5 Fantastic Art Deco Buildings in the Northeast USA
Images by Chris Hytha
Writing by Mark Houser
The futuristic style of Art Deco in the 1920s and ‘30s brought a bold and modern look to the architecture of America. A new class of sleek, soaring skyscrapers like the Chrysler Building in Manhattan radically altered downtown skylines in cities all across the country. Here are some examples of highrises from the Northeast U.S. that are less familiar to the public, but are no less appealing to the eye.
Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo, NY
A sunburst of color crowns the Queen City of the Great Lakes in this monumental municipal building. Visitors to the public observation deck share a bird’s-eye view with the eight stylized eagles perched at the corners of this octagonal sandstone tower, which is decorated in Native American motifs. The atmospheric lobby features vivid, almost comic book murals of musclebound men and gleaming women by William de Leftwich Dodge, whose work also decorates the Library of Congress.
Genesee Valley Trust Building
(Times Square Building)
Rochester, NY
Architect Ralph Walker helped to establish the canon for Art Deco skyscrapers with his Barclay-Vesey and Irving Trust buildings in Manhattan. For this bank highrise upstate, he took inspiration from seashells he found on the beach in Florida, creating a 42-foot aluminum sculpture called “Wings of Progress.” Hailed by the American Institute of Architects in 1957 as “architect of the century,” Walker later resigned from the organization over an ethics controversy.
Lewis Tower
(The Aria)
Philadelphia, PA
Porthole shapes along the roofline of this sleek white tower trimmed in deep blue are meant to evoke an ocean liner, a favorite design theme of the Art Deco movement. This highrise was stacked on top of an existing 16-story building and conceived by an architect who also designed army bases across America. The Penthouse restaurant and cocktail lounge at the top offered diners and drinkers a spectacular skyline view of Philadelphia back when the tallest thing in town was the statue of William Penn atop City Hall.
Baltimore Trust Building
(10 Light Street)
Baltimore, MD
For four decades the city’s tallest building, this Art Deco classic adds a few Gothic flourishes, such as its steeply pitched roof decorated with cresting waves symbolizing the nearby harbor. It was built for the state’s biggest financial institution, which soon failed in a Depression-era banking panic. Like many antique skyscrapers, this highrise has had a series of owners and is now residential. Its breathtaking banking hall with murals, multicolor marble columns, and hand-wrought iron gates is now a gymnasium.
Tower Building
(75-101 Federal Street)
Boston, MA
Strict building height limits did not quash the exuberant Art Deco style of this office tower, with its terracotta floral panels stretching to the roofline. Nearer to the sidewalk, stylized bronze bas-reliefs display acts of labor and technological prowess by burly men who are mostly shirtless and occasionally pants-less. In 1985 the building was combined with to a taller office tower erected next door after Boston finally relaxed its height restrictions.
The Northeast Collage Poster
Only $19.99
Decorate your space with this 20” x 30” architecture collage poster featuring all five Highrises in this blog plus many more from 18 cities across the Northeast, including Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and more. Each image comes from the Highrises collection of high-res artistic composite drone photography digitally enhanced for incredibly detailed views of these attractive antique skyscrapers.
