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Liverpool Cathedral, 1904-78.
By Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960).
Grade l listed.
A view from Hope Street.
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Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ, St James Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 7BY
Grade I listed
List Entry Number: 1361681
Summary
Anglican Cathedral, begun 1904 and completed 1978, by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, brick with red sandstone facings, copper and reinforced concrete roofs, free and eclectic Gothic style. Lady Chapel built 1906-10 under the influence of G F Bodley. Chancel and East Transepts 1920-24, central Vestey Tower and West Transepts 1924-42, the Nave 1945-78.
Reasons for Designation
The Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ is listed at Grade I for the following principal reasons:
*Architectural Interest: it is the last undoubted masterpiece of the Gothic style, and of Gothic craftsmanship, in England. Its inspired use of light, space and height within the interior creates a feeling of awe and dramatic splendour and mark it out as one of the world's greatest modern cathedrals; *Architect: it was the life's work of the eminent C20 architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, inventor of the New Gothic style; *Siting: set upon a raised plateau it forms a major landmark within Liverpool observable from all over the city and from the River Mersey ('the life of the city'); * Innovation: its construction displays great engineering skill that takes medieval concepts to their limits using C20 materials and techniques, including the tallest and widest Gothic arches in the world; *Craftsmanship: the quality of design, craftsmanship, artistry and materials is of the highest order throughout the building; *Artistry: the building's original concept has been enhanced by more modern works of art, including a powerful statue of the Welcoming Christ by Dame Elisabeth Frink.
History
In June 1901 Francis James Chavasse, 2nd Bishop of Liverpool embarked upon plans for an Anglican Cathedral on St James' Mount. An earlier scheme in 1885 for a cathedral designed by Sir William Emerson next to St George's Hall had already failed. Sir William Forwood offered his support to the bishop, along with the Earl of Derby who donated an initial £10,000. In 1902 a competition was held to find an architect and a suitable design. Out of 103 entries judged by G F Bodley and R Norman Shaw, five were shortlisted including that of Giles Gilbert Scott (son of George Gilbert Scott and grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott, both renowned architects). Scott's Gothic design was finally selected in 1903, and he was a controversial choice for some due to his youth, inexperience and Catholicism. A compromise was reached whereby G F Bodley would act as joint architect.
Funding for the cathedral throughout its construction was raised by local subscription, including over £300,000 that was donated by Lord Vestey and his brother Sir Edmund Vestey for the construction of the Vestey Tower in memory of their parents. The builders of the cathedral were William Morrison & Son. The cathedral's sandstone came from the nearby Woolton Quarry, owned by the Marquis of Salisbury who later presented the quarry to the Cathedral Committee.
The foundation stone (inscribed by Herbert Tyson Smith) was laid on 19 July 1904 by King Edward VII. The partnership between Scott and Bodley was not happy and Scott was about to resign when Bodley died in 1907. The Lady Chapel (funded by Arthur Earle on behalf of the Earle and Langton families) was under construction at this time and the design had been heavily influenced by Bodley. Scott subsequently redesigned everything above the arcades that had not yet been constructed, and the Lady Chapel opened in 1910.
On 19 July 1924 the main part of the cathedral, including the Sanctuary, Chapter House, Chancel and Eastern Transepts, was consecrated in a ceremony attended by King George V and Queen Mary. The following day Giles Gilbert Scott received a knighthood. He was later appointed to the Order of Merit in 1944.
Work on the cathedral was delayed during both World Wars due to a shortage of labour and money, and damage sustained during the Second World War.
Scott's design evolved continuously right up until his death in 1960, and the finished building bears little resemblance to that chosen in the competition of 1903, which had a longer nave and twin towers instead of the final central tower. His 1942 design for the West Wall was redesigned by Frederick G Thomas and Roger Arthur Philip Pinkney in 1967 due to a lack of funding. The final consecration service took place on 25 October 1978 when the Cathedral was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
A visitor centre/shop and refectory were created in the Welsford Porch and North-West Transept in 1984, and the Western Rooms were also converted into a dining area for larger groups in the 1980s. The statue of the Welcoming Christ by Dame Elisabeth Frink above the West Door was unveiled on 11 April 1993 by her son, Lin.
