Our sojourn to Barrow (see earlier posts) was really to take a look at stuff in the Lake District, whose main town is Bowness-on-Windermere.

Among others of Bowness’s sights I found the Royalty Cinema, which has Art Deco touches in the white painting and horizontal bands but also feels a bit Edwardian. It was opened in 1927 and so is on the cusp.

The Roxy Cinema is fairly prominent as you pass through Ulverston to or from Barrow-in-Furness, standing as it does by the main A 590 road:-

Note rule of three, and banding, plus flagpole.

Entrance, also the entrance to the Laurel and Hardy Museum:-

From south, Art Deco lettering, banding on white background and rule of three in windows:-

View from north:-

Ulverston in Cumbria, is the nearest biggish town to Barrow-in-Furness, about ten and a half miles further north. It was the birthplace of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame. There is a Laurel and Hardy museum in the town which we didn’t visit and a statue of the pair in the town centre.

The statue stood outside this fairly impressive building:-

Just across the road was this building:-

The Tesco’s in the town was in a minor Art Deco style. Its upper windows are completely ruined:-

Detail:-

Shop block:-

Doorway, pediment and fanlight:-

Lakeland House on Abbey Road. Stitch of two photos:-

Central tower. Strong verticals and horizontals, rule of three in windows, streamline detailing:-

John Whinnerah Institute, Abbey Road aspect:-

Stitch of frontage:-

Doorway:-

Hindpool Road aspect of John Whinnerah Institute:-

Triangular Window detail:-

Former Roxy Cinema, now an entertainment venue named Hollywood:-

Former Marks & Spencer only recently closed:-

Upper level of M&S (stitch of two photos):-

Dandy’s Fine Beds and Furniture:-

Roofline detail:-

On the Sons’ home page, I spotted the building featured below.

It’s in a photo of the ladies’ team’s game at Mountblow, Dalmuir, (which sadly the Daughters of the Rock lost,) and shows in the background the football pavilion at Mountblow which has obviously been given a much needed make-over since these pictures were taken (not to mention these.)

The pavilion dates from 1937 and I’ve seen it many a time when passing the sports ground on a train but had never photographed it myself.

Now I won’t have to.

Glasgow University’s Reading Room is on University Avenue, Glasgow:-

It is circular in shape but it’s really only the entrance doors and facade which look Deco. The rest is more like a post-war 1950s/60s building:-

More than a hint of Art Deco style here. The flats are on Falcon Road West:-

Corner of Falcon Road West and Falcon Road:-

Looking up Falcon Road:-

There are similar flats on Falcon Avenue.

The MiM mini guides are produced by Modernism in Metroland and feature the modernist buildings of a particular location or architect. They are A5 size and include text and colour images of the guides’ buildings.

Knowing my interest in the Art Deco and Modernist styles my elder son and his architect wife gave me the undernoted two mini guides as a birthday present last year. Both were compiled by Joshua Abbott.

MiM Mini Guide No. 3. Speculative Suburban Houses 1928-38.

MiM Mini Guide No. 5. Interwar Industrial Architecture:-

It is not so much the text of these kinds of books (or mini books if you prefer) as the illustrations which are the main aspect.

As the Metroland denomination implies the contents are all buildings from the London area.

Nevertheless they are a delight to anyone with a passion for the architeture of the inter-war years.

In June last year we visited The Netherlands again. One of the day trips we took was to Dokkum, in Friesland.

On the way in to the town fom the car park, along the canal, I spotted this house (in that Dutch fashion known as De Stijl?) which is so Art Deco looking:-

Further on was this scene which is so Dutch it’s almost a cliché, canal and windmill – with lovely bridge added in:-

The Town House in Dokkum has a carillon tower:-

Town House:-

A sculpture in the twon:-

Side view:-

Another almost deco building:-

Dokkum is one of Friesland’s eleven cities between which an ice-skating race known as the Elfstedentocht used to take place when there was ice on the canals. I suspect it’s extremely unlikely ever to be held again as the winters are no longer cold enough long enough for any ice to be safe to skate on. In honour of that history, though, the canal side benches in Dokkum are in the shape of an ice skate:-

In 2018 eleven artists designed a fountain each for the eleven cities. Dokkum’s is known as the Ice Fountain:-

Ice Fountain information:-