I was last there in 2013 and took a few photos of it. Perhaps things have changed since then, or maybe not. Regarless, I hope you enjoy the images below. Click on them to enlarge.
Showing posts with label Interiors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interiors. Show all posts
Monday, December 20, 2021
The American Hotel Bar, Amsterdam
Amsterdam is not as noted for Art Nouveau architecture and décor as some other European cities such as Brussels, Riga, and Prague. Yet it does have fine examples. One is the American Hotel and its bar and café.
I was last there in 2013 and took a few photos of it. Perhaps things have changed since then, or maybe not. Regarless, I hope you enjoy the images below. Click on them to enlarge.
Gallery
I was last there in 2013 and took a few photos of it. Perhaps things have changed since then, or maybe not. Regarless, I hope you enjoy the images below. Click on them to enlarge.
Monday, April 26, 2021
More Learning from Las Vegas
About ten years ago I wrote about some Las Vegas interiors and murals. Recently I returned to Vegas, and while my wife was busying herself at the slots, I (who don't gamble) was taking iPhone snapshots of the architecture and décor. Some of those, in cropped and enhanced fashion, are presented below.
Nearly 50 years ago an important book about Las Vegas architecture from a theoretical standpoint was published. It is "Learning from Las Vegas," the title inspiring the title of this post.
The Las Vegas of 1968 when the authors visited and did their on-site research was different from today's Las Vegas in some important ways. Nowadays many of the largest casinos offer more than gambling, restaurants and shows. They have shopping areas and themed architecture and interiors. Moreover, the architecture and interiors were created at great expense.
That is in contrast to nearly all the Modernist buildings we see today and that were built since World War 2. Those structures, conforming to the architectural profession's near-universal design religion, are visually comparatively simple and usually nearly or absolutely ornamentation-free. They are also inexpensive to build compared to Las Vegas' grand casino-hotels that include traditional paintings and ornamental sculpting. The latter is far more costly today than it was a century ago when there were many skilled craftsmen who did such work at affordable prices.
What this means is that Las Vegas is one of the few places in America where folks can experience important new buildings featuring what was much more common before the 1930s. The town is an oasis in more ways than one.
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Some parts of The Strip are Modernist, such as the recent City Center development shown here.
Much more visually interesting is the nearby Paris casino (foreground) and hotel (background).
This entrance combines Second Empire statuary and Métro station Art Nouveau entrance details.
The MGM Grand had a lot of 1930s Moderne movie theater décor, most of which has been removed to create a sterile Modernist interior. Above is a remaining touch of what the place was once like.
More bas-relief, this found in Caesar's Palace that features Classical Roman motifs.
Elsewhere in Caesar's.
More at Caesar's.
The New York's interior includes many touches of that city from the 1930s. Besides street recreations there are murals such as shown here.
This is a riff on the Daily News Building.
Sorry for the tilt of this view of a huge, Lalique-like sculpture in the Palazzo section of The Venetian.
Here is the hallway approach to The Venetian's hotel lobby. Some shops are behind the columns.
This is the expensive-shops area of the Bellagio.
Elsewhere in the Bellagio is this conservatory that features seasonally themed décor: Christmas, Autumn, Chinese New Year, etc.
Nearly 50 years ago an important book about Las Vegas architecture from a theoretical standpoint was published. It is "Learning from Las Vegas," the title inspiring the title of this post.
The Las Vegas of 1968 when the authors visited and did their on-site research was different from today's Las Vegas in some important ways. Nowadays many of the largest casinos offer more than gambling, restaurants and shows. They have shopping areas and themed architecture and interiors. Moreover, the architecture and interiors were created at great expense.
That is in contrast to nearly all the Modernist buildings we see today and that were built since World War 2. Those structures, conforming to the architectural profession's near-universal design religion, are visually comparatively simple and usually nearly or absolutely ornamentation-free. They are also inexpensive to build compared to Las Vegas' grand casino-hotels that include traditional paintings and ornamental sculpting. The latter is far more costly today than it was a century ago when there were many skilled craftsmen who did such work at affordable prices.
What this means is that Las Vegas is one of the few places in America where folks can experience important new buildings featuring what was much more common before the 1930s. The town is an oasis in more ways than one.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Cruise Ship with Retro Décor
Now for a brief shift from graphic art to Industrial Design / Interior Decoration -- subjects I occasionally touch on here.
Aside from two troopship journeys across the Pacific Ocean, I didn't do cruising until I married my late wife. I've been doing it a bit more the last couple of years, though I'm beginning to find cruising not as cost-effective as I'd like. That said, I recently cruised around Italy aboard a ship whose interior design was not what I have come to expect, and I thought I'd pass along a few thoughts and images regarding that.
