LaurieAnnie's photos with the keyword: metro

The Los Angeles Subway is the rapid transit system of the city of Los Angeles, California. In the 1980s, Los Angeles County decided to build a network of metro and light rail lines. Although the first light rail opened in 1990, the only underground subway - the Red Line - opened in 1993 after seven years of construction. The Red Line runs from downtown Los Angeles westwards to Hollywood and North Hollywood. All of the underground stations boast an interesting design, as 0.5% of the total construction budget of the stations was reserved for public art. Due to the city's proximity to fault lines, tunnels had to be built to resist earthquakes of up to magnitude 7.5. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County_Metro_Rail

Hector Guimard. (French, 1867-1942). Entrance Gate to Paris Subway (Métropolitain) Station, Paris, France. c. 1900. Painted cast iron, glazed lava, and glass, 13' 11" x 17' 10" x 32" (424.2 x 543.6 x 81.3 cm) Each vertical stanchion: 1040 lbs. Horizontal component: 460 lbs. Glazed lava sign: 100 lbs. Gift of Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens Publication excerpt The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, MoMA Highlights, p. 39 The emergence of the Art Nouveau style toward the end of the nineteenth century resulted from a search for a new aesthetic that was not based on historical or classical models. The sinuous, organic lines of Guimard's design and the stylized, giant stalks drooping under the weight of what seem to be swollen tropical flowers, but are actually amber glass lamps, make this a quintessentially Art Nouveau piece. His designs for this famous entrance arch and two others were intended to visually enhance the experience of underground travel on the new subway system for Paris. Paris was not the first city to implement an underground system (London already had one), but the approaching Paris Exposition of 1900 accelerated the need for an efficient and attractive means of mass transportation. Although Guimard never formally entered the competition for the design of the system's entrance gates that had been launched by the Compagnie du Métropolitain in 1898, he won the commission with his avant-garde schemes, all using standardized cast-iron components to facilitate manufacture, transport, and assembly. While Parisians were at first hesitant in their response to Guimard's use of an unfamiliar vocabulary, his Métro gates, installed throughout the city, effectively brought the Art Nouveau style, formerly associated with the luxury market, into the realm of popular culture. Text from: moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=2393

Hector Guimard. (French, 1867-1942). Entrance Gate to Paris Subway (Métropolitain) Station, Paris, France. c. 1900. Painted cast iron, glazed lava, and glass, 13' 11" x 17' 10" x 32" (424.2 x 543.6 x 81.3 cm) Each vertical stanchion: 1040 lbs. Horizontal component: 460 lbs. Glazed lava sign: 100 lbs. Gift of Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens Publication excerpt The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, MoMA Highlights, p. 39 The emergence of the Art Nouveau style toward the end of the nineteenth century resulted from a search for a new aesthetic that was not based on historical or classical models. The sinuous, organic lines of Guimard's design and the stylized, giant stalks drooping under the weight of what seem to be swollen tropical flowers, but are actually amber glass lamps, make this a quintessentially Art Nouveau piece. His designs for this famous entrance arch and two others were intended to visually enhance the experience of underground travel on the new subway system for Paris. Paris was not the first city to implement an underground system (London already had one), but the approaching Paris Exposition of 1900 accelerated the need for an efficient and attractive means of mass transportation. Although Guimard never formally entered the competition for the design of the system's entrance gates that had been launched by the Compagnie du Métropolitain in 1898, he won the commission with his avant-garde schemes, all using standardized cast-iron components to facilitate manufacture, transport, and assembly. While Parisians were at first hesitant in their response to Guimard's use of an unfamiliar vocabulary, his Métro gates, installed throughout the city, effectively brought the Art Nouveau style, formerly associated with the luxury market, into the realm of popular culture. Text from: moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=2393