Venetian Curiosities

Menegazzo in Los Angeles

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A friend has sent this image of Marino Menegazzo’s gold leaf in Los Angeles.

The caption in Wikipedia (public domain) explains that the original 1939 building was home to the May company department store.  For the curious, the style is Art Deco and Streamline Moderne. Formerly part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus, since 2021 it houses The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, located on Wilshire Boulevard at the western end of the “Miracle Mile.”

Lest you think, as I did at first, that the cylinder’s surface itself is covered with gold leaf (I tip my hat to the legendary Ca’ d’Oro on the Grand Canal), let me clarify that it is made of more than 350,000 glass and gold-leaf mosaic tiles.  Some of the original tiles were so deteriorated that they had to be replaced, so preservation specialist John Fidler turned to the original producer, Orsoni, in Venice.  Not for the first time, Orsoni turned to Menegazzo for the required leaves of gold to be placed within the new glass tiles.

That’s all I know but it made my day.

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12 Comments

  4. I live in LA and see this gorgeous building frequently; also love Venice and spent six weeks there last year. Never have I been so happy to have my worlds collide. Thank you for the wonderful newsletters!

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    1. Apologies — I’m very behind in responding. But I wanted to say thanks for writing to me and letting me know how my scribbles alerted you to your colliding worlds. It’s always wonderful to hear from someone who reads me and likes what they read.

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  6. And mine!
    What serendipity!
    What is the weight of the gold on that façade? It’s pointless to ask what it’s worth, as that changes minute-by-minute.

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    2. I might be able to discover that detail for you, but I can assure you the total weight will not be heavy — on the contrary, it will undoubtedly be light enough to be weighed in “human hairs.” I know you know that.

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  7. Thanks for that link to Orsoni, what is it about glass mosaic that is so fascinating and exciting, in fact, one of my goals before I get too old to do it is to travel once again to Sicily and find those fabulous mosaics from a Roman villa up in the hills its name I don’t remember at the moment. I’ll try again next year……

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