The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 8 (April, 1971)

Film Center, 1929630 Ninth AvenueBuchman and Kahn, architectsThis thirteen-story brick building, given over primarilyto storage and exchange facilities for films (whichwere of a highly explosive nature at the time of construction),is significant for its interiors. Although thebrickwork and decorative terracotta cladding on theupper floors is handled well, it is the metal andstonework of the structure's public spaces that areimportant. The motifs of the elevator doors, mailbox,radiator grilles, and wall and ceiling ornament recallthe carefully executed textiles and metalwork of theAmericas' earliest civilizations: the wall and ceilingornament in incised and layered bronze, for instance,suggests a metallic rendering of magnificent featheredrobes and hangings. The banded marble walls in theelevator lobby, the abstract patterns of the terrazzofloors, and the intricate metalwork produce an excitinginterior of elaborate craftsmanship.Photographs: Sigurd Fischer