Santa Monica City Hall

Donald B. Parkinson, Joseph M. Estep

Santa Monica City Hall

Formal dedication 24 November 1939

Architecture

Santa Monica City Hall was a building built in the 1930s during the depression era. With president Franklin Roosevelt's ideas in bringing the city back to life, he created this building as a part of a bigger project that would bring back the life that was taken from the city. This building is not only a significance of what art has made and the movement that was place but it is also now known as a historical Landmark. This building was built to bring peace, jobs, improving the welfare, and to contribute to the revival of the American industry. Not only has it made history in the American industry but it has made history with the architectural and art aspic it contains in and out of the building.

Deyci Hernandez,Frank Galindo, Alexandra Flores, Fei Wang, Anton Yastrebenetskiy.

The wall in City Hall feature several different artworks, artists, and pieces. MacDonald-Wright, a featured artist in City Hall, was the official founder of the Synchromism art movement. He not only found the Synchromism art movement but he also used his method called “petrachrome”, to create his art work which are now on display within the building of Santa Monica City Hall. A mixture of liquid materials which included marble, crushed tile, and granite to create his paintings. His paintings being feature with in City hall not only shows the importance of history but also the importance of the great movement to rebuild America (which was the WPA arts program for the Western U.S). Stanton Macdonald-Wright’s art murals are seen inside the building which have stood to document the city’s and the state’s history. Just as Macdonald-Wright’s murals, brightly pigmented tiles create unique image of the City Hall. Made by last major producer of hand-sculpted ornamental terracotta in the United States, the McBean Tile Company tiles decorate exterior and interior of the City Hall. The tiles are diversely varnished in a number of colors, containing brown, cream, ochre, blue, black, beige and reddish brown, to form either a sole sector of color or an amazing geometric pattern.

Research

Throughout the eras we have covered in Art History we constantly have seen the different styles, colors, and meanings of different art pieces. This though it is considered a Deco Moderne architecture, it contains sever styles, colors, and meanings as well as messages. The idea of sticking to history and portraying the importance of the survival of America during the depression era reminds me of the Roman era, and how they used their buildings and their art to display the conquers and the triumphs they went through during their time. For example the Arches, which were used for aqueducts and bigger buildings were the foundation of moderne architecture, though Santa Monica City Hall doesn't exactly contain any arches in its architecture, it is known as art moderne architecture. Some resemblance with the Romans and their style of architecture.

Summary

There is more than what meets the eye when it comes to santa monica city hall, it is more than just a hall, it is a form of art. People tend to think less of it because they judge a book by its cover instead of knowing the true story behind it. For example, stated in our relation section the arches that were used for aqueducts and bigger buildings are known to come from the foundation of modern architecture. The santa monica city hall is a reflection of what is surrounded by it. Each part of the hall has a meaning to it from the tile floors to the walls and murals. This building dates back to around 1933-1944 so, the styles chosen were specific to the era, PWA Moderne Style. This style was common amongst any projects done by the federal government. However, as this building aged it started becoming more modernized perhaps to fit the style of the era we live in today. These changes started small like the planting of the rose garden soon, they began restore and preserve the murals found on the walls of the building because it is part of what makes this hall so unique. Therefore, the art work of this city hall is important because it tells us stories of what it was like when it was first built.

Geolocation