From the fourth decade of the twentieth century
The Bank Hotel in Sydney can be found at 324 King Street in Newtown, a short walk from the Newtown train station. Currently found solely in beige, it nonetheless features some fine Art Deco detailing on its upper façade, in particular the upper centre zig-zag row of chevrons linked by curves and pleating. Inside there are four different bars to drink in. Thanks again to Keith Barrett for the photos.
The city of Leicester, in the English midlands, is home to Blunts Shoes located on the corner at 128-132 Granby Street. The building was originally constructed in 1933 for the business of Nathan Harris Furnishings and features many fine Art Deco details. It was designed by the architects Symington, Prince and Pike who clad it in Portland limestone and covered it with a stylish pantile roof. The extra part on the left is a carefully blended extension from the early 1960s.
The Eden Teatro, or Eden Theatre, sits on the Praça dos Restauradores in central Lisbon, and is one of Lisbon’s most spectacular cinema buildings, showing films up until 1989. Cassiano Branco and Carlo Florencio Dias were the architects responsible for this Art Deco palace, which opened in 1931. The building features a magnificent, creamy pink coloured marble façade and a floating stone frieze across the top. There is also an abundance of geometric fenestration throughout. The interior was altered when it was converted into an apart-hotel complex in 2001.
This is a small, two storey building in the Portuguese seaside town of Alvor. Alas, only the upper floor maintains the original Art Deco form, in particular the parapet which comes replete with steps, massings and horizontal bars tricked out in blue. Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil.
Located on Venice’s island known as the Lido, these two buildings both appear to be local or regional government offices. Both have beige façades with brown trim and curves incorporated into their designs, as well as strong metal grilles over all of the windows.
A ten-storey curving corner building capped on the curve with a lantern, its lower floors are used for commercial purposes with apartments above. The ground floor is taken up by the fabric retailer Tejidos Marina, founded in 1953, some years after this building was constructed. It is located in the centre of Valencia at Avenida del Oeste 27 (originally known as Avenida Barón de Cárcer) at the corner of Calle de Adresadors.
Though apparently a monochrome grey, this house in central Rio de Janeiro was originally white and simply needs the grime cleaned off of it. It is a singular creation, with details such as zig-zag glazing up the sides of the windows, and a one of the reliefs set in an octagonal cartouche.
This building, the former Royal Edward Hotel, was probably constructed in the early 1930s. It closed at some time in 1997-8. The old hotel has been converted into residential units but has maintained all of its exterior Art Deco features. These include the lettering running along the top which spells out the name of the hotel, and the chevron and hemisphere devices on either side of this. There are other chevron devices between the second and third floor windows on either side of the corner. Thanks once again to Keith Barrett for the photos.
The Imperial Arcade occupies the corner of Dyke and Western Roads in Brighton. The original building dates back to 1923-24 and was designed by Clayton and Black. It was remodelled in 1934 along the lines of streamlined Art Deco by Garrett and Son architects, and has a fine balance of horizontal and vertical elements. The windows of the vertical elements each have eight vertical segments in rows of four. These feature chevron forms dividing the glass.
Libya’s second largest city, located on the eastern littoral, is Benghazi. After being under Turkish rule for a very long time it was invaded by colonial Italians in 1911. There was consistent resistance to the Italian rulers there until they were pushed out during WW2. As in other North African countries such as Eritrea, Mussolini’s architects introduced contemporary European styles to Benghazi, and there are still some Art Deco buildings there. One nice example is this curvy ten storey apartment block in the centre of the city. It steps in stylishly at the three top floors.
Global Art Deco 