I am displaying my naiveté here, but I always thought that terra cotta was that fired earthen-colored clay they made cactus planters out of… cheap and not very pretty. But as I delve into more of the architecture of Oakland, “terra cotta” continues to pop up in unexpected places. Unquestioningly, I’ve referenced it in posts on:
- The Alameda County Courthouse - surfaces of California granite and terra cotta trim.”
- The African Museum & Library – “exterior of tan brick and terra cotta is incised with names…”
- The Fox Oakland Theater – “repeating pattern of terra cotta ornamentation…”
And today’s building features terra cotta like you’ve never seen it! Just look at this…
So what’s the deal with this terra cotta stuff?
Well, to begin, my first statement was essentially correct. Terra cotta (or terracotta, or terra-cotta) is Italian for “baked earth.” Yes! It’s basically a clay-based material that can be molded in any variety of ways while “raw,” to be later heated to its final ceramic state in a kiln, or in ancient times on a hearth or by the sun. The material has been used for centuries in art, pottery, water pipes, bricks, roofing tiles, and architectural embellishments. While the color can vary widely, everything from yellow to gray to pink (which explains some of the references above), the more common clays contain iron which produces the orange or reddish hue. And like our simple cactus planters, the finished product is light, relatively strong, and somewhat porous, which makes it non-waterproof unless glazed.
For architectural decoration, terra cotta has advantages over other materials such as marble or stone sculpture, being lighter, cheaper, and able to be incorporated into series production using mold-making techniques, similar to cast plaster (we’ll get to this in my upcoming post on the Paramount). Though early architectural applications used the unglazed material, later developments incorporated glazing, both for protection from the elements, and to allow for greater variety of finishes, including faux metal patinas, and gorgeous coloring as in our lovely blue-green example above from one of Oakland’s Art Deco lovelies.
Built in 1931, designed by Douglas Dacre Stone, and later restored in 2004, the Mary A. Bowles Building is located on Broadway at 17th near where Telegraph and Broadway unite. The building spans the block, its backside on Telegraph just as pretty as the front.
The terra cotta panels with their repeating swirls of organic shapes and sunburst patterns, as well as the geometric zig-zag patterns on the windows below are classic Deco. Check out the detailing on the metallic flourishes at each end… also likely molded terra cotta with a faux silver finish (similar to the Floral Depot building which we’ll also get to in coming days).
One more…
I was unable to find any information on Ms. Bowles and why she might have this building named after her, but I did find this obituary for her husband. If anyone has more information, please send my way…
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that we have an organization in California dedicated exclusively to the preservation and promotion of all things Art Deco. Founded in 1981 by architectural historian Michael Crowe and other preservationists in the Bay Area, the Art Deco Society of California (ADSC) is a non-profit volunteer-run organization focused on the serious business of preserving important Art Deco historical buildings (current project is to save Berkeley’s Iceland), in addition to celebrating Art Deco culture through fun and celebratory activities, such as cocktail events (that’s right, you can get your drink on while learning about art & history!), film screenings, fashion shows, and glamorous balls… all held in gorgeous historic venues. Sounds fun, eh? You can friend them on Facebook to see more about upcoming events, or check their link (above) for more Deco history and information, or to become a member or volunteer….
Art Deco was an international design movement popular in the 1920’s and 30’s, focused on themes of luxury, technology, modernization, and craftsmanship. The movement was born in Paris, an outgrowth of the previous Art Nouveau movement that was declining in popularity at the turn of the 20th century.
Art Nouveau (French for “new art”) focused on the importance of artisan craftsmanship, and typically featured organic motifs of flowers & plants, and/or highly stylized curved forms. Art Deco retains many of the same inherent aesthetic qualities as Art Nouveau, but was considered a modernization of the style, and until a comprehensive book was written about it, following an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1971 by Bevis Hillier, Art Deco had often been referred to as “Style Moderne.”
