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Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style, which originated in France just before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The most famous examples are the skyscrapers of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
including the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center. 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 (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, it featured prominently in the architecture of the immense public works projects sponsored by the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
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 Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
, 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. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
and
Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...
. The style competed throughout the period with the modernist architecture, 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.


Architecture


Skyscrapers

File:New York City Chrysler Building 02.jpg, Radiator ornament decoration on the Chrysler Building, New York City (1928) File:Empire State Building by David Shankbone.jpg, The
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, New York City (1931) File:570 Lexington Avenue2.JPG, Crown of the RCA Victor Building (now the General Electric Building), New York City (1930–31) File:Fisherbldgentrancesculpture crop.jpg, Entrance of the Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan (1928) File:Fisher Building Lobby (4634810509).jpg, Lobby of the Fisher Building, 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 ve ...
, Chicago, Illinois (1930) File:Bryant Park Hotel in NYC IMG 1242.JPG, The American Radiator Building, New York City by Raymond Hood (1924) File:Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, NY - IMG 3740.JPG, Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, New York, Dietel, Wade & Jones, 1931 File:Plummer From 14Floor of Gonda BLDG.jpg,
Plummer Building The Plummer Building in Rochester, Minnesota, Rochester, Minnesota, is one of the many architecturally significant buildings on the Mayo Clinic campus. This new "Mayo Clinic" building, opened in 1928, added much needed space to the ever-expandin ...
,
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
,
Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...
(1928) File:LeVeque Tower, Columbus, OH, US crop.jpg, LeVeque Tower,
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
(1924) File:Los Angeles City Hall (color) edit1.jpg, City Hall of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California (1928)
The Art Deco style had been born in Paris, but no buildings were permitted in that city which were higher than Notre Dame Cathedral (with the sole exception of the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) 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. Locally nicknamed "'' ...
). 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 architects used the new Art Deco style to build the Chrysler Building and the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
. 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 William Van Alen (August 10, 1883 – May 24, 1954) was an American architect, best known as the architect in charge of designing New York City's Chrysler Building (1928–30). Life William Van Alen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1883 to ...
(1928–30), updated the traditional gargoyles on
Gothic cathedrals Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass ...
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 and
Lee Lawrie Lee Oscar Lawrie (October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an American architectural sculptor and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through ...
, 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
were built in the style, as well as the new capital building of the State of Louisiana.


