Art Deco Architecture

Between 1920 and 1939, Art Deco Architecture was all the rage. Not only did the Art Deco movement affect Architecture, but also interior design, industrial design and visual arts like fashion, painting, graphic arts and film.

The movement was a mixture of many different styles, incorporating cubism, modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Futurism, and its popularity peaked in the roaring twenties.

While many earlier architectural styles had political or philosophical roots, Art Deco Architecture was simply decorative.

Designed to be beautiful, elegant, functional and modern. One of the best-known pieces of Art Deco architecture in the U.S. is the Chrysler Building in New York.

The beautiful Art Deco spire was built between 1928 and 1930. Following close behind the Art Deco period was the Streamline Moderne. The focus was mainly on advancing technologies such as automobiles and aviation.

Art Deco architecture is mainly composed of man-made materials. The most popular being glass and stainless steel. Lines were very symmetrical and repetitive throughout structures.

Very popular during the great depression because of its simplicity and practicality, Art Deco still reminded people of the better times and gave them hope of one day reliving them.

World War II cut short the life of Art Deco. People began to see it as gaudy and a false image of luxury, but Art Deco presented the gateway to modernism, which continues well into the 1960s.

Today we see a revival of the old, people caring enough to reconstruct or refurbish the beautiful designs of Art Deco architecture or even begin modernizing it and mixing it with styles of today. But as you travel the country, in many big cities you can still find the grand structures of Art Deco still standing.