Baranger Studios

This is one of my favorite buildings in South Pas. Built in 1925, it was the home of Baranger Studios -- makers of delightful electric motion displays for jewelry stores. What were electric motion displays? Imagine a blend of dollhouse, small gauge train set and highly detailed music box complete with a dancing ballerina. Throw in some clever generic jewelry marketing slogans prominently featured in the design and you get the idea. These animated wonders were produced from 1925 to 1959, but they were never sold. Instead, jewelers all over the country leased them on a monthly basis. The studios designed 169 different models, often in the art deco style, and produced only 30 of each type. Each motion display had a different theme – from fairy tale to western motif, from zooming rocket ships to dancing honeymooners. Jewelers would rent one display for a month, and then rotate it out for another model.

Those were the days… instead of just looking through a sterile glass case at a few baubles on black velvet you would have been treated to something whimsical like this.

From engineering to shipping, all means of motion display creation and distribution were housed under this one small roof. The company stopped production in the late 1950s, but continued to rent existing motion displays to jewelers until 1977 when they went out of business. Today, the building is home to Stanislawski and Company, Certified Public Accountants.

(And to stay in the tradition of yesterday's post... check out the topiary!)