Cities with the most Art Deco buildings

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by badrunner

I was gonna say NYC has the most in terms of raw numbers, and it isn't really close. It certainly has the most art deco towers. But I actually think LA might have more art deco buildings overall if you consider all those small scale commercial buildings scattered all over the place. You don't really see art deco at that scale in NYC. There are entire retail corridors in LA lined with one and two story art deco storefronts. Thousands of them. Fairfax, Melrose, LaBrea etc are all full of art deco if you look closely.

Really? I have noticed some, but not thousands. But I don't always look that close.

I'd think LA might be second to NYC.

[PHX31]

I think it goes like this:
Most famous skyscrapers - NYC.
Most well-known strip of buildings - Miami.
Most diverse portfolio - LA.

I think this thread should have been titled: Show us your 5 favorite art deco buildings from your city. But then maybe it should be in the other subforum.

[bossabreezes]

Rio de Janeiro has a crazy number of Art Deco buildings, as does Goiânia.

Most of Copacabana neighborhood in RJ is Art Deco and so is most of Downtown Rio de Janeiro.

[edale]

I toured Grand Concourse for about 30 blocks on Streetview, and the deco didn't really jump out at me. It's a very impressive street due to the continuous, unbroken street wall, but it doesn't scream art deco like I was expecting it to based on some of the replies in this thread.

This building is pretty clearly art deco inspired:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8366532,...u8PPjEGxrydvDATkY0cPQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

But if you turn the camera around, basically everything else you can see is not done in the deco style. That said, I'm sure NYC has the most art deco buildings, because they have the most buildings period- especially buildings from the 1920s-40s.

I think Los Angeles has some really great art deco structures. The city was really in its first big boom period in the height of art deco's popularity as a style. From the iconic blue Eastern Columbia building (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0425463,...5aUichRRr5NJCbkq4atoA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) to this stunner in the Jewelry District )https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0466,-11...nJr5U_tT4flEiFfxjwA0Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) to the Bullocks Wilshire in Westlake/K-Town (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0617669,...5nz0-U3z8w_sbi2xFrqRw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), LA has some really stunning examples of the style.

[Crawford]

Most of the lower Concourse is the early Art Deco style, and not really what you're thinking of in terms of the "Miami Beach" look, with the curving lines.

The North Concourse neighborhoods have more of this later look. Stuff like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/200+E+...ab58b8b4c!8m2!3d40.8738387!4d-73.8837759

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by edale

I think Los Angeles has some really great art deco structures. The city was really in its first big boom period in the height of art deco's popularity as a style. From the iconic blue Eastern Columbia building (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0425463,...5aUichRRr5NJCbkq4atoA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) to this stunner in the Jewelry District )https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0466,-11...nJr5U_tT4flEiFfxjwA0Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) to the Bullocks Wilshire in Westlake/K-Town (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0617669,...5nz0-U3z8w_sbi2xFrqRw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), LA has some really stunning examples of the style.

Oh yes. Lots of Art Deco examples in Los Angeles. From little storefront buildings to movie theaters.

I'm old enough to remember when this was a Crocker Bank:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0690003,...fcM5CJFLGdRkvKuxQ6asQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Then there's this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0622664,...MQssyMV1g4GvZrE0lcY6A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I love the Wiltern; I remember when they used to show movies here. My parents took me to see "Foxy Brown" (hehe my parents didn't care if my sister and I saw R-rated films, I must've been 4 or 5 at the time), the Jodie Foster version of "Freaky Friday," and other films here back in the 1970s:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0616536,...NS8R6nDn4aIzClg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

The Hollywood Pantages used to be a movie theater too. It's now a performing arts venue. The inside is a sumptuous Art Deco movie palace, but they've junked up the outside with posters: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1016641,...ayNW2H0LrAZ6mew!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


And then of course there's the fusion-Deco of Union Station, which is a mix of Art Deco, Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0560497,...a186.63303-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352?hl=en

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Really? I have noticed some, but not thousands. But I don't always look that close.

I'd think LA might be second to NYC.

I spot a few dozen vintage examples just in this rather generic stretch of La Brea: https://goo.gl/maps/6UZRx8QCodgQwhF77

Hollywood Blvd alone has hundreds of art deco buildings. In the entire metro area there are probably tens of thousands all told. That's probably a low estimate. Don't forget about places like Pasadena, the valley, the IE, OC etc. The vast majority of the prewar urban fabric of SoCal is from the 20s and 30s so art deco is going to be well represented.

And it's not just in those big name retail corridors, you really do see it everywhere in SoCal. Ontario, Compton, Long Beach. Of course this isn't even mentioning any of the landmark towers or the Historic Core. Art deco is so common in SoCal that it's used for low rent retail like dollar stores and check cashing places. You also see a lot of art deco infrastructure in LA. Bridges, tunnels etc. City hall and Library tower are art deco inspired as well. It's very much a part of the city's DNA.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Danie

What city have the most Art Deco buildings

The cities that boomed during Art Deco popularity so basically nyc la and Miami

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

For what it's worth, Mumbai has the second largest number of Art Deco structures on earth. I believe the city at number one in that respect is New York.

In the US, meanwhile, New York is first, and Miami Beach is second.

In the US Southeast, though, Miami Beach is at number one and... Asheville... is second.

