Streamline Moderne, or Art Moderne, is a late type of the Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements.
The first streamline buildings evolved from the work of New Objectivity artists, a movement connected to the German Werkbund, that was initiated by Hermann Muthesius (see e.g. Mossehaus).
As the Great Depression of the 1930s progressed, Americans saw a new aspect of Art Deco—i.e., streamlining, a concept first conceived by industrial designers who stripped Art Deco design of its ornament in favor of the aerodynamic pure-line concept of motion and speed developed from scientific thinking. Cylindrical forms and long horizontal windowing also may be influenced by constructivism. As a result, an array of designers quickly ultra-modernized and streamlined the designs of everyday objects. Manufacturers of clocks, radios, telephones, cars, furniture, and many other household appliances embraced the concept.
The style was the first to incorporate electric light into architectural structure. In the first-class dining room of the SS Normandie, fitted out 1933–35, 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.
The Streamline Moderne was both a reaction to Art Deco and a reflection of austere economic times; Sharp angles were replaced with simple, aerodynamic curves. Exotic woods and stone were replaced with cement and glass.
Art Deco and Streamline Moderne were not necessarily opposites. Streamline Moderne buildings with a few Deco elements were not uncommon but the prime movers behind streamline design (Raymond Loewy, Walter Dorwin Teague, Gilbert Rohde, Norman Bel Geddes) all disliked Art Deco, seeing it as effete and falsely modern—essentially a fraud.
PWA Moderne was a related style in the United States of buildings completed between 1933 and 1944 as part of relief projects sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Common characteristics of Streamline Moderne and Art Moderne
Horizontal orientationRounded edges, corner windowsGlass brick wallsPorthole windowsChrome hardwareSmooth exterior wall surfaces, usually stucco (smooth plaster finish)Flat roof with copingAlso no roof at all, with no coping.Horizontal grooves or lines in wallsSubdued colors: base colors were typically light earth tones, off-whites, or beiges; and trim colors were typically dark colors (or bright metals) to contrast from the light baseThe Normandie Hotel, which opened during 1942, is built in the stylized shape of the ocean liner SS Normandie, and it includes the ship's original sign. The Sterling Streamliner Diners were diners designed like streamlined trains.
Although Streamline Moderne houses are less common than streamline commercial buildings, residences do exist. The Lydecker House in Los Angeles, built by Howard Lydecker, is an example of Streamline Moderne design in residential architecture. In tract development, elements of the style were frequently used as a variation in postwar row housing in San Francisco's Sunset District.
The style was applied to appliances such as electric clocks, sewing machines, small radio receivers and vacuum cleaners. Their manufacturing processes exploited developments in materials science including aluminium and bakelite. Compared to Europe, the United States in the 1930s had a stronger focus on design as a means to increase sales of consumer products. Streamlining was associated with prosperity and an exciting future. This hope resonated with the American middle class, the major market for consumer products. A wide range of goods from refrigerators to pencil sharpeners was produced in streamlined designs.
Streamlining became a widespread design practice for automobiles, railroad cars, buses, and other vehicles in the 1930s. Notable automobile examples include the 1934 Chrysler Airflow, the 1950 Nash Ambassador "Airflyte" sedan with its distinctive low fender lines, as well as Hudson's postwar cars, such as the Commodore, that "were distinctive streamliners—ponderous, massive automobiles with a style all their own".
Streamline style can be contrasted with functionalism, which was a leading design style in Europe at the same time. One reason for the simple designs in functionalism was to lower the production costs of the items, making them affordable to the large European working class. Streamlining and functionalism represent two very different schools in modernistic industrial design, but both reflecting the intended consumer.