Movie theaters

Oakland Paramount Theatre exterior, 1975.jpg, Paramount Theatre (Oakland, California) by
Timothy L. Pflueger Timothy Ludwig Pflueger (September 26, 1892 – November 20, 1946) was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James Rupert Miller, Ja ...
(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 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 City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
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 the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, 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 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 City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
, located within the skyscraper complex of Rockefeller Center 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 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...
(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 Down ...
, 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 The Niagara Mohawk Building is an art deco classic building in Syracuse, New York. The building was built in 1932 and was headquarters for the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, what was "then the nation's largest electric utility company". Th ...
, in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, (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 in Kansas City, Missouri (1931) File:Detroit December 2015 26 (Guardian Building).jpg, Interior of the
Guardian Building The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located at 500 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. The Guardian is a class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan and serves ...
(originally the Union Trust Building) in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan (1928) File:450 Sutter St. lobby 1.JPG, Lobby of the
450 Sutter Street 450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast ...
building in San Francisco, by
Timothy L. Pflueger Timothy Ludwig Pflueger (September 26, 1892 – November 20, 1946) was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James Rupert Miller, Ja ...
(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, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
is home to the
Niagara Mohawk Building The Niagara Mohawk Building is an art deco classic building in Syracuse, New York. The building was built in 1932 and was headquarters for the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, what was "then the nation's largest electric utility company". Th ...
, in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, 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 The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located at 500 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. The Guardian is a class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan and serves ...
, 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 Timothy Ludwig Pflueger (September 26, 1892 – November 20, 1946) was an architect, interior designer and architectural lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. Together with James Rupert Miller, Ja ...
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 450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast ...
, 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 Donald Sidney Deskey (November 23, 1894 – April 29, 1989) was an American industrial designer. Biography Donald Sidney Deskey was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota. He studied architecture at the University of California, but did not follow th ...
(1927-31) 1934ChryslerAirflow.jpg,
Chrysler Airflow The Chrysler Airflow is a full-size car produced by Chrysler from 1934 to 1937. The Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for building a sleeker automobile, one less susceptible to air resistance. ...
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 and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
(1939) Pan-Pacific Auditorium entrance.jpg, The Pan-Pacific Auditorium 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 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 principles developed for aviation and
ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and a ...
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, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
s, gas pumps, and buildings. One of the first production vehicles in this style was the
Chrysler Airflow The Chrysler Airflow is a full-size car produced by Chrysler from 1934 to 1937. The Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for building a sleeker automobile, one less susceptible to air resistance. ...
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 Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center, Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three ...
(1930) in Philadelphia, built by the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name 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. It was named ...
(PRR) to serve as its headquarters, now functions as the primary SEPTA Regional Rail station. File:Terminal Fountain - Cincinnati Museum Center.jpg, Cincinnati Union Terminal in Ohio (1933) now also functions as a museum and cultural center. File:Union-Station-LA-Waiting-Ro.jpg, Union Station 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 (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 (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, 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 commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
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 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's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Cente ...
and other landmark Los Angeles buildings. The structure combines
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
,
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 aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
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 The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultz ...
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 neighborhood o ...
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 The Delano South Beach hotel was an upscale resort located in Miami Beach, Florida. Delano was a part of the Morgans Hotel Group collection prior to MHG being purchased by SBE Entertainment Group. SBE Entertainment has since sold the hotel to ...
(1947) and National Hotel (1943) in
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
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 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. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...
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 neighborhood o ...
, 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 The U-Drop Inn, also known as Tower Station and U-Drop Inn and Tower Café, was built in 1936 in Shamrock, Texas along the historic Route 66 highway in Wheeler County. Inspired by the image of a nail stuck in soil, the building was designed by J ...
, a roadside gas station and diner on U.S. Highway 66 in
Shamrock, Texas Shamrock is a city in Wheeler County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 1,910. The city is located in the eastern portion of the Texas Panhandle centered along the crossroads of Interstate 40 (formerl ...
(1936) File:Modern diner.jpg, The
Modern Diner The Modern Diner is a historic diner in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. Description The Modern Diner is the only known surviving Sterling Streamliner diner still in operation. Its profile resembles that of a 1934 silver locomotive tha ...
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
(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 The U-Drop Inn, also known as Tower Station and U-Drop Inn and Tower Café, was built in 1936 in Shamrock, Texas along the historic Route 66 highway in Wheeler County. Inspired by the image of a nail stuck in soil, the building was designed by J ...
in
Shamrock, Texas Shamrock is a city in Wheeler County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 1,910. The city is located in the eastern portion of the Texas Panhandle centered along the crossroads of Interstate 40 (formerl ...
, located along U.S. Highway 66. It was built in 1936, and is now owned by the City of Shamrock, and is an 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 The Modern Diner is a historic diner in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. Description The Modern Diner is the only known surviving Sterling Streamliner diner still in operation. Its profile resembles that of a 1934 silver locomotive tha ...
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
which is a registered landmark.


Fine Art


Murals

File:The Tragic Prelude John Brown.jpg, Mural "Tragic Prelude" depicting abolitionist
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
in the Kansas State Capitol building, by John Steuart Curry (1930) File:Diego Rivera - Detroit Industry Murals.jpg, Part of "Detroit Industry"' mural by Diego Rivera in the Detroit Institute of Arts (1932–33) File:Paul Kelpe History of Southern Illinois.jpg, A portion of a mural depicting the History of Southern Illinois, commissioned by the Federal Art Project for the lLibrary of the University of Southern Illinois (1935) File:Coit Mural Agriculture.jpg, A portion of ''California'' by
Maxine Albro Maxine Albro (January 20, 1893 – July 19, 1966) was an American painter, muralist, lithographer, mosaic artist, and sculptor. She was one of America's leading female artists, and one of the few women commissioned under the New Deal's Federal Ar ...
, on the interior of Coit Tower in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
(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, Mural ''Art in the Tropics'' by Rockwell Kent in the
William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building The William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building is a complex of several historic buildings located in the Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C., across 12th Street, NW from the Old Post Office Building (Washington, D.C.), Old Post Office. The complex ...
(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; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
, 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 Administrati ...
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, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...
, Reginald Marsh, Georgia O'Keeffe and
Maxine Albro Maxine Albro (January 20, 1893 – July 19, 1966) was an American painter, muralist, lithographer, mosaic artist, and sculptor. She was one of America's leading female artists, and one of the few women commissioned under the New Deal's Federal Ar ...
took part in the program. The celebrated Mexican painter Diego Rivera also took part in the program, painting a mural. The paintings were in a variety of styles, including
regionalism Regionalism may refer to: * Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s * Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...
, social realism, 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 and another 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 Josep Maria Sert i Badia (; Barcelona, 21 December 1874 – 27 November 1945, buried in the Vic Cathedral) was a Spanish People, Spanish muralist, the son of an affluent textile industry family, and friend of Salvador Dalí. He was particularly ...
.


