late 1930's american vintage machine age art deco streamlined style heavy gauge brushed steel hospital room side table salvaged from the old cook county hospital, chicago, il. the cabinet's design is attributed to notable industrial designer norman bel geddes (1893-1958) for the simmons manufacturing co., kenosha, wi. the cold-rolled steel bedside table or nightstand contains a single pull-out drawer with unique spun aluminum drawer pull, in the form of a deeply recessed cup with centrally located knob. the large cabinet door positioned below the drawer conceals a spacious interior with detachable pressed steel shelf. the tabletop is comprised largely of wood, bedecked with a black enameled laminate top. the original brushed aluminum rail guard remains intact. the four tapered steel legs remain structurally sound and secure. bel geddes began his career with set designs for aline barnsdall's los angeles little theater in the 1916-1917 season, then in 1918 as the scene designer for the metropolitan opera in new york. an in 1927, bel geddes established an industrial-design studio, where he designed a wide range of commercial products, from cocktail shakers to commemorative medallions to radio cabinets. his designs extended to unrealized futuristic concepts: a teardrop-shaped automobile, and an art deco house of tomorrow. in 1929, he designed "airliner number 4," a 9-deck amphibian airliner that incorporated areas for deck-games, an orchestra, a gymnasium, a solarium, and two airplane hangars. bel geddes's book horizons (1932) had a significant impact: "by popularizing streamlining when only a few engineers were considering its functional use, he made possible the design style of the thirties." bel geddes designed the general motors' pavilion, known as futurama, for the 1939 new york world's fair. for that famous and enormously influential installation, bel geddes exploited his earlier work in the same vein: he had designed a "metropolis city of 1960" in 1936. bel geddes's book magic motorways (1940) promoted advances in highway design and transportation, foreshadowing the interstate highway system ("there should be no more reason for a motorist who is passing through a city to slow down than there is for an airplane which is passing over it"). his autobiography, miracle in the evening, was published posthumously in 1960. measures 20 x 16 x 35 1/2 inches.