Dosta Playhouse, Valdosta, GA

I had to go to Valdosta for an exam at the college there in 2011, and afterwards went for a wander round the city center. I wasn't disappointed - lots of cool old buildings to photograph, but this one in particular stood out for me - the Dosta Playhouse. Built in 1940/41, it's kind of late for Art Deco, but nevertheless displays sufficient characteristics to be identifiable as such. It's featured on the excellent Cinema Treasures website:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/9941

For me there's lots to like about the design of this facade. Great that local people have loved it enough to restore it and it's used.

Elusive Art Deco

I know virtually nothing about Art Deco except that I like it, and over the years I've stumbled across some beautiful buildings that have caught my eye and embedded themselves in my memory. Since I started looking for Art Deco buildings maybe ten years ago, I've also noticed that not everybody cares about these rarities. This first post on my new blog is, for me, a dramatic illustration of the callous way our throw-away society is prepared to toss aside creations of merit for the sake of a buck. When I took this picture of the Southdown booking office in Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, East Sussex, in England in 2002, it had already become pretty run down, as you can see. By the time I went back to look for it again in 2010 it had gone - demolished by some thoughtless property developer to make way for money-making apartments. It seems like nobody cared, but I thought I could at least pay this little tribute to whoever designed and built this flourish of architectural innovation in what is now the by-gone age when my parents were young. I like the tiles, the colors - it was a small, simple structure. I wish I could have seen it when it was new and in the heyday of the coaches.

Apparently there were people who wanted this one saved, although I doubt the developers ever really intended to preserve it:

http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local-news/reprieve_for_art_deco_ticket_office_1_1410053

The colors are significant in that they are those of the livery of the Southdown Coach Company, which was later absorbed by Stagecoach, but in the 1930s was a thriving concern. I remember seeing the cream and green Southdown buses and coaches when I was a kid. Some pictures of the kinds of vehicles that might have frequented this old bus station back in the day can be seen on the Amberley Museum website:


http://home.fastnet.co.uk/gerrycork/amberleybus/amberleybus.htm

Some other pictures of this building:

http://www.oxford-chiltern-bus-page.co.uk/upload%20021107/Eastbourne%20office%20and%20depot%201%20Scott%20McEvoy.jpg

http://www.oxford-chiltern-bus-page.co.uk/upload%20021107/Eastbourne%20office%20and%20depot%202%20Scott%20McEvoy.jpg