Author(s): Carla Breeze

Art

Art deco architecture flourished in urban areas thropughout America in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the best examples - office buildings, cinemas, hotels and churches - are still in use. Deco architects, artists and designers drew on European styles but were committed to a style that grew organically from their native soil. Two themes bound Deco buildings and their decorative schemes together: a regional pride that tied buildings to their specific locales and functions, and a growing national symbolism that asserted the buildings' identity as American.