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Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style, which originated in France just before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The most notable examples are the skyscrapers of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, including the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
,
Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
, and
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
. It combined modern aesthetics, fine craftsmanship, and expensive materials, and became the symbol of luxury and modernity. While rarely used in residences, it was frequently used for office buildings, government buildings, train stations, movie theaters, diners and department stores. It also was frequently used in furniture, and in the design of automobiles, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as toasters and radio sets. In the late 1930s, during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, it featured prominently in the architecture of the immense public works projects sponsored by the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
and the
Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...
, such as the
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
and
Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...
. The style competed throughout the period with the
modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...
, and came to an abrupt end in 1939 with the beginning of World War II. The style was rediscovered in the 1960s, and many of the original buildings have been restored and are now historical landmarks.


Background

American Art Deco has roots in the ''style moderne'' popularized at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, from which the name Art Deco would be drawn retroactively (''Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes''). The United States did not officially participate, but Americans—including New York City architect  Irwin Chanin and others—visited the exposition, and the government sent a delegation to the expo. Their resulting reports helped spread the style to America. Other influences included
German expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...
, the Austrian Secession,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
,
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
, and the ornament of African and Central and South American cultures.


Architecture

American Art Deco architecture took different forms in different regions of the country, influenced by the local tastes, cultural influences, or laws. In the 1920s, the style was often referred to as the "vertical style", referring to the new look of skyscrapers appearing in America's cities. In the 1930s and 40s, more horizontal, streamlined or "moderne" buildings became popular. Government buildings commissioned by the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
, with their fusion of moderne and classical elements, are called "WPA Moderne" or "Modern classic".


Skyscrapers

File:New York City Chrysler Building 02.jpg, Radiator ornament decoration on the
Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(1928) File:Empire State Building by David Shankbone.jpg, The
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
in New York City (1931) File:570 Lexington Avenue2.JPG, Crown of the RCA Victor Building, now the
General Electric Building The General Electric Building, also known as 570 Lexington Avenue, is a skyscraper at the southwestern corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building, designed by Cross & ...
, in New York City (1930–31) File:Fisherbldgentrancesculpture crop.jpg, Entrance of the
Fisher Building The Fisher Building is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan, landmark List of tallest buildings in Detroit, skyscraper located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the New Center, Detroit, New Center area of Detroit, Michig ...
in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, Michigan (1928) File:Fisher Building Lobby (4634810509).jpg, Lobby of the Fisher Building in Detroit, Michigan (1928) File:Cbot-close-night.jpg,
Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading v ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois (1930) File:Bryant Park Hotel in NYC IMG 1242.JPG, The American Radiator Building in New York City by
Raymond Hood Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934) was an American architect who worked in the Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic and Art Deco styles. He is best known for his designs of the Tribune Tower, American Radiator Building ...
(1924) File:Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, NY - IMG 3740.JPG, Buffalo City Hall in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, Dietel, Wade & Jones, 1931 File:Plummer From 14Floor of Gonda BLDG.jpg, Plummer Building at
Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...
in
Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...
(1928) File:LeVeque Tower, Columbus, OH, US crop.jpg, LeVeque Tower in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
(1924) File:Los Angeles City Hall (color) edit1.jpg, City Hall in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California (1928) File:Times_Square_Building.jpg, The "Wings of Progress" atop the Times Square Building in
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
(1930)
The Art Deco style had been born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, but no buildings were permitted in that city which were higher than Notre Dame Cathedral with the exception of the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
. As a result, the United States soon took the lead in building tall buildings. The first skyscrapers had been built in Chicago in the 1880s in the Beaux-Arts or neoclassical style. In the 1920s, New York City architects used the new Art Deco style to build the
Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
and the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
. The Empire State building was the tallest building in the world for forty years. The decoration of the interior and exterior of the skyscrapers was classic Art Deco, with geometric shapes and zigzag patterns. The Chrysler Building, by William Van Alen (1928–30), updated the traditional gargoyles on
Gothic cathedrals Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings constructed in Europe in Gothic style between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive u ...
with sculptures on the building corners in the shape of Chrysler radiator ornaments. Another major landmark of the style was the RCA Victor Building, now the General Electric Building, by John Walter Cross. It was covered from top to bottom with zig-zags and geometric patterns, and had a highly ornamental crown with geometric spires and lightning bolts of stone. The exterior featured bas-relief sculptures by
Leo Friedlander Leo Friedlander (July 6, 1888 – October 24, 1966) was an American sculpture, sculptor, who created several prominent works. Early life and education At 12 years old, Friedlander studied at the Art Students League of New York, Art Students Lea ...
and Lee Lawrie, and a mosaic by Barry Faulkner that required more than a million pieces of enamel and glass. While the skyscraper Art Deco style was mostly used for corporate office buildings, it also became popular for government buildings, since all city offices could be contained in one building on a minimal amount of land. The city halls of
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
were built in the style, and the new state capital building in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
.


