Joseph Urban (American, b. Austria, 1872-1933), Ballroom, Central Park Casino, New York, 1929, watercolor, Joseph Urban Archive, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Caitlin Tracey-Miller and I am Assistant Director of Visitor Research at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description for the watercolor of the North and South Walls, Ballroom, Central Park Casino, New York City, 1928 in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

Created in 1928, this watercolor drawing of the North and South Walls of the Ballroom of the Central Park Casino in New York City was designed by Joseph Urban. He was an American who was born in Austria in 1872. He died in 1933. The work is part of the Joseph Urban Archive, Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University.

This landscape-oriented watercolor is a drawing of a mural depicting an abundance of floral ornament. The mural is placed in the center of the work and is surrounded by wall decoration with an allover black and green leaf pattern that sits above glossy black paneling. On each side of the mural are beige double doors.

Label Copy

Hello, my name is Caitlin Tracey-Miller and I am Assistant Director of Visitor Research at the museum. I will be reading the label for the watercolor of the North and South Walls, Ballroom, Central Park Casino, New York City, 1928 in Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

Created in 1928, this watercolor drawing of the North and South Walls of the Ballroom of the Central Park Casino in New York City was designed by Joseph Urban. He was an American who was born in Austria in 1872. He died in 1933. The work is part of the Joseph Urban Archive, Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University.

The Central Park Casino was one of the park’s original three restaurants. In 1928, Urban was hired to rejuvenate the building. This sketch illustrates his plan for two walls of the building’s large ballroom. Lush murals depicting banks of roses introduced deep reds and pale pinks to the room’s black, green, and gold color scheme. Urban described the line of the mural composition as "like the wave of a conductor’s baton beginning dance music." The ballroom’s ceiling was black glass. Upon the re-opening of the Casino, a writer for Harper’s Bazaar credited Urban with creating a spot that had become "the undisputed rendezvous of the smart Gothamites these torrid midsummer evenings."

Later in life, Elaine Wormser recalled that her father may have met Urban through an associate engaged in the Casino project. Correspondence between Wormser and Urban began in April 1929. The Casino opened in June. Photographs and Urban’s sketches are all that now remain of the Casino. It was demolished in 1936.

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