ART DECO METROPOLIS
Links

A work in progress. Our goal is to offer the web's largest collection of links to Art Deco architecture sites, including brief descriptions or reviews. Currently we have more than 65 links. We've begun with links to Art Deco sites by cities, states and countries, as well as New York City interest. We've visited links on other Deco pages, and included here those still active links relating to Deco architecture. If you'd like to do a link exchange, or alert us to a good new site, please send us an e-mail.

LINKS UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 2006

Art Deco Architecture -- New York -- General

Art Deco Architecture -- New York -- Individual Buildings

Art Deco Architecture -- New York -- Individual Architects

Art Deco New York -- Web Cams

In Its Own Category (the V&A Deco Show)

Art Deco U.S.A. by City

Art Deco U.S.A. by State

Art Deco U.S.A. in General

Art Deco International

Reference works

Other than Architecture Art Deco Sites

 

Art Deco Architecture -- New York -- General
Art Deco Society of New York Celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005 - same year it hosted the Eighth World Congress on Art Deco.The venerable New York organization offers Deco publications, events and parties. 
Great Buildings.com: Art Deco Entries on the Chrysler and Empire State buildings (as well as the Golden Gate Bridge, Kiefhook Housing estate in Rotterdam, and Nebraska State Capitol) with text and photos.
Art Deco Architecture Lara Goeke's excellent site devoted to the subject. Much on New York Deco, but also on Deco architecture elsewhere in the country and the world.
New York Architecture Images by Tom Fletcher Photos of "Art Deco/Art Moderne." Includes a few things that aren't Deco (like the Met Life Tower, rather than its Deco extension), but generally worth a visit. Don't miss the "Art Deco Metalwork" section - fabulous!
Art Deco in Manhattan A Japanese-language site with excellent photos by Motohiro Katsuyama of the Chrysler, Empire State and RCA (GE - 570 Lexington Avenue) buildings.

Art Deco Architecture -- New York -- Individual Buildings
Please note: This is a just a selection. Some of these buildings make thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of appearances on the web. If you'd like more, try a search on google.com using the link at the bottom of the page.
The Chrysler Building Carter Horsley on the Chrysler Building Horsley's take on the great icon (but note he consistently misspells architect William Van Alen's name - one "l" in Alen, not two)
Cities Service Tower, 70 Pine Street (originally 60 Wall Tower) In Andreas Feininger photo Dramatic view from the street looking up at the tower past the tracks of the long-since demolished Second Avenue elevated.
View from the top, by Feininger Wonderful view c. 1941 of lower Manhattan, Battery Park and New York Harbor, from the top of 70 Pine Street.
The Empire State Building The Empire State Building The official site.
The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark by John Tauranac A review of the book, by Carter Horsley. Includes nice photos by Horsley.
The General Electric Building (570 Lexington Avenue) Carter Horsley on 570 Lex Horsley on one of the great unsung Deco skyscrapers.
The Irving Trust Company (1 Wall Street) The Irving Trust Company (1 Wall Street) From an NYU virtual tour of Wall Street; click on links for views of the interior.
In Berenice Abbot photographs The great photographer of the 1930s.
Another image Terrific photo by E.T. Dankwa
The Swiss Center Building (originally Goelet Building), 608 Fifth Avenue Carter Horsley again One of New York's best-kept Deco secrets, the Swiss Center lobby is a miniature Deco dream -- and it's right next door to Rockefeller Center.
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall The official site -- very snazzy. You'll need to download Macromedia Flash to see the show (there's a button to push on the opening page). A slide show with musical accompinament.
Rockefeller Center Great Buildings Online: Rockefeller Center An architectural history site, with photos, models, books and links.
Virtual Tour of Rockefeller Center From citysearch.com -- six photos (push the button to move from photo to photo).
The Diego Rivera mural A reconstruction of the famous mural in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Carter Horsley on the Waldorf-Astoria Lots of photos.
  Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The official site, from Hilton hotels.
  Hospitality Online Famous firsts at the Waldorf (first room-service, etc.), plus job openings at the hotel!
  Kitt Garrett's tour Information about a behind-the-scenes tour of the great hotel.