Details
PLAN
Nave (also known as 'The Well') to ritual west (actual north) end, Chancel to ritual east (actual south) end with Ambulatory behind. Chancel flanked by North and South Choir Aisles. Vast Central Space under the Vestey Tower. Transepts to ritual east and west of great porches. Octagonal Chapter House to ritual north-east corner, Lady Chapel to ritual south-east corner. Set upon raised plateau of St James' Mount with former quarry to ritual north side containing early C19 grade I registered St James' Cemetery (now St James' Gardens).
EXTERIOR
Massive in scale with contrasting east and west ends; that to the east is more elaborate, that to the west is in stark simplicity. Gableted buttresses. Mortar pointing to exterior and interior deliberately designed by Scott to highlight the Cathedral's stonework structure.
WEST ELEVATION: Scott's West wall re-designed by Frederick G Thomas and Roger Arthur Philip Pinkney in 1967 (completed 1978) due to lack of funding. Massive arched recess containing 3-light Great West window with pinnacled crest and glazed tympanum, flanking buttresses surmounted by pinnacles. West Door (cathedral's ceremonial entrance) with elaborate carved niche above surmounted by 13 ft high green bronze figure of the 'Welcoming Christ' by Dame Elisabeth Frink (1992), flanking side doors.
NAVE: 3-bays, in same style as choir but with fewer carved figures, large windows to north and south sides with simple geometrical tracery incorporating 2-lights with sexfoil above, quadrant jambs, separated by widely spaced buttresses, arcaded gallery above each window.
TRANSEPTS: Two transepts to each north and south side with tall traceried arched windows of 2-lights with octofoil above, copper roofs. Low arched projections to left and right of south transepts contain undercroft entrances.
PORCHES: Space in between transepts occupied by enormous porches with wide arched entrances and flat reinforced concrete roofs; that to ritual north side known as the Welsford Porch, that to ritual south side known as the Rankin Porch (cathedral's main entrance). Both accessed by stone stair flights, Hillsborough memorial stone laid by steps to Rankin Porch. Tall iron gates to Rankin Porch surmounted by elaborate cross and fish design. Both porches contain large arch to rear containing three wide carved oak doors with flat ogee heads merging into traceried tympanum. Triple-light windows to porch side walls with pierced balustraded gallery to top, studded oak doors to each side of Rankin Porch interior. Carved figure sculpture to both porches by Edward Carter Preston (Sculptor to the Cathedral, 1931-1955) influenced by C13 French portal figures, features based upon people working in the Cathedral. Sculpture depicts themes of Natural and Supernatural Virtues, Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Resurrection, and the Active Life. Carved figures of George V, Queen Mary, George VI, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to side walls of Rankin Porch.
VESTEY TOWER: 331 ft high, spans Central Space above and behind porches, design worked on from 1910 with Burnard Green as engineer. Square lower stage with plainer masonry and single large window to each north and south side incorporating 3-lights with rose above. Upper stage of tower is tapered with more elaborate decoration, octagonal corner turrets surmounted by carved lanterns, tall paired lancet belfry windows with timber louvres, 8 pinnacles surmounting top of tower with one slightly taller than the rest (added in February 1942 with carved initials of Scott and date).
CHOIR: 3-bays with large windows to north and south sides with simple geometrical tracery incorporating 2-lights with sexfoil above, carved figures and quadrant jambs, separated by widely spaced buttresses, arcaded gallery above each window. Walled founder's plot to south side in front of choir.
EAST CHOIR ELEVATION: Dominated by massive Great East window with curvilinear tracery and wide central mullion incorporating statue niches, four small pointed arched windows below, all flanked by full-height buttresses and corner turrets with short spires. 2-storey buttressed projection to bottom of elevation with series of lunette windows with cusped lights to upper level lighting Ambulatory, plain triple-light windows to lower level lighting former vestries (now education rooms).
