1950’s Moderne Entertainment Center

Submitted by Markydoodle August 20th, 2010
Certifikitsch Winner

This custom built Moderne cabinet boasts a turntable, TV, and a radio receiver. The cabinet door closes to conceal the hardware. From the information that I’ve been able to gather, it is on display in St. Louis now in a museum, possibly the St. Louis Media Halls of Fame, but I haven’t confirmed it. Somebody had a cool vision of what an entertainment center should look like!

11 Responses to “1950’s Moderne Entertainment Center”

  1. Allee Willis

    I used to build a lot of furniture in the 1980s, including TV cases. I saw this photo way back when. I liked it a lot at first but the more I started building furniture the more I thought the top was too extreme and bulky unless there was a lot of storage for wires and electronic, LP covers, etc. inside that huge triangle. I still think this is gorgeous but I’d prefer something slightly more chic with less chance of losing an eye when you went to move it.

  2. Mark Milligan

    I’m crazy about it, and laughed out loud when I read your “losing an eye” comment. It is a little Jetson-eque. But what intrigues me about this as well as so many designs from the 50’s is what the vision of the future must’ve looked like to people.

    Allee I know the turntable is on the right, the radio in the middle, but do you have any idea what the equipment is that is on the shelf on the left?

    • Allee Willis

      Hard to tell from the photo but my best guess would be the tubes and electronics that make it work. If that’s the case though that’s another gigantic waste of space in this unit…

    • Nessa

      I think maybe it’s a reel-to-reel tape deck.

      I love this thing as well, but I also lol’d at the “lose an eye..”

  4. Michael Ely

    It may not be very practical, but it is fascinating to look at. How I wsh that they made interesting and inventive entertainment centers these days, instead of those big ugly square things they make out of particle board. Of course, I’m sure if you have lots of money, you can still find cool stuff, but back in those days, cool futuristic looking stuff (from furniture to cars) was available to the middle class.

    I must be getting old because I complain about everything these days, but they just don’t make cool stuff anymore. I’ve been taking photos of some vintage neon signs to share here with Allee and friends, and I can’t help but notice how mud ugly today’s signs are in comparison, ugly Home Depot and Wal-Mart signs.

  6. Mark Milligan

    The designs are for attraction, not esthetics, so I’m with you 110%!

    Neon! Neon! Neon! Bring on the neon!

  8. Skimalaya

    I can’t believe I found this picture. I saw this television at the St. Louis Science Center in 1998, and was trying to describe it to my wife tonight when I found it in a Google search. I wish it was for sale.