 

Art Deco New York -- Individual Architects
Joseph Urban Joseph Urban virtual exhibit at Columbia University This is a remarkable site devoted to a remarkable collection about a remarkable architect. Joseph Urban, originally from Vienna, was a bona fide member of the Viennese Sezession movement. He came to America at the turn of the 20th century, and built a dual career as both architect and stage set designer. He also had something of a dual career as a stage designer - creating stage sets for both the Metropolitan Opera and the Ziegfeld Follies (his Ziegfeld Theater was a tour-de-force - sadly demolished).. Few of his New York buildings survive - most notable are the New School with its great oval auditorium (a NYC Landmark), and the Hearst Magazine Building (also a NYC Landmark) which unfortunately has become the six-story base for a 40-story steel and glass tower by Lord Foster. But visit this site and take a virtual tour - what an amazing resource.


Art Deco New York -- Web Cams
Rockefeller Center Cam A live view of New York's great privately owned public space.

 

In Its Own Category
Art Deco Everywhere V&A Art Deco 1910-1939 If you missed the great V&A (Victoria & Albert, the London super-museum) 2003 exhibit on Art Deco, here's your chance to take a virtual tour.

 

Art Deco U.S.A. by City
Buffalo Art Deco in Buffalo, NY 19925-1940 A brief exposition of "what is Art Deco," but much more interesting for its large collection of Art Deco Buffalo architecture. There's also a section on Deco furniture.
Chicago

City of Chicago: Chicago Landmarks: Art Deco


Chicago Art Deco Society (CADS)

Art Deco in the Windy City. Part of the Chicago Landmarks section of the city's official web site. Features a dozen Deco landmarks. Nicely done.

A new site from Chicago's Art Deco Society, including news, information on events, lists of past newsletters available, and an interesting set of links to Deco dealers.

Detroit Detroit Area Art Deco Society Detroit's Deco Society. Lots of resources, including a downloadable version of the Spring 2000 newsletter.
Fort Worth Architecture in Downtown Fort Worth (search site for "Art Deco")
Kalamazoo Art Deco in Architecture An essay by by Heidi Dressler, with links to photos and write-ups about the Deco buildings she mentions.
Louisville Louisville Art Deco A site devoted to Art Deco in Louisville, Kentucky. Photos of buildings, and more.
Los Angeles Art Deco Society of Los Angeles LA's Deco Society site -- with plenty of Flash and Java effects (would you expect anything less from Tinsel Town?). Great pics, plus preservation issues and on-line newsletters.
Miami Beach Absolutely Florida: Art Deco in Miami Beach A commercial site, worth a visit. Follow the links to the Art Deco Hotels page, or click on the listing here.
Art Deco Hotels of South Beach A listing, with links to the hotels' own sites.
Palm Beach Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches There are other Deco beaches in Florida besides Miami....
Tulsa (Okla) Tulsa architecture Photos of several Art Deco buildings in Tulsa (year 2000 host city for the World Congress on Art Deco.
Tulsa Art Deco A list of buildings with dates and architects, but no photos.
Washington, D.C. Art Deco Society of Washington An excellent site, with many resources.

Art Deco U.S.A. by State
California
Art Deco Society of California Despite its name, devoted largely to Northern California (a separate state, they say, from LA and the south, which has its own Deco Society). Otherwise, a very comprehensive site. It includes a guide to Deco (and other) attractions in the Bay area (that's the San Francisco Bay to those who don't know -- includes Oakland and Berkeley), a calendar of events, historic preservation updates, excerpts from their newsletter, the Streamlined Times, and downloadable (Adobe pdf format) versions of The Sophisticate, the ADSC's semi-annual magazine.
Bay Area Deco This site put up by a real-estate company includes lists and photos of Art Deco in Oakland and Berkeley.
Washington
Art Deco Society Northwest A very ambitious site, with photos and links. Focus is on Washington, but includes some things in Oregon. 

Art Deco U.S.A. in General
A Digital Archive of American Architecture Dozens of photos of Art Deco skyscrapers on this page devoted to skyscrapers of 1925-1945.
Art Deco in the Encyclopedia Brittanica A general introduction to the subject, with links.
Art Deco in Randy Juster's fabulous photos

A brand-new site with photos by Randy Juster (mentioned elsewhere on the site as the country's finest Art Deco photographer, in your reviewer's humble opinion). Randy's site includes photos of Art Deco marvels around the world. His "directory," however, is superimposed over the directory of a wonderful New York City Art Deco office building by Ely Jacques Kahn -- anyone recognize it?