In architecture and design
1923 Mossehaus, Berlin. Reconstruction by Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra1926: Long Beach Airport Main Terminal, Long Beach, California1928: Lockheed Vega, designed by John Knudsen Northrop, a six-passenger, single-engine aircraft used by Amelia Earhart1928-1930: Canada Permanent Trust Building, Toronto1930: Strand Palace Hotel, London; foyer designed by Oliver Percy Bernard1930-1934: Broadway Mansions, Shanghai, designed by B. Flazer of Palmer and Turner1931: The Eaton's Seventh Floor in Toronto, Canada, designed by Jacques Carlu, in the former Eaton's department store1931: Napier, New Zealand, rebuilt in Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles after a major earthquake1931-1933: Hamilton GO Station, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada by Alfred T. Fellheimer1932: Edifício Columbus, São Paulo, Brazil (demolished 1971)1933: Casa della Gioventù del Littorio, designed by Luigi Moretti, Rome1933: Ty Kodak building in Quimper, France, designed by Olier Mordrel1933: Southgate tube station, London1933: Burnham Beeches in Sherbrooke, Victoria, Australia. Harry Norris architect1933: Merle Norman Building, Santa Monica, California See also History of Santa Monica, California1933: Midland Hotel, Morecambe, Morecambe, England1933: Edificio Lapido, Montevideo, Uruguay1933–1940: Interior of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, designed by Alfred Shaw1934: Pioneer Zephyr, the first of Edward G. Budd's streamlined stainless-steel locomotives1934: Tatra 77, the first mass-market streamline automotive design1934: Chrysler Airflow, the second mass-market streamline automotive design1934: Hotel Shangri-La (Santa Monica), California1934: Edifício Nicolau Schiesser, São Paulo, Brazil (demolished 2014)1935: Ford Building (San Diego, California), Balboa Park1935: The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, England1935: Pan Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles1935: Edificio Internacional de Capitalización, Mexico City, Mexico1935: The Hindenburg, Zeppelin passenger accommodations1935: The interior of Lansdowne House on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London1935: The Hamilton Hydro-Electric System Building, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada1935: MV Kalakala, the world's first streamlined ferry1935-1956: High Tower Court, Hollywood Heights, Los Angeles1936: Lasipalatsi, in Helsinki, Finland, functionalist office building and now a cultural and media center1936: Florin Court, on Charterhouse Square in London, built by Guy Morgan and Partners1936: Campana Factory, historic factory in Batavia, Illinois.1936: Edifício Guarani, São Paulo, Brazil1937: Malloch Building, residential apartments at 1360 Montgomery Street in San Francisco1937: B and B Chemical Company, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built by Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott1937: Belgium Pavilion, at the Exposition Internationale, Paris1937: TAV Studios (Brenemen's Restaurant), Hollywood1937: Hecht Company Warehouse, Washington, D.C.1937: Minerva (or Metro) Theatre and the Minerva Building, Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia1937: Bather's Building in the Aquatic Park Historic District, now the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Maritime Museum1937: Barnum Hall (High School auditorium), Santa Monica, California1937: J.W. Knapp Company Building (department store) Lansing, Michigan1937: Wan Chai Market, Wan Chai, Hong Kong1937: River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston1937: Toronto Stock Exchange Building, mix of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne1937: Pittsburgh Plate Glass Enamel Plant, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Alexander C. Eschweiler1938: Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, California1938: Normandie building, Mar del Plata1938: Danum House, Doncaster, England1938: 20th Century Limited, New York City1938: Jones Dog & Cat Hospital, West Hollywood, California, by Wurdeman & Beckett (remodel of 1928 original construction)1939: Bartlesville High School, Bartlesville, Oklahoma1939: Coca-Cola Building (Los Angeles), California1939: First Church of Deliverance, Chicago, Illinois1939: Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, New York City1939: Road Island Diner, Oakley, Utah1939: New York World's Fair1939: Cardozo Hotel, Ocean Drive, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida1939: Royer Building in Ephrata, Pennsylvania1939: Daily Express Building, Manchester, England1939: East Finchley tube station, London, England1940: Gabel Kuro jukebox designed by Brooks Stevens1940: Ann Arbor Bus Depot, Michigan1940: Jai Alai Building, Taft Avenue Manila, Philippines (demolished 2000)1940: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California1940: Las Vegas Union Pacific Station, Las Vegas, Nevada1941: Avalon Hotel, Ocean Drive, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida1942: Normandie Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico1942: Mercantile National Bank Building, Dallas1943: Edifício Trussardi in São Paulo, Brazil1944: Huntridge Theater, Las Vegas, Nevada1946: Gerry Building, Los Angeles, California1946: Canada Dry Bottling Plant, Silver Spring, Maryland1946: Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan1947: Sears Building, Santa Monica, California1948: Greyhound Bus Station, Cleveland1949: Sault Memorial Gardens, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario1949: Varsity Theatre, Davis, California1950: Ocean Terminal, Southampton, England (demolished 1983)1951: Federal Reserve Bank Building, Seattle, Washington1954: Poitiers Theater designed by Edouard Lardillier1955: Iowa State Bank & Trust Building, Fairfield1955: Aetna Building (former Prudential Life Insurance Building), Jacksonville, Florida, designed by KBJ Architects1957–2006: Star Ferry Pier, Central, Hong Kong (demolished)1957: Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, Hong Kong1965: Hung Hom Ferry Pier, Hong Kong1968-2014: Wan Chai Pier, Hong Kong (demolished)Aircraft and buildings in William Cameron Menzies's 1936 movie Things to ComeThe buildings in Frank Capra's 1937 movie Lost Horizon, designed by Stephen GoossonThe design of the "Emerald City" in the 1939 movie The Wizard of OzThe main character's helmet and rocket pack in the 1991 movie The RocketeerThe High Tower apartments, featured in the 1973 film The Long Goodbye and 1991 film Dead AgainThe Malloch Apartment Building at 1360 Montgomery St, San Francisco that serves as apartment for Lauren Bacall's character in Dark Passage