When one comes toward West Philadelphia over the Schuylkill, there are�three salient�things to look at as one crosses the bridge: the triumvirate of art deco buildings comprised by the post office, the train station, and the old convention hall.� There will soon be a fourth - the Cira Center.
What on earth is Art Deco about 30th Street Station? (Other than the construction period.)
Greek Revival, I might buy, but Art Deco? Even the interior is more WPA than Art Deco, the exception being the massive chandeliers. There's a great image of 30th Street Station here:
http://www.chesco.com/~apu/prr/prr_30.html
Various descriptions of the structure describe it as evolving from the "neo-classical" popular when the building was started to the Beaux-Arts when it was completed, but nobody
calls it Art Deco.
For that matter, I'd have to look again at the Civic Center and Municipal Auditorium buildings ... I don't recall any feature that says to me "Art Deco," other than "when" they were built. (Again, excepting some of the interior lighting fixtures.)
The same for the Post Office building -- it is clearly "Government Monument" in style; yeah the interior lighting fixtures and elevators are probably technically Art Deco, but even they are obscured by the massive granite and marble expanses between them. The 30th Street Post Office doesn't even have as much style as does the 8th and Market Post Office.
I don't think any of the three remind me of Art Deco half as much as the old WPEN or KYW Studios (now Temple U) in Center City.
And yes, the lines of Cira Centre evoke Art Deco streamlining, but again, those have more in common with WPEN and the old KYW studios than with either the train station or post office, except for size. I can't help but wonder what the Building's architects would think of their design being called "Art Deco."
T.T.F.N. William H. Magill [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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