The ship is MS Pacific Princess, owned by Princess Cruises -- Wikipedia entry here. As the entry notes, it is a relatively small main-line cruiser originally intended for sailing in the South Seas in the area of French possessions. Princess was not the original owner, though has operated it for most of its 20 years.
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Shown here off Split, Croatia, is the Pacific Princess. In the background is the Grand Princess -- as it happens, it is the only other Princess ship I've sailed on. The Pacific is about 600 feet (180 m) long and currently carries a little fewer than 800 passengers. Its size makes it handy for entering somewhat restricted ports of call. The Grand, on the other hand, is a typical large cruise ship. Its length is about 950 feet (290 m) and can carry around 3100 passengers.
The cruise ships I've sailed on feature interiors of mostly Modernist design. Shown above is the atrium of the new (2018) Holland America cruiser Nieuw Statendam, an extreme example of such décor.
Modernist interiors began to appear by the late 1920s on a few ships. Perhaps the most important example is the French Line's Île de France of 1927. Above is the smoking room in First Class.
Before that, transatlantic liners featured First Class zone interiors similar to those found in men's clubs or luxury hotels. Given the inhospitable character of the North Atlantic for much of the year, such décor helped distract passengers from the sea and provided a sense of familiarly along with expected comforts. Shown above is the smoking room of the RMS Olympic (1911), sister ship of the Titanic.
Smoking room of the SS Statendam (1929). Note the ceiling, as something akin to it will be seen below.
An older ship, the HAPAG SS Oceana of 1890, rebuilt in 1905. Less plush than the later, larger Atlantic liners.
The atrium of the Pacific Princess. I don't know if this was the original décor or if it's the result of a refurbishment. At any rate, the Pacific's public interior spaces featured various pre-1930 steamship interior themes. I found that a little odd when first coming onboard, but soon became used to it.
A passageway with lots of heavy, dark wood.
The library. More dark wood. The ceiling here and in the atrium echo the sort of thing shown above on the SS Statendam and many other classic liners.
Aside from two troopship journeys across the Pacific Ocean, I didn't do cruising until I married my late wife. I've been doing it a bit more the last couple of years, though I'm beginning to find cruising not as cost-effective as I'd like. That said, I recently cruised around Italy aboard a ship whose interior design was not what I have come to expect, and I thought I'd pass along a few thoughts and images regarding that.
The ship is MS Pacific Princess, owned by Princess Cruises -- Wikipedia entry here. As the entry notes, it is a relatively small main-line cruiser originally intended for sailing in the South Seas in the area of French possessions. Princess was not the original owner, though has operated it for most of its 20 years.
Monday, October 7, 2019
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' New Hampshire Home
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) was, in my opinion, one of America's greatest sculptors. I last wrote about him here.
In his later years, he lived in the Cornish art colony area of western New Hampshire. His house and grounds have been preserved, and now are operated by the U.S. National Park Service.
I visited the site in September and, of course, took some photos. Featured here are views of his house and its interior. Family members lived in the house until around 1919 when it was set up as a memorial, so what you see is probably fairly close to the way it was in Saint-Gaudens' time there. Interior decoration is not my field, so I leave it to you to interpret the various objects shown. There are also paintings and other works of art that appealed to him.
Click on images to enlarge.
Gallery
View of the house taken from the direction of his studio (the subject of a forthcoming post).
Living room.
Panning to the left.
Room across the hall.
Dining room.
In his later years, he lived in the Cornish art colony area of western New Hampshire. His house and grounds have been preserved, and now are operated by the U.S. National Park Service.
I visited the site in September and, of course, took some photos. Featured here are views of his house and its interior. Family members lived in the house until around 1919 when it was set up as a memorial, so what you see is probably fairly close to the way it was in Saint-Gaudens' time there. Interior decoration is not my field, so I leave it to you to interpret the various objects shown. There are also paintings and other works of art that appealed to him.
Click on images to enlarge.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Douglas DC-8 Interiors
I didn't fly often during the 1960s -- only 11 times by jetliner, the rest being military aircraft. Of those eleven flights, eight were on United Airlines Douglas DC-8s.
That was in the days when the U.S. government strongly regulated the airline industry -- routes for airlines were largely fixed in place, fares were high, and airlines had to compete mostly in terms of passenger service. Passengers, in turn, usually dressed up when on an airplane journey, men wearing jackets and neckties.
As can be seen below, Douglas DC-8 airlines had large windows, one per row of seats, giving passengers a fine view if a view was available. But this amenity, which provided plenty of legroom, prevented operators from increasing the number of seating rows. That "error" was soon corrected on later aircraft, as those of us who usually fly in "steerage" well know.
Below are some views of DC-8s and their accommodations.
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Eastern Air Lines DC-8 in flight
This is an early photo showing Eastern's livery at the time it started flying DC-8s. Note how large the windows are. DC-8s had one window per side for each row of seats. This amenity prevented the addition of rows of seats that was possible for rival Boeing's 707 that had many smaller windows, a feature found on later-generation airliners.
