a
combination of prosperity, optimism, exotic
materials and fine craftsmanship produced some
spectacular and exciting architecture.
For big business, Art Deco was ideal for expressing corporate wealth and dominance. Banks used the style to convey security. Hollywood used it to define the good life.
But soon, the good life proffered by Hollywood would be just that; the stuff of dreams.
When the stock market crash brought down the curtain in 1929, it took the first phase of the
Art Deco era with it. In Manhattan, the Empire State Building was completed in 1931 and after that there was little construction of any kind, with the sole exception of Rockefeller Center.
For better or worse, in those days it took time for Wall Street's problems to fully affect other parts of the world. So, in far away places like Australia, Art Deco buildings were built into the 1940s. But in the birthplace of the skyscraper, the party was over.
One consequence of the Depression was the emergence of a more austere architectural style, referred to on this site as Streamline Moderne. Why not just say Art Deco? Because nearly everything about the Streamline Moderne was different and sometimes even opposed to Art Deco.
If Art Deco skyscrapers could be thought of as "vertical", Streamline Moderne buildings frequently displayed horizontal massing (sometimes even intended to be aerodynamic!) The ornament in a streamlined building (if any) was typically modest, whereas with Art Deco, the sky was the limit. While Art Deco buildings dazzled with intricate details and sharp angles, streamlining featured clean surfaces and curves. In a few places, both styles were combined but in the simplest terms, Art Deco was born before the financial collapse and Streamline Moderne, after.
None of this is to say that the Streamline Moderne couldn't produce delightful results, and with its graceful curves, streamlining translated beautifully into thousands of objects that are still treasured.
I should point out that the Art Deco houses on this site are, with one or two exceptions, really Streamline Moderne. Although classic Art Deco translated nicely into houses, they are few in number so any collection of Art Deco homes really has to include streamlined examples.
There is no way to measure, but my impression is that Art Deco and Streamline Moderne buildings are more popular today then they were in their own time. Of the two, the Streamline Moderne had a much longer run. It survived the war and went on to be used for a new generation of schools, factories, grocery stores and gas stations.
As I mentioned in an earlier version of this essay, I often wonder how things might look today, had there been no Depression and a second World War. But this sort of guessing is a fool's errand especially when so much from the period remains, to be seen, preserved and enjoyed.
Randy Juster
July 2010
For big business, Art Deco was ideal for expressing corporate wealth and dominance. Banks used the style to convey security. Hollywood used it to define the good life.
But soon, the good life proffered by Hollywood would be just that; the stuff of dreams.
When the stock market crash brought down the curtain in 1929, it took the first phase of the
Art Deco era with it. In Manhattan, the Empire State Building was completed in 1931 and after that there was little construction of any kind, with the sole exception of Rockefeller Center.
For better or worse, in those days it took time for Wall Street's problems to fully affect other parts of the world. So, in far away places like Australia, Art Deco buildings were built into the 1940s. But in the birthplace of the skyscraper, the party was over.
One consequence of the Depression was the emergence of a more austere architectural style, referred to on this site as Streamline Moderne. Why not just say Art Deco? Because nearly everything about the Streamline Moderne was different and sometimes even opposed to Art Deco.
If Art Deco skyscrapers could be thought of as "vertical", Streamline Moderne buildings frequently displayed horizontal massing (sometimes even intended to be aerodynamic!) The ornament in a streamlined building (if any) was typically modest, whereas with Art Deco, the sky was the limit. While Art Deco buildings dazzled with intricate details and sharp angles, streamlining featured clean surfaces and curves. In a few places, both styles were combined but in the simplest terms, Art Deco was born before the financial collapse and Streamline Moderne, after.
None of this is to say that the Streamline Moderne couldn't produce delightful results, and with its graceful curves, streamlining translated beautifully into thousands of objects that are still treasured.
I should point out that the Art Deco houses on this site are, with one or two exceptions, really Streamline Moderne. Although classic Art Deco translated nicely into houses, they are few in number so any collection of Art Deco homes really has to include streamlined examples.
There is no way to measure, but my impression is that Art Deco and Streamline Moderne buildings are more popular today then they were in their own time. Of the two, the Streamline Moderne had a much longer run. It survived the war and went on to be used for a new generation of schools, factories, grocery stores and gas stations.
As I mentioned in an earlier version of this essay, I often wonder how things might look today, had there been no Depression and a second World War. But this sort of guessing is a fool's errand especially when so much from the period remains, to be seen, preserved and enjoyed.
Randy Juster
July 2010
There
are times when events combine to hasten the march
of progress. Such was the case at the beginning of
the twentieth century. One architectural style, now
called Art Deco, sought to break with tradition and
synchronize itself with the new age.
This break from tradition was far from absolute and some early Art Deco buildings were most notable for their ornament; more repackaging than innovation. That said, by the mid-1920s
This break from tradition was far from absolute and some early Art Deco buildings were most notable for their ornament; more repackaging than innovation. That said, by the mid-1920s