Atlanta might dispute that no 2 ranking in the SE - though Asheville does have a lot of art deco for its size, surely. (or perhaps Birmingham which has a lot as well)


https://wdanielanderson.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/atlantas-jazz-age-art-deco-architecture/ (some of these are art moderne and beaux arts among others)

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by cabasse

Atlanta might dispute that no 2 ranking in the SE - though Asheville does have a lot of art deco for its size, surely. (or perhaps Birmingham which has a lot as well)



https://wdanielanderson.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/atlantas-jazz-age-art-deco-architecture/

i also thought of atlanta, but as in comparing say tulsa with a much larger city that has more volume but less % i think that proportion matters within the context of this discussion.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by cabasse

Atlanta might dispute that no 2 ranking in the SE - though Asheville does have a lot of art deco for its size, surely. (or perhaps Birmingham which has a lot as well)

I wish there was a definitive list somewhere. I've never seen any quantifiable numbers on it, but I do know the claim of having the second biggest number of structures here has been knocking around for at least twenty years as a selling point for tourists.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by edale

I toured Grand Concourse for about 30 blocks on Streetview, and the deco didn't really jump out at me. It's a very impressive street due to the continuous, unbroken street wall, but it doesn't scream art deco like I was expecting it to based on some of the replies in this thread.

This building is pretty clearly art deco inspired:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8366532,...u8PPjEGxrydvDATkY0cPQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

But if you turn the camera around, basically everything else you can see is not done in the deco style. That said, I'm sure NYC has the most art deco buildings, because they have the most buildings period- especially buildings from the 1920s-40s.

I think Los Angeles has some really great art deco structures. The city was really in its first big boom period in the height of art deco's popularity as a style. From the iconic blue Eastern Columbia building (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0425463,...5aUichRRr5NJCbkq4atoA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) to this stunner in the Jewelry District )https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0466,-11...nJr5U_tT4flEiFfxjwA0Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) to the Bullocks Wilshire in Westlake/K-Town (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0617669,...5nz0-U3z8w_sbi2xFrqRw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), LA has some really stunning examples of the style.

the grand concourse is almost entirely art deco styled. its just not the bright and rounded miami versions you might have expected.

[badrunner]

re: Mumbai and Shanghai, there's no way they can compete with American cities in raw numbers. There are some prominent colonial buildings but common people in those cities weren't building art deco donut shops and doctor's offices in the 30s. I bet there are so few art deco buildings in those cities that it is possible to catalog every single last one of them (Which, paradoxically, is probably the reason why they are able to claim that they have the 2nd most art deco buildings in the world).

[Centropolis]

its a bit hazy when people say "biggest collection" of this or that, when i think what they really mean is "best" in the sense of a good number of high quality structures within a cohesive or small area. a place like chicago almost certainly crushes almost any non new york or LA u.s. city in overall volume...i don't think people understand the extent of art deco or streamline moderne or otherwise interwar architecture continuously popping up miles and miles from downtown in midwestern cities...aside from whatever happens to be downtown.

[JManc]

Art Deco in Miami Beach is pretty impressive given the scale. It's not just the strip on Ocean Dr. along the beach but all over.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

Rio de Janeiro has a crazy number of Art Deco buildings, as does Goiânia.

Most of Copacabana neighborhood in RJ is Art Deco and so is most of Downtown Rio de Janeiro.

Yeah, Rio has a lot. Copacabana and Ipanema feel like a taller versions of Miami Beach.

[edale]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

the grand concourse is almost entirely art deco styled. its just not the bright and rounded miami versions you might have expected.

Um, no. Not at all from what I've seen. There's some Georgian Revival, Italianate, Beaux Arts... other than the type of building I referenced in my first post on this thread (of which I did see a fair amount of), most of the other buildings I saw lacked the basic elements of Art Deco. They might have been built in the time period, but they lack the vertical lines, ornamentation, curves, etc. typical of Art Deco.

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8365725,...nACYiQxlylUdnZYu5c3RQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8372284,...eKZyzyNguyNbm-wANUV1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8425547,...e32lw62mNM8MCyM5BJv7A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by JManc

Art Deco in Miami Beach is pretty impressive given the scale. It's not just the strip on Ocean Dr. along the beach but all over.

also is strong in miami area "satellites" like hollywood.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by edale

Um, no. Not at all from what I've seen. There's some Georgian Revival, Italianate, Beaux Arts... other than the type of building I referenced in my first post on this thread (of which I did see a fair amount of), most of the other buildings I saw lacked the basic elements of Art Deco. They might have been built in the time period, but they lack the vertical lines, ornamentation, curves, etc. typical of Art Deco.

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8365725,...nACYiQxlylUdnZYu5c3RQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8372284,...eKZyzyNguyNbm-wANUV1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

not art deco
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8425547,...e32lw62mNM8MCyM5BJv7A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

yes you found the trees in the forest. those were built in different eras. thats ny for you. its not miami beach.

[edale]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

its a bit hazy when people say "biggest collection" of this or that, when i think what they really mean is "best" in the sense of a good number of high quality structures within a cohesive or small area. a place like chicago almost certainly crushes almost any non new york or LA u.s. city in overall volume...i don't think people understand the extent of art deco or streamline moderne or otherwise interwar architecture continuously popping up miles and miles from downtown in midwestern cities...aside from whatever happens to be downtown.

Yeah, good point. I think the grandeur of the expression of the style is important for this conversation, too. An art deco skyscraper or train station should count for more than a small commercial building that contains some traces of deco influence. I think this is where LA really shines.

In the midwest, Cincinnati has some really excellent and prominent Art Deco structures. The two most famous examples would be the 49 story Carew Tower, and Union Terminal.

Carew Tower
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1015961,...pi-0-ya340.5663-ro-0-fo100!7i7168!8i3584

interior:


Union Terminal