Staying with the theme from the last post, this UrbEx armchair traveler's attention has remained in New York and has focused on unique and beautiful buildings on a small neighborhood that time forgot . . . Admiral's Row.
All images - From the Report Assessment of Admirals row, brooklyn naval yard, Beardsley Design Associates. See the full report here.
Built between 1864 and 1901 along Flushing Avenue, the houses were part of a six-acre site, including stables and tennis courts, that once housed high-ranking naval officers and their families.
Although the Navy closed the yard in 1966, the houses remained occupied until the 1970's. Ownership of the property then shifted to the federal government, and the site was placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers.
In the mid-1990's, the city investigated the possibility of buying the site and determined that it would cost more than $20 million to restore the structures to their former grandeur.
Unfortunately, it appears that most of the structures have already degraded to a point of no recovery. The very best that I (and N.Y. building preservationists / historical interest groups) could hope for is a salvage operation of pieces of interest.
Being from Barrie, Ontario (Canada) I know full well the feeling of cultural and historical loss of buildings such as these . . . I just hope that something can be recovered.
For more information, read the wikipedia entry.
As we are now engaged in researching, scouting and planning our explorations for the 'season', I am short a blog post. To this end, I wish to write about a far-flung destination and location which has interested me for some time but which I will not likely get around to ever seeing . . . it is the iconic Chrysler Building in New York. Specifically, the forgotten private Cloud Club which occupied the 66th-68th floors.
First off, let us cover off a bit of background information. This Office building was designed by William Van Alen and constructed in just four short years between 1926 and 1930. This structure represents the epitome of sleek Art Deco design, and its tapering sunburst-patterned stainless-steel spire remains a striking feature of the Manhattan skyline. Much of its futuristic automotive ornamentation was specified by its owner, Walter P. Chrysler. It was also briefly the tallest in the world(1,046 ft or 318.8 m) until the Empire State Building opened in 1931.
Images - Randy Juster - www.decopix.com (The Art Deco Architecture site)
In the 1930s, the 66th through the 68th floors of the Chrysler Building were contained a 'speakeasy' (an illegal barroom operating during prohibition) known as the Cloud Club and latter on as the 'Lunch Club'. Not many people got to see these clouds; membership was reserved for the likes of E. F. Hutton and Conde Nast. This space was appointed with lavish pink marble bathrooms and a gleaming bar of Bavarian wood. Members had their own lockers (each marked with a secret code written in hieroglyphics) so they could stash their hooch in the event of a police raid. A Tudor-style lounge occupied a space on the 66th floor, with mortise-and-tenon oak paneling, and a Grill Room in the classic Olde English style, with pegged plank floors, wood beams, wrought-iron chandeliers and leaded glass doors. All this was crammed, along with kitchens, a stock-ticker room, a humidor, a barber shop.
Images: NY Times Photo - Hiroko Masuike (left) and Samantha Storey (right).
The main dining room, which was located one floor up was connected by a bronze and marble Renaissance-style staircase with polished granite columns and etched glass sconces. There was a cloud mural on the vaulted ceiling, and a mural of Manhattan on the north wall. On the same floor Walter Chrysler had a private dining room with an etched-glass frieze of automobile workers. There was also a private Texaco dining room, with a giant mural of a refinery, and what was reputed to be the grandest men's room in all of New York.
As mentioned, not many ordinary people were granted access to the elite Cloud Club but for fifty cents one would be allowed to go up to the observatory, located on the seventy-first floor. The observatory featured futuristic, slanted walls decorated with deco sun-ray graphics. The observatory closed in 1945 (when the Empire State building opened), and is currently rented out as corporate office space. It is reported that the tenant has made some efforts to preserve its original flavor.
At the Beaux-Arts Ball of 1931, at least two dozen architects came dressed as buildings they had designed. They included, (from left to right) A. Stewart Walker as the Fuller Building, Leonard Schultze as the Waldorf-Astoria, Ely Jacques Kahn as the Squibb Building, William Van Alen as the Chrysler Building, Ralph Walker as the Wall Street Building and Joseph Freedlander as the Museum of the City of New York.
The former Cloud Club was closed in the 1970's and since has been restricted to the general populace. There have been reports that the current owners have gutted it and sold its fixtures and furniture to museums and private collectors.
Arts Society Party Images - NYatKNIGHT
The Municipal Art Society of New York was able to rent the space containing the former Cloud Club for a cocktail party back in February of 2004. The party was held to hear Neal Bascomb, the author of Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City. Mr Bascomb spoke over a slideshow presentation about his book and the construction of the Chrysler building.
Whatever the future holds for this space formerly occupied by the Cloud Club, I hope that it includes some nostalgic remembrances of its past glory.
You may recall the 'All Your Base' post from August, 2006. Participants to this Urbex meet Simmorill, JourneyLady, Axle, Boffo, Jupiter, Skold, myself and those two documentary folks from Ottawa (Group 1). With Shatter, Frost, BigInJapan, and Taz (Group 2) working a tandem exploration and following this rabble was Air33 and Jannx (Group 3).
Looks like our intrepid documentary film-maker Miles Finlayson has finally updated the website: www.withoutapostcard.com
A trailer for this very cool film features, among many other locations and explorers, our August, 2006 get-together up at Base Edgar.
Here for your enjoyment is the 'Without A Postcard' trailer. Please visit the site and pump this much anticipated flick to your friends.
I have realised two things as I'm posting;
1. I did not bother to include the 'All Your Base' exploration post within the post archive . . . my apologies.
AND
2. I have not been out for and exploration for a few weeks now and really do not have anything of interest to share with you.
I do have some ongoing projects and lots of scouting pics which I will not share as they are not noteworthy, nor artistic, and may lead to unwanted attention.
Due to this, I would like to share some the the 2006 images from the Edgar Exploration . . . enjoy !
Happy & Safe Exploring everyone !
Staying with the theme from the last post, this UrbEx armchair traveler's attention has remained in New York and has focused on unique and beautiful buildings on a small neighborhood that time forgot . . . Admiral's Row.