CHAPTER HOUSE: Octagonal in shape with conical copper roof, taller stair turret to north-east side, tall pointed arched windows with curvilinear tracery, open balustraded balcony wraps around upper part and connects to main body of cathedral via a high-level bridge. Chapter House provided by Freemasons of West Lancashire in memory of 1st Earl of Lathom (their 1st Provincial Grand Master).
LADY CHAPEL: Tall, narrow, rectangular chapel of 8-bays with end bays forming polygonal apse. Tall slender windows with Decorated-style tracery, pierced balustrades above and below windows attached to full-height buttresses. Porch attached to bay 1 on south side with tall 2-arched balcony above, carved figures of children by Lillie Read in C15 Italian Renaissance style.
INTERIOR
Massive height with exceptionally tall Gothic arches to Nave, Transepts and Chancel. Subtle Gothic styling characterised by blank masonry broken up at strategic points by sophisticated and intricate detailing. Marble floor with hypocaust system. Animals feature heavily in the interior decoration. Interior woodwork by Green & Vardy and Waring & Gillow, metalwork by the Bromsgrove Guild, sculpture by Edward Carter Preston, Walter Gilbert and Louis Weingartner.
NAVE/'WELL': Sunken floor lower than Central Space and aisles, artificial sandstone vaulting known as 'Woolston' to second bay, triforium to each side of nave; that to south side contains Elizabeth Hoare Gallery. Late C20 toilets, lift, and stair inserted behind north wall of north aisle. Vestibule off adjacent south aisle containing stairs and lift to tower and operational K6 telephone kiosk (iconic 1935 design by Scott produced to celebrate Silver Jubilee of King George V). West Door with elaborate carved surround and crest with carving of royal coat of arms above, Great West/Benedicite window above.
DULVERTON BRIDGE/NAVE BRIDGE: Completed 1961, spans first bay of Nave and draws eye down length of cathedral. Surmounted by pierced oak balustrade and gallery, accessed by two stairs; that to south side with dedication stone reading 'THIS STONE WAS UNVEILED BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II ON 25TH OCTOBER 1978 AT THE SERVICE OF DEDICATION TO MARK THE COMPLETION OF THIS CATHEDRAL', that to north side with stone displaying carved initials of Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh with entwined lovers' knot.
NORTH-WEST TRANSEPT: Contains shop and mezzanine cafe, converted in late C20.
SOUTH-WEST TRANSEPT (BAPTISTRY): Ornate dodecagon font of buff coloured marble with carved figures of apostles to each side by Edward Carter Preston, 39 ft high elaborate oak baldachino (ornamental canopy) designed by Scott with painted and gilded ornamented panelled ceiling, 15 ft high carved oak font cover with pulley system concealed in columns of baldachino, all set upon black marble platform with inlaid mosaic depicting breaking waves and fishes representing Christianity. Robing rooms below transepts converted into the Western Rooms (banqueting rooms).
CENTRAL SPACE (area between transepts underneath tower): Circular inlaid marble memorial to Scott to centre of floor reads '1880-1960/SIR GILES GILBERT SCOTT/O.M..R.A./ARCHITECT'. Three doorways to each north and south side lead to Rankin and Welsford Porches, similarly styled to the outer doors with sculpture by Edward Carter Preston, tower windows above, vaulted vestibule beyond doors to Welsford Porch now contains a cafe. Two paintings by Adrian Wiszniewski depict the parable of the Good Samaritan and the House built upon Rock, donated by the Jerusalem Trust in 1996. Star-shaped vaulted ceiling to Central Space with central circular opening through which the bells were hauled, Corona Gallery immediately below vaulting (originally used by cathedral's choir).
TOWER: Reinforced concrete girdle to base, steel cradle supports 14 bells (highest and heaviest peal in the world) including the great Bourdon Bell ('Great George'), bells cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, psalm texts incorporated onto each bell. Massive bell chamber with tall oak louvres, concrete stairs lead up to roof.