Movie theaters

Oakland Paramount Theatre exterior, 1975.jpg, Paramount Theatre (Oakland, California) by Timothy L. Pflueger (1932) File:Paramount Fountain of Light in Lobby.jpg, Four-story high grand lobby of the Paramount Theatre, Oakland (1932) File:Oakland Paramount facade mosaic detail 1.jpg, Paramount Theatre, Oakland; detail of the mosaic facade (1932) File:Radio City Music Hall 3051638324 4a385c5623.jpg, The stage of
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
in New York City (1932)
Another important genre of Art Deco buildings is the movie theater. The Art Deco period coincided with the birth of the talking motion picture, and the age of enormous and lavishly decorated movie theaters. Many of these movie theaters still survive, though many have been divided in the interior into smaller screening halls. Among the most famous examples are the Paramount Theatre in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, which had a four-story high grand lobby, entered through twenty-seven doors, and could seat 3,746 people.
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
, located within the skyscraper complex of
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
in New York City, was originally a theater for stage shows when it opened in 1932, but it quickly changed to the largest movie theater in the United States. It seats more than five thousand people, and still features a stage show of dancers. In the 1930s, the streamline style appeared in movie theaters in smaller cities. The movie theater in
Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is I ...
(1937) is a classic surviving example.


Department stores and office buildings

File:Bullocks Wilshire.jpg,
Bullocks Wilshire Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Dow ...
, Los Angeles,
John and Donald Parkinson John and Donald Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural firm operating in the Los Angeles area in the early 20th century. They designed and built many of the city's iconic buildings, including Grand Central Market, the Memorial Colise ...
, 1929 File:Niagara Mohawk Bldg (Syracuse, NY).jpg, The facade of the Niagara Mohawk Building, in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, (1932), a power utility company, features a statue of "The Spirit of Light" File:1exterior KCPL Bldg Kansas City MO.jpg, Detail of the
Kansas City Power and Light Building The Kansas City Power and Light Building (also called the KCP&L Building and the Power and Light Building) is a landmark skyscraper located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was constructed by Kansas City Power and Light President and Ediso ...
in Kansas City, Missouri (1931) File:Detroit December 2015 26 (Guardian Building).jpg, Interior of the Guardian Building (originally the Union Trust Building) in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, Michigan (1928) File:450 Sutter St. lobby 1.JPG, Lobby of the 450 Sutter Street building in San Francisco, by Timothy L. Pflueger (1929)
Following the lead of the skyscrapers of New York City, smaller in scale but no less ambitious in design, Art Deco office buildings and department stores appeared in cities across the United States. They were rarely built by banks, which wanted to appear conservative, but were often built by retail chains, public utilities, automobile companies and technology companies, which wanted to express modernity and progress.
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
is home to the Niagara Mohawk Building, in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, completed in 1932. was originally the home of the nation's largest electricity supplier. The facade, by the firm of Bley and Lyman, was designed to express the power and modernity of electricity; it features a statue called "The Spirit of Light" 8.5 meters high, made of stainless steel, as the central element of the facade. The Guardian Building, originally the Union Trust Building, is a rare example of a bank or financial institution using Art Deco. Its interior decoration was so elaborate that it became known as the "Cathedral of Commerce". The San Francisco architect Timothy L. Pflueger best known for the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California, was another proponent of lavish Art Deco interiors and facades on office buildings. The interior of his downtown San Francisco office building, 450 Sutter Street, opened in 1929, was entirely covered with hieroglyphic-like designs and ornament, resembling a giant tapestry.