Art Deco International
Australia Melbourne Art Deco Society Inc. "Australia's Largest Art Deco Society." This is the Deco sociey for Victoria (of which Melbourne is the metropolis) and Tasmania. "It is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of aspects of the Art Deco era such as architecture, landscaping, furniture, industrial design, fashion, graphics, art, jewellery, entertainment and transport."
Sydney Art Deco Society of New South Wales The original Art Deco group in Sydney. They sponsor many local events. The site includes extensive lists of Deco buildings, including architect, date and address. Be sure to check out the Building of the Month - photos plus lots of good information.
20th Century Heritage Society of New South Wales A break-away upstart from the ADSNSW, more specifically dedicated to preservation of the Deco greats. Co-founder and current Chairman Roy Lumby is a walking encyclopedia on Art Deco Sydney, in particular the city's Art Deco pubs (he keeps threatening to write a book on the subject). The Society also sponsors local events (if you happen to be in Sydney, try to get on one of Roy's guided tours). The site has a nice virtual tour of Art Deco in the Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point neighborhood -- perhaps more such tours are in the offing?
Art Deco World Really a store, but the site includes Deco photos from Sydney, New York City, and Chicago, as well as recommendations for books and a good links page (for those of you looking for information about more than just architecture).
Austria Vienna Die Wiener Gemeindebauten A very handsome site devoted to the Viennese Art Deco "Council Tenement Blocks" -- low-income but very stylish housing put up by the city government in the 1920s and '30s. In German, but you can click on the icon of the Union Jack in the lower right hand corner, and voila-- an English version! Many beautiful photos.
Brazil O Art Deco no Brasil An ambitious site devoted to Art Deco in South America's largest country, with emphasis on Rio de Janeiro. Photos, history, and bibliography! Architecture, but also book covers and other art. In Portuguese, but if you have decent Spanish you can probably figure out a lot of this.
Canada Art Deco Montreal A new, bilingual site devoted to what its boosters describe as one of "the top ten cities in the world for its Art Déco architecture" Not much content on the site yet, but there is a list of current events and a page on the Aldred Building, "Montreal’s Original Skyscraper."

Art Deco Toronto

 

A new Art Deco Society with a new Art Deco site. Information about events and preservation issues, plus "The List" of all Toronto's Art Deco landmarks, and a small but neat photo gallery.
China Shanghai Shanghai Modern: Reflections on Urban Culture in China in the 1930s An article on the subject by Leo Ou-fan Lee, who teaches Chinese literature at Harvard University. Again, no pics.

Indonesia

Bandung Art Deco in Bandung An essay by Dibyo Hartono, head of the West Java Art Deco Society, and member of the Bandung Society for Heritage Conservationon, on Art Deco in this Indonesian city. I met Mr. Hartono in Perth, Australia, during the 1993 World Congress on Art Deco -- we were guests in the same house. A very pleasant man. The site, unfortunately, includes no photos.
New Zealand Auckland Art Deco Auckland The official site of the Art Deco Society Auckland, Inc. It includes photos and history, as well as "information about early 20th Century New Zealand artists, a list of New Zealand antique dealers specialising in Art Deco..., plus a guide to Aucklands Art Deco accomodation."
Napier Art Deco Trust of Napier A splendid site devoted to Napier, New Zealand's answer to Miami Beach (and then some). A must-see.
South Africa Durban Durban Art Deco Society Includes a virtual tour of Durban Deco, and a plea for its preservation. It includes a brochure with photos, and a virtual tour.
Cape Town Cape Town Art Deco Society Includes 1999 back-issues of the Society's newsletter; otherwise, not much information.
United Kingdom General The Twentieth Century Society Founded as the Thirties Society in 1980; hosted the 1995 World Congress on Art Deco, in London and Brighton.

Reference works
The Artcyclopedia This is a very useful resource -- a self-defined "fine art search engine." The link takes you to an "Art Deco" search page, which includes a list of a dozen artists and architects (Raymond Hood, William Van Alen, and Rene Lalique among others), with links to other sites about them. Follow the links... who knows where you'll end up?
Wikipedia The free web encyclopedia article on Art Deco.
ArtLex Visual Arts Dictionary Entry on Art Deco, with images and links for both art and architecture.

Other than Architecture Art Deco Sites
Normandie Wonderful site devoted to the late, great French Art Deco ocean liner.
Things Deco Catalog Great Deco reproductions from New York Deco-philes Bob Josen and Harriet Seltzer.
Lattimore's Global Art-Deco Directory Tons of links, though not much to architecture. Auctions, dealers, antiques. Describes itself as "an E-Mailed publication and Website launched in July 1995, dealing specifically with the Art Deco scene in Great Britain.... started and still run by Laurence Lattimore, a dealer in Art Deco ceramics, with particular interest in Susie Cooper and Clarice Cliff."