerstone laid on Aug 7th, 1859) Demolition of St. Bridget of Erin, one of the oldest churches in St. Louis, underway Feb 24, 2016 Coming down is St. Bridget of Erin, a stately brick church whose cornerstone was laid in 1859 and which for decades served St. Louis’ Kerry Patch Irish Catholics. Demolition of the church at the intersection of North Jefferson Avenue and Carr Street began this week. The…