The Streamline style

File:Donald Deskey.Table Lamp, 1927-1931.jpg, Chrome-plated table lamp by Donald Deskey (1927–31) 1934ChryslerAirflow.jpg, Chrysler Airflow sedan, designed by Carl Breer (1934) File:NY Worlds' Fair streamlined Hudson LC-G613-T01-35339 DLC.jpg, Streamlined locomotive of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
(1939) Pan-Pacific Auditorium entrance.jpg, The
Pan-Pacific Auditorium The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California. It once stood near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger ...
in Los Angeles (1935) File:SFMaritimeMuseum.jpg, The San Francisco Maritime Museum (1936)
Streamline Moderne (or Streamline) was a variety of Art Deco which emerged during the mid-1930s. The architectural style was more sober and less decorative than earlier Art Deco buildings, more in tune with the somber mood of the Great Depression. Buildings in the style often resembled land-bound ships, with rounded corners, long horizontal lines, iron railings, and sometimes nautical features. Notable examples include the San Francisco Maritime Museum (1936), originally built as a public bath house next to the beach, and the
Pan-Pacific Auditorium The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California. It once stood near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger ...
in Los Angeles, built in 1935 and closed in 1978. It was declared a historic landmark, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1989. The style of decoration and industrial design was influenced by modern
aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
principles developed for aviation and
ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and acceler ...
to reduce air friction at high velocities. The bullet shapes were applied by designers to cars, trains, ships, and even objects not intended to move, such as
refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...
s, gas pumps, and buildings. One of the first production vehicles in this style was the Chrysler Airflow of 1933. It was unsuccessful commercially, but the beauty and functionality of its design set a precedent; streamline moderne meant modernity. It continued to be used in car design well after World War II.


Train stations and airports

File:Suburban Station Facade.jpg, Suburban Station (1930) in Philadelphia, built by the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
(PRR) to serve as its headquarters, now functions as the primary
SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite town ...
station. File:Terminal Fountain - Cincinnati Museum Center.jpg,
Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate, Cincinnati, Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT, or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the Railroad terminal, termin ...
in Ohio (1933) now also functions as a museum and cultural center. File:Union-Station-LA-Waiting-Ro.jpg,
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
in Los Angeles (1939) is a mixture of Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Spanish
Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
File:LaGuardia MarineAirTerminal 1974.jpg, The Marine Air Terminal at
LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...
(1937) was the New York terminal for the flights of Pan Am Clipper flying boats.
Art Deco was often associated with airplanes, trains and airships and was frequently chosen as the style for new transport terminals. The semi-dome of
Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate, Cincinnati, Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT, or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the Railroad terminal, termin ...
(1933) measures wide and high. After the decline of railroad travel, most of the building was converted to other uses, including the Cincinnati Museum Center, though it is still used as an Amtrak station. The Marine Air Terminal at
LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...
, built in 1939, was the first terminal for overseas flights from New York; it served the flying boats of
Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
which landed in the harbor. It survived destruction, and still contains a notable Art Deco mural called Flight, which was destroyed and then restored in the 1980s.
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
in Los Angeles was partially designed by John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson (the Parkinsons) who had also designed
Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is loca ...
and other landmark Los Angeles buildings. The structure combines
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
,
Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
, and
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
style, with architectural details such as eight-pointed stars, and even elements of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture.


Hotels, resorts, and the Miami Beach style

File:Portal Waldorf Astoria.jpg, Entrance of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (1929) File:SouthBeachMiamiBeach.jpg,
Miami Beach Architectural District The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District and the more popular term Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighborhoo ...
from 1920s–1930s File:Tides Hotel Miami Beach.jpg, The Tides Hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach (1933) File:Delano National MiamiBeach.JPG, The Delano South Beach (1947) and National Hotel (1943) in
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
The Art Deco period saw an enormous increase in travel and tourism, by trains, automobiles, and airplanes. Several luxury hotels were built in the new style; the
Waldorf-Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Street (Manhattan), 50th Streets, is a 47-story ...
on Park Avenue in New York City, built in 1929 to replace a beaux-arts style building from the 1890s, was the tallest and largest hotel in the world when it was built. The city of
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
developed its own particular variant of Art Deco, and the style remained popular there until the late 1940s, well after other American cities. It became a popular tourist destination in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly attracting visitors from the Northeast United States during the winter. A large number of Art Deco hotels were built, which have been grouped together into an historical area, the
Miami Beach Architectural District The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District and the more popular term Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighborhoo ...
, and preserved, and many have been restored to their original appearance. The district has an area of about one square kilometer, and contains both hotels and secondary residences, all about the same height, none higher than twelve or thirteen stories. Most have classic Art Deco characteristics; clear geometric shapes spread out horizontally; aerodynamic streamline features; and often a central tower breaking the horizontal, topped by a spire or dome. A particular Miami Art Deco feature is the palette of pastel colors, alternating with white stucco. The decoration features herons, sea shells, palm trees and sunrises and sunsets. The neon lighting at night highlights the Art Deco atmosphere.


