Norman Bel Geddes
Encyclopedia
Norman Melancton Bel Geddes (April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American
theatrical and industrial design
er who focused on aerodynamics
.
Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan
, and raised in New Philadelphia, Ohio
, the son of Flora Luelle (née Yingling) and Clifton T. Geddes, a stockbroker. When he married a woman named Helen Belle Schneider in 1916, they incorporated their names to Bel Geddes. Their daughter was actress Barbara Bel Geddes
.
He began his career with set designs for Aline Barnsdall
's Los Angeles Little Theater in the 1916-1917 season, then in 1918 as the scene designer
for the Metropolitan Opera
in New York. He designed and directed various theatrical works, from Arabesque and The Five O'Clock Girl
on Broadway to an ice show entitled It Happened on Ice produced by Sonja Henie
. He created set designs for the film Feet of Clay
(1924), directed by Cecil B. DeMille
, designed costumes for Max Reinhardt
, and created the sets for the Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley
's Dead End
(1935).
Bel Geddes opened an industrial-design studio in 1927, and designed a wide range of commercial products, from cocktail shakers to commemorative medallions to radio cabinets. His designs extended to unrealized futuristic concepts: a teardrop-shaped automobile, and an Art Deco House of Tomorrow. In 1929, he designed "Airliner Number 4," a 9-deck amphibian airliner
that incorporated areas for deck-games, an orchestra
, a gymnasium
, a solarium
, and two airplane hangar
s.
Bel Geddes's book Horizons (1932) had a significant impact: "By popularizing streamlining when only a few engineers were considering its functional use, he made possible the design style of the thirties." He wrote forward-looking articles for popular American periodicals.
Bel Geddes designed the General Motors Pavilion, known as Futurama
, for the 1939 New York World's Fair
. For that famous and enormously influential installation, Bel Geddes exploited his earlier work in the same vein: he had designed a "Metropolis City of 1960" in 1936.
Bel Geddes's book Magic Motorways (1940) promoted advances in highway design and transportation, foreshadowing the Interstate Highway System
("there should be no more reason for a motorist who is passing through a city to slow down than there is for an airplane which is passing over it"). His autobiography, Miracle in the Evening, was published posthumously in 1960.
"Norman," written by Gerry Beckley
of the band America
and performed by Jeff Larson on his 2002 album Fragile Sunrise, is an homage to Bel Geddes.
The case for the Mark I computer
was designed by Norman Bel Geddes. IBM
's Thomas Watson
presented it to Harvard. At the time, some saw it as a waste of resources, since computing power was in high demand during this part of World War II and those funds could have been used to build additional equipment.
The United States Postal Service celebrated the First-Day-Of-Issue for a commemorative U.S. postage stamp honoring Bel Geddes as a "Pioneer Of American Industrial Design" on June 29, 2011 at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in NYC.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatrical and industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
er who focused on aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
.
Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan
Adrian, Michigan
As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...
, and raised in New Philadelphia, Ohio
New Philadelphia, Ohio
New Philadelphia is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, 71 miles south of Cleveland on the Tuscarawas River. It was first incorporated in 1808. Coal and clay are found in the vicinity...
, the son of Flora Luelle (née Yingling) and Clifton T. Geddes, a stockbroker. When he married a woman named Helen Belle Schneider in 1916, they incorporated their names to Bel Geddes. Their daughter was actress Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
.
He began his career with set designs for Aline Barnsdall
Aline Barnsdall
Louise Aline Barnsdall was an American oil heiress, best known as Frank Lloyd Wright's client for the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, now the centerpiece of the city's Barnsdall Art Park.- Biography :...
