Art Deco / Art Moderne

Herman Ridder Jr. High (PS 98)<br/>Claremont Village, The Bronx

8/20/2005 01:35 PM
Herman Ridder Jr. High (PS 98)
Claremont Village, The Bronx

Art Deco was a design style popular from approximately 1925 through 1939. The name is derived from the style's origins at the the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art) in Paris, although the terms "Art Deco" (and it's stylistic heir, Art Moderne) were not commonly used until the 1968 publication of Bevis Hillier's art history book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s.

In the 1920s, New York City was both the cultural center of America and a city undergoing a construction boom. As such, New York City contains numerous buildings that are excellent representatives of Art Deco architectural design. Art Deco style was commonly applied to commercial and public buildings rather than private residences, giving NYC an additional advantage since the density of Manhattan favored tall, commercial buildings. Art Deco buildings have worn well both for their sturdy design and their nostalgic appeal.

Art Deco was an opulent and purely decorative style that projected elegant modernism. Much of Art Deco style is based on clean geographic shapes with sunbursts, chevrons, zigzags, and octagons predominating. The increasing dominance of technology is reflected in images celebrating machines like railroads and airplanes. Sweeping curves in buildings reflected new trends in aerodynamic streamline vehicle design. Objects from the natural world (especially eagles) were presented in geometrically stylized designs, most prominently on government buildings.

Geometric Shapes

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Sunburst - Chrysler Building

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Chevrons and inlaid wood - Hunter College elevator

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Octagon window - Worth Memorial, B'way at 25th St

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Concentric rectangles - Lobby, Rockefeller Center

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Zig-zags - 184th St IND Subway Station Entrance

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Lozenges (non-square diamonds) - 160 West Broadway

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Cylindrical framed radio towers - 32 Sixth Avenue

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32 Sixth Avenue

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55 Central Park West

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3 East 66th St

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530 Amsterdam Ave

Tiered Setbacks

Following the opening of the blocky and (for the time) astronomically tall 41-story Equitable Building in 1915, New York City's zoning laws were changed in 1916, requiring setbacks on the upper floors of tall buildings to provide more light at street level and reduce shadows. This seemingly minor change would have a dramatic architectural impact on the appearance of the NYC skyline up through the middle of the century. Setbacks also fit seamlessly into the vertical orientation of Art Deco and the "Wedding Cake" style would become a defining characteristic of Art Deco architecture. Completing the phallic symbolism, many Art Deco buildings have rounded cupolas.

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Williamsburgh Savings Bank, Brooklyn

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Rockefeller Center

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Empire State Building (1931)

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McGraw Hill Building (1931)

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One Fifth Avenue

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500 Fifth Avenue

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20 Exchange Place

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Criminal Courts Building

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Criminal Courts Building

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Squibb Building, 745 Fifth Ave. @ 58th Street

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275 Madison Avenue

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1501 Broadway

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1501 Broadway

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1501 Broadway

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Garment District

This stairstep design was also incorporated into other vertically-oriented structures.

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Triboro Bridge suspension span tower

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Vestigial lamp post on the Miller Highway

Sans Serif Fonts

Fonts used for lettering on Art Deco buildings are distinctive and then, as now, had a clean, modern and sophisticated quality. They were almost universally sans serif and often entirely capitalized. Typical representatives include Eric Gill's Gill Sans and Perpetua fonts and Paul Renner's Futura fonts (frequently featured on posters of the time). On occasion, more radical fonts were created based on geometric shapes (notably circles) and were often multi-lineal.

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Woodcrest Apartments - Midwood, Brooklyn

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Woodcrest Apartments

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Morgan General Mail Facility

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Stanton Substation

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600 W. 168th St

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Hunter College

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Hunter College

Stylized Figures

Geometrically stylized figures of humans and animals frequently adorn Art Deco buildings, often in bas relief.

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Eagles - 369th Infantry Armory

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Eagles - Chrysler Building

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Eagle gargoyles - Chrysler Building

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Stainless steel bas relief - Rockefeller Center

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Brooklyn Public Library

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Brooklyn Public Library

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Trinity Baptist Church

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Williamsburg Savings Bank

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500 Fifth Avenue

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[Ornate entryway, Downtown]

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185 Montague Street

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Abstract floral motif - 275 Madison Avenue

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275 Madison Avenue

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Eagles - First National City Bank, Canal at Broadway (1927)

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Eagles - First National City Bank, Canal at Broadway (1927)

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675 4th Ave, Brooklyn<br>Stylized waves on the former Seafarers Int'l Union Building

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500 Fifth Avenue

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500 Fifth Avenue

Geometric Lighting Fixtures

In keeping with the geometric emphasis of Art Deco, many structures feature distinctive cylindrical luminaires and geometrically shaped sconces.

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Luminaire - Lincoln Tunnel

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Luminaire - Lincoln Tunnel

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Luminaire - Lefkowitz State Office Building

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Octagonal luminaire - West 60th St Comfort Station - Central Park

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Octagonal luminaire - West 60th St Comfort Station - Central Park

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Chevron sconces - 275 Madison Avenue

Dramatically Colored Materials

Art Deco buildings frequently incorporate dramatically colored and polychromatic materials.

