Urban, Joseph, 1872-1933
Dates
- Existence: Birth - Death
Biography
Joseph Urban was born in Vienna and studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna—under prominent architect Otto Wagner, he later established himself as an architect as well as a book illustrator and theatrical designer. In 1911 he emigrated to the United States to become the designer of the Boston Opera Company. After the company went bankrupt, he began designing sets in New York for the Ziegfeld Follies and the Metropolitan Opera. He also worked at Randolph Hearst’s Cosmopolitan Productions from 1919–1924, where he designed film sets. He was the first art director to design Moderne sets, such as Enchantment (1921)—the first American movie to feature modern interior design—and The Young Diana (1922). Urban was able to open his architectural studio in New York with the money he made designing sets.
Urban contributed to the boom time architecture in Palm Beach by designing extravagant buildings that defied classification. His work has been described as Moorish Deco, Mediterranean Revival with Hispano-Moresque details, and simply “Urbanesque.” Three of his extant designs opened in 1927: Mar-a-Lago (redesign), the Bath and Tennis Club, and the Paramount Theater.
Occupations
Places
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
139 North County Road - Paramount Building
The Property File Collection houses over 3,000 property files that document vital information about the built environment of Palm Beach. The collection is arranged by address and contains brochures, photographs, newspaper articles, historic designaton reports, and other relevant property information. All files can be scanned upon request, although a majority are already digitized.
1100 South Ocean, Mar-a-Lago, 1928 - 2018, bulk: 1972 - 2005
The Property File Collection houses over 3,000 property files that document vital information about the built environment of Palm Beach. The collection is arranged by address and contains brochures, photographs, newspaper articles, historic designaton reports, and other relevant property information. All files can be scanned upon request, although a majority are already digitized.
1170 South Ocean - Bath and Tennis Club, 1926, Landmark Designation
The Property File Collection houses over 3,000 property files that document vital information about the built environment of Palm Beach. The collection is arranged by address and contains brochures, photographs, newspaper articles, historic designaton reports, and other relevant property information. All files can be scanned upon request, although a majority are already digitized.
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Bath and Tennis Club 1
- Mar-a-Lago 1