Diners and roadside architecture

File:U-Drop Inn.jpg, The U-Drop Inn, a roadside gas station and diner on U.S. Highway 66 in Shamrock, Texas (1936) File:Modern diner.jpg, The Modern Diner in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...
(1940) is modeled after streamlined railroad car.
Because of its high cost of construction, Art Deco was usually used only in large office buildings, government buildings and theaters, but it was sometimes used in smaller structures, such as diners and gas stations, particularly along highways. A notable example is the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, located along U.S. Highway 66. It was built in 1936, and is now owned by the City of Shamrock, and is a historical landmark. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a number of diners modeled after the cars of streamlined trains were produced, and appeared in different cities in the United States. In a few cases, real railroad cars were transformed into diners. A few survive, including the Modern Diner in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...
which is a registered landmark.


Furniture

The art deco style also lended itself well to furniture. Consistent with many other household objects and buildings, furniture during this period became simplified, yet pleasing to the eye. This included metal bars as chair support, rounded feet, and decorated edges, all coming together to create a complex simplicity. There were many furniture designers during this period including Kem Webber, Wirt Rowland, and some who continue to use the style later on, including Frank Pollaro. Kem Webber is known for designing the furniture in the Warner Brother's Wester Theater, now known as the Wiltern Theater. Because the art deco style is known for its simplicity and lack of ornament, it is also a significantly less costly design. Wirt Rowland, another furniture artist of this period, is known better for his creation of the Guardian Building in Detroit. He designed every bit of furniture within the rooms as well. Frank Pollaro, known best for his creation of the Muppet Marquetry Desk, specialized in recreating French art deco furniture. His preferred material to work with is veneer. He designed the "Art Case" piano for Steinway & Sons company. He also created a number of other furniture pieces in this style, including a humidor (cigar storage).


Fine art


Murals

File:The Tragic Prelude John Brown.jpg, Mural ''Tragic Prelude'' depicting abolitionist John Brown in the
Kansas State Capitol The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in the city of Topeka, which has served as the capital of Kansas si ...
building, by
John Steuart Curry John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...
(1930) File:Diego Rivera - Detroit Industry Murals.jpg, Part of '' Detroit Industry Murals'' by
Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
in the
Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...
(1932–33) File:Paul Kelpe History of Southern Illinois.jpg, ''History of Southern Illinois'', commissioned by the
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...
for the library of the University of Southern Illinois (1935) File:Coit Mural Agriculture.jpg, A portion of ''California'' by Maxine Albro, on the interior of
Coit Tower Coit Tower (also known as Coit Memorial Tower) is a tower in the Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, overlooking the city and San Francisco Bay. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, San Franc ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
(1934) File:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Marsh-1.jpg, Workers sorting the mail, a mural in the U.S. Customs House in New York by Reginald Marsh (1936) File:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Rockwell-Kent-1.jpg, ''Art in the Tropics'' by
Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English American, English descent. ...
in the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building (1938)
There was no specific Art Deco style of painting in the United States, though paintings were often used as decoration, especially in government buildings and office buildings. In the 1932 the Public Works of Art Project was created to give work to artists unemployed because the Great Depression. In a year, it commissioned more than fifteen thousand works of art. It was succeeded in 1935 by the Federal Arts Project of the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
, or WPA. prominent American artists were commissioned by the
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...
to paint murals in government buildings, hospitals, airports, schools and universities. Some the America's most famous artists, including
Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...
, Reginald Marsh,
Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...
and Maxine Albro took part in the program. The celebrated Mexican painter
Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
also took part in the program, painting a mural. The paintings were in a variety of styles, including regionalism,
social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
, and American scenic painting. A few murals were also commissioned for Art Deco skyscrapers, notably Rockefeller Center in New York. Two murals were commissioned for the lobby, one by
John Steuart Curry John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...
and another, ''
Man at the Crossroads ''Man at the Crossroads'' (1933) was a fresco by Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Originally slated to be installed in the lobby of the 30 Rockefeller Plaza, RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the fresco showed aspects of contempo ...
,'' by Diego Rivera. The owners of the building, the Rockefeller family, discovered that Rivera, a Communist, had slipped an image of Lenin into a crowd in the painting, and had it destroyed. The mural was replaced with another by the Spanish artist José Maria Sert.


