See more objects with the tag industrial design, fluted, cityscape, urban, skyscraper, ziggurat, stepped.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1935

  • Work on this object began.

2015

2017

2026

Model 66 Radio

This is a radio. It was designed by Harold L. van Doren and John Gordon Rideout and manufactured by Air-King Products Company, Inc.. It is dated 1935. Its medium is thermoplastic (plaskon), metal, glass, textile, electronic components. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.


During the Great Depression, Air-King turned to Van Doren and Rideout, members of the emergent industrial design profession, to create a product for a highly competitive market. Their design was inspired by the skyscraper—one of the era’s great icons—and utilized compression-molded plastic, a cheaper and less labor-intensive alternative to traditional wooden housings.

This object was donated by George R. Kravis II. It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.

  • Textile, Big City
  • cotton.
  • Museum purchase from General Acquisitions Endowment Fund.
  • 2007-5-2

Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Vase
  • ceramic.
  • Collection of Mark Bassett and George Cooper.
  • 47.2016.3

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 29.8 × 22.5 × 19.1 cm (11 3/4 × 8 7/8 × 7 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Model 66 Radio; Designed by Harold L. Van Doren (American, 1895-1957), John Gordon Rideout (American 1898-1951); Manufactured by Air-King Products Company, Inc.; thermoplastic (plaskon), metal, glass, textile, electronic components; H x W x D: 29.8 × 22.5 × 19.1 cm (11 3/4 × 8 7/8 × 7 1/2 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-20

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Art of Noise and The World of Radio.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/404536631/ |title=Model 66 Radio |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=12 February 2026 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>