Hillier’s book was titled Art Deco of the 20s and 30s, which first popularized the term. He took his title from an exposition held in France in 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (truncating the words “Arts Décoratifs”). The Exposition was organized by a collective of French artists known as La Société des Artistes Décorateurs (the society of the decorator artists), and its purpose was to demonstrate French artists’ and designers’ dominance as leaders in the world of luxury design. The French are not known for their modesty! The exposition was originally slated for 1915, but was postposted due to WWI, which had the unlikely effect of expanding the historical influences to the designs presented.
With the increasing ability to travel abroad, and international interest in archeology fueled by discoveries such as the lost city of Pompeii and King Tutankhamun’s intact tomb, artist and designers began incorporating exotic cultures and primitive arts into their design themes. These influences are pervasive throughout the Art Deco movement – Egyptian motifs are prevalent, as well as Grec0-Roman, Babylonian, Azteca, etc. and can be seen in sunburst and zig-zag patterns, staggered tiered/pyramidal structures, pictorial representations and more.
This period of Deco, sometimes referred to as Zigzag Moderne, flourished during the hey day of the post-war roaring 20’s. The economy was booming, people were optimistic, and the lavish yet modern stylings of Deco ushered in this age. Classic examples can be seen in the Empire State Building (pictured below) and Chrysler Building, both built in the late 1920’s in New York.
As I mentioned last week, I took the tour this past weekend of our incredible Paramount Theatre, “one of the finest examples of Art Deco in the United States,” which displays many of the Zigzag influences as well as references to Art Nouveau, through repetitious use of organic themes of grass, flower, leaf, & vine. I’ll be posting about it later this week, but it’s a lot of material to compose (the Paramount’s website alone has more than 4 pages of history and artists information, so I may need to break it up a bit). We’ll see… Please stay tuned.
As Deco continued to develop throughout the 1930’s more industrial influences can be seen, such as sleek, aerodynamic stylings often referred to as Streamline or Streamline Moderne. Rounded corners, chrome surfaces, and the conveyance of speed influenced everything from buildings to cars to kitchen appliances. The renovated marquee of the Fox Oakland Theater (shown in my last post) is a good example of Streamline design, as is the 1934 Chrysler Airflow pictured below (photo courtesy of Randy Stern on Flickr).
Though a dominant design form through the early 1930’s, Art Deco waned in popularity mid-decade as the Great Depression continued to take its toll. The glitzy elegance and luxurious treatments of Deco-inspired buildings and products were seen as stark reminders of a promised prosperity, never realized. “Moreover, as the threat of a second world war loomed closer and closer, Art Deco was looked upon ever more vehemently. And with the outbreak of WWII in 1939, Art Deco was dead.” (Art Deco Style)
Not truly dead however… Because we have our wonderful historical homages to this period, many of which have been spared the wrecking ball due to their incredible beauty and craftsmanship. I’ll be looking at many of our Oakland Art Deco masterpieces in my coming posts…
Stumped?
(I bet you didn’t even know Baghdadian was a word… I didn’t!)
These are just a handful of the architectural influences of our majestic and recently refurbished Fox Theater. I’m kicking off my Art Deco series with the Fox despite its lack of Deco authenticity (we’ll get to more of what that means next week), because frankly, it’s kind of a big deal. And here’s why…
On Sept. 21, 1926 the Oakland Tribune reported “Oakland is to have two new motion picture theaters in the downtown district increasing the assessed valuation of the city by four million dollars or more…” The first of these was The Fox.
Historical Photo circa 1928 (courtesy Dreyfus Report, 2001)
Originally called the Oakland Theater (or West Coast Oakland Theater) upon opening in 1928, the name was later changed to the Fox Oakland Theater, and at the time it was said to be the largest theater complex on the West Coast, with a capacity of between 3200 and 3800. This was the heyday of large movie “palaces,” dripping with atmosphere and ambiance designed to transport audiences to romantic and exciting distant worlds. “Persian gardens, Italian palazzos and Egyptian courts rose in cities throughout the country offering patrons an exotic afternoon or evening of entertainment.” (Dreyfus Report, 2001)
The architects of the Fox followed suit, drawing influences from a number of exotic cultures, most prominently Indian and Middle Eastern. In fact, the overall structure of the building, with its central high dome, resembles a typical Brahmanian temple of Northern India, and the interior auditorium space is flanked by two enormous sculptures of Hindu Gods. The entire theater was constructed to convey a lavish lifestyle, opulent with exotic woods, richly textured fabrics, jeweled light fixtures, intricate tile and plaster work, and highly decorative metal finishes.
