The 10 Most Fascinating Art Deco Buildings You Need To Know

Briefly, It all started after World War I. People faced an economic collapse. Accordingly, the west passed through a phase of poor industrial production. However, during uncertain times, the French started to look not to their recent troubled past but to a brighter future.

Later, Art Deco developed a significant style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s in art and architecture. The name comes from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. However, Art Deco represented modernism turned into fashion. Mainly, the architects intended to create a sleek, “stream-lined” modern style that showed off wealth and sophistication.

How do you recognize Art Deco?

Initially, the style mainly focused on skyscrapers. It demonstrates characteristics of simple, clean shapes such as parabolic curves, often with geometric ornamentation. The materials include costly materials. In fact, art deco materials usually include artificial substances. These include plastics, especially Bakelite, vita-glass, and ferroconcrete. Art Deco also uses natural ones such as jade, silver, ivory, obsidian, chrome, and rock crystal.

Art Deco reflected admiration for the modernity of the machine. It focused on the degree of perfection resulting from machine-made objects. These features include planarity, symmetry, and unvaried, modular repetition of elements.

The 10 Most Fascinating Art Deco Buildings You Need To Know

This article will explore what Art Deco is all about through the famous architectural styles‘ 10 prominent buildings:-

1. American Radiator Building – New York, USA -1924

The American Radiator Building is an ornate landmark skyscraper located in New York City. Architects John Howells and Raymond Hood built it in 1924 for the American Radiator Company. However, afterward, they converted it into The Bryant Park Hotel. The controversial exterior of black and gold bricks symbolizes coal and fire. It shows how Art Deco is heavily influenced by previous historical styles, such as Gothic architecture.

Also read:- The most iconic buildings of modern architecture

2. Luhrs Tower – Phoenix, Arizona, USA -1924

Phoenix businessman George H.N. Luhrs founded the Luhrs building. It was considered the first high-rise building in Phoenix when it was established in 1924.

The architects designed the interior with the same Art Deco glamour as the exterior. The penthouse on the 10th floor included a 22-foot-tall ceiling with luxurious crystal chandeliers. This space overlooked a terrific view of the valley.

The Luhrs Tower was the tallest building in the Southwest Spanish colonial influences for decades. The exterior features a modern commercial design where Art Deco meets Spanish architecture.

3. The Walker Tower – Manhattan, New York, US, 1929

No architect played a more significant role in defining the twentieth-century Manhattan skyline than Ralph Thomas Walker. He was the winner of the 1957 AIA Centennial Gold Medal and was named “Architect of the Century” by the New York Times.

However, Walker Tower is now being used as a residential tower, consisting of 50 luxury timeshare residences. It still preserves the original design details and the majesty of high-end residential living.

The building’s elaborate brick façade has been restored, as has the Art Deco ornamentation that Ralph Walker made famous through architectural masterpieces such as One Wall Street.

4- The Chrysler Building, New York, USA, 1929

Designed by architect William Van Alen, the Chrysler Building is one of the most famous tourist attractions and an office building for business use. It is one of the prominent buildings which shaped the New York City skyline.

Interior and exterior correspondingly, it is admired for its distinctive ornamentation based on features that were also found on Chrysler automobiles at the time. After it was established, it was ranked worldwide as the tallest skyscraper, rising. However, this rank did not last so long. The Empire State Building exceeded its height (1,046 feet/ 319 meters) in 1931.

However, the Chrysler Building still serves as an office building and also as one of the favored tourist destinations in New York City. The Art Deco building remained a headquarters for the famous American automobile manufacturer Chrysler until the 1950s.

5- The Empire State Building, New York, 1931

Without mentioning the spectacular Empire State skyscraper, you can not finish a conversation about Art Deco. American architect William F. Lamb designed it to be a landmark for the city. Today, the building remains a New York landmark. It was even named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

6. The General Electric Tower – Manhattan, New York, US 1931

Although not nearly as famous as the Chrysler or Empire State Building, the General Electric building cannot be ignored. Completed in 1931 and also known as 570 Lexington, this landmark is covered with intricate gothic details using modern materials.

It emphasizes the hybrid influences and ornamentations of Art Deco. The base is made of rose-colored granite, while the set-back mass above and the tower shaft are clad in glazed tan brick and terracotta. Among the gothic decor, the facade features lightning bolts and radio waves.

To create a dramatic giant torch, the elaborate complex crown lit up at night on top of the building, making it a mouth-watering experience. The top then looks like a powerful luminous torch in the dark sky. Although it looked impressive, not everybody liked it. In fact, some critics find it cliche, as the lightning bolt motifs symbolize the electricity of radio transmission waves.

7. Niagara Mohawk Building – Syracuse, New York, USA, 1932

This one shows how Art Deco sometimes combined classicism with modernism. The architectural firm of Bley & Lyman, from Buffalo, and the Syracuse architect Melvin King all participated in the design. Originally known as the Niagara Hudson building, they completed it in 1932.

One of the most striking features of the building is the sculpture that hovers above the entrance. Back then, it represented the nation’s largest electric utility company due to its unique features, including its orange reflective surface, which looks impressive in the sun when shadows of surroundings are cast on it elegantly. Also, the building’s steel frame is sheathed smoothly in aluminum and black glass combined with gray brick and polished stone.

8. Rockefeller Center – New York, USA- 1933

Rockefeller Center consists of 19 Art Deco-style forming a popular commercial complex in Midtown Manhattan, New York. Commissioned by the prominent Rockefeller family, the project took nine years to construct and was one of the most significant undertakings of its time. They even added it to the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1987.

9. Radio City Music Hall -Manhattan, New York, 1932

This represents a part of the previously mentioned complex, Rockefeller towers. Accordingly, Rockefeller’s vision is rooted in Art Deco principles, as he initially designed this complex as a beacon of hope after the stock market crash in 1929.

10. Union Terminal – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA- 1933

Who says Art Deco buildings were all high-rise? In 1933, Alfred T. Fellheimer and Steward Wagner designed Union Terminal in Ohio. They also had architects Paul Philippe Cret and Roland Wank as design consultants. Despite that, Cret received most of the credit for the design. The terminal is not a skyscraper, but that does not make it any less an Art Deco masterpiece.

The terminal’s exterior features parabolic curves and geometric shapes. It also shows off the glamorous mood we consistently find in Art Deco. Although it used to be a railroad station, it currently houses museums, theaters, and a library after the decline of railway travel.