The Foshay Tower

The Foshay Tower, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Completed in 1929, the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis is an excellent Art Deco skyscraper. Long the tallest building in the city, the Foshay has a few interesting details. Most obvious are the large letters at the top of the building calling out the name, which are also illuminated at night (and visible from quite a ways out of the city). The outer walls also slope in as they rise,
making each floor a little smaller than the one below it, a function of the architect's desire to make the Foshay Tower resemble the Washington Monument. The interior was very luxurious, featuring intricately carved African mahogany, marble, Terrazzo, a silver and gold plated ceiling, and hand-wrought iron fittings.

Finally, the building has it's own march, composed by John Philip Sousa. The dedication ceremony for the Foshay was almost impossibly lavish, with building owner Wilbur Foshay inviting 25,000 people, guests recieving gold pocket watches, and music conducted by Sousa, who composed the "Foshay Tower-Washington Memorial March" for the occasion. The march was only played once during Foshay's lifetime, though-his empire soon crumbled, and the check written to Sousa for his work famously bounced. Sousa refused to allow the song to be played until the debt was paid, which didn't happen until 1988, to Sousa's estate.

Wheaton Grand Theater

Wheaton Grand Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Wheaton Grand Theater (or just the Grand) opened in 1925, with one screen and 1,000 seats. It first closed in the late 90's as a second run theater, but new owners re-opened and ran classic films, concerts, and other shows until 2006. The Grand has sat empty since, although a new owner is in the process of renovating and hopes to re-open in 2014.

I think this sign has been lightly refurbished in the last year or so-the paint looks nice and bright, even though the glass is mostly broken and missing. I hope the restoration of this cool old theater is successful-the exterior is still in nice shape and has lots of great period detail. It should look great.

The Nebraska Zephyr

The Nebraska Zephyr, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I've photographed the Zephyr a number of times, and have related it's story here once before. Suffice to say, I always take advantage of any opportunity to photograph this beautiful machine. It is truly one of a kind.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see it during this visit to the Illinois Railway Museum. It wasn't scheduled to operate that Saturday, so I was surprised when I walked through it's storage shed to discover a big, Zephyr sized empty space and the bouquet of diesel fumes. It appears that they pulled it out and parked it to...I don't know, warm it up? Test the air conditioning? Whatever the reason, it was parked on a gentle curve, perfect for the classic old-school brochure shot. I secretly think it was done on purpose!

The Times

The Times, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Old school sign for the Ottawa Times newspaper. The whole building has a very old fashioned, Daily Flash vibe to it.

Lincoln-Zephyr

Lincoln, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Originally introduced as a sort of budget marque to slot in between V-8 Fords and the big Lincoln Model K, the Lincoln-Zephyr's modern looks and smooth V-12 power made it a very popular car, more so than it's larger, more expensive stablemate. One of the first successful "streamlined" automotive designs, the Lincoln-Zephyr revitalized sales at Lincoln dealerships, and by 1940 most sales were Zephyrs. One of those designs that was right from the start, the Zephyr was able to be put back into production after World War Two with very few changes, the most major being the elimination of the Zephyr name.

I think this '39 makes an excellent TtV subject, especially in black and white.

The Campana Building

Storm, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Second week in a row we've had heavy weather!

This is the Campana building in Batavia, Illinois. Built in 1936, this building features styling cues from both the Streamline Moderne and Bauhaus schools of architecture. It was designed to be the main factory for the Campana Company, which made the popular Italian Balm hand lotion.

Considered very modern when it was built, the Campana building featured full air conditioning (there are no opening windows), fluorescent lighting, desks arranged in rows, and an automated manufacturing system.

Today the factory is closed, but the building is still in use for other businesses. The Campana building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and remains fundamentally in the same condition as when it was operating, and retains most of it's period detailing.

And, it was raining that day.