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Fortunes made in the Depression

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Cover art by F. V. Carpenter

Conceived by Time Magazine co-creator, Henry Luce, as the “ideal super-class magazine”, during the very last moments of 1920’s prosperity, Fortune Magazine debuted in February, 1930, just before most people realized that the Wall Street slump was sliding down into a lasting economic depression. Fortune was a luxuriously produced, oversized (11 by 14 inches) magazine, that used fine, heavy grade, off white paper for the articles and glossy paper for advertisements, it was also a pioneer in its use of color photography.

 

At a time when the average magazine cost between 5 and 15 cents, each copy of Fortune was $1.00, which is the equivalent to $14.18 in 2015. Fortune was an instant success that had 30,000 subscribers even before publication of the first issue. By 1937 the numbers of subscribers had grown to nearly half a million and the magazine was showing a profit of $500,000 annually.

 

A socially conscious magazine, the staff of writers  included, James Agee and Archibald Macleish and featured photography (some in color) by Margaret Bourke-White and Walker Evans. Fortune was a magazine like no other. Below is another example of a typical issue, from June, 1933, that featured an article on the new Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

Today, 1930’s issues of Fortune are highly collectible. Individual copies can sell for between $50.00 and $100.00. But if you are lucky, some can still be found for between $10.00 and $20.00. Here are some from my collection that were found at the Golden Nugget Flea Market, in Lambertville, New Jersey.

 

 

I love these early Fortune magazines, from the magnificent art work of the covers, to the great articles and photographs and all the wonderful advertisements. They add an elegant Deco accent in a 1930’s style living room, den or bedroom.

 

Anthony

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Happy Birthday Radio City Music Hall

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6th Avenue & 50th Street

6th Avenue & 50th Street

Eighty two years ago today, December 27th, 1932, the Radio City Music Hall opened it’s doors. Originally named the International Music Hall, but changed, before it opened, to honor Rockefeller Center’s largest tenant, NBC, which would move to the RCA Building directly across the street a few months after the Music Hall opened; and like NBC the Music Hall was also owned by an RCA subsidiary, RKO. This was the largest theatre in the RKO chain. Managed by famed theatrical impresario Samuel Rothafel (1882 – 1936), better known as Roxy, had a string of successes in New York City movie theatre presentations, starting with the Regent at St. Nicholas Avenue and West 116th in 1913.  In 1931 he  Rockefeller Center Corporation hired him to helm the two huge theatres they were building, the Radio City Music Hall and the smaller and now demolished RKO Roxy Theatre.

 

The southern facade of the Music Hall, showing the Hildreth Meiere Medallions "Dance" and "Drama".

The southern facade of the Music Hall, showing the Hildreth Meiere Medallions “Dance” and “Drama”.

In Roxy’s plans for the two theatres the RKO Roxy was the movie stage show theatre, while the Music Hall would be high-class two a day Vaudeville. It was a cold and rainy opening night and the theatre was still half empty at the scheduled curtain time of 8:15. Roxy held the curtain till just before 9:00 when the massive show started. A show that included Ray Bolger, Weber and Fields, De Wolf Hopper, A Ballet Corp, the Roxyettes (later rechristened as the Rockettes), and many others and songs by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh and Harry Ravel and Mack Gordon. By intermission it was very obvious that something was wrong and the show was running very late. By the time the curtain came down on the second act it was almost one in the morning. More than half the audience had left long before the end of the show and Roxy collapsed and had to be carried from the theatre on a stretcher.

 

While theatre itself was an artistic triumph with interiors created by one of the top industrial designers of the time Donald Deskey (1894 – 1989), the vaudeville policy was not. The theatre was just too massive for the intimacy necessary for successful vaudeville. While recuperating in the hospital, Roxy was removed as the artistic director of the Music Hall and the new management instituted the movie stage show policy that was a proven success. On January 11, 1933 The Bitter Tea of General Yen, would be the first film shown in the Music Hall. And movies and stage shows would continue in the theatre for the next 45 years.

 

With the end of the movie stage show policy in April of 1978, it was announced that the Radio City Music Hall would be demolished. Luckily at the eleventh hour the theatre was rescued from destruction and became a special events venue. It hosts everything from rock concerts, to the Tony Awards and of course the Christmas Spectacular. A restoration in 2000 brought back many details and furnishings that had been removed or altered over the years. Already restored were the Meiere medallions, the story of their creation and restoration is at art conservator, Steve Tatti’s, blog – click here to read the story. If you have never been in the Radio City Music Hall, make sure to take a tour the next time you are in New York City.

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys)

 

 

The southern facade of the Music Hall, showing the Hildreth Meiere Medallions "Drama" and "Song".

The southern facade of the Music Hall, showing the Hildreth Meiere Medallions “Drama” and “Song”.

 

 

 

 

 

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Christmas at Radio City

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The 2014 Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

The 2014 Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

Normally, I would avoid Rockefeller Center the Saturday before Christmas at all costs, but this past Saturday I found my self only a block away and it was early enough in the morning to take some photos and avoid the large mobs. Rockefeller Center, whose nickname was “Radio City” back in the 1930’s was and is dominated by the enormous slab of the RCA Building (known as the GE Building since 1988, or 30 Rock, or the Top of the Rock).  Noted architect, Raymond Hood (1881-1934), who was the model for the fictional Peter Keating in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, designed the 70 story, 842 foot building. The RCA Building is the home of NBC studios, the best observation deck in New York City (in my opinion) and the famed Rainbow Room restaurant.

The lobby is one of the best Deco spaces in New York City. Decorated with huge murals by Catalan artist Jose-Maria Sert (1874 – 1945), “American Progress” is the mural on the main wall of the lobby, which replaced Diego Rivera’s (1886 – 1957) controversial “Man at the Crossroads”. Rivera’s mural was destroyed at the order of Nelson Rockefeller before it’s completion in 1933. “Time” is the ceiling section of the mural.

 Above the Rockefeller Plaza entrance are huge frosted glass windows and bass reliefs. The main relief designed by Lee Lawrie (1877 – 1963) was carved out of limestone and cast in glass. Known as “Wisdom”, the official title is “Genius, which interprets to the Human Race the Laws and Cycles of the Cosmic Forces of the Universe Making Cycles of Light and Sound”. I can understand why it was shortened to “Wisdom”.

 

I’ve always enjoyed spending time at Rockefeller Center, even if I don’t like crowds. It is one of the best Art Deco city spaces anywhere in the world.

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys)

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