My mother and I just about died when they tore the Alhambra down. Yes, it was put to a vote and lost. Mom’s dad had a hand in the construction of the Alhambra, where he worked on the fountain area in a technique called Scagliola.
The word “scagliola” derives from the Italian scaglia, which means “scales or chips of marble.” Although this artificial marble is indistinguishable from the original, it is actually a colored and polished plaster. Like real marble, scagliola’s complex twists and veins go deep into the stone. Scagliola, therefore, provides a durable surface which is far more permanent and far more realistic in appearance than faux surfaces, usually wood, which are painted to resemble marble.
In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, scagliola was also very popular in the United States. Artificial marble furnishings at that time were created chiefly by itinerant plasterers, men who kept the details of their fabrication process a secret. After the 1920’s, however, techniques of fabrication were forgotten. Scagliola virtually disappeared from American architecture.
I remember the first time I saw it and my mom told me that Grandpa had done much of it.
As a teenager, I spent many a Saturday in that theater in the 1950s. I saw a re-release of Gone with the Wind there around 1957 or 1958.
There’s a guy who sells old time photos at area mall art shows and paper ephemera shows. I believe he has a great photo of the Alhambra, However, I don’t know who he is. He may live in Auburn. Wish I knew more.
My mother and I just about died when they tore the Alhambra down. Yes, it was put to a vote and lost. Mom’s dad had a hand in the construction of the Alhambra, where he worked on the fountain area in a technique called Scagliola.
The word “scagliola” derives from the Italian scaglia, which means “scales or chips of marble.” Although this artificial marble is indistinguishable from the original, it is actually a colored and polished plaster. Like real marble, scagliola’s complex twists and veins go deep into the stone. Scagliola, therefore, provides a durable surface which is far more permanent and far more realistic in appearance than faux surfaces, usually wood, which are painted to resemble marble.
In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, scagliola was also very popular in the United States. Artificial marble furnishings at that time were created chiefly by itinerant plasterers, men who kept the details of their fabrication process a secret. After the 1920’s, however, techniques of fabrication were forgotten. Scagliola virtually disappeared from American architecture.
I remember the first time I saw it and my mom told me that Grandpa had done much of it.
As a teenager, I spent many a Saturday in that theater in the 1950s. I saw a re-release of Gone with the Wind there around 1957 or 1958.
There’s a guy who sells old time photos at area mall art shows and paper ephemera shows. I believe he has a great photo of the Alhambra, However, I don’t know who he is. He may live in Auburn. Wish I knew more.