Rookwood Pottery

I read in this morning's newspaper that Rookwood Pottery now has a store in a Cincinnati neighborhood called Over-the-Rhine.  Over-the-Rhine is a historic neighborhood that has been experiencing a renaissance.  

If you know art pottery, you probably know Rookwood Pottery.  It has been made in Cincinnati, Ohio since Maria Longworth Nichols founded the company in 1880.

This is the Rookwood Pottery building, where Rookwood Pottery was made.  It sits at the top of Mount Adams, which overlooks downtown Cincinnati.

Rookwood Pottery employed a series of artists, who have become well known for their work there.

This is the building as it appears today, a Cincinnati landmark:

These are some examples of Rookwood Pottery:

Rookwood Vases:

(There is an extensive and beautiful collection of these in the Cincinnati Art Museum.)

Rookwood Tiles:

Many older homes in Cincinnati were furnished with Rookwood tile fireplaces:

Rookwood tiles appear on a number of public buildings in Cincinnati, too.

This is the Dixie Terminal Building, with Rookwood details framing the doorway.

There are several Carnegie Libraries in Cincinnati neighborhoods that have Rookwood details.

Other Rookwood pieces:

Through Google, I have found out that Rookwood faience was used in New York City, in subway stations.  There are some beautiful exam;es.

Astor Place

Canal Street

Washington Square

33rd Street

Fulton Street IRT

Looking at these made me feel sad.  In those days, there was so much care put into these public spaces to make them beautiful.  Now, most are ignored and many are deteriorating.  Things were innocent and hopeful in those days.

Anyway, back to the beginning of my story:  now there is a store in Cincinnati where you can buy Rookwood, and Rookwood is being produced in Cincinnati again.  There is a long story about how it declined during the depression, was sold off, then brought back to Cincinnati, where it is being produced again.  You can read about it on Wikipedia.