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IDENTIFYING FEATURES: (1) ART DECO: Smooth wall surface, often stucco; smooth-faced stone and metal; polychromy, often with vivid colors; forms simplified and streamlined; geometric designs including zigzags, chevrons; towers and other vertical projections, presenting a vertical emphasis; machined and often metalic construction materials for decorative features. (2) ART MODERNE: Smooth, rounded wall surfaces, often stucco; flat roof with small ledge at roofline; horizontal grooves or lines in walls (sometimes fluted or pressed metal); asymmetrical façade; casement/corner windows or other horizontally arranged windows; metal balustrades; glass-block windows, often curved. Unlike Art Deco, an emphasis on the horizontal.

BACKGROUND AND INSPIRATION: Art Deco was the first widely popular style in U.S. to break with revivalist tradition represented by Beaux-Arts and period houses. Art Deco uses a style of decoration: applied to jewelry, clothing, furniture, handicrafts, buildings. Industrial designers used art deco designs to decorate streamlined cars, trains, kitchen appliances. Art Deco takes its name from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs and Industriels Modernes, held in Paris 1925. A showcase for works of "new inspiration and real originality". The style strove for a modern and artistic expression to complement the machine age. An emphasis on the future rather than the past was the style's principal characteristic. Both Art Deco and its cousin, Art Moderne, were rarely used for houses; they were more common for commercial buildings and skyscrapers, and occasional institutional buildings. Most popular in New York City, though diffused widely across the country.

PHOTO LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS (based on info available)

1. Effingham, IL. Movie theater on Main Street.
2. Fresno, CA.
3. Fresno, CA. Closeup of entryway to building in photo 2 above.
4. Los Angeles, CA. Downtown, art deco office tower (center).
5. greater Los Angeles, CA. (near or on Wilshire Blvd.)
6. Bisbee, AZ. Former company store, now a community center.
7. Roswell, NM. Bus depot.
8. Flagstaff, AZ. Federal Building.
9. Flagstaff, AZ. Art Moderne facade, building on right.
10. Hoover Dam, NV/AZ. An art deco motif was applied to this dam, constructed 1930s.
11. Steubenville, OH. Art Moderne facade.
12. El Centro, CA.
13. Pasadena, CA. Department Store
14. Pasadena, CA. Entry to Department Store above.
15. Los Angeles, CA. The Roxy Theater, on Broadway.
16. Los Angeles, CA. One Bunker Hill. First all-electric building in the West, c.1931.
17. El Centro, CA. Theater on Main Street.
18. Yuma, AZ. Hotel San Carlos, c.1930.
19. Yuma, AZ. Hotel San Carlos, c.1930.
20. Venice, CA. Art Deco: Vertical emphasis around corner entry, and glass-block windows.
21. Beverly Hills, CA. Art Deco office building (perhaps a department store).
22. Venice, CA. Excellent example of art moderne, with curved facade and emphasis on horizontal lines.
23. Ashville, NC. Art deco, with common vertical fluting.
24. Williams, AZ. Commercial building, old Route 66. Also with vertical fluting, accentuated here in a recent rehabilitation project.
25. Williams, AZ. Art moderne gas station, c. late 1920s or early 30s. Good example of adaptive reuse, converted to a popular downtown diner.
26. Chicago, IL. Merchandise Mart, c.1931. Art Moderne. (The big building in the background). This was the largest building in the world in terms of floor area until the Pentagon was built.
27. Long Beach, CA. Art Moderne home.
28-29. Chicago, IL. Art Deco. Carbide and Carbon Building, c.1929.
30. Venice Beach, CA. Art Moderne, with glass-brick, rounded windows.
31. San Francisco, CA. Art Deco high rise.
32. Pasadena, CA. Basically Art Deco with its emphasis on the vertical and the built-in modernist sign. Chester Liebs (1995) might call this Exaggerated Moderne, designed for the American roadside, to attract speedy automobiles on America's early commercial strips.
33. Boston, MA. Art Deco cap on highrise.
34-35. Boston, MA. New England Telephone & Telegraph Company building.
36. San Antonio, TX. Near the Monte Vista neighborhood.
37-39. San Antonio, TX. Downtown. All with Art Deco ornamentation.