Confusion

OK, some of you may like this door and others of you may find it too much. I have to say that I like the door and I like the arch....BUT!! I don't know that I really like the door AND the arch together! I mean hey, look at the arch...it screams an entirely different style than the door....neogothic... renaissance..., but the door is talking art nouveau with a bit of art deco. What??? I call this architectural schizophrenia.

Let's first look at the arch, and the door's frame...carved stone, arches, figures, repetitive carved floral frame with a very gothic/neogothic feel to it.

The door? Well, it is wooden, green (?), has large brass handles on it, geometric-shaped windows, stylised flowers, stained-glass windows (behind a regular plate glass window) containing shapes typical to the art nouveau period and finally, the decorative metal (reinforcement?) plates that adorn certain parts of the door. I have a strong impression that the black metal stylised plates were an afterthought. Why do I think this? Well, I have come across many art nouveau and art deco period doors, but so far I have never seen one from either period that had metal plates on them like this one does.

In light of this, I return to my point of departure. Some people like this door and others don't. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure where I stand...I do like many of this door's and arch's elements, but I think having them mixed all together gives me a bit of a nauseous feeling. What about you? How does this combination of styles make you feel?

Peaceful and Pleasant

This door (well actually this set of doors since it consists of a wrought iron gate and the actual door) faces a small, quiet little square that has a couple of nice trees and several inviting benches When the weather is nice, you'll be hard-pressed to find an empty bench on that square. Myself, I have often gone to that square to sit and think in peace during my lunch hour. I can imagine that coming home to this door on this square must be nice. To wake up and walk out of this door and see that square would also be nice.

And this door is nice!! So it deserves nice, right? Yes. Let's take a look at this nice door...it has alovely floral motif arch, a pretty and very elaborate wrought-iron gate, art nouveau relief on the walls in the space between the gate and the door and, finally, a beautiful door...green, light and inviting. And a quite unique handle, too! All these things together make for a wonderful package. I'll take it! Or rather I would...if I could!!

Big School Door

This is a huge door! It was so big that I had a hard time squeezing it and its frame into my camera's viewfinder without having to stand in the middle of a very busy street!! The door rather simple, but still is charming with it's modest decoration and as always, I like the wood. The door's frame with it's ribbons and wreaths floating delicately are happy and uplifting, but what I really like about this door is the fact that somewhere along the way, someone must have gotten tired of swinging that big door open and closed a million times a day so they decided to just cut it in half and only open and close half the door! And why not?! This is a door to a school afterall...can you imagine how much use this door gets on an average day? And now, imagine that the lower half of door is tall enough for a 2m / 6ft person to walk through...that should help you comprehend the size of this door. BIG!!

I like the mail slot. For once, it isn't a tiny little thing that only lets you slip one very thin piece of paper through it at a time; no, this mail slot means business. It is ready to receive books and thick documents, but given the size of the door, I suppose it is only fair that the mail slot be of a proportional size. And yes, the door handle is also big. Hey, maybe once upon a time this was a school for giants! That would explain everything (or nearly)!

Simple yet Beautiful

And here we are back in my favourite era....Art Nouveau. This is a rather confusing door because it is so non-typical for an entry directly to the street. But that's just what it is. I can't tell you anything about what is behind this door (though just a few days ago I did see someone using it). It is possible that these doors open up completely to allow a car or large vehicle to pass through and into a courtyard, but somehow I just have a hard time imagining it. In any case, the door (or set of doors) is in great shape, has lovely wrought-iron work on it and the Art Nouveau designs above the door are simple yet beautiful.

Wordless Wednesday

A Big, Beautiful Door

I like this door. I like how it is big, interesting, of a light wood, has a happy wrought-iron work design and the arch around it is also cheerful and unimposing. What I also like about this door is that you look at it and unless you see the handle right away, you aren't sure which of what looks like 4 doors is the one you open.

I don't know who had the brilliant idea to put that lime-green paint around it...I'm trying to understand what they might have been thinking when they did that, but I'm not finding an answer. Oh well, the door and frame are just the same both very lovely.