NORTH-EAST TRANSEPT/WAR MEMORIAL CHAPEL: Ornate alabaster and gilt altarpiece. Low rectangular carved alabaster cenotaph set on shallow plinth to front of chapel surmounted by bronze case containing the Roll of Honour (names of 40,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen from the Liverpool area lost during the First World War), bronze angels set to each corner of the case face inwards with kneeling figures of a soldier, sailor, airman and marine facing outwards. Wide arched porch surmounted by balustraded gallery to each side of transept; that to east side has glass case with decorative carved surround containing King's Regiment's Roll of Honour. Military colours displayed to each side wall with carved regiment badges above. Ship's bell of HMS Liverpool commemorating Liverpool's role as allied headquarters during Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War.
SOUTH-EAST TRANSEPT (DERBY TRANSEPT): Contains tomb of 16th Earl of Derby (first chairman of Cathedral Committee) designed by Scott, bronze memorial depicts recumbent effigy of the Earl resting his head on a sculpture of the Cathedral with a timorous mouse peering out from his drapery.
CHANCEL: Divided into Choir and Sanctuary. Carved stone pulpit with pierced balustrade and statue niches to left of Chancel entrance, incorporates carved inscription in memory of Sir Arthur Forwood and John Torr who raised the Bishopric Endowment Fund. Elaborate carved oak organ cases either side of Choir take up a complete bay, designed by Scott, project slightly into the Choir, contain organ by Henry Willis III installed 1926, rebuilt in 1958-60 and made electric by Henry Willis IV, console to north side, organ gifted by Mrs Barrow. Carved oak clergy and choir stalls (latter gifted by Lord & Lady Waring), incorporate carved paired Liver birds guarding the choir stall steps, Bishop's Throne with Diocesan crest carved above gifted by Miss Watt, crest replicated to mosaic in Presbytery floor (eastern part of Choir) in front. Two paintings behind choir stalls by Christopher Le Brun depict Good Samaritan and Return of the Prodigal Son, donated by the Jerusalem Trust in 1996. Decorative patterned marble floor to Sanctuary. Altar set upon stepped platform (steps in alternating light and dark coloured marble). Highly elaborate carved stone and gilded reredos behind by Weingartner & Gilbert, overall design by Scott influenced by Spain, gifted by Mrs Mark Wood, figures designed and carved by Walter Gilbert, figures in lighter coloured Wooler sandstone carved by Arthur Turner. Lower reredos panel depicts Last Supper, centre panel depicts Crucifixion flanked by scenes of the Passion, outer panels depict Nativity and Resurrection. Altar rail supported by ten bronze figures depicting Ten Commandments, by Weingartner & Gilbert.
NORTH CHOIR AISLE: Memorial inscriptions to walls, door to west end leads into Chapel of the Holy Spirit with alabaster altarpiece depicting Jesus praying at Sea of Galilee by William Gough, 'Redemption' artwork by Arthur Dooley and Ann McTavish.
CHAPTER HOUSE: Tall geometric-patterned metal entrance gates by Keith Scott (1980s). Concrete domed ceiling, patterned marble floor. Panelled oak stalls to lower part of walls with carved detailing to Bishops' and Dean's stalls, plain panelled oak altar with altar painting of Crucifixion (Craigie Aitchison, 1998). Large carved stone relief crests in between stained glass windows. Oak door with ornate metal strap hinges incorporating Lancashire rose motifs and carved stone surround set to north-east corner leads to turret stair and high-level gallery above Chapter House floor.
AMBULATORY: Situated behind High Altar, lower floor level, corbelled ribbed vaulted ceiling with carved bosses. Four arched openings to west side (with stained glass windows above) lead into lobby area with series of oak doors with decorative ironwork and carved stone surrounds (one of which depicts a rose and Bishop's mitre), former vestries behind now used as education rooms. Two wide arched openings to west side of Ambulatory provide processional route in and out of Sanctuary. Stair flights to each north and south end set within arched openings accessing choir aisles, small corbelled balconies above.
