Who lived in the art deco jewel box penthouse?
The Art Deco jewel-box penthouse is where Oviatt lived with his wife, Mary. She was a saleswoman when Oviatt saw her, called her up to the penthouse and proposed. The roof once had a swimming “basin” and sand imported from the south of France for beachy sunbathing.
What are the best examples of Art Deco buildings in La?
In Downtown Los Angeles alone, there are a handful of statement buildings featuring these types of dazzling details inside and out: the Eastern Columbia, the Oviatt Building, the Central Library. But the finest examples of Art Deco in LA are not confined to Downtown.
Who was the first person to restore a silent film?
It was opened in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, an Oklahoma couple, at a time when silent films had all but ceased to exist. During the next few decades, John Hampton was responsible for the restoration of countless silent films, protecting these treasures of cinema history.
Is the Selig building an art deco?
The Selig building was named a city Historic-Cultural Monument in 1985. According to the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, it is one of only two black-and-gold, glazed terra cotta Art Deco buildings in the city today.
Who restored the Hamptons movie theater?
During the next few decades, John Hampton was responsible for the restoration of countless silent films, protecting these treasures of cinema history. Sadly, the Hamptons closed the theater in the 1970s, but it was reopened by a family friend, Laurence Austin, in 1991. However, in an odd turn seemingly pulled straight from a movie, ...
When was the silent movie theater opened?
One of the most beloved theaters in the country, the Silent Movie Theater is also the last of its kind. It was opened in 1942 by John and Dorothy Hampton, an Oklahoma couple, at a time when silent films had all but ceased to exist.
When was Charlie Austin shot?
In 1997 Austin was gunned down in the theater lobby by a hitman hired by Austin’s business partner in a bid for his inheritance. The theater was once again rescued two years later, and opened to a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, Hollywood’s last silent feature film.
1. D.W. Griffith
David Wark Griffith was born in rural Kentucky to Jacob "Roaring Jake" Griffith, a former Confederate Army colonel and Civil War veteran. Young Griffith grew up with his father's romantic war stories and melodramatic nineteenth-century literature that were to eventually shape his movies. In 1897 ...
2. Cecil B. DeMille
His parents Henry C. DeMille and Beatrice DeMille were playwrights. His father died when he was 12, and his mother supported the family by opening a school for girls and a theatrical company. Too young to enlist in the Spanish-American War, Cecil followed his brother William C. de Mille to the New ...
3. Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was born Erich Oswald Stroheim in 1885, in Vienna, Austria, to Johanna (Bondy), from Prague, and Benno Stroheim, a hatter from Gleiwitz, Germany (now Gliwice, Poland). His family was Jewish. After spending some time working in his father's hat factory, he emigrated to America ...
4. F.W. Murnau
F.W. Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served as a company commander at the eastern front and was in the German air ...
5. Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo entered films in 1917 after two decades as a touring actor in vaudeville and one-time manager of 'The Four Cohans' (he married Josephine Cohan, the sister of George M. Cohan ). He made his film debut with two early Australian silent films in 1916. He worked for Thomas H. Ince from 1917 as ...
6. Rex Ingram
Renowned director Rex Ingram started his film career as a set designer and painter. His directorial debut was The Great Problem (1916). A true master of the medium, Ingram despised the business haggling required in the Hollywood system. He was also unhappy with the level of writing he found in ...
7. King Vidor
King Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter of Hungarian descent. He was born in Galveston, Texas to lumberman Charles Shelton Vidor and his wife Kate Wallis. King's paternal grandfather Károly (Charles) Vidor had fled Hungary as a refugee following the failed ...
When was the Art Deco building in Los Angeles completed?
Los Angeles, CA 90014. Visit Website. This glorious Art Deco and Beaux Arts structure was completed in 1928 for Alexander and Oviatt, “one of the most prestigious and expensive haberdasheries in the city,” according to the LA Conservancy.
What is Art Deco in Los Angeles?
