From the fourth decade of the twentieth century
A small restaurant near the sea
Located at Rua Marques de Pombal by the Praça Alliança, in the town of Alvor on the seaside of Portugal’s western Algarve, this blue and white two-storey building is a modest, but delightful Art Deco building. It features a parapet with a central massing, and two balconies with triangle motifs.
The central massing in white and blue
A well proportioned building
The St John New Zealand Southern Region Headquarters can be found at 17 York Place in central Dunedin. The façade contains a number of shallow reliefs with floral components, notably on either side of the entrance. Constructed in 1938, it is another fine example of Art Deco architecture in New Zealand. The building is registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I structure, and was listed in 1990. Dunedin is the second largest city in New Zealand’s South Island.
A detail of the entrance
Thanks to Robert Piggott for providing the photos used here.
A carefully balanced exterior
A rather jazzy central Lisbon apartment block from the diagonals on the main entrance to the angular features of the façade. These include the angled bay windows up the centre of the building and the small, angled balconies accompanying them, along with the white horizontal bars running across the exterior.
Chevrons merging into diamond forms
An angled façade viewed from an angle
A petit but pleasing bungalow
This small but enchanting Brazilian house is in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Faced in a grey stone, it features a modest parapet rising from the vertical bands of stone. There are Art Deco motifs carved into the surface of the three central bands that begin at the window lintel. An original metal sunburst screen protects the window.
Sunburst window screen
Horizontal bands are the main decorative feature
The Royal Exchange Hotel in Sydney be found in the city’s Marrickville district, a suburb in the inner west of Sydney. Located on a corner lot, it features period lettering around the top spelling out the name, and a parapet with horizontal and vertical decorative bands.
The parapet on the corner
This row of nicely repainted one storey buildings was originally designed as a unity for what was probably residential purposes. Located on a busy, main road in Guia, a small town not far inland from the coast of Portugal’s Algarve, they form a part of the region’s Art Deco heritage today. There is a felicitous balance of vertical and horizontal elements.
This long, horizontal edifice is the former New Zealand Railways Road Services Building in the South Island city of Dunedin. It was the city’s main bus station and garage for many decades. Located at 35 Queens Gardens, it was designed by James Hodge White and Eric Miller and constructed in 1939. The building now serves the Dunedin Otago Settlers Museum.
Art Deco features include irregular pleating above the ‘Exit’ and ‘Entrance’ found near the façade ends. It also has smooth, hemispherical curves at the ends. The upper part of the centre of the building has vertical bands topped off by crenellations. The building was registered under New Zealand’s Historic Places Act in 1980. Thanks to Robert Piggott for providing the photographs.
The 1937 Hotel Waterloo was designed by the Wellington firm of Atkins and Mitchell and was constructed for New Zealand Breweries company who wanted a luxurious, modern look. The location at 28 Waterloo Quay was close to the Wellington train station and to the ferry terminal, a strategic placing for travellers who would appreciate its fine bars. After fifty odd years of service it shut its doors in the late 1980s for a few years, only to be reborn as a backpackers’ hostel. The bands of decorative motifs consisting of chevron forms and semi-circles are still distinctive. Thanks again to Taika Kyriak for providing these photos.
This 1930s apartment and commercial use building is located in the elegant Sant Francesc area of central Valencia on Calle Xativa, across from the Valencia North train station. It folds around a corner lot and has upper divisions, though these are not fully stepped in. There are some excellent Art Deco carved relief panels on the horizontal interstices of the windows. One of these depicts a modern sun god with a gear wheel representing the sun.
Located at 212 Oriental Parade, the Anscombe Flats were named for the prominent and prolific New Zealand architect Edmund Anscombe. He purchased the land in 1933, designed the building, and the apartments were completed in 1937. Anscombe planned to sell the apartments and live in the top floor penthouse. He lived there until he passed away in 1948 at age 78. A spectacular New Zealand example of Streamlined Moderne, it has curved corners and moulded window hoods at the front. A big thank you to Taika Kyriak for providing these photos.
Global Art Deco 