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), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. 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), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. 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 by
Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 24, 1885 – January 28, 1966) was an American sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco movement. He is well known for his large public com ...
at Rockefeller Center (1934) File:Clock inside Rockefeller Center.jpeg, Lobby clock in Rockefeller Center File:LLRockefellerCenter2.jpg, Sculpture on the wall of Rockefeller Center File:Cochise County Courthouse Bisbee Arizona ArtDecoDoors.jpg, Doors of
Cochise County Courthouse Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park is a state park of Arizona in the United States. Located in Tombstone, the park preserves the original Cochise County courthouse. The two-story building, constructed in 1882 in the Victorian style, is la ...
in Bisbee, Arizona
One of the largest Art Deco sculptures is the statue of
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás st ...
, the goddess of grain and fertility, at the top of the
Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. 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 Léon Bakst (russian: Леон (Лев) Николаевич Бакст, Leon (Lev) Nikolaevich Bakst) – born as Leyb-Khaim Izrailevich (later Samoylovich) Rosenberg, Лейб-Хаим Израилевич (Самойлович) Розенбе ...
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 Revolution disrupted society. A ...
, and in the catalogs of the fashion designers
Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and care ...
. The illustrations of
Georges Barbier George Barbier (), né Georges Augustin Barbier, (1882–1932) was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Biography Born in Nantes, France on 16 October 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhib ...
, 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 Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
'', '' Vanity Fair'' and ''
Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
'' 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. 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 Administrati ...
hired American artists to create posters to promote tourism and cultural events.


PWA Moderne

Government and public buildings of the 30s and 40s 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,
/ref> Classical Moderne, Stripped Classicism, or Greco Deco. during and shortly after the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
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 Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
(PWA) and the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
(WPA). The style draws from traditional motifs such as Beaux-Arts classicism and
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
and is similar to
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
, often with zigzag ornamentation added. The structures reflect a greater use of conservative and classical elements and have a monumental feel. They include post offices, train stations, public schools, libraries, civic centers, courthouses, museums, bridges, and dams across the country. Banks were also built in the style because such buildings radiated authority. The architecture frequently expressed itself in a rather severe Greco-Roman facade decorated with deco styles shallow
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s and/or deco styled interior decoration featuring
mural A mural is any piece of 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'' is a Spani ...
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, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s and sculpture. A common motif among this architecture is the use of stylized or simplified
pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...
.


Elements of the style

Typical elements of PWA Moderne buildings include: *Classical balanced and symmetrical form *Windows arranged as vertical recessed panels *Surfaces sheathed in smooth, flat stone or stucco


Examples

Examples of PWA buildings and structures include:


Arizona/Nevada

*
Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...
(Boulder Dam) – on the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. *
Arizona State Fairgrounds The Arizona State Fairgrounds is a permanent fairgrounds on McDowell Road, 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 Fair, as well as f ...
Grandstand (1936–1937) – Phoenix, Arizona. The exterior of the grandstand has 23
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
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 Administrati ...
.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 **Ed Austin Building (former Federal Courthouse, current State Attorney's Office), 1933,
Marsh & Saxelbye Marsh & Saxelbye was a Florida architectural firm that designed numerous notable buildings in Florida. More than 20 of their works are preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their architecture. Notable works Other ...