Sculpture

File:20120929 Chicago Board of Trade Building top cropped.jpg, Aluminum statue of Ceres atop the
Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
Building (1930) File:Chicago Board of Trade.jpg, Clock of the
Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
(1930) File:NYC - Rockefeller center - 1558.jpg, Statue of
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...
by
Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 25, 1885 – January 31, 1966) was an American Sculpture, sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco in the United States, Art Deco movement. ...
at
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
(1934) File:Clock inside Rockefeller Center.jpeg, Lobby clock in
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
File:LLRockefellerCenter2.jpg, Sculpture on the wall of
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
File:Cochise County Courthouse Bisbee Arizona ArtDecoDoors.jpg, Doors of Cochise County Courthouse in
Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 United States census, ...
One of the largest Art Deco sculptures is the statue of Ceres, the goddess of grain and fertility, at the top of the
Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...
. Made of aluminum, it stands 31 feet (9.4 meters) tall, and weighs 6,500 pounds. Ceres was chosen because the Chicago Board of Trade was one of the largest grain and commodities markets in the world.


Graphic arts

File:Chicago world's fair, a century of progress, expo poster, 1933, 2.jpg, Poster for Chicago World's Fair (1933) File:Don't jay walk 1937.jpg, WPA Poster warning against crossing the street against the light (1937) File:Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Port of Philadelphia, WPA poster, ca. 1937 (1).jpg, WPA poster advertising Port of Philadelphia (1937) File:Swim for health in safe and pure pools LCCN98518824.jpg, WPA "Swim for Health" poster (1938) File:Pennsylvania, WPA poster, ca. 1938.jpg, WPA Tourism promotion poster for state of Pennsylvania (1938) The Art Deco style appeared early in the graphic arts, in the years just before World War I. It appeared in Paris in the posters and the costume designs of Léon Bakst for the
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
, and in the catalogs of the fashion designers Paul Poiret. The illustrations of Georges Barbier, and Georges Lepape and the images in the fashion magazine ''La Gazette du bon ton'' perfectly captured the elegance and sensuality of the style. In the 1920s, the look changed; the fashions stressed were more casual, sportive and daring, with the woman models usually smoking cigarettes. American fashion magazines such as '' Vogue'', '' Vanity Fair'' and ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'' quickly picked up the new style and popularized it in the United States. It also influenced the work of American book illustrators such as
Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English American, English descent. ...
. In the 1930s a new genre of posters appeared in the United States during the Great Depression. The
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...
hired American artists to create posters to promote tourism and cultural events.


PWA Moderne

Government and public buildings of the 1930s and 1940s often combined elements of neoclassical, Beauxs-Arts, and Art Deco. This style is called PWA Moderne, Federal Moderne,''The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1'', Joan M. Marter, ed., p. 147
/ref> Depression Moderne, Classical Moderne,
Stripped Classicism Stripped Classicism (also referred to as Starved Classicism or Grecian Moderne) Jstor is primarily a 20th-century classicist architectural style stripped of most or all ornamentation, frequently employed by governments while designing officia ...
, or Greco Deco. These building-scale New Deal artworks were built during and shortly after the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
as part of relief projects sponsored by the
Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...
(PWA) and the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
(WPA). The style evolved from Art Deco, drawing from the classical motifs of
Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and ...
as well; Stripped Classicism is also similar to
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
, but is less curvilinear and more classically-inspired. The architecture, which frequently has a monumental feel, often expressed itself in a rather severe Greco-Roman facade decorated with Deco-style shallow
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s and/or Deco styled interior decoration featuring
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
s, tile
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s, and sculpture. Public buildings and infrastructure, including post offices, train stations, public schools, libraries, civic centers, courthouses, museums, bridges, and dams across the country were built in the style. Some private buildings, like banks, were also built in the style because such buildings radiated authority.


