Joseph Urban

{{Short description|Austrian-American architect (1872–1933)}} {{for|the Czechoslovak wrestler|Josef Urban}} {{Use American English|date = September 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Joseph Urban | image = Joseph Urban circa 1915.jpg | alt =  | caption = Joseph Urban, {{circa|1915}} | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|05|26}} | birth_place = Vienna, Austria-Hungary | death_date = {{Death date and age|1933|07|10|1872|05|26}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | other_names = | occupation = Architect, illustrator, scenic designer | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = Mary Porter Beegle (m. 1919) }} '''Joseph Urban''' (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite news |author=Paul Goldberger |author-link=Paul Goldberger |title=At the Cooper-Hewitt, Designs of Joseph Urban |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/20/arts/at-the-cooper-hewitt-designs-of-joseph-urban.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 20, 1987 |access-date=January 17, 2014 }}</ref>

==Life and career== [[File:Joseph Urban-gezeichnet von R Swoboda, um 1900.jpg|left|160px|thumb|Caricature by Rudolf Swoboda (c. 1900)]] right|260px|thumb|Joseph Urban set design drawing for ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1919'' Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 when he was selected to design the new wing of the Abdin Palace in Cairo by Tewfik Pasha. He became known around the world for his innovative use of color, his pointillist technique, and his decorative use of line. He designed buildings throughout the world from Esterhazy Castle in Hungary to the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York.

Urban studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Karl von Hasenauer. In 1890, he and his brother-in-law, Heinrich Lefler, were among the founders of the Hagenbund. Urban's early work with illustrated books was inspired by Lefler and, together, they created what are considered seminal examples of children's book illustration.

Urban immigrated to the United States in 1911<ref>{{cite book|title=Design of the 20th Century|first1=Charlotte|last1=Fiell|first2=Peter|last2=Fiell|publisher=Taschen|location=Köln|edition=25th anniversary|year=2005|page=700|isbn=9783822840788|oclc=809539744}}</ref> to become the art director of the Boston Opera Company. He was already an accomplished international architect, illustrator and theatre set designer with over 50 productions from his home Vienna Royal Opera, the Champs-Elysées Opera, and Covent Garden. By applying points of primary colors side by side on the canvas backdrops he was able to create and light theatre sets of vivid color reminiscent of the works by Monet or Seurat.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} In 1914, he moved to New York City, where he designed productions for the Metropolitan Opera and the Ziegfeld Follies;<ref name="New School Archives"/> he continued to design for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. until 1931.<ref name="Henderson">{{cite book |last1=Henderson |first1=Amy |last2=Bowers |first2=Dwight Blocker |title=Red Hot and Blue: A Smithsonian Salute to the American Musical |year=1996 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=1-56098-698-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/redhotbluesmiths00hend/page/47 47] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/redhotbluesmiths00hend/page/47 }}</ref> William Randolph Hearst was an important client and supporter. He also co-produced with Richard Ordynski Percy MacKaye's "Community Masque" ''Caliban by the Yellow Sands''.<ref name="Mackaye">{{cite book |last=Mackaye |first=Percy |title=Caliban by the Yellow Sands |date=1916 |publisher=Doubleday Page & Co. |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/calibanbyyellow02mackgoog/page/n189 153] |url=https://archive.org/details/calibanbyyellow02mackgoog}}</ref>

Beginning in 1917, he was frequently engaged as stage designer by the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. In all he created set designs for 47 new productions at the house through 1933. His many designs provided the opera company with a cohesive production style throughout the tenure of General Manager Giulio Gatti-Casazza. Many of Urban's settings remained in the company's repertoire into the 1950s.

Soon his sets and innovative lighting caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., who hired him to design the ''Follies'' in the 1920s. Urban went to work creating a stunning night-club with glass balconies, a moving stage, and rainbow lighting effects. This Danse de Follies soon became a blend of ideas and talent before serving in the Follies theatre. Urban had success after success in his creating of the Follies' sets, and William Randolph Hearst, a media tycoon, took notice and wanted to hire Urban to work on his films starring Marion Davies, his mistress, and previous Follies starlet. Hearst came to an understanding with his friend Ziegfeld that Urban's work for him would not interfere with any of the Follies productions. Urban worked on 25 films over the years.

