Dear Anna🌸,
I'm sorry I'm late to this wonderful post. Art Nouveau and Art Deco are my favorite periods in architecture and style. Perhaps it's because when I was a child my mother would take us from our quiet rural home to New York City and we would land in Grand Central Station. We'd be lost in a wonderland of Art Deco and Art Nouveau style.
Your pictures are glorious. I was fascinated especially by the Post Office, which is an outstanding representation of utility and style. This is what reminded me of Grand Central Station, which was built before WWI and after the turn of the century. Here's a link to the main building in the Terminal...I think the similarity to the Wiener Postsparkasse: Cashier's hall is striking. Even the Grand Central Terminal website describes the building's design as a blend of utility and style: "Grand Central is a unique urban space: majestic yet approachable, decorative yet functional."
I'm so pleased I have been on the Ringstrasse...I remember it vividly. It was like a living museum.
Thank you for another brilliant post. Can't wait for Part II🎨. I hope my reading will be less tardy next time :)
Your friend in New York, where COVID concerns have been usurped (though not replaced) by civil unrest. What a year we are having...quite historic.
Be well and peaceful,
Affectionately,
AG
Dear AG,
Your answer is never late. I would still be happy about it after one year! 🌼
The Grand Central Station: What an architectural masterpiece! I can well imagine the impression the "wonderland of Art Deco and Art Nouveau style" must have left on you when you were a child. Thanks for the photo. It's just great how aesthetics and function are combined in a perfect way here. I just wonder where all the people have disappeared to. 😄
I found an interesting architectural digest about the GCT on YouTube.
The dimensions are so enormous! You are right, the similarity between the Main Concourse of the GCT and the Cashier's Hall of the Wiener Postsparkasse is obvious. That's not surprising, since the Art Deco style has its roots in Art Nouveau style.
While the end of Art Deco style had come in Europe after the World War II, it has developed further in the USA. Some of the most famous building ensembles of this style were also created there, for example the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building in New York City.
Stay healthy and safe in these difficult times. I wish you a wonderful Sunday with lots of sunshine . 🌞
Affectionately,
Anna
Dear Anna 🍁,
How that video takes me back. I can hear the din of the terminal. I can smell food. The sensation of being there, so very real. Thank you. Of course, the video is instructive and I learned a great deal, but more than that it is a personal experience.
😅
We are all well here, and I hope you are also.
Warm greetings and affection from New York,
AG
Dear AG,
I'm glad that the video took you back to your childhood and gave you many happy memories. 🌼
Thanks, I'm fine. Another 4 weeks left till summer vacation ...
All the best from your friend from Vienna,
Anna
🌞🌳 🌹 🌳 ; 🌹 🌳🌞