Art Deco, which is usually associated with the 1920s and ’30s, is recognizable by its use of geometric and zigzag patterns, bold colors, and clean lines. In Downtown Los Angeles alone, there are a handful of statement buildings featuring these types of dazzling details inside and out: the Eastern Columbia, the Oviatt Building, the Central Library.
What is the Wiltern building?
The Wiltern and the Pellissier office building it’s attached to are covered in an eye-catching blue-green terra cotta tile. Designed by Stiles O. Clements of the firm Morgan, Walls, and Clements, the structure was completed in 1931 as a theater, the Warner Bros. Western Theatre. Now it’s a music venue, but the interior retains its gold-leaf detailing, elaborate murals, and an enormous sunburst on the ceiling of the theater. The interior was designed by the same man that did Downtown’s Palace and Orpheum theaters, G. Albert Lansburgh, according to the LA Conservancy.
What is the movie palace called?
Jack Warner of the Warner Brothers film studios called the movie palace the “Castle of our Dreams.”. The Warner Grand represents Art Deco “on a smaller scale,” says Dishman. “It's not as tall as, say, the Wiltern, but it fits into the context of its neighborhood.”.
What is the exterior of the Central Library?
The exterior is decorated with limestone sculptures and incorporates a wide range of influences from Byzantine to Egyptian. Atop the building, a tiled pyramid is capped with a torch, “symbolizing the light of knowledge,” according to the LA Conservancy.
When was the Bay Cities Guaranty building built?
Completed in 1930 and designed by the firm Walker and Eisen, the 12-story Bay Cities Guaranty building was the tallest building in Santa Monica for more than 40 years, according to the Santa Monica Conservancy. The clock at the top of the tower rises four stories high and is covered in terra cotta tiles.
Who designed the glass in the lobby of the Conservancy?
Originally, the lobby and penthouse were bedecked with glasswork by famed French glass designer Rene Lalique. Sadly, most of that glass is gone—either lost or sold over time, says the Conservancy. (And, the gate in front of the lobby might appear Art Deco, but it’s not original to the building.)
Which Art Deco building allowed to exceed height restrictions?
The one Art Deco building allowed to exceed height restrictions was City Hall . The architectural team of John C. Austin, Albert C. Martin and John Parkinson created a tall central tower, built with concrete mixed with sand from each of California’s 58 counties.
What was the Paris exhibition of 1925?
The Paris Exhibition of 1925, officially L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, was held from April to October of that year and was instrumental in promoting Art Deco as a design style that stressed modernity and progress.
What is the oldest park in Los Angeles?
Pershing Square , originally known as La Plaza Abaja and dedicated in 1866, is one of the oldest parks in the city. Taking up an entire city block and almost centrally located downtown, the park is a perfect starting point for exploring Art Deco in Los Angeles. In the early 1920s, Los Angeles was in an enviable position.
When was the Richfield Oil Company building demolished?
The Richfield Oil Company Building, which was demolished between late 1968 and 1969, according to Mr. Gleye, “was one of the most magnificent Art Deco structures anywhere.”. Richfield Tower was clad in glazed black architectural terra cotta and gold trimming, with the top of the building resembling an oil derrick.
What was the industrial art style?
The industrial arts exhibit influenced a wave of architects to deviate from the formal Beaux-Arts style popular at the time to a style that was punctuated by features like colorful terra cotta, stucco, decorative crowns, zigzags and flat roofs with parapets. For years, this style was loosely called Art Moderne.
What were the major stores in Los Angeles in the 1920s?
There was a burgeoning retail market downtown, with stores including A. Hamburger & Sons, Bullock’s and the J. W. Robinson Company strengthening their economic footholds.
Why was the Los Angeles Conservancy founded?
In 1978, the Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit organization committed to the preservation of historic buildings in the city, was established largely because of opposition to the proposal. The bulldozers never came. This was an almost unheard-of civic victory in an era when downtowns were rapidly depopulating.