SOUTH CHOIR AISLE: Monuments to Bishop Chavasse, Bishop Ryle and Dean Frederick Dwelly to north side, foundation stone to south side with inscriptions by Herbert Tyson Smith reading 'TO THE GLORY OF GOD THIS FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID BY KING EDWARD THE SEVENTH ON THE 19TH DAY OF JULY 1904', and 'OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO MAN LAY THAN THAT WHICH IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST'. Stained glass rose windows to west end of each Choir Aisle. Two doors towards east end of south wall of South Choir Aisle lead to Lady Chapel; that to west accesses a stone stair leading to the chapel floor, door to east leads to arcaded gallery to west end of Lady Chapel with short stair flight connecting to main chapel stair.
LADY CHAPEL: By Bodley and Scott, richly decorated, dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. Black and white marble chequerboard floor with interspersed motifs, decorative metal pendant lights by Scott, elaborate rib vaulted ceiling. Fine decorative stone carving by Joseph Phillips. Original choir stalls now removed. Wall piers linked by arches and pierced by narrow passage aisles, support triforium surmounted by elaborate crest, 38 carved angels with instruments project out above triforium, stylised stone inscription of the text 'GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON...' (St John 3:16) carved below triforium, tall stained glass windows above and behind. Altar to east end with ornate tryptych reredos designed by Bodley and Scott, figures by G W Wilson, constructed by Rattee & Kent, centrepiece with delicate gilt filigree surrounding painted panels depicting the Nativity and Christ's early ministry, flanked by blue panelled wings to each side with gilt text. C15 kneeling figure of Our Lady by Giovanni della Robbia to left of altar. 'Alleluia Door' to north side of chapel with bronze handle incorporating a snail and salamander, ornate carved stone surround incorporating 'ALLELUIA' and relief crown above door. Elaborate carved oak organ case designed by Scott to west end above arcaded gallery.
STAINED GLASS: Window themes chosen by stained glass committee led by Sir Frederick Radcliffe with large input from Scott.
GREAT WEST WINDOW/BENEDICITE WINDOW: By Carl Edwards, 3 lancets over 52ft high depicting creation with separate lunette window to top depicting the Risen Lord, covers 1600 sq ft in total, installed in 1978.
NAVE AISLES: Windows depict historical development of the ministry, teaching and liturgy of the Church of England. Bishops' window by William Wilson depicts various historical bishops. All remaining windows to Nave by Carl Edwards; Parsons' window depicts various clergy members. Laymen's window depicts tradesmen who worked on the cathedral and committee members, including G F Bodley, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Sir William Forwood & the Earl of Derby. Musicians' Window depicts contributors to Anglican music. Hymnologists' window depicts hymn writers. Scholars' window depicts Oxford & Cambridge scholars, including the first Dean of Liverpool, Dean Frederick W Dwelly.
NORTH-WEST TRANSEPT: Window by Herbert Hendrie depicts theme of Church and State, including King George V and Queen Mary at 1924 consecration.
SOUTH-WEST TRANSEPT (BAPTISTRY): Window by Herbert Hendrie depicts salvation and healing through water, and baptisms.
CENTRAL SPACE: Old Testament window to north side of Central Space by James H Hogan depicts Old Testament figures and scenes, including Call of Abraham. New Testament window to south side of Central Space (also by Hogan) depicts New Testament figures and scenes, including Nativity and Crucifixion.
NORTH-EAST TRANSEPT/WAR MEMORIAL CHAPEL: Window by J W Brown & James H Hogan has theme of sacrifice and risen life.
SOUTH-EAST TRANSEPT: Window by J W Brown destroyed during the Second World War, replaced with simplified version by James H Hogan in same theme of Jesus' miracles.
GREAT EAST WINDOW/TE DEUM WINDOW: By J W Brown of Whitefriars Studios, gifted by Mrs Ismay, illustrates traditional hymn of the church 'Te Deum Laudamus', alternating bands of colour and clearer glass as dictated by Scott. Septfoil window to top depicts risen Jesus surrounded by heavenly chorus, two sets of paired lancets below with curvilinear-style tracery to top depict heavenly choirs with representatives of the faithful on Earth below, including apostles, saints, martyrs, and figures from the arts, science, law, commerce, scholarship, architecture and the army.
