Art Deco architecture of New York City
Art Deco architecture flourished in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. The style broke with many traditional architectural conventions and was characterized by verticality, ornamentation, and building materials such as plastics, metals, and terra cotta. Art Deco is found in government edifices, commercial projects, and residential buildings in all five boroughs. The architecture of the period was influenced by worldwide decorative arts trends, the rise of mechanization, and New York City's 1916 Zoning Resolution, which favored the setback feature in many buildings.
Clockwise from top left: Spire of the Chrysler Building, Manhattan; upper levels of the Park Plaza Apartments, the Bronx; entrance of Madison Gardens apartments, Brooklyn; and the Marine Air Terminal exterior, Queens
The Equitable Building's size spurred the passage of zoning laws that affected Art Deco architecture in the city.
Hugh Ferriss' illustration, demonstrating an approach to New York City's setbacks requirements that would come to define the city's Art Deco buildings.
Detail of the French Building's upper floors, showing beehives, bees, griffins, and a sunburst
Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s, and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look, Art Deco has influenced bridges, buildings, ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects including radios and vacuum cleaners.
Image: Chrysler Building 1 (4684845155)
Image: Chicago world's fair, a century of progress, expo poster, 1933, 2
Image: Victoire 2 by Rene Lalique Toyota Automobile Museum
Table and chairs by Maurice Dufrêne and carpet by Paul Follot at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs