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1005 Jerome Avenue, The Bronx

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1005 Jerome Avenue, The Bronx

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McGraw Hill Building (1931)

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McGraw Hill Building (1931)

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Polychromatic facade - Trinity Baptist Church, 250 East 61st

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Black granite - Trinity Baptist Church

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ITT Headquarters, Downtown

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Horn and Hardart Automat (1930)

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Horn and Hardart Automat (1930)

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2315 Broadway

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2315 Broadway

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Mosaic - 30 Rockefeller Plaza

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Mosaic - 30 Rockefeller Plaza

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Mosaic - 30 Rockefeller Plaza

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210 East 68th Street

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210 East 68th Street

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210 East 68th Street

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West Side YMCA - 64th Street side

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320 Central Park West

The 23-story American Radiator Building at 40 West 40th Street, designed by Raymond Hood and Andre Fouilhoux and built in 1924, is a transitional form. The general feeling of the building (especially the marble entryway and arch-ceilinged basemant) is neo-Gothic, but the striking black brick and gold ornamentation clearly reflects the Art Deco sensibility that would rise to general prominance shortly after the building opened.

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American Radiator Building (1924)

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American Radiator Building (1924)

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American Radiator Building (1924)

Streamlining

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Marquee - Radio City Music Hall

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1001 Jerome Avenue, The Bronx

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New Amsterdam Theatre Marquee

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Majestic Apartments (1931)

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Majestic Apartments

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Ridgewood Savings Bank, 107-55 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills

Some auditoria from the time make a distinctive application of streamlining with curved staircases extending down from the balcony onto the stage.

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Hunter College auditorium

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Hunter College auditorium

Ubiquity

Even purely functional and mundane structures from the time incorporated Art Deco or Streamline Moderne elements.

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NY Central RR Substation, Dyckman Street

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NY Central RR Substation

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Engine Company 24 - Midtown (1937)

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Engine Company 24 - Midtown

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NY Grit Chamber

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211 West 61st St (1928)

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211 West 61st St (1928)

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1626 Cody, Glendale, Queens

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Central IND Substation, 136 W 53rd St (1932)

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Central IND Substation, 136 W 53rd St (1932)

The 369th Infantry Armory in Harlem was the last major armory build in the city. Its construction between 1921 and 1933 spanned the advent of Art Deco and, as such, it represents a curious mix of medival and Art Deco elements:

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369th Infantry Armory, Harlem (1921-1933)

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369th Infantry Armory, Harlem

Art Moderne

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Art Moderne followed Art Deco and the two styles have similarities. Although they share the same penchant for streamlining, Art Moderne emphasizes horizontal lines while Art Deco emphasizes vertical lines. Art Moderne also tends to have a simpler, more functional quality than Art Deco. Rounded corners and glass block walls are givaways that you are looking at Moderne rather than Deco.

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Fifth Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn

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Fifth Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn

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Williamsbridge Park - The Bronx (1937)

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Van Cortland Park, The Bronx

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Evergreen Park, Queens

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Amsterdam Depot - 129th St @ Amsterdam Ave

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411 West End Avenue (1936)

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Godmothers League Building - 255 West 71st St (1948-1950)

A pair of towers on Central Park West make a nice side-by-side distinction between Art Deco and Art Moderne. Both were designed by Emery Roth (1871-1948), who also designed the twin-towered San Remo to the south and was responsible for a large number of luxury residences in Manhattan during his life.

The Art Deco El Dorado at 300 Central Park West embodies the soaring vertical aesthetic of Art Deco, with it's setback twin towers and elegant geometric detailing. By contrast, the Art Moderne 295 Central Park West is comparatively plain, reflecting a more austere depression era aesthetic. The blocky tower has a more horizontal orientation, with less dramatic setbacks, rounded corners, and very limited ornamentation. Both contrast even more dramatically Further contrast can be drawn with The St. Urban (285 Central Park West), a Beaux Arts building just to the south which was designed by Robert T. Lyons and completed in 1906.

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295 Central Park West / 300 Central Park West

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The El Dorado, 300 Central Park West

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295 Central Park West

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300 Central Park West

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285 Central Park West / 295 Central Park West

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300 Central Park West

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295 Central Park West

Unlike Art Deco, which was most popular in cities that suited its vertical orientation, Art Modern was commonly expressed in the hinterlands, where its horizontal orientation was suited to low-rise buildings. This well preserved gas-station-turned-used-car-lot in Hampton, AR has all the distinctive Art Moderne characteristics: rounded corners, horizontal bands, glass brick, casement windows and even a little bit of glazed black tile trim around the front stoop.

11/28/2008 08:46 AM
Quality Auto Sales - Hampton, AR

Faux Deco

Never quite as good as the original.

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170 West 72nd St

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Brooklyn Diner - 155 West 43rd St

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AMC Loews Lincoln Square - 1998 B'way

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Broadway Theatre - 1681 B'way

12/17/2008 06:07 PM
West 57th St