NORTH CHOIR AISLE: North Choir Aisle windows by J W Brown. 'Sapphire' window depicts St Matthew (symbolised as an angel) and Epiphany, 'Gold' window depicts St Luke (symbolised as an ox) and feeding of the five thousand, rose window to east end depicts journeys across the sea undertaken in faith.
CHAPTER HOUSE: Windows originally by Morris & Co, damaged in the Second World War and repaired by James Powell & Sons, depict interests and traditions of the Freemasons. Corn Merchants' window to Chapter House stair by C E Kempe & Co Ltd commemorates Woodward family (Liverpool corn merchants) 1803-1915.
AMBULATORY: Four windows by Burlison & Grylls each depict a pair of saints associated with the four nations of the British Isles.
SOUTH CHOIR AISLE: Windows by James H Hogan. 'Ruby' window depicts St John (symbolised as an eagle) and various biblical events, 'Emerald' window depicts St Mark (symbolised as a lion) and scenes from his gospel, rose window to east end by J W Brown depicts biblical demonstrations of God's power in and through water.
LADY CHAPEL: Windows illustrate role of women in history of faith from biblical times to C20, scroll runs across all windows displaying words of the Magnificat. Original glass designed by J W Brown destroyed during the Second World War, replaced by simplified adaptations by James H Hogan and Carl Edwards, gallery window above and behind organ by Hogan depicts Annunciation. Noble Women windows on west stair and atrium by J W Brown, 1921, donated by Girls' Friendly Society. Damaged in the Second World War but re-made to original designs, depict women who contributed to society, including Elizabeth Fry, Louisa Stewart, Grace Darling & Kitty Wilkinson.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number: 359401
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Brooks, J, Crampton, M, Liverpool Cathedral Guidebook, (2007)
Brown, S, de Figuereido, P, Religion and Place: Liverpool's Historic Places of Worship, (2008), 53-58
Kennerley, P (ed), The Building of Liverpool Cathedral, (2008)
Sharples, J, Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, (2004), 73-82
Vincent, N T, The Stained Glass of Liverpool Cathedral, (2002)
Websites
Scott, Sir Giles Gilbert (1880-1960), accessed from www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35987
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, accessed from www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/529593/Sir-Giles-Gilbe...
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/108701
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120295
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120084
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/108709
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/15157
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/62832
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/62833
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 August 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/15149
Katrina, my shiny new Dell XPS M1330 with WLED screen at work. Picture taken with Eva (SE k850i) in "Document" mode with EV -1. The desktop on the left is a Dell Vostro 200 with a 19" TFT monitor.
We had one of these when I was growing up. I built this one from plans I drew from memory. Easy to build out of 3/4" plywood, it carries stuff, is very sturdy, and should last forever.
This is what I take when I go from home office to office at work or whenever I need to do some major projects.
Photo courtesy by Michele Portas.
Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo. A nice shot taken by my friend Michele.
Leica MP
Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 III
Kodak Tri-X 400
Ars Imago FD 1+39
6 min 20°C
Scan from negative film
Coldest morning yet here, -6c when I left for work! (Nowt compared to 'up north' I know!) Was stunning though! Just had to stop for a few pics on the way!! The sun was just rising, bathing this frozen gorse in lovely warm light!
Haughmond Hill - Shropshire
Pencil drawing of Native American dancer. The man's name is Clint. I don't know how to spell his last name, so I won't even try. I'm standing with the drawing to show the size - 40" x 60". I have decided to put a waterfall in the background. Who knows when I'll finish it.
This one is just for my memory -- this huge plot next to Grand Central and the MetLife building is under construction after a long time fenced off and inactive. I'll be curious to see how the whole area is changed once this enormous structure is finished (I hear it's supposed to be the tallest commercial building in the city once it's done).
I did get a M10, and I like it a great deal. I also got a Tri-Elmar, and I like it a great deal less.