Welcome to your local Police Station!

You might not believe me, but walking through this door will lead you to a local police station. I know, not TERRIBLY inviting, but step in for a closer look. Start with the frame...it has some really nice detail work including a repeating flower-inspired motif that makes up the second inner frame; spiraling floral designs that fill the expanse above the door; a long branch of leaves that end where the tail of a fish begins; and the tiny, delicate repeating pattern that outlines the top and underneath the balcony supported by the fish/flower scroll combination.

As for the door, it is big and solid and appealing, albeit rather sober, but it too has a lovely floral motif that decorates the tops of the double doors.

I just had to add this last picture because this is something that is pretty rare, but, in my opinion, fabulous...wood cobblestones!! This picture shows the door's threshold. At the bottom of this picture are normal basalt cobblestons (which make-up the exterior/sidewalk part of the entrance to this building) then a horizontal wood threshold, then wood cobblestones (which are in the corridor). These cobblestones are made from the heart of a hardwood tree - beech? - and are usually about 4" x 4" x 4" /10cm x 10cm x 10cm in size. Once upon a time they might have been more common, however nowadays they are pretty rare. I think they are wonderful...warm and giving and far easier on the body to walk on than concrete or tiles.

...and behind Door Number 32 We Have...

OK, before you get up on your high horse and tell me that this is not a door, but only a frame, let me explain. (Oh! I'm a poet!) Several people have mentioned that they would like to know what is BEHIND some of the doors I photograph...now I can at least show you what is behind THIS door!!

Yes, there IS a door in this picture... look closely to the right side, you can see a green wood door which looks like a lot of other doors of this shape and size. And the door is a great camouflage for what is behind it which is typically a courtyard or maybe a store (see yesterday's post). We can see that the owner(s) of this building decided to use the passageway for something entirely different - to open up access to underground parking! Parking under an old building like this in the middle of Prague? Rare!! The bad news about that is that they had to sacrifice the old cellars under the building so they could make the parking area. If you know Prague at all, you have certainly visited at least one restaurant in a cellar...there are tons of restaurants in cellars in the centre of town because (nearly) every building has a cellar and nearly all of them have, or have the potential to have, immense charm.

We can see that the owners have opened up the view from the street to the courtyard by glassing in the space around what is left of the passageway resulting in giving the impression that the viewer is looking directly into the courtyard... Cool!!

Finally, so that you don't think I have forgotten the theme of this blog, I have a quick comment about this door's arch: it is simple and attractive, made of a warm stone and engraved with a floral motif and, best of all, it is inviting. This door would have found its way into my blog even if the door had been closed...I swear!

Stone Garlands

Today, after meeting a friend for a coffee, I took a walk in the area of Prague between the main train station, Winceslas Square and Jindrisska Street. The weather was rotten and piles of ice and old, dirty snow cling to sidewalks, curbs and streets everywhere. Though I could have sworn the temperature was below freezing, it must have been just a hair above the freezing mark because melting snow and ice clumps were falling from rooftops all over town. Thanks to such falling snow and ice, I was forced to change sidewalks, which allowed me to come upon this door from a reasonable distance. As you might guess, I was immediately charmed by it.

If you have been to Prague or if you live here, you certainly know that the majority of these old doors and their elaborate door frames are ENORMOUS!! Taking a picture that contains all the elements of the door and frame is not a simple task. Actually, often it is nearly impossible unless you have a: a fish-eye lens and/or b: an unobstructed view of the door from about 30 meters away - which in most cases would put you smack in the middle of house or building across the street from the door. Such was the case here, so I took two pictures of the door and frame: the first photo is of as much as I could fit into the picture and the second photo shows the upper part of the door frame and a better view of the hanging stone garland and the other floral elements. (Are you as impressed as I am by that stone garland?? Wow!!) Because door handles are also often (but not always!!) noteworthy, the third photo includes a close-up of the especially lovely ones on this door.