Rediscovering Art Deco
Reviewed by Jim Sweeney
There are many books on Art Deco architecture, but they tend to focus on a few cities, especially New York. A strong effort to give readers the full flavor of Deco nationwide can be found in Rediscovering Art Deco U.S.A.: A Nationwide Tour of Architectural Delights by Barbara Capitman, Michael D. Kinerk and Dennis W. Wilhelm (Viking Studio Books, $25, paperback).
Most of the book's spectacular photos are by Randy Juster. The book is almost worth buying for his photos alone. He started out in 1975 attempting to record every American Art Deco building--not realizing what an impossible task that would be.
The opening chapters provide some analysis of building types and Deco history. The authors note that two of the earliest Deco buildings in America were telephone company headquarters: Ralph Walker's 1923 Barclay-Vesey Building in Manhattan for New York Telephone Co., and Timothy Pflueger's 1924 Pacific Telephone building in San Francisco. The critical acclaim for these buildings inspired phone companies to build many more Deco offices and switching centers, they argue.
After the introductory section, including the authors' favorites in each category, the book devotes a chapter each to Deco structures in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami Beach, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Tulsa, and Washington, and a chapter on Hoover Dam. The book ends with a resource listing of Art Deco groups and a substantial bibliography.
Each chapter provides a brief overview of Deco in that city, including major buildings and architects. The book also pays attention to preservation groups and Art Deco societies in each region. Many chapters end with brief mentions of Deco in nearby areas. For instance, the Los Angeles chapter also mentions San Diego, the Washington chapter also mentions Baltimore, Richmond, and Penland, N.C
You could argue for even more chapters, although the economics of book publishing probably wouldn't allow them. Surely San Diego and Baltimore deserve chapters of their own. The book doesn't attempt to be a comprehensive catalog of America's Deco buildings, despite the several authors' travels across the country in search of Deco.
This book is filled with details that should inspire Deco fans to do some more digging on their own. Anyone who's been entranced by a Woolworth's will be interested to know that a special creamy-white terra cotta was custom made for their Deco stores.
This book's best lesson is that excellent Deco buildings exist all over America, not just in a few big cities. Many of these buildings are now forgotten, as the book's title implies. For instance, the book says Lunken Airport outside Cincinnati has a spectacular and intact Deco terminal building. The authors also cite Oak Park, Illinois, best known for having many Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. Oak Park also has many Deco buildings on its main road, Lake Street.
The book should inspire Decophiles to look around on their travels and even in their hometowns.
This article originally appeared in Trans-Lux volume 13, number 1, April 1996.
Where to Find the Book
You can find Rediscovering Art Deco in local bookstores or purchase it on-line at a discount from Amazon.com Books.
ADSW offers this book in association with Amazon.com Books and receives a small commission on sales referred to them.
Comments
Created Sunday, August 30, 1998; Modified Thursday, September 18, 2003.