Delta Airlines advertisement
It took several years before ramps from terminal waiting rooms to airliner doors became common. Here passengers are depicted using roll-away stairways.
Half of United Airlines advertisement spread
This seems to be featuring the first-class section.
SAS interior
Although the DC-8 was designed to seat cabin-class passengers three-abreast on each side of the center aisle, SAS had three-and-two seating on a least some of its DC-8s. So the seats shown here might be a little wider than on planes used by United Airlines and other American lines.
SAS interior
Another publicity photo of cabin-class. Note the leg room, the window curtains and ... oh yes, the snack being served.
SAS interior
I'm not sure if this is the first-class section or the three-plus-two seating arrangement. What's noteworthy in this photo is the overhead compartment. Luggage, coats and such would usually be stowed (tossed, actually) there, but here we see mostly SAS-furnished blankets, pillows and such.
That was in the days when the U.S. government strongly regulated the airline industry -- routes for airlines were largely fixed in place, fares were high, and airlines had to compete mostly in terms of passenger service. Passengers, in turn, usually dressed up when on an airplane journey, men wearing jackets and neckties.
As can be seen below, Douglas DC-8 airlines had large windows, one per row of seats, giving passengers a fine view if a view was available. But this amenity, which provided plenty of legroom, prevented operators from increasing the number of seating rows. That "error" was soon corrected on later aircraft, as those of us who usually fly in "steerage" well know.
Below are some views of DC-8s and their accommodations.
This is an early photo showing Eastern's livery at the time it started flying DC-8s. Note how large the windows are. DC-8s had one window per side for each row of seats. This amenity prevented the addition of rows of seats that was possible for rival Boeing's 707 that had many smaller windows, a feature found on later-generation airliners.
It took several years before ramps from terminal waiting rooms to airliner doors became common. Here passengers are depicted using roll-away stairways.
This seems to be featuring the first-class section.
Although the DC-8 was designed to seat cabin-class passengers three-abreast on each side of the center aisle, SAS had three-and-two seating on a least some of its DC-8s. So the seats shown here might be a little wider than on planes used by United Airlines and other American lines.
Another publicity photo of cabin-class. Note the leg room, the window curtains and ... oh yes, the snack being served.
I'm not sure if this is the first-class section or the three-plus-two seating arrangement. What's noteworthy in this photo is the overhead compartment. Luggage, coats and such would usually be stowed (tossed, actually) there, but here we see mostly SAS-furnished blankets, pillows and such.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Bits of Fancy Florida Hotels
It can be fun to visit fancy hotels even if you don't (or can't) pay the fancy fare to stay. We were in Florida the first half of February and did some hotel-crawling while there. Although we didn't rent rooms, we did dine at each of those shown below.
So far as I'm concerned, the grandest of the lot is The Breakers in Palm Beach. Its Web site is here and the Wikipedia entry here.
Not so grand, but about as old and still pretty nice is the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach in the Tampa Bay area. The Wikipedia entry is here.
In Coral Gables, near Miami, is another 1920s grand hotel, the Biltmore, whose Wikipedia write-up can be found here.
Below are some photos I took. No thorough studies here, just snippets to provide a taste.
Gallery
The Breakers main lobby
The Breakers, at one end of the lobby hall
The Breakers HMF bar
Originally this room was the main dining area, but has been a bar for years. It was recently redecorated, perhaps with too large a dash of contemporary feeling.
The Breakers HMF bar
A close-up of the bar itself. The illustration is mid 1950s, but I don't know who did it. Nor do I know if it dates back to then or is a retro piece.
Don Cesar from the beach
Don Cesar, poolside
Don Cesar interior
Biltmore Coral Gables pool
The Biltmore has a huge pool. This was taken from the bar area.
Biltmore Coral Gables
Another view of the pool and main hotel structure from not far from where the previous photo was taken.
So far as I'm concerned, the grandest of the lot is The Breakers in Palm Beach. Its Web site is here and the Wikipedia entry here.
Not so grand, but about as old and still pretty nice is the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach in the Tampa Bay area. The Wikipedia entry is here.
In Coral Gables, near Miami, is another 1920s grand hotel, the Biltmore, whose Wikipedia write-up can be found here.
Below are some photos I took. No thorough studies here, just snippets to provide a taste.
Originally this room was the main dining area, but has been a bar for years. It was recently redecorated, perhaps with too large a dash of contemporary feeling.
A close-up of the bar itself. The illustration is mid 1950s, but I don't know who did it. Nor do I know if it dates back to then or is a retro piece.
The Biltmore has a huge pool. This was taken from the bar area.
Another view of the pool and main hotel structure from not far from where the previous photo was taken.
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