Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5 Art Deco (1925-33)
Art Deco is a decorative style that took its name from the Exposition Interna-
tionale des Arts Décoratif, held in Paris in 1925. One of the first widely accepted
styles not based on historic precedents (the jazzy style embodied the idea of
modernity), it influenced all areas of design, from jewelry and household goods
to cars, trains, and ocean liners.
Art Deco buildings are characterized by a linear,
hard edge or angular composition, often with a
vertical emphasis and highlighted with stylized
decoration. The Chicago zoning ordinance of
1923, which required setbacks in buildings above
a certain height to ensure that light and air could
reach the street, gave Art Deco skyscrapers their
distinctive profile. Other important features include:
• An emphasis on geometric form
• Strips of windows with decorated spandrels, adding
to the sense of verticality
• Use of hard-edged, low-relief ornamentation
around doors and windows
• Frequent use of marble and black and silver tones
• Decorative motifs of parallel straight lines, zigzags,
chevrons (see illustration), and stylized florals
The
Chicago Board of Trade
(see illustration), 141
W. Jackson Blvd. (Holabird & Root, 1930), punctuates
LaSalle Street with its dramatic Art Deco facade. High
atop the pyramidal roof, an aluminum statue of Ceres,
the Roman goddess of agriculture, gazes down over the
building's setbacks.
135 S. LaSalle St.
(originally the
Field Building; Graham, Anderson, Probst & White,
1934), the last major construction project in Chicago
before the Great Depression deepened, has a magnifi-
cent Art Deco lobby. A fine example of an Art Deco
town house is the
Edward P. Russell House,
1444
N. Astor St. (Holabird & Root, 1929), in the city's
Gold Coast.
Chevron
Chicago Board of Trade
6 International Style (1932-45)
In 1932, the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted its first architecture
exhibit, simply titled “Modern Architecture.” Displays included images of Inter-
national Style buildings from around the world, many designed by architects
from Germany's Bauhaus, a progressive design school. The structures all shared
a stark simplicity and vigorous functionalism, a definite break from historically
based, decorative styles.
The International Style was popularized in the United States through the
teachings and designs of
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
(1886-1969), a German
émigré who taught and practiced architecture in Chicago after leaving the
Bauhaus school of design. Interpretations of the “Miesian” International Style
were built in most U.S. cities as late as 1980. In the 1950s, erecting an office
building in this mode made companies appear progressive. In later decades, after