Another good day at work. Gettin' paid to roam around LA Union Station. Not bad. Today it was all Amtrak and Metrolink. Even the relief power was Amtrak today. And for the first time, I finally saw a Metrolink consist that was only the new paint scheme and not the usual mashup of new, old and leased equipment.
This is a partially done cake. It has turned into more of a stand for Willy, here. The cake with the talking Willy Wonka doll retails at $120.
A Vodafone billboard ad on Deansgate, Manchester.
It reads "Work Naked" and is advertising, as the board says, Vodafone's "Mobile broadband and Email" service.
Here's the thing. This advert is moronically advertising "mobile broadband and email". That's "mobile" as in, take it anywhere you want, when you want. Wherever you travel, wherever might find yourself, thanks to the miracle of Vodafone, your broadband internet and email can be with you. So why the fuck are you likely to be naked.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 228, offered by NV Victoria, Brussels, no. 639. Photo: Hal Wallis / Paramount, 1950.
Yesterday was announced that American film star Lizabeth Scott passed away on 31 January. She starred as the bad girl — or the good girl gone bad - in hard-boiled film noirs like The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck, Dead Reckoning (1947) with Humphrey Bogart, and I Walk Alone (1948) opposite Burt Lancaster. With her blonde hair, smouldering eyes and her deep smoky voice, she was a sultry femme fatale in a world of crime, tough talk and dark secrets. Of her 22 feature films, she was leading lady in all but one. In addition to stage and radio, she appeared on television from the late 1940s to early 1970s. Lizabeth Scott who died of congestive heart failure was 92.
Lizabeth Scott was born Emma Matzo in 1922, in Scranton, , Pennsylvania, where her parents, John Matzo and Mary (nee Pennock), had a grocery store. Despite her parents’ opposition to an acting career, she went to the Alviene Master School of the Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts in New York in her late teens. Here she adopted the stage name of Elizabeth Scott. She landed a small role in a touring company of the hit stage comedy Hellzapoppin'. Back in New York, unable to get an acting job, she landed work as a fashion model with Harper’s Bazaar at $25 an hour. In 1942, she got a small part in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth. Scott also understudied Tallulah Bankhead, who played the lead role. The tempestuous Bankhead, who did not get along with Scott, stubbornly never missed a performance. In Boston Scott finally got to play the lead role, taking over from Miriam Hopkins. She decided to removed the 'E' from Elizabeth Scott to be more distinctive. It would be either this performance or a four-picture spread in an issue of Harper’s Bazaar (the sources differ about this) that led to a long-term Hollywood contract with Hal Wallis, who had his own producing organisation through Paramount Studios. Scott": It was off season on Broadway and since I wasn’t able to find a job there, I thought it might be a good experience to come to Hollywood and find out what it was all about.” Wallis introduced his 22-year-old discovery as “beautiful, blonde, aloof and alluring”. Scott's film debut was the comedy-drama You Came Along (John Farrow, 1945) opposite Robert Cummings. In her second film, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lewis Milestoine, 1946), she played a young woman wrongly jailed, opposite Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas and Van Heflin. She made more of an impression in Dead Reckoning (John Cromwell, 1947) as a gangster’s wife, almost luring Humphrey Bogart into her corruptive trap. Her mysterious character was shot in oblique angles and low-key lighting. Stylishly dressed by Edith Head, she played the good girl gone bad becoming good again in the melodrama Desert Fury (Lewis Allen, 1947). Billed as “the blonde with the brown voice”, Scott played a nightclub singer in I Walk Alone (Byron Haskin, 1948), also starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. She was more decadent than ever in Too Late for Tears (Byron Haskin, 1949), having killed two husbands because she wanted “to move out of the ranks of the middle-class poor”. Scott was her own woman in the world of hard-boiled film crime. Ronald Bergan at The Observer: "Scott was strong and sultry, her heavy dark eyebrows contrasting with her blonde hair. Like [Lauren] Bacall, she had a low and husky voice, but she was far harder; in fact, she was able to suggest hidden depths of depravity – the ideal femme fatale of the 1940s."