Moorish architecture is “a term used to describe the articulated Islamic architecture which developed in North Africa and south-western Europe.” (Wikipedia) This influence is seen in the parapet (elevated wall) connecting the two primary pylons comprising the main facade of the building, as well as the continuing roof-line of the main commercial wings of the building, with its repeating pattern of terra cotta ornamentation, and distinctive key-hole windows (see below).
The medieval influence can be seen in the gargoyles perched atop the primary pylons (below, right).
And I’m not quite sure how the Baghdadian comes into play, other than the initial plans to call the theater “The Baghdad,” before settling upon the eponymous “Oakland Theater” instead.
So where’s the Art Deco you might ask?
Well… to be honest, there’s not a whole lot. But there is a bit, much of which was added during modernizing renovations in 1945. “The front façade and interior walls [were] covered with stainless steel sheathing in an art deco style zigzag pattern. The columns [were] sheathed in a streamlined stainless steel shape and the ticket booth replaced with a new one in the art deco style. The original tile floor [was] replaced with terrazzo, and the ceilings replaced by a stepped plaster ceiling in a cloud pattern, with neon accents… While these alterations represent fine examples of the art deco style, they resulted in the loss of a substantial amount of very significant historic material, and are inconsistent with the architectural character of the theater.” (Dreyfus Report, 2001)
The marquee was also updated to a more modern art deco style, but was done 10 years prior and is, hence, considered to be a “contributing historic” element. Here’s a shot of the original marquee followed by its replacement in 1935 (now refurbished).
Original Marqee circa 1929 (courtesy Dreyfus report, 2001)
The Fox was a premiere entertainment destination for decades, but suffered a decline in attendance in the 1960’s, as did many of the grand movie palaces throughout the country, due largely to the increasing popularity of television and the trend toward smaller multiplex theaters. The Fox tried several options including showing soft-core porn movies such as “Paradisio,” but eventually closed its doors in 1965, opening only sporadically for films and events during the next seven years.
“The Fox survived an arson fire in 1973, but its increasingly shabby condition led it to be derided as ‘the largest outdoor urinal in the world.‘” Still, the theater avoided being turned into a parking lot in 1975, unlike its sister Fox Theater in San Francisco, leveled in 1963 to make way for eventual replacement by high-rise offices and apartments. And thanks to the efforts of Oakland Mayor Lionel J. Wilson, the Fox Oakland achieved city landmark status in 1978.
And then it sat. And sat. And sat. It changed hands a few times and saw a few sporadic performances, but for the most part it simply sat… and continued to deteriorate. The City of Oakland purchased it in 1996 for $3 million dollars. In 1998 an Oakland Tribune editorial declared “the only life in the theater almost two years [after the City's acquisition] is a crop of mushrooms sprouting from the theater’s soggy carpet.”
Then things started to happen. In 1999, the city spent $1 million to repair the roofs. At the same time, a sub-committee of the Oakland Heritage Alliance was formed, Friends of the Oakland Fox. Their goal: the historic preservation of the Fox Oakland Theater, and its use as a live entertainment venue. The Friends convinced the city to spend more money to restore the marquee and vertical blade sign to generate public interest in the renovation plans. And finally, architectural consultants Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates were contracted to prepare a master plan for the Fox, generating two proposals that were both ultimately deemed undoable.
This is when Phil Tagami stepped in. He is the man who spoke before thousands at last year’s Uptown Unveiled block party to celebrate the re-opening of the Fox and the revitalization of Uptown. He is the hero of this story, the man who ultimately achieved what many said couldn’t be done. And can you guess what he did? Of course you can. The man raised money. And a lot of it. With a background in construction and prior experience restoring old buildings (including Kahn’s department store across from City Hall), he fashioned together a complex funding plan from various sources: private donations, city redevelopment money, grants, federal historic tax credits, large equity investments, and more.
