Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Art Deco Mystery

What is the name on the back of this statue?  It has an unreadable (to me) signature and then ©98.  Is this for "copyright 1998" or "copyright 1898"?

Who is the artist?

What is the name of this piece? 

Click here and email your reply, if you wish not to use the comment section below.








Wednesday, October 20, 2010

More NET&T Images

More detailed images from the facade of the old New England Telephone and Telegraph Company Building, located at the corner of Forest Avenue and Cumberland Avenue, Portland, Maine, are shared. Photos by Loren Coleman.





















Tuesday, October 19, 2010

State Theatre




The State Theatre opened on November 8, 1929, and was designed in a semi-atmospheric/Spanish style with an original seating capacity of 2,300. It operated as a first run movie house until the late 1960s, when it became a porn theatre. In 1989, the theatre was closed and fell into disrepair. By the mid-1990s, the theatre was saved and restored. It closed for a brief time after its restoration and was reopened by new owners as a performing arts and concert venue.  Then it closed in 2006. Major repair work occurred during 2010, and the newly renovated State Theatre was reopened in October 2010.




Two photos above by the Portland Press Herald.


Photo above by the Portland Monthly.



The State Theatre, October 17, 2010, is shown during its recent open house event. 
Photos (two above and all below) by Loren Coleman, with an iPhone. 
(Although there were many visitors, I avoided capturing images with people in them, as much as possible.)

















Saturday, October 16, 2010

Grand Theatre





The Grand Theatre is located in Ellsworth, Maine. (Photo above by Katy Allgeyer. Photo below extracted from here.)



Friday, October 15, 2010

Colonial Theatre


The Colonial Theatre, Belfast, Maine, was built in 1912, and restyled in Art Deco fashion during a major 1947 renovation.


The Colonial Theatre today.




The Colonial Theatre location has undergone recent upgrades in which Art Deco paintings have been added to enhance the theater.



According to the Colonial Theatre history site : "In 1997, Perry’s Nut House, an internationally known Belfast roadside attraction since 1927 on Route One was completely sold off and liquidated. The much loved elephants were saved by the Colonial Theatre from the auctioneer’s gavel and kept in Belfast. Hawthorne, the big guy took up proud residence on the roof and Baby Hawthorne, handcrafted in 1938, continues his warm and welcoming ways, challenging climbers of all ages in our Lower Lobby. Together, they add a graceful air of showmanship."


Most contemporary photographs are by Theirry Bonneville.


Criterion Theatre


The Criterion Theatre first opened its doors on June 6, 1932, and has served the town of Bar Harbor, Maine, as a movie palace ever since.  The theater has 877 seats. The location has been placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

A unique, special feature of the building is its "floating" balcony, a type of rare free-hanging structure, which is an architectural feat of some note. 






The above two photographs of the Criterion Theatre were taken by Sue Anne Hodges, and used with her permission. (For a link to her photography site, please click here.)


Sue Anne Hodges has also published internal photos (below) of the Criterion on her blog.



Can anyone answer the obvious question? Who was the theater's original architect?


For more on its current status, see here.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Old NET&T Co. Building





These two photographs were taken of the old New England Telephone and Telegraph Company Building, located at the corner of Forest Avenue and Cumberland Avenue, Portland, Maine. Today it is occupied by Fairpoint Communications. (Photos by Loren Coleman.)

Who were the architects who designed this building?



New England Telephone logo, 1921-1939.


Thanks for location and historical information supplied by Rep. Herbert Adams, Portland.