DrivingforDeco.com

Recently, Anthony commented that my frequent scouring of local thrift stores was less “driving for deco” and more “trolling for deco”. This got me thinking and for those who know me personally, always a dangerous event!

A little online research and I found ancientblogger.com. A great site and more details about the ubiquitous garden troll, or gnome and their interesting, somewhat adult past.

: Aphrodite, goddess of love and mother of Priapus. (photo via Getty images)

: Hera, with friends like this… (photo via maicar.com)

An annoyed fellow goddess of Aphrodite, Hera, cursed her frienemey’s son, Priapus, with unusually large “man parts”. To ancient Greeks, this wasn’t something to celebrate but rather an allusion to man’s animal nature. Being a lesser god of questionable morals and an embarrassment resulted in a quick banished from most households .

: The lesser god, Priapus – inspiration of the ubiquitous Garden Gnome

A coincidental outbreak of venereal disease occurred about the same time of his phasing out. A superstitious people, the Greeks thought offending the lesser god brought the plague upon them. Re-enter Priapus into the mainstream household.

Showing no ill will to the people who got rid of him, Priapus promised to guard their gardens and watch over crops, shepherds and sailors. (But that’s another story). Grateful for not being a vengeful god, the people forever honored him with “accurate” effigies of his likeness.

: Restored Greek gardens (photo via internet)

While Priapus became the guardian of gardens in Greece, gnome-like characters, the Dactyl, appeared throughout the Aegean. But, unlike Priapus, the children of the goddess Gaia are blessed(?) with small “man parts”. Leave it to the ancients to go to extremes! Dactyl are depicted as master craftsman, metal smiths and keepers of the earth.

One particular branch of the Dactyl populated an area of ancient Turkey known as Phrygia. Why bring this up? The hat we associate with today’s garden gnomes is similar to the Phrygian cap.

: Phagyan cap. Notice the similarity to Priapus’ hat.

Flash forward through the millennium and the general concept of the Priapus effigy prevailed, though somewhat toned down. German and Swiss craftsman continued to manufacture the “little” Priapus in a sanitized version so as not to offend the clergy and older ladies. Meanwhile, Italian artisans produced more caricature-like effigies of political figures called Gobbi.

The garden gnome as we know them, didn’t appear overnight. While the German Gartenzwerg (‘garden dwarf’) continued as associated with the earth, Paracelsus, a 16^th century Swiss alchemist coined the term gnome, from the Greek gnomos for ‘earth-dweller’.

An eccentric Sir Charles Isham of England brought back souvenirs, 21 in all, from his trip to Germany in 1847 and the invasion started. What was all the rage in Germany became all the rage in England. The garden gnome arrived!

: Replica of one of Sir Isham’s 21 friends (Photo via ancientblogger.com)

By the 1930’s, the word “gnome” officially entered the English lexicon. By the end of WWII, the gnome entered and enduring cycle of chic to kitsch to retro.

Now let’s take a look at some vintage gnomes.

: 1920’s terracotta gnome

: Hubley Antique Cast Iron Gnome Door Stop.1920’s-1930’s

Harder to find than vintage Santa figures is this German-made candy container. Made of composition, his clothing are felt and leather. The mushroom he holds is a symbol, of good luck.

: 1920’s-1930’s candy dispenser (photo via collectorsweekly.com)

: Nothing more fun than a gnome pinata!

Gnomes became so popular they became part of every day life in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Elves and Brownies are the indoor version of the outdoorsy gnome,

: 1920’s Palmer Cox Brownie /Elf embroidery transfer pattern (photo via bonanza.com)

: 1920’s Palmer Cox Brownie /Elf close up

: I hope he looked back on this with pride (photo via Pinterest)

: Just one of the family! (photo via tracystoys.com)

“Nodders” brought these little fellows to life.

: Vintage German Nodder – imagine waking up to this (photo via marcinantiques.cpm)

: Vintage bisque cake topper 1920s/30s

: Trio of cake toppers – looks like it was rum cake.

Next time you see these little fellows in you local discount store, I hope you think about their proud past!

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

The main entrance to the PSFS Building at 12th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1932. Image from Hagley Digital Archives.

On August 1, 1932 the very conservative Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, in one of the most conservative cities in the United States opened the most modern building in the country. The PSFS building is the forerunner of the post World War II “International Style” skyscrapers.

The nearly completed PSFS Building. 1932 photograph. Image from Hagley Digital Archives.

