Lots going on at the Telephone Building

There has been a lot of speculation about potential tenants for the Telephone Building since construction began in March on a major renovation project, which I wrote about in the Wall Street Journal. The $50 million-plus restoration and seismic retrofit of Timothy Pflueger's iconic Jazz Age skyscraper, which has been vacant for about six years, is underway. Owners Wilson Meany… Continue reading Lots going on at the Telephone Building

It’s de-lightful, it’s de-lovely, it’s Deco in New York

Cole Porter please forgive me for messing up your lyrics, but last month I had a kind of late 1920s, early 1930s week in New York. After seeing the Broadway revival of "Anything Goes," I still can't get Porter's witty lyrics out of my head. And they meld so well with many of the city's glorious… Continue reading It’s de-lightful, it’s de-lovely, it’s Deco in New York

Magnificent Deco apartment houses live on in SF

The Roaring 1920s in America were happy-go-lucky days of wild times, illegal speakeasies and dances like the Jitterbug and the Charleston. But fueling all that crazy joy was a stock market bubble that ended, as we know now, in the Great Depression. But before the market crash of 1929, most U.S. cities were seeing a huge… Continue reading Magnificent Deco apartment houses live on in SF