Art Deco & Art Moderne

Often called Moderne or Modernistic, Art Deco was very popular during the Great Depression and employs modernistic motifs on neoclassical buildings. It is the first popular style in the US that broke with the traditions of Beaux-Arts. Essentially a design style, Art Deco motifs were applied to everything from clothing to cars, as well as to houses.

Art Deco architects were impressed that modernity could be achieved through geometric elements and decoration, and used many materials to achieve their desired effect, including concrete, smooth faced stone, metal, glass, terra cotta, vertically oriented designs in the form of parallel straight lines, zigzags, chevrons, and floral motifs (many of which were based upon Native American art). These materials, in addition to the use of many colors, known as polychromy, combined to create a futuristic effect.

Perhaps the most interesting examples of Art Deco design can be found in movie houses of the 1920’s and 1930’s, which used the style both inside and out, such as our own Mayan Theatre. Many good examples of Deco and Moderne houses can be found in Hilltop and Bonnie Brae. Don D Etter’s book Denver going Modern details the movement’s arrival in Denver.