's Los Angeles Little Theater in the 1916-1917 season, then in 1918 as the scene designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
for the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York. He designed and directed various theatrical works, from Arabesque and The Five O'Clock Girl
The Five O'Clock Girl
The Five O'Clock Girl is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, music by Harry Ruby, and lyrics by Bert Kalmar. It focuses on wealthy Beekman Place playboy Gerald Brooks and impoverished shopgirl Patricia Brown, who become acquainted with each other via a series of anonymous 5...
on Broadway to an ice show entitled It Happened on Ice produced by Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
. He created set designs for the film Feet of Clay
Feet of Clay (film)
Feet of Clay is a drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Vera Reynolds and Rod La Rocque, and with set design by Norman Bel Geddes. The film is now considered to be a lost film.-Cast:* Vera Reynolds - Amy Loring...
(1924), directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
, designed costumes for Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
, and created the sets for the Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley
Sidney Kingsley
Sidney Kingsley was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Men in White in 1934.- Biography :...
's Dead End
Dead End
Dead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
(1935).
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
that incorporated areas for deck-games, an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, a gymnasium
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, a solarium
Solarium
Solarium may refer to:* Similar to a Sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun. Solariums have glass roofs , unlike sunrooms...
, and two airplane hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s.
Bel Geddes's book Horizons (1932) had a significant impact: "By popularizing streamlining when only a few engineers were considering its functional use, he made possible the design style of the thirties." He wrote forward-looking articles for popular American periodicals.
Bel Geddes designed the General Motors Pavilion, known as Futurama
Futurama (New York World's Fair)
Futurama was an exhibit/ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes that tried to show the world 20 years into the future . Sponsored by the General Motors Corporation, the installation was characterised by its automated highways and vast suburbs...
, for the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. For that famous and enormously influential installation, Bel Geddes exploited his earlier work in the same vein: he had designed a "Metropolis City of 1960" in 1936.
Bel Geddes's book Magic Motorways (1940) promoted advances in highway design and transportation, foreshadowing the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
("there should be no more reason for a motorist who is passing through a city to slow down than there is for an airplane which is passing over it"). His autobiography, Miracle in the Evening, was published posthumously in 1960.
"Norman," written by Gerry Beckley
Gerry Beckley
Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley is a founding member of the band America.Beckley was born to an American father, and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music...
of the band America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
and performed by Jeff Larson on his 2002 album Fragile Sunrise, is an homage to Bel Geddes.
The case for the Mark I computer
Harvard Mark I
The IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator , called the Mark I by Harvard University, was an electro-mechanical computer....
was designed by Norman Bel Geddes. IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's Thomas Watson
Thomas J. Watson
Thomas John Watson, Sr. was president of International Business Machines , who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956...
presented it to Harvard. At the time, some saw it as a waste of resources, since computing power was in high demand during this part of World War II and those funds could have been used to build additional equipment.
The United States Postal Service celebrated the First-Day-Of-Issue for a commemorative U.S. postage stamp honoring Bel Geddes as a "Pioneer Of American Industrial Design" on June 29, 2011 at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in NYC.
External links
- Documentation of "Highways and Horizons"
- http://www.archive.org/details/ToNewHor1940"To New Horizons" - a video document recording the display at the 1939/40 World's Fair (from Prelinger archivesPrelinger ArchivesThe Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life and social history...
)] - http://www.archive.org/details/magicmotorways00geddrichMagic Motorways, by Norman Bel Geddes (from Prelinger LibraryPrelinger LibraryThe Prelinger Library is a privately funded public library in San Francisco founded in 2004 and operated by Rick Prelinger and his spouse, Megan Shaw Prelinger. It features over 50,000 books, periodicals and pieces of print ephemera...
)] - http://www.archive.org/details/horizons00geddrichHorizons, by Norman Bel Geddes (from Prelinger LibraryPrelinger LibraryThe Prelinger Library is a privately funded public library in San Francisco founded in 2004 and operated by Rick Prelinger and his spouse, Megan Shaw Prelinger. It features over 50,000 books, periodicals and pieces of print ephemera...
)] - IDSA-Los Angeles, More about Norman Bel Geddes
- A Fine Road Not Taken (provides details of Airliner Number 4)
- Norman Bel Geddes Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...