An Oakland native, Tagami essentially donated thousands of hours of his personal time… his gift to the city, where he still lives with his wife and two children. Thank you Phil Tagami! We owe you a huge debt of gratitude.
And thanks as well to the City of Oakland, Friends of the Oakland Fox, and all those involved in this historic project.
The Fox Oakland Theater reopened on February 5th, 2009. Shows are currently booked by Another Planet Entertainment, the same folks who bring wonderful eclectic shows to the Independent in San Francisco. If you haven’t yet seen a show at the Fox, it’s high-time you high-tailed it to Uptown Oakland to check out this incredible gem!
ART DECO DAYS – intro
In my early days in the Bay Area, I used to usher a lot of shows. I ushered shows in San Francisco at the Warfield, the Fillmore, and Bimbos; theater performances at the Berkeley Rep; and concerts at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. Ushering allowed me to see a lot of shows for free, which is great when you’re young, broke, and don’t mind standing on your feet all night.
The Paramount ushering gig was the strictest of all… not only did you have to wear nearly black-tie attire, but you were required to attend one of their bi-monthly tours to learn the history of the building prior to your first gig, so if perchance a paying ticket-holder asked you a question about the artistry, architecture or history of the venue, you’d be savvy enough to answer accurately.
I took my first tour of the Paramount nearly a decade ago, and if I remember correctly, we spent a great deal of time talking about the renovation of the Paramount, an Art Deco masterpiece built in 1931, refurbished and reopened in 1973. What I also remember about the tour, was a brief discussion of the Paramount’s neighbor, the Fox, a once grand movie palace that, at the time, had been sitting vacant and decrepit for over 30 years. Our tour guide told us that sadly, the Fox might never achieve its restoration as the Paramount had due to economic factors, being simply too expensive to repair in the 21st century.
Well, we all know now that my tour guide was, fortunately, mistaken. The Fox has been restored, but it was a long struggle indeed. We’ll talk more about the Fox tomorrow, and more about the Paramount and Art Deco in general next week. But let this be the official kick-off of my Art Deco Days series.
I’m touring the Paramount again this Saturday at 10am. It costs 5 bucks and is well worth it. I encourage folks to join me if interested…
I saw this flyer downtown on the same photo excursion as yesterday’s stickers. It’s a nice little piece of political art. You can feel the anger and outrage expressed through the artist’s use of line and repetition… tensed muscle fibers ready to explode!
There’s a nationwide “Day of Action” planned for this Thursday to defend public education against a growing tide of cuts to school funding. Thousands of teachers, labor unions, education organizations, and students are expected to rally across the state… more info at Defend CA Public Education.
SF Gate has a nice recap at Schools in state fired up over Day of Action, which begins “March 4th has gone viral…” Also Oakland Local has a nice summary of local events planned with their story All Out for Education: Bay Area rallies March 4, including various protest marches convening to a mid-day rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza, downtown Oakland.
This is my last day of stalling… Art Deco Days begins tomorrow!
So I came across a slew of stickers last weekend while shooting some buildings downtown for my upcoming Art Deco Days (please stay tuned). I’m throwing a bunch up while I collect my thoughts on deco architecture. Most of these are one of a kind, hand-drawn or painted works. Enjoy…
I’m particularly fond of these little x-ray men, where various organs and body parts are displayed in a see-through man portrayed in various colors and positions. They’re all over town, and I’m not quite sure why, but they always make me smile.
To celebrate the gorgeous weather this weekend, friends and I went hiking in the hills of Oakland at the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. For those who don’t know it, this is one of the smaller parks in East Bay Regional Park system, consisting of approximately 240 acres (compare that with Redwood Regional Park’s more than 1800 acres)… but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in distinctive character.
As you may have guessed from its name – Botanic Preserve – the park hosts a unique native plant community found nowhere else in the East Bay.
