Art Deco architecture of New York City

rdf:langString Art Deco architecture of New York City

rdf:langString Architect Le Corbusier, 1936

rdf:langString New York has such courage and enthusiasm that everything can be begun again, sent back to the building yard and made into something still greater, something mastered!...In reality, the city is hardly more than twenty years old, that is the city which I am talking about, the city which is vertical and on the scale of the new times.

rdf:langString Art Deco architecture flourished in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s, before largely disappearing after World War II. The style is found in government edifices, commercial projects, and residential buildings in all five boroughs. The architecture of the period was influenced not just by decorative arts’ influences from across the world, but also the 1916 Zoning Resolution which influenced the setback feature in most of the buildings. Their proliferation fueled by the Roaring Twenties and commercial speculation, Art Deco buildings in the city range in size and sophistication from towering skyscrapers and office buildings to modest middle-class housing and municipal buildings. First defined by the colorful, lavishly-decorated skyscrapers of Manhattan, the Great Depression and changing tastes pushed Art Deco to more subdued applications in the 1930s. The lull in construction during World War II and rise of the International Style led to the end of new Art Deco in the city. After falling out of favor and suffering from neglect during the city's downturn in the latter half of the 20th century, the Art Deco has been reappraised; among its most treasured and recognizable buildings are the Art Deco Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, and Art Deco skyscrapers formed the core of the city's skyline. Today, many of New York's Art Deco buildings are protected by historic preservation laws, while others have been lost to new development or neglect.