In her films, Lizabeth Scott made some memorable quotes. In Pitfall (André De Toth, 1948), she described herself to Dick Powell as "a girl whose first engagement ring was bought by a man stupid enough to embezzle and stupid enough to get caught." In The Racket (John Cromwell, 1951), she asked Robert Mitchum: "Who said I was an honest citizen, and where would it get me if I was?" In another Film Noir, Dark City (William Dieterle, 1950), she is a nightclub singer again who drifts on the edges of a shadowy criminal world, though her love for a gambler (Charlton Heston in his Hollywood debut ) is uplifting. Heston and Scott were reunited for Bad for Each Other (Irving Rapper, 1953). She played several similar roles of a woman willing to change her louche ways, but doomed to find a worthwhile man to love her only when she had already passed the point of redemption. After several years of making one Film Noir after another — sometimes at a pace of two or three in a year — Scott was ready for a change. She got it in the comedy Scared Stiff (George Marshall, 1953), starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. In September 1954, a front-page story in the magazine Confidential claimed that Scott was a lesbian and was linked to “the little black books kept by Hollywood prostitutes”. It was also said that on a trip to Paris she had taken up with Frédérique 'Frédé' Baulé, manager of Carroll's, an upper-class, cabaret-type nightclub in Paris. One of the owners was Marlene Dietrich. Two months before the issue's printed publication, her lawyer had instituted a $ 2.5m suit against Confidential, accusing the magazine of “holding the plaintiff up to contempt and ridicule and implying in the eyes of every reader indecent, unnatural and illegal conduct in her private and public life”. Scott lost her suit on a technicality, however, and, given the witch-hunting atmosphere of the times, the case certainly harmed her. Compounding her plight was her rebellious nature, having never paid conventional homage to the film establishment and to gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. In 1955, Scott went to Great Britain to film The Weapon (Val Guest, 1957). As with other European films of the 1950s–1970s period aimed at a US audience, Scott starred with another American actor, Steve Cochran, who played US Army CID officer Mark Andrews. Scott also played a publicity woman in the Elvis Presley vehicle Loving You (Hal Kanter, 1957). In 1957, she also released an album of torch songs and romantic ballads titled Lizabeth. She had a few TV roles in the 1960s. Her last credited movie appearance was as an man-eating cougar in Pulp (Mike Hodges, 1972), a sendup of Film Noir starring Michael Caine. One of her ex-husbands in the film is played by Mickey Rooney. Scott lived quietly in Hollywood, sometimes accepting invitations to attend film festivals and other events. In a 1996 interview with documentary filmmaker Carole Langer, Scott said she had liked the grittiness of Film Noir and didn't lament the fact that she wasn't cast in studio blockbusters: "The films that I had seen growing up were always, boy meets girl, boy ends up marrying girl, they go off into the sunset," Scott said. After the war, films got more in touch with "the psychological, emotional things that people feel and people do. It was a new realm, and it was very exciting, because suddenly you were coming closer and closer to reality." Lizabeth Scott died a week ago, at 31 January, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was 92. The cause was congestive heart failure, said her long-time friend Mary Goodstein. Scott's survivors include her brother Gus Matzo and sister Justine Birdsall.
Sources David Colker (Los Angeles Times), Ronald Bergan (The Observer), Mike Barnes (Hollywood Reporter), Variety, Wikipedia and IMDb.
work threw a holiday party, it was casual friday after all needless to say nothing was accomplished the rest of the afternoon beyond revelry
Went to my friend's shop to witness him doing the initial work to shave my door handles.. This was him grinding down the tack welds he'd created.. I THOUGHT I was a safe distance away but getting this shot, I caught one of the sparks right in the eyelid and another that singed my eyebrows.. I was lucky.. Definitely wanted to get this shot of the 3Dimensional depth of sparks coming into the lens... loved the array of light and action of this shot.. Used a slower shutter speed to enhance all of the motion.. Just reminds me of the 4th of July.. Shoot using natural light, exposed for the sparks and action..