The main hiking trail through Huckleberry is called the Self-Guided Nature Path, which is a well-marked 1.7 mile loop through a variety of terrain displaying the various stages of plant succession that contribute to California’s landscape. The trails are narrow single-track and because of the fragile nature of the preserve, dogs, bicycles, and horses are all prohibited, which makes for a very peaceful hike. Remember to pick up the Self-Guided Nature Path pamphlet at the trailhead if you want to read about the various plants and stages of ecological development at each numbered marker.
The earliest stages of plant succession have their roots (pun intended) in the rocky nutritionally poor soil found in portions of this park. These areas were laid down as part of the ocean floor millions of years ago, comprised of bands of shale interspersed with the skeletal remains of early marine creatures. Eventually uplifted and exposed due to erosion, the soil has a gravelly texture, poor water holding capacity, and low nutrient values. Sounds bleak, right? Not really. The fractured bedrock below the service holds water for deeper roots while the top layers provide excellent drainage, which happens to be the perfect environment for our shrubby chaparral species such as manzanita, including the rare and endangered Alameda Manzanita.
Additional moisture is obtained from winter rains and summer fog (as the park is located due east of the Golden Gate), and the north facing slopes are shaded from late afternoon sun. These cool moist conditions contribute to the evolutionary process of succession, where “plant species thrive for a time, but are gradually replaced by other species. In this way, the manzanitas eventually surrender and succumb to other species such as huckleberry, silktassel, and chinquapin. All this time, leaf and branch litter is deposited in greater quantities, soil development becomes richer and deeper, and each succeeding species’ leaf canopy continues to develop upward, eventually shading over and killing the previous species. Over a long period of time, this successional development will inevitably progress toward oak/bay forest [see picture below, right side]” (Huckleberry Self-Guided Nature Path brochure)
Another unique feature of this park is its year-round display of plants in bloom. Right now you can see the pink flowering currants (pictured above), among others.
And the small side trail to markers 8-9-10 offers a lovely lookout on Mt. Diablo (pictured above). Did you know there was an effort underway to rename it Mt. Reagan? I am happy to report, however, that the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors recently decided against it (article here). Despite the fact that a Christian zealot thought it profane to refer to it as “the devil,” a large number of supporters, including residents and community organizations, voiced their opinions to keep the name intact. Thank God. 
Can you believe February is almost over?! I realize it’s a short month – I’m sure some comedian’s done a riff about how African Americans got their own history month, but dammit if they didn’t get the shortest month of the year! In any case, this is likely my last post of the month so I want to write just a bit more about some of the Black History of our city…
For those who want to research more of the contributions of Oakland’s influential African American leaders on their own, tomorrow is the last chance till summer rolls around to take the New Era / New Politics walking tour offered by the City of Oakland. If interested, meet on steps of AAMLO tomorrow, Saturday the 27th at 10 am.
I already wrote about the Pullman Porters, the union they ultimately organized – The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and their West Coast leader, C. L. Dellums. Today I’ll talk just briefly about our current city mayor Ron Dellums (C.L.’s nephew), as he is exemplary of the second generation of blacks in the Bay Area.
Born here in 1935, he is truly one of Oakland’s native sons. He attended Oakland Technical High School and McClymond’s High School, served two years active duty in the United States Marine Corps, then received his A.A. degree from Oakland City College, a B.A. from San Francisco State University, and later his Masters degree in Social Work from U.C. Berkeley.
He worked as a social worker in Berkeley before running for City Council there, serving 3 years, and later ran for Congress (one of few non-lawyers to do so). He was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California. Representing Oakland, Berkeley and surrounding areas, he was re-elected 13 times before retiring mid-term, to be replaced by appointment by his first assistant Barbara Lee.
Known for his opposition to the Vietnam War, his politics earned him a place on the so-called Nixon’s Enemies List. “In January, 1971, just weeks into his first term, Dellums set up an exhibit of Vietnam war crimes in an annex to his Congressional office. The exhibit featured four large posters depicting atrocities committed by American soldiers, embellished with red paint.” (Wikipedia)
During his 28 years in Congress, he became known as an expert in military and foreign policy, and was the first African American ever to serve on the Armed Services Committee, ultimately rising to Chair of the Committee.