Elements of the style

Typical elements of PWA Moderne buildings include: *Highly symmetrical and balanced form *Subtle reference to
Classical orders An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civiliz ...
*Vertically recessed windows *Flat, smooth surfaces of stone, stucco, granite, or concrete *The use of stylized or simplified
pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...


Examples

Examples of PWA buildings and structures include:


Arizona/Nevada

*
Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...
(Boulder Dam) – on the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
. *
Arizona State Fairgrounds The Arizona State Fairgrounds is a permanent fairgrounds on McDowell Road, Encanto, Phoenix, Encanto Village, within the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is currently used yearly to host the Arizona State Fair and the Maricopa County Fai ...
Grandstand (1936–1937) – Phoenix, Arizona. The exterior of the grandstand has 23
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
panels by David Carrick Swing and Florence Blakeslee, that were funded by the
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...
.KJZZ.org: "Did You Know: Arizona State Fairgrounds 110 Years Old"
by Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez, 21 August 2015; with images of the WPA Grandstand and Administration Building.
* WPA Administration Building (1938) – at 19th Avenue and McDowell Road on the Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, Arizona. It was headquarters for Works Progress Administration−WPA projects in Arizona.


Florida

*
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
**Ed Austin Building (former Federal Courthouse, current State Attorney's Office), 1933, Marsh & Saxelbye


California


=Greater Los Angeles

= *
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
: Burbank City Hall, Allen Lutzi"PWA Moderne", Los Angeles Conservancy website
/ref> *
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...
: United States Post Office, 1940, Louis A. Simon and Neal Melick * El Segundo: El Segundo Elementary School, 1936 *
Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Ba ...
: North School, 1934 Samuel Lunden (Per File #19-45 of DSA Records); Pier Avenue School, 1939, March, Smith, and Powell * Inglewood: Inglewood Memorial Park, buildings 1933 and 1940, Walter E. Erkes * Lancaster: Post Office (1940), Louis A. Simon and former School Building (c. 1937) * Lawndale: Leuzinger High School, T.C. Kistner & Cómo.; Kistner & Curtis; Eugene D. Birnbaum and Associates *
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
**Jefferson Junior High School Building, 1936 ** Long Beach Main Post Office, 1934, Louis A. Simon and James A. Wetmore **Municipal Utilities Building, 1932, Dedrick and Bobbe **Robert Louis Stevenson school, c. 1936 **Veteran's Memorial Building 1936–37, George Kahrs *
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
: ** Abraham Lincoln High School ( Lincoln Heights), 1937–38, Albert C. Martin ** Carpenter Community Charter School **Distribution Station #28, Department of Water and Power (West L.A.), 1945–46, G. E. Benker, engineer ** Federal Building and Post Office (now U.S. Federal Courthouse), 1938–1940, Louis A. Simon ** Hall of Administration, 1956–1961: A continuation of the PWA Moderne style in the 1950s **Hollywood Branch Post Office, 1937, Claude Beellman, Allison and Allison ** Pacific Stock Exchange, 1929–30, Samuel E. Lunden **Police and Fire Station of Venice, c. 1930 ** San Pedro High School, 1935–1937, Gordon B. Kaufmann ** United States Post Office (San Pedro), 1936, Louis A. Simon ** Sepulveda Dam, 1941, flood control dam on the
Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...
in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
, 1939–1941, War Department **U.S. Customs House and Post Office ( San Pedro), 1935 **U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Armory, 1939–40, Stiles Clements **
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
campus: Alan Hancock Foundation and Memorial Museum, 1940, Cram and Ferguson *
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...
: **Armory Gallery (former California State Armory), 1932, Bennett and Haskell **Grover Cleveland Elementary School, 1934 * San Gabriel: San Gabriel Union Church and School, 1936 *
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
: ** Santa Monica City Hall, 1938–39, Donald B. Parkinson and J. M. Estep **Post Office, Robert Dennis Murray, Louis A. Simon * Torrance: ** Auditorium (Torrance High School) **Torrance Public Library, 1936, Walker & Eisen * Whittier:''An Arch Guidebook to Los Angeles'', Robert Winter, p. 322
/ref> **National Trust and Savings, c. 1935, William H. Harrison **Whittier Post Office, 1935, Louis A. Simon **Whittier-Union High School, 1939–40, William H. Harrison