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 Burbank City Hall is the site of the municipal government of Burbank, California, Burbank, California, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne, M ...
, 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. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
: **
Helms Bakery The Helms Bakery on the border of Los Angeles and Culver City, California, was a notable industrial bakery of Southern California that operated from 1931 to 1969. The buildings have now been adapted for reuse as retail shops, restaurants, and fur ...
, 1930, E. L. Bruner **
MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
, 1938–39,
Claude Beelman Claud W. Beelman (1883 – January 30, 1963), sometimes known as ''Claude Beelman'', was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his build ...
, Beaux-Arts in the guise of PWA Moderne * El Segundo: El Segundo Elementary School, 1936 * Hermosa Beach: 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 Louis Adolphe Simon (1867–1958) was an American architect. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Simon was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a tour of Europe, he opened an architectural office in Baltimore, M ...
and former School Building (c. 1937) * Lawndale:
Leuzinger High School Leuzinger High School is a public high school (9th through 12th grades) in Lawndale, California, United States. It opened on January 27, 1931, with an enrollment of 268. It was named after Adolph Leuzinger in recognition of his 25 years of servic ...
, T.C. Kistner & Cómo.; Kistner & Curtis; Eugene D. Birnbaum and Associates *
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
**Jefferson Junior High School Building, 1936 **
Long Beach Main Post Office The Long Beach Main Post Office is a post office building located on Long Beach Boulevard in downtown Long Beach, California. The Art Deco and PWA Moderne style building opened in 1934 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places ( ...
, 1934,
Louis A. Simon Louis Adolphe Simon (1867–1958) was an American architect. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Simon was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a tour of Europe, he opened an architectural office in Baltimore, M ...
and
James A. Wetmore James Alfonso Wetmore (November 1863 – March 14, 1940) was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department from 1915 through 1933. ...
**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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
: ** Abraham Lincoln High School ( Lincoln Heights), 1937–38, Albert C. Martin **
Carpenter Community Charter School Carpenter Community Charter School, formerly Carpenter Avenue Elementary School, is a public K-5 elementary school in Los Angeles, California. Carpenter Community Charter is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school is in Studio ...
**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 Louis Adolphe Simon (1867–1958) was an American architect. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Simon was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a tour of Europe, he opened an architectural office in Baltimore, M ...
** 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 Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
**Police and Fire Station of Venice, c. 1930 ** San Pedro High School, 1935–1937,
Gordon B. Kaufmann Gordon Bernie Kaufmann (19 March 1888 – 1 March 1949) was an English-born American architect mostly known for his work on the Hoover Dam. Early life On 19 March 1888, Kaufmann was born in Forest Hill, London, England. Education ...
**
Sepulveda Dam The Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. Completed in 1941, at a cost of $6,650,561 (), it is located south of center in the San Fernando Valley, appro ...
, 1941, flood control dam on the Los Angeles River in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
, 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 Stiles Oliver Clements (March 2, 1883 – January 15, 1966) was an architect practicing in Los Angeles and Southern California. History Clements trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was a key figure in the 1920s Art Deco archite ...
**
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 C ...
campus: Alan Hancock Foundation and Memorial Museum, 1940, Cram and Ferguson *
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 district. Its ...
: **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 City Hall Santa Monica City Hall is a government building in Santa Monica, California. See also * List of City of Santa Monica Designated Historic Landmarks * Santa Monica City Council Santa Monica City Council is the governing body of Santa Monica, Cali ...
, 1938–39,
Donald B. Parkinson Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
and J. M. Estep **Post Office, Robert Dennis Murray,
Louis A. Simon Louis Adolphe Simon (1867–1958) was an American architect. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Simon was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a tour of Europe, he opened an architectural office in Baltimore, M ...
* Torrance: **
Auditorium (Torrance High School) The Auditorium, also known as the Assembly Hall, is a PWA Moderne style building located on the campus of Torrance High School in Torrance, Los Angeles County, California. When built in 1924 the building was a source of pride for Torrance, and ...
**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 Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
: Kern County Hall of Records, 1939 remodel, Chris Brewer * Fresno: County Hall of Records, 1937, Allied Architects of Fresno * Jackson: Amador County Courthouse, 1940 remodel, George Sellon *
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
: Alameda County Courthouse, 1939 * Salinas: Monterey County Courthouse, 1937, Robert Stanton & Charles Butner *
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
: San Diego County Administration Center, 1938, Samuel Wood Hamill,
William Templeton Johnson William Templeton Johnson (1877 – 1957) was a notable San Diego architect. He was a fellow to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1939. Johnson is known for his Spanish Revival buildings, all in San Diego unless otherwise noted: * L ...
,
Richard Requa Richard Smith Requa (March 27, 1881 – June 10, 1941) was an American architect, largely known for his work in San Diego, California. Requa was the Master Architect for the California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park in 1935 ...
, Louis John Gill *
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
:
San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kno ...
, 1937 * San Luis Obispo: 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, 1932, Paul Philippe Cret *
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Annex ( John Adams Building), 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 State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
, 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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
: Cass County Courthouse, 1934, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn *
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
:
Des Moines County Court House The Des Moines County Court House located in Burlington, Iowa, United States, was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of Iowa Multiple Properties Submission. T ...
, 1940, Keffer and Jones *
Charles City Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
:
Floyd County Court House The Floyd County Court House in Charles City, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It is the only ...
, 1940, Hansen & Waggoner * Dakota City: Humboldt County Courthouse, 1939 *
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, 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 statu ...
: Buchanan County Court House, 1940, Dougher, Rich and Woodburn *
Indianola Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...
: Warren County Court House, 1939, Keffer and Jones * Mason City: Mason City Engine House No. 2, 1939, Hansen & Waggoner *
St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
:
St. Olaf Auditorium St. Olaf Auditorium, also known as the St. Olaf Opera House and Auditorium, is a historic building located in St. Olaf, Iowa, United States. The city was able to complete the auditorium in 1939 with the assistance of the Public Works Administrat ...
, 1939 *
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
:
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium The Sioux City Municipal Auditorium, known as the Long Lines Family Recreation Center for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose facility in Sioux City, Iowa. The fifth in a line of major indoor venues built in Sioux City, it was designed by Kn ...
, 1938–50, Knute E. Westerlind * Waukon: Allamakee County Court House, 1940, Charles Altfillisch * Waverly:
Bremer County Court House The Bremer County Court House in Waverly, Iowa, United States, was built in 1937. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is ...
, 1937, Mortimer Cleveland