“[He] used his leadership positions to question US policy and brought about the first real strategic debates on military policy in the post-Cold War world. He led successful fights to stop the misguided MX missile system, to limit the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) and B-2 bomber programs, as well as other expensive and unusable nuclear war-fighting weaponry. As important, his leadership resulted in substantially improvements in the working and living conditions of those serving in the military and their families. Despite opposition to US military policies, Ron continually fought to better the conditions of the men and women who were the instrument of these policies.” (http://www.mayorrondellums.org/career/)
After retiring from Congress, Dellums worked as a legislative lobbyist for years before throwing his hat into the Oakland Mayoral race in 2006. Defeating Councilpersons Ignacio De La Fuente and Nancy Nadel, he assumed office in January 2007. I’m not going to offer up much commentary on his accomplishments to date (and there are some, including bringing millions of dollars in stimulus funds to our city)… many others are far more qualified to do so, but in general I would have to say that, in my humble opinion, he has been less effective than his predecessor Jerry Brown.
I’ll just leave it at that, and move on to a bit more history, including the creation of the Federal Building below that bears his name…
WHITE FLIGHT
“In the postwar decades, Oakland suffered through many of the same urban crises that afflicted other cities: chronic unemployment, racial tensions, physical deterioration of the central district and some once-proud neighborhoods… Oakland’s decline seemed self-perpetuating, since a lack of faith in the city meant an acceleration of its abandonment.” (Oakland: The Story of a City, Beth Bagwell) Let’s just say things looked pretty bleak back then. But two significant things happened in the re-development of Oakland:
- BART
- City Center
The Bay Area Rapid Transit System was conceived in the early 1950’s to replace the already demolished Key Rail System. “In 1951, the State Legislature created the 26-member San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission, comprised of representatives from each of the nine counties which touch the Bay. The Commission’s charge was to study the Bay Area’s long range transportation needs in the context of environmental problems and then recommend the best solution.” (BART History) After years of study, the commission recommended development of high-speed rapid rail network linking commercial and suburban centers in five counties (San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Mateo – who both would later withdraw).
I won’t go into all the history of BART’s development, because it is extensive and you can find exhaustive information on their website (see link above). But according to our tour guide Renate, it was relatively easy to build BART through the heart of downtown Oakland in the late 60’s and early 70’s because so many buildings at the time had become neglected and/or abandoned.
Passenger service began on September 11, 1972 and the importance of this transportation system to Oakland’s eventual revitalization cannot be understated. In fact, it is still being touted today… “Oakland’s central business district has 10 million square feet of Class A office space and is served by two BART stops. By comparison, San Francisco’s central business district has 40 million square feet of Class A office product and is served by two BART stations. The foundation is in place for Oakland to experience tremendous growth.” (2009 Oakland’s Uptown/Downtown CBD pamphlet)
After BART came City Center. Initially consisting of just two buildings (the Wells Fargo building built in 1973 and the Clorox building opened later in 1976), City Center now comprises five buildings and 1.5 million square feet of Class A office and retail development, including the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex which was opened in 1994.
Consisting of two identical towers connected by an elevated sky-bridge, the Federal Building, though bearing the name of our current mayor, can really be attributed to the efforts of Lionel Wilson, the first African American mayor of Oakland, who served from 1978 until 1990. In the early 1980’s, the federal government decided they needed a West Coast presence and it was Mayor Wilson who sold them on Oakland… namely for the price of free. Though BART then provided easy access, much of downtown Oakland was still deserted at the time. Where the new Federal Building now stands, an old abandoned department store once existed, sold to the federal government for something like a single dollar. Who could refuse that deal?
With its opening in 1994, including an IRS office and Veteran’s Administration office, the new Federal Building brought 1700 new employees to downtown Oakland, virtually overnight. Thus began the revitalization of Oaktown…
These images speak for themselves… a pretty amazing piece of guerilla graffiti art, if you ask me.
All images provided by friend of Oaktown Art. Which reminds me… if folks have something they’d like to contribute, please contact me through a comment. I’ll be setting up a more formal contact page in the near future for content suggestions and guest bloggers…
