Streamline Moderne

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Lore & Background

As the Great Depression of the 1930s progressed, Americans saw a new architectural style emerge as industrial designers stripped Art Deco of its ornament in favor of an aerodynamically-inspired pure-line concept. Some argue that the origin can be traced back to the 'Century of Progress' Chicago World's fair in 1933–1934. The new streamlined look that emerged conveyed simplicity, motion, and speed, much derived from—and influencing—advanced forms of modern transportation. It had various roots: its cylindrical forms and long horizontal windowing may have been influenced by the New Objectivity artists—a movement connected to the German Werkbund—and by Futurist architecture of the early 20th century. An early example is the 1923 Mossehaus, the reconstruction of the corner of a Berlin office building by Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra. The style was sometimes a reflection of the austere economic times; sharp angles were replaced with simple, aerodynamic curves, and ornament was replaced with smooth concrete and glass. The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the first-class dining room of the SS Normandie, fitted out 1933–1935, twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass, and 38 columns lit from within illuminated the room. The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930), preserved from demolition by the Victoria and Albert Museum during 1969, was one of the first uses of internally lit architectural glass, and coincidentally was the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum.

Reader's Guide

Streamline Moderne appeared most overtly in buildings related to transportation and movement, such as bus and train stations, airport terminals, roadside cafes, and port buildings. It had characteristics common with modern architecture, including a horizontal orientation, rounded corners, the use of glass brick walls or porthole windows, flat roofs, chrome-plated hardware, and horizontal grooves or lines in the walls. Structures were frequently white or in subdued pastel colors. An example is the Aquatic Park Bathhouse in the Aquatic Park Historic District, in San Francisco. Built beginning in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration, it features the distinctive horizontal lines, classic rounded corners railing and windows of the style, resembling the elements of ship. The interior preserves much of the original decoration and detail, including murals by artist and color theoretician Hilaire Hiler. The architects were William Mooser Jr. and William Mooser III. Another example is Hollywood, California's Julian Medical Building, which has been described as a 'landmark', 'an architectural masterpiece', and 'one of the crowning achievements of Streamline Moderne.' Its distinctive features include a rounded Moderne corner, windswept tower, and pylon-separated horizontally-reinforced windows. In France, the style was called Paquebot, meaning ocean liner. The French version was inspired by the launch of the premier transatlantic liner Normandie in 1935. Buildings using variants of the style appeared in Belgium and in Paris, notably in a building at 3 boulevard Victor in the 15th arrondissement, by the architect Pierre Patout. Patout's building on Avenue Victor lacked the curving lines of the American version of the style, but it had a narrow 'bow' at one end, where the site was narrow, long balconies like the decks of a ship, and a row of projections like smokestacks on the roof. The defining event for streamline moderne design in the United States was the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair, which introduced the style to the general public. The new automobiles adapted the smooth lines of ocean liners and airships, giving the impression of efficiency, dynamism, and speed. Examples include the 1934 Chrysler Airflow and the 1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser. Streamline style industrial design can be contrasted with functionalism, which represent a contrasting modernistic school. A leading design style in Europe at the same time, functionalism sought simple designs to lower the production costs, making them affordable to the large European working class.

Did You Know?

• The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure, with the SS Normandie's dining room featuring twelve tall pillars of Lalique glass and 38 lit columns.
• The Strand Palace Hotel foyer (1930) was one of the first uses of internally lit architectural glass and the first Moderne interior preserved in a museum.
• The 1934 Chrysler Airflow and 1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser were automobiles that adapted the smooth lines of ocean liners and airships.
• The Flagey Building in Brussels, built in 1938 in the paquebot style, was selected as the winning design in an architectural competition for the Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting.
• The Lydecker House in Los Angeles, built by Howard Lydecker, is a rare example of a Streamline Moderne residence.