Urban died July 10, 1933, of a heart attack at his apartment at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, where he had been convalescing following surgery in May.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |title=Joseph Urban Dies; Versatile Artist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/07/11/archives/joseph-urban-dies-versatile-artist-won-fame-as-architect-stage-set.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 11, 1933 |access-date=January 17, 2014 }}</ref>

==Legacy== Urban was one of the originators of the American Art Deco style. Extant buildings include the Mar-a-Lago, The Bath and Tennis Club, and The Paramount Theater all in Palm Beach, Florida; The New School building in New York City;<ref name="New School Archives">{{cite web |url=http://library.newschool.edu/archives/findingaids/NS090101.html |title=Guide to the 66 West Twelfth Street Architectural Plans and Drawings 1924–1986|website=Archives and Special Collections |publisher=The New School |access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> and the base of the Hearst Tower in New York City. The stage lighting gel Roscolux Urban Blue #81, still used today, is named for him.<ref name="New School Archives"/>

==Work== ===Architecture and interior design=== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 = GENERAL VIEW FROM NORTHWEST REAR OF AUDITORIUM TO STAGE - Paramount Theatre, Sunrise Avenue and North County Road, Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, FL HABS FLA,50-PALM,5-11.tif | alt1 = | caption1 = Paramount Theatre interior, Palm Beach, Florida | image2 = April 1967 ENTRANCE HALL LOOKING TOWARD MAIN ENTRANCE DOOR - Mar-a-Lago, 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, FL HABS FLA,50-PALM,1-13.tif | alt2 = | caption2 = Entrance hallway, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida | image3 = Ziegfeld-Theatre-1931.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City | image4 = Hearst Tower (Manhattan, New York) 002.jpg | alt4 = | caption4 = Base of Hearst Tower, New York City | image5 = 66 West 12th Street New School entrance.jpg | alt5 = | caption5 = Entrance to The New School, New York City | total_width = }} This partial list<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/rare/guides/Urban/index.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050916061717/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/rare/guides/Urban/index.html|date=September 16, 2005}}</ref> omits unrealized projects.<ref name="Henderson" /> * 1900: Wohn- und Bürohaus Wien 8, Buchfeldgasse 6 (with Hermann Stierlin) * 1902: Villa Goltz, Wien 19, Grinzinger Straße 87 * 1903: Villa Wiener, Wien 13, Veitingergasse 21 * 1904: Exhibition space, Austrian Pavilion, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri<ref name="Ostergard">{{cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/text.html#theater |title=Assimilation and Eclecticism: The Architecture of Joseph Urban |last=Ostergard |first=Derek E. |date=2000 |website=Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> * 1907: Villa Redlich, Wien 19, Kreindlgasse 11 * 1907: Wohnhaus, Wien 19, Krottenbachstraße 11 * 1907: Villa Max Landau, Semmering, Südbahnstraße 83 * 1910: Villa Dr. Mair, Scheiblingkirchen, Kreuzackergasse 43 * 1920: Sherman Hotel Panther Room, Chicago<ref name="Cannan">{{cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/text.html#overview |title=The Joseph Urban Collection: An Overview Gwynedd Cannan |last=Cannan |first=Gwynedd |date=2000 |website=Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> * 1922: Wiener Werkstätte showroom, New York City<ref name="Aronson">{{cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/text.html#theater |title=Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban |last=Aronson |first=Arnold |date=2000 |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> * 1925: C.C. Lightbown House, 4839 Colorado Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, Permit #7278, March 10, 1925, cost $25,000. * 1926: Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida<ref name="Aronson"/> * 1926: Demarest Little Castle, Palm Beach, Florida * 1926: Paramount Theatre, Palm Beach, Florida<ref name="Ostergard"/> * 1927: Anthony Biddle residence, Palm Beach, Florida<ref name="Ostergard"/> * 1927: Bath and Tennis Club, Palm Beach, Florida<ref name="Ostergard"/> * 1927: Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City<ref name="Aronson"/> * 1926–27: St. Regis Hotel Roof Garden<ref name="Aronson"/> * 1928: Hotel Gibson Roof Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio * 1928: Bossert Hotel, Grill Room, Brooklyn * 1928: Bedell Store, New York City<ref name="Aronson"/><ref name="Ostergard"/> * 1928–29: William Penn Hotel, Urban Room, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<ref name="Checklist">{{cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/text.html#checklist |title=Checklist of the Exhibition |date=2000 |website=Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> * 1929: International Magazine Building, New York City<ref name="Aronson"/> * 1929: Central Park Casino * 1929: Metropolitan Museum of Art 11th annual exhibition of American Industrial Art * 1929: The Gingerbread Castle, Hamburg, New Jersey<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.preservationnj.org/site/ExpEng/index.php?/ten_most_12/index_detail/Wheatsworth_Mill_and_Gingerbread_Castle|title=Wheatsworth Mill and Gingerbread Castle|publisher=Preservation New Jersey|access-date=February 14, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225040/http://www.preservationnj.org/site/ExpEng/index.php?%2Ften_most_12%2Findex_detail%2FWheatsworth_Mill_and_Gingerbread_Castle|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/sussex-county/index.ssf/2018/10/nj_gingerbread_castle_getting_much-needed_makeover.html|title = N.J.'s landmark Gingerbread Castle getting much-needed restoration|date = October 3, 2018}}</ref> * 1930: The New School for Social Research, New York City<ref name="Ostergard"/> * 1929–31: Atlantic Beach Club, Long Island, New York<ref name="Aronson"/> * 1931: Park Avenue Restaurant, 128 E 58th Street<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/images/imagePopUp.html?fig76.jpg Photograph of Park Avenue Restaurant]</ref> * 1932: Congress Hotel, Joseph Urban Room, Chicago, Illinois * 1929: Urban Room, Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<ref>[http://professionaltravelguide.com/omni-william-penn-hotel/hotels-501342/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213060102/http://professionaltravelguide.com/omni-william-penn-hotel/hotels-501342/|date=February 13, 2008}}</ref> * 1933: Katherine Brush Apartment * 1933: Color scheme for the Century of Progress International Exposition

