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Walter Dorwin Teague Treasures at the Dallas Museum of Art

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This past summer when Chris and I were in Dallas, Texas one of the places that was high on our list to visit was the Dallas Museum of Art. After walking around the grounds of Fair Park in the 103 degree heat it was a very pleasant relief to get inside this wonderful museum. Located in the heart of downtown Dallas, admission is free and only eight dollars for special exhibits. Among the items on display are two Art Deco gems created by the dean of industrial designers, Walter Dorwin Teague (1883 – 1960), best known for the Kodak Bantam Special camera and the Ford Pavillion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

 

Teague was commissioned by the Eastman Kodak Company in the late 1920’s to design cameras with modernistic designs. The Gift Kodak No. 1 was introduced in the Christmas season of 1930 and was discontinued the following year. The camera came in a cedar lined box that was a work of art in itself. The original cost of the camera and box was $15.00 ($213.00 in 2013 dollars). Today if one is lucky enough to find one for sale expect to pay anywhere between $600.00 to as high as $6,500.00 (which is way too high in my opinion.)

 

Kodak No. 1 Gift Camera

Kodak No. 1 Gift Camera cedar lined boxed.

Kodak No. 1 Gift Camera

Kodak No. 1 Gift Camera

The Sparton Radio Company commissioned Teague in the mid-1930’s to design a series of radios. This collaboration produced some of the most spectacular Art Deco radios ever made. All of Teague’s radios for Sparton are recognizable by the use of blue mirror and chrome. The Nocturn was the console model of these radios. Standing nearly four feet high and almost two feet wide it certainly was a statement piece. It was also costly, $350.00 ($6,100.00 in 2014), when it went on sale at the end of 1935. Produced for just a couple of years, only 25 are known to exist today.

 

Sparton Nocturn Radio

Sparton Nocturn Radio

So if you are ever visiting Dallas stop by the Dallas Museum of Art and see these and other Art Deco treasures.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys)

The Hotel Edison – Art Deco refuge in Times Square

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Plaque outside the 47th Street entrance.

Bronze Plaque outside the 47th Street entrance. The image of Edison is a replica of the one used on a medallion created by Julio Kilenyi.

So much of Times Square’s history has either been torn down or is buried under a generic world of themed restaurants and stores that it is a pleasant relief that Hotel Edison remains. It’s lobby, is a place to sit and catch your breath in a wonderful Art Deco setting. In the early 1990’s the lobby was given an Art Deco face lift, while not a restoration of it’s 1931 appearance there are enough surviving original details that can make you feel that you have stepped back into the 1930’s. The six murals that line the lobby are sensitive 1990’s creations that evoke the of WPA murals of the late 1930’s.

The Hotel Edison, designed by Herbert J. Krapp, formally opened on January 17, 1931. Thomas Edison, turned on the lights in the 26 story hotel, by pressing a telegraph key in his home in Llewellyn Park, Orange, New Jersey. One of the features of the Edison, that was mentioned in all the advertisements, was that each of the 1,000 rooms featured a radio, a novelty at the time. Over the years, the Edison was used in at least two period films, the south entrance way can be seen in The Godfather and Bullets Over Broadway.  Below are some photos of the interior Art Deco details of the lobby.

 

Up until the late 1980’s the Edison was a prominent building in the Times Square skyline, now it is completely hidden by all the tall buildings that have been constructed along Broadway. Here are some photos of the exterior details of the hotel.

So the next time you visit Manhattan, and you find yourself in the Times Square area, and you want some relief from the present day, step in the Edison and back into the 1930’s.

 Chris & Anthony