A two-story building of traditional design is what the board had in mind for their new home. So when architects George Howe and William Lescaze unveiled their plans shock greeted them.

The cover for sales booklet for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building, 1932. Image from Hagley Digital Archives.

Most of the members of the PSFS Board of Directors did not favor the idea of a 490 foot skyscraper and the ultra-modern design. But James M. Wilcox, the society’s president looked at the design from a standpoint of practicality. And if an ultra-modern building was going to be the best return on the investment, so be it. Wilcox convinced the board to go with the design of Howe & Lescaze. With board approval for the new skyscraper, came the razing of the buildings at Market and 12th Streets.

Demolition

: Market and 12th Streets, March 2, 1931 at the start of demolition on the site of the PSFS Building. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: 12th Street site of the future PSFS Building. March 2, 1931. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: 12th Street, tall building in the center of the photo to be demolished for PSFS Building garage. May 10, 1931. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

Demolition of the site began in late winter of 1931 and continued into the spring. Actual construction started in the summer and proceeded rapidly, with the topping off of the building in the autumn. The completion of the exterior followed early in 1932.

Construction 1931 – 1932

: August 2, 1931 The PSFS Building begins to rise. Image from Hagley Digital Archives.

: August 7, 1931. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: Steel work for the first two floors nearly finished, August 25, 1931. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

The PSFS Building in mid-construction, December 16, 1931.

The topped off PSFS Building with a nearly completed exterior. December 16, 1931. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

June 26, 1932, the south side of the nearly finished PSFS Building. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

On the first day of August, 1932 the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society threw open the doors to their new building. The United States had not see a skyscraper like this before. The “T” shape building rises from an unadorned three-story base of polished granite. Space for retail shops made up the first floor while the main banking room took up the second floor. Rising from the base asymmetrically, the tower sits back 20 feet from 12th Street and 40 feet on its western façade. All the service facilities (elevators, etc.) are located at the southern end of the building in the “T”. The exterior of the top”T” is of glazed black bricks and the tower has matte buff brick horizontal spandrels bisected by limestone vertical piers. Because of this shape and the use of so much glass on the exterior, natural light flooded the offices. Year round comfort was provided by the Carrier Company. This made the PSFS Building only the second building in the Unites States to by fully air-conditioned. For the convenience of people driving to work, PSFS built a garage one block north at the corner of 12th and Filbert Streets. And just like the design of the skyscraper the garage was just as ultra-modern.

The ultra-modern PSF garage at 12th and Filbert Streets, circa 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

Interior

The interior design proved to be as modern as the exterior. From Market Street a staircase and set of escalators let up to the banking floor. This black, white and gray marble clad lobby received natural illumination from a three-story window with stainless steel mullions.

: Market Street entrance showing the escalators leading up to the banking floor, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: Looking down toward the Market street entrance showing the three story window, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

The main banking floor was the most impressive space in the building. An enormous window formed the north and part of the east walls of this two-story space.

The main banking floor, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

The offices featured modern furniture designed by Howe & Lescaze, the building’s architects.

: Layout of a corner office. Featuring the furniture of Howe & Lescaze, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: A typical partitioned office, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

The board room, dining room and observation solarium occupied the 33rd floor.

: 1932, the 33rd floor Board Room. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: A 1932 view of the Officers’ dinning room. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: Staircase into the observation solraium, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

: 33rd floor observation lounge, 1932. Image from the Hagley Digital Archives.

As to the beauty of the new PSFS Building, half the public felt it was an abomination, while the other half admired it for its modernity and boldness. But its occupancy rate proved to be an unqualified success. Its offices rented faster than any other building in Philadelphia at the time of its completion. Its success in both architecture and income was so striking that the building received a feature article in the December, 1932 issue of Fortune Magazine. To read the article click on the cover below.

For hundreds of more historic photographs and a more comprehensive history of the PSFS Building visit the Hagley Digital Archives. In 1976 the building received National Historic Landmark status. But by then the 36 story skyscraper was in decline. In the early 1990’s its vacancy rate reached 85%. A plan to convert the building to apartments changed to a hotel in the 1994. In 2000 the PSFS Building reopened as the Loews Philadelphia. In doing so the public can still enjoy this wonderful building, the first International Style building in the United States.

: A present day view looking west on Market Street toward the former PSFS Building, now the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Image from aviewoncities.com

: Market and 12th Streets and the PSFS Building today. Image from priceline.com

Driving for Deco

We will drive anywhere to find great Art Deco.

Trolling for Deco