The Glory of Deco Photo

Photographer’s Note

Between the lobby and banking hall of the Guardian Building is an intricately designed Monel metal screen with a Tiffany clock. To me this great art deco screen acts like an alter screen of the cathedrals of old. The design of the entrance and hall were based heavily on church architecture and it was even touted as being a "Cathedral of Commerce".

For years all one could do was climb the grand staircase and peak through this screen to marvel at the beauty beyond in unflattering dim light. After the bank went bust this hall was used for various purposes eventually becoming the headquarters for the group that designed the building, today's SmithGroup. A few years ago I got to go in on a tour and was awed by what I saw but this screen still kept the public at bay.

Finally, in this past year, the firm moved (upstairs I believe) and the great alter screen that had separated the building from the public opened. Now anyone can freely climb the steps and walk into the great hall and marvel at the art deco architecture. And look out from the interior through the Monel screen and into the lobby beyond as here. And you can shop for Detroit memorabilia at Pure Detroit in this distinctly Detroit building.

c_kyr, Michael_Gan, bpelvan, alvaraalto, Rinie_Hoff, joso, jhm, wilkinsonsg, Tue, robiuk, ChristianS, bertolucci, premels, phi729, orme, elihesamian has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

c_kyr (1810) 2005-03-16 0:10

Very nice photo Paul.
Very sharp colors and grat capture of the details.
Well done!

Michael_Gan (2772) 2005-03-16 2:40

Paul, at first sight I thought this was a modern church. So I'm not surprised by its nickname, the "Cathedral of Commerce". The clock is actually in the centre of a crucifix-like steel structure! Very interesting architecture. I really like the design of the numbers in the clock! You made a fine sharp picture, showing us the enormous amount of details that are used in this screen and in the ceiling in the background.

alvaraalto (5231) 2005-03-16 3:08

Hi Paul,
Amazing picture. The colour of the metal screen is special. Is it painted? The
groet Robceiling in Art Deco style is a perfect background. Can you describe the materials used?

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-03-16 3:14

Hi Paul, amzing details in this 'cathedral', (thinking of your comparison to a gothic church in your other note).
Sometimes I wonder where they got the money to spend so much attetion on these fine work of arts. Of course, time menat less in the days that it was buidl, but nevertheless.
The colorful ceiling is very nice, and yes, here I can see what you alreday promised me.
I find the two signs 'EXIT' very funny, and a nice detail in the picture.

jhm (82723) 2005-03-16 8:28

Hi Paul,
I like very much the clock, the lighting make these wonderful, I really like the design of the numbers in the clock! Nice composition too!
Compliments!
John

wilkinsonsg (8646) 2005-03-16 12:09

Some great patterns and colours on display here, as usual the note provides a good background to the shot :)

gsgeorge (756) 2005-03-16 12:58

Once again a great view of the detail of the Guardian Building. I'm not so sure about your composition, though, and your choice not to center the clock more or zoom out a bit to get more of the arch. Nice work regardless. The camera you use really has amazing quality.

Tue (25608) 2005-03-16 18:26

Fine design, good colours! I like the light in this picture! Well done! :-D

robiuk (10763) 2005-03-17 18:00

Another good shot in the series - this time I like better the latter one.
It seems like everything has been done correctly and spot on.
The upper left corner holds balance and the depth is superb,
Robi

papagolf21 (56483) 2005-03-18 3:48

Bonjour Paul,
Merci Paul de nous présenter cette très belle image de cette architecture si particulière (très beau travail d'ébéniste et de menuisier) de bois noble, travaillés avec amour. J'aime beaucoup cette verrière de toutes les couleurs qui répond parfaitement au style.
Très bien fait.
Philippe

ChristianS (2997) 2005-03-18 15:33

Hi Paul, nice "close-up" photo which allows the viewer to se some of the nice ornamented details on this metal screen. As I mentioned on your previous post, the sacred aura is still present even in this picture. I like the depth which allows a closer look at the colourful patterns on the ceiling. Well done again Paul!

Regards, Christian

bertolucci (11976) 2005-03-18 19:16

Hi Paul, I love the way you zoom in on this art deco work. It's lovely to examine and analyze all those very well rendered forms and textures. It takes us, helped again in a big way by your excellent note, real close to the scene. The angle of taking is fine to - our eyes have to gaze up in admiration. The exit signs are fremdkorpers which help us to desingage ourselves from this pic after gettling almost lost in the all this wonderful and graphically pleasing complexity.
Very well photographed!

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-03-19 11:26

very lovely pic, I like the patterns and the sharp and crisp details, well done

phi729 (2099) 2005-03-19 17:27

Hi Paul :)

Now I see what are Pewabic tiles ;) These sorts of large geometric mosaics are colorful and bright in the shot. And that gives a beautiful backdrop to highlight the metal screen in foreground. The clock is perfectly placed in the frame. I like a lot the rendering of the translucent touch on its center. And the different layers of ironworks are really well-rendered, giving depth to the shot. Well done, Paul. It's an excellent architectural shot.

flip89 (3345) 2005-03-19 21:58

Oh wow. This is grand. Your POV even makes it more grander.

premels (2400) 2005-03-20 3:57

The clock really stands out of this imbroglio of iron bars. The portal is a bit overloaded to my taste : The cleaning service must hate dealing with this kind of intricacies :)
The mosaic on the ceiling is so bright and luminous that I first mistook it for stained glass.

bpelvan (3786) 2005-03-20 15:06

Hi Paul,
Very nice detail of your previous post of Guardian Building. All the glass works here are marvelous. Hope that we'll see some of them a little bit more closer.
Very well composed, sharp and deep pic as always. Thanks for the note and sharing...

CORRECTION : Glass works is used by mistake it should read tiles/tile works... Sorry for inconvenience......

orme (6746) 2005-04-01 4:28

Just found this one! Fantastic shot, Paul. The ceiling is wonderful,but it has strong competition from the clock too. Beautiful colours and textures. Well captured. (If I were you I'd make a theme for this building.)

elihesamian (26091) 2005-04-05 7:54

It's another great in your serie about Guardian Building.
As you said it has a great and intricately design,but very strong and worth,and well show it in this fine shot which captured skilfully.
light is great,and details and lines are wonderful,very beautiful architecture shot and nicely composed,too.
Thanks Paul!
Yours
M

oochappan (22032) 2005-04-15 4:47

Perfect tight composed detail with beautifull colors, sharp, a real invitation to go there.
Henk