07 2 / 2009
Kate and I got a VIP tour of the streamline moderne Maritime Museum building (originally the public Bathhouse - New Deal you ruled! - currently closed to the public for restoration work) on Saturday in connection with a brunch hosted by savelaguna.org and featuring a short lecture/tour by Gray Brechin, noted New Deal historian. So, pretty much my dream Saturday morning. This color panel is from the ceiling of the circular former ladies’ lounge (during the building’s restaurant days; the room wasn’t really designed for any specific purpose originally, which is also very cool.) Deco era artist Hilaire Hiler was really into color/design structuralism, and painted this wild color wheel on the ceiling of this magic round room overlooking Aquatic Park. I could stand in there all day.