===Book illustrations=== * 1905: ''Grimm's Märchen'' * 1907: ''Kling-Klang Gloria'' * 1911: ''Andersen Kalender'' * 1914: ''Marienkind''

==References== {{Reflist}} *{{cite book |last1=Randolph |first1=Carter |last2=Cole |first2=Robert Reed |title=Joseph Urban: Architecture, Theater, Opera, Film |year=1992 |publisher=Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.) |isbn=0-89659-912-4 }} *{{cite book |last1=Aronson |first1=Arnold |last2=Ostergard |first2=Derek E. |last3=Smith |first3=Matthew Wilson |title=Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/architectOfDreams/origPub.html |year=2000 |publisher=Columbia University |location=NY NY |isbn=1-884919-08-1}} *{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Goldberger |title=At the Cooper-Hewitt, Designs of Joseph Urban |work=New York Times |date=December 20, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/20/arts/at-the-cooper-hewitt-designs-of-joseph-urban.html?scp=1&sq=At%20the%20Cooper-Hewitt,%20Designs%20of%20Joseph%20Urban&st=cse |access-date=June 22, 2009}} *{{cite journal |title=Joseph Urban |date=May 1934 |journal=Architecture |volume=LXIX |issue=5 |pages=251–290}}

== Further reading == * Curl, Donald W. "Joseph Urban's Palm Beach Architecture". Florida Historical Quarterly 71(April 1993): 436–457. * Berkovich, Gary. Reclaiming a History. Jewish Architects in Imperial Russia and the USSR. Volume 2. Soviet Avant-garde: 1917–1933. Weimar und Rostock: Grunberg Verlag. 2021. P. 155. {{ISBN|978-3-933713-63-6}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_4079423 Finding aid to the Joseph Urban papers] at the [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/rbml/index.html/ Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University] *[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/urban/ Joseph Urban's Stage Design Models and Documents Project] Columbia University *[http://cinematreasures.org/architect/170/ Cinema Treasures on Urban] *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040602131821/http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID124.htm Hearst Tower]}} Photographs *[http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV010NewSchoolforSocialResearch.htm New School for Social Research]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} *{{HALS |survey=NJ-4 |id=nj1833 |title=The Gingerbread Castle, Wheatsworth Road, Hamburg, Sussex County, New Jersey |data=8}} *[http://antiquityechoes.blogspot.com/2012/02/gingerbread-castle-and-wheatsworth-mill.html Antiquity Echoes] History, photos, and video of the Gingerbread Castle in Hamburg, New Jersey. *{{IBDB name}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Joseph}} Category:1872 births Category:1933 deaths Category:20th-century American architects Category:American scenic designers Category:Austrian scenic designers Category:Opera designers Category:Artists from Vienna Category:Architecture firms based in New York City Category:Architects from New York City Category:American people of Austrian descent Category:Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Category:Mar-a-Lago