Views of Art Deco

Art Deco is a wonderful design movement, popularized in the 1920s and 30s, focused around geometry and clean lines (in a very, very small nutshell!). It first became known in Paris and was popular across Europe and North America (think of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings)... and, it was also very popular on the other side of the world. Australia and New Zealand might seem like unlikely places to find terrific Art Deco... but oh, you do. Napier, a small town in New Zealand, is almost a museum of Art Deco architecture (see here). And, as we shall see in this post, Sydney and nearby parts of Australia embraced the style to perfection. All but one of the following are photographs from 1930s Australia (Sydney unless otherwise noted), by Sam Hood, and all show Art Deco at its finest. 

Art Deco advertising. Source

Bar at the Carlton Hotel, Sydney, 1930s. Source

Fountain in Napier, New Zealand (a very Art Deco town), 1940s. Source

Chinese restaurant.  Source

Silver City Comet -- a diesel train on a test run, 1937. Source

Visit New Zealand window from the Union Line. Source

Victory Theatre. Source

Underwear display, Glen Innes, New South Wales. Source

Carlton Hotel. Source

W. C. Penfold building, 1937 (now home to Opera Australia). Source

Hotpoint exhibit, Royal Easter Show. Source

Regal Theatre, Gosford, New South Wales. Source

Orient Line window. Source