=Elsewhere in California

= *
Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...
: Kern County Hall of Records, 1939 remodel, Chris Brewer *
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
: County Hall of Records, 1937, Allied Architects of Fresno *
Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
: Amador County Courthouse, 1940 remodel, George Sellon *
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
: Alameda County Courthouse, 1939 * Salinas: Monterey County Courthouse, 1937, Robert Stanton & Charles Butner *
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
: San Diego County Administration Center, 1938, Samuel Wood Hamill, William Templeton Johnson, Richard Requa, Louis John Gill *
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
: San Francisco Mint, 1937 *
San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
: San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, 1940, Walker & Eisen * Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 1939 * Visalia: Tulare County Courthouse (now Department of Public Social Services), 1935, Ernest Kump


District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)

*
Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...
, 1932,
Paul Philippe Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsyl ...
*
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
Annex (
John Adams Building The John Adams Building is the second-oldest of the buildings of the Library of Congress of the United States. Built in the 1930s, it is named for John Adams, the second president, who signed the law creating the Library of Congress in 1800. The ...
), 1939, Pierson & Wilson *
Harry S Truman Building The Harry S Truman Building is the headquarters of the United States Department of State. It is located in Washington, D.C., and houses the office of the United States secretary of state. The Truman Building is located in the Foggy Bottom neighbo ...
(particularly the War Department building) of the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
, 1939, Underwood & Foster


Iowa

* Animosa: Jones County Courthouse, 1937, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn * Audubon: Audubon County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones *
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
: Cass County Courthouse, 1934, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn * Burlington: Des Moines County Court House, 1940, Keffer and Jones * Charles City: Floyd County Court House, 1940, Hansen & Waggoner * Dakota City: Humboldt County Courthouse, 1939 *
Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
: Buchanan County Court House, 1940, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn * Indianola: Warren County Court House, 1939, Keffer and Jones * Mason City: Mason City Engine House No. 2, 1939, Hansen & Waggoner * St. Olaf: St. Olaf Auditorium, 1939 *
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...
: Sioux City Municipal Auditorium, 1938–50, Knute E. Westerlind * Waukon: Allamakee County Court House, 1940, Charles Altfillisch * Waverly: Bremer County Court House, 1937, Mortimer Cleveland


Minnesota

*
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
: Minneapolis Armory, 1935–36, P.C. Bettenburg; Walter H. Wheeler


Mississippi

*
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
: Amory National Guard Armory, 1937–38, Overstreet & Town


Nevada

* Pioche: Lincoln County Courthouse, 1938, A. Lacy Worswick; L.F. Dow


Oregon

* Salem:
Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the Oregon Legislative Assembly, state legislature and the offices of the Governor of Oregon, governor, Oregon Secretary of State, secretary of state, and Oregon State Treasurer, treasurer of t ...
, 1938, Trowbridge & Livingston


Tennessee

*
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
: Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School


Texas

*
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
: Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse 1930,1931, Page Brothers * Longview: Gregg County Courthouse 1932, Voelcker and Dixon


Utah

* Orderville: Valley School * Provo: Superintendent's Residence at the Utah State Hospital, 1934 (
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
/PWA Moderne) * Santaquin: Santaquin Junior High School


Washington

*
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
: William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, 1940, Gilbert Stanley Underwood


WPA Moderne

WPA Moderne has been used to describe restrained architecture at historic places such as the Administration Building for the City of Grand Forks at the Grand Forks Airport (built 1941–43) in North Dakota, the Municipal Auditorium and City Hall (Leoti, Kansas) (built 1939–42) in Kansas, and the Kearney National Guard Armory in Nebraska. (See :WPA Moderne architecture). Relative to the
Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...
, which terminated in 1944, the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
program, terminated in 1943, focused on smaller, often rural, projects providing employment.


See also

* List of Art Deco architecture * List of Art Deco architecture in the United States * Art Deco architecture of New York City * * Streamline Moderne architecture * WPA Rustic architecture * List of New Deal sculpture * List of New Deal murals * List of United States post office murals


References


Notes and citations


Bibliography

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External links

* {{Architecture in the United States American architectural styles Art Deco architecture in the United States