One of my main goals of going downtown for photos in the middle of the week was to obtain entrance into this building. The main entrance was closed but I was able to enter through the 14th St doors. I entered into a low corridor of elevators. A guard was sitting in the middle of this corridor. I asked if I could take photos, he told me no and there was no way to change his mind. I did get to peer into the architects office in the old 2 story lobby. My eyes feasted on the masterful art deco design inside the old lobby. It has been owned since 1964 by the Shulman family, BNIM Architects are the only tenants. Last week it was
announce the building is up for sale.
I am hoping for an opportunity at some point to get inside for photos. The elevator corridor itself had amazing art deco elevator doors and lights.
This building was constructed in 1931. It anchors the Power and Light District but is vacant in all but the first 4 floors. The building is shown
here on the left in my March Theme Day photo.
10 comments:
I wonder why it's almost empty. The details are gorgeous!
You've peaked our curiosity about the interior. Next time consider snapping away until the guard says "no photos." My new favorite philosophy is it's best to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. As long as you're not harming someone or something, it's worth considering. Wink.
It's fantastic from the outside! I hope you will be able to get inside shots one day. What a beauty!
PS: too bad we didn't make the run, but it was still an accomplishment to get there. What a great team we had this year.
You could have posed as a window washer and hid your camera in a bucket =)
Being that it's 'off limits' gives it a sense of mystery and intrigue.
I always wonder about the reasons for the "no photos" policy. In most cases it makes no sense at all. Beautiful details on the outside of this building.
The bane of many photographers is the overly officious security guard. The no photo thing is somewhat random when it comes to building lobbies.
I have had a few run-ins with people like that. There is no reasoning with them!
Fine photo and interesting story of the Power and Light building. Sorry you ran into an officious security guard. Sometimes holding a camera a waist level and snapping a number of exposures will get what you want without alarming the watchers. Oakland Daily Photo has the right attitude.
I love the architectural details.
Interesting that you couldn't take pics. That's sad.
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