Art Deco

Art Deco was one of the most popular architectural styles of the 1930's, perhaps most famously and recognizably embodied by the Chrysler building in New York City, built over the years of 1928-1930. Other famous Art Deco style buildings are of course the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, both in New York. New York is not the only place where one can find great examples of Art Deco architecture, the Fisher Building of Detroit and the Kansas City Power and Light Building are both fine examples. However, perhaps one of the most beautiful and accessible places in America where one can find Art Deco style homes is the Art Deco district of Miami Beach.
As many of these landmarks were built, or in the process of being built, just before and after the crash of '29, one can see the spirit of American Exceptionalism embodied in such buildings as the Empire State Building, along with the other skyscrapers that were a testament to American ingenuity and muscle. It is an interesting coincidence that Ayn Rand's architecturally-themed book The Fountainhead (1943) began incubating within the author's mind around the same time, when Cecil B. DeMille commissioned her to write a script tentatively called Skyscraper.