Minnesota

*
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
: Minneapolis Armory, 1935–36, P.C. Bettenburg; Walter H. Wheeler


Mississippi

*
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
: Amory National Guard Armory, 1937–38, Overstreet & Town


Nevada

*
Pioche Pioche is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, approximately northeast of Las Vegas. U.S. Route 93 is the main route to Pioche and bypasses the town center just to the east, with Nevada State Route 321 and Nevad ...
: Lincoln County Courthouse, 1938, A. Lacy Worswick; L.F. Dow


Oregon

*
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
:
Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...
, 1938,
Trowbridge & Livingston Trowbridge & Livingston was an architectural practice based in New York City in the early 20th-century. The firm's partners were Samuel Beck Parkman Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston. Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, much of the fir ...


Tennessee

*
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
:
Martin Luther King Magnet at Pearl High School Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet for Health Sciences and Engineering at Pearl High School (or simply MLK Magnet) is a public magnet high school located in Nashville, Tennessee. MLK includes grades 7–12, and students enter through a lott ...


Texas

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Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
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Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse is the county courthouse for Travis County, Texas. Located in Downtown Austin, downtown Austin, Texas (the county seat), the courthouse holds civil and criminal trial courts and other functions of ...
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/PWA Moderne) * Santaquin: Santaquin Junior High School


Washington

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
: William K. Nakamura Federal Courthouse, 1940,
Gilbert Stanley Underwood Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890–1960) was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that ...


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 Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
, which terminated in 1944, the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
program, terminated in 1943, focused on smaller, often rural, projects providing employment.


See also

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List of Art Deco architecture This is a list of buildings that are examples of Art Deco: * List of Art Deco architecture in Africa * List of Art Deco architecture in Asia * List of Art Deco architecture in Europe * List of Art Deco architecture in the Americas ** List of Art D ...
* List of Art Deco architecture in the United States * Art Deco architecture of New York City * *
Streamline Moderne architecture Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
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WPA Rustic WPA Rustic architecture is an architectural style from the era of the U.S. New Deal Works Project Administration. The WPA provided funding for architects to create a variety of buildings, including amphitheaters and lodges. WPA architecture is akin ...
architecture


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