Art deco started as a sophisticated French style in the early 1920s. It was soon promoted by Hollywood as the “style of the stars.” Motion pictures and the burgeoning worldwide media transformed art deco into a universally understood symbol of glamour and excitement. The term “art deco” comes from the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratif” — a comprehensive exhibit of the latest in applied arts held in Paris in 1925. The use of “art deco” as a descriptive label, however, is of much more recent coinage. It was first used in 1966 at a Paris revival of the 1925 exhibit. Many artists and architects of the 1920s and 1930s simply called the style “Modernistic” (not to be confused with the term “modern” which is used today to describe contemporary design of the 1950s and 1960s). Other terms used in the era were “Ziz-zag Moderne” (or Jazz Moderne) to describe the angular and often complex deco styles of the 1920s and “Streamline Moderne” to describe the spare, often curvy style of the 1930s.

Designed in 1909 by visionary Portland architect William Knighton, the Governor Hotel’s cubist-inspired ornament contains forms that would later be considered art deco.

Gregory Condominium in the Pearl. Newer condo incorporating many art deco features in its design.

The Terminal Sales Building is Portland’s own “Daily Planet” building.

An extensive 1990s remodel transformed this Hawthorne District bungalow into an imposing art deco mini-palace.

A one-story NE Portland home showing curves of 1930s streamline moderne styling.

A “Gotham City” skyscraper in miniature.

Whether curvy or angular, 1920s or 1930s, certain overall principles can be identified in all art deco design:
• This was the art of the machine age and all that this implied: It was about power, about speed, and about the new. It was a style that adapted to machine-made production as well, giving the common man access to mass-produced facsimiles of more expensive handcrafted goods.
• This was the style of popular glamour. Hollywood broadcast this style to the world, and the world bought it. And loved it. And wanted more.
• It expressed a certain optimism and excitement about the modern age. This optimism even held through the depression years of the 1930s when streamline styling began experimenting with “futurism.” Futuristic-deco promised even better things to come (think Flash Gordon or the 1939 New York World’s Fair).
• It explored a fascination with geometry. Gone were the strict architectural interpretations of classic Greco-Roman forms. Gone too were any designs directly depicting nature. These were replaced by often richly layered repetitions of geometric forms. Any figural forms that did find their way onto the sides of buildings were usually flattened to their geometric essence, much like cubist paintings. Geometric designs of native peoples were also common motifs in this period. In the 1930s, architects began experimenting with eliminating ornament altogether, relying on the geometrical shapes of the building’s construction to speak for the inherent beauty of the structure. These “modern” and “international style” buildings were the bridge from deco to the more austere modern style, which developed after World War II.

Portland has a significant — though sometimes underappreciated — heritage of art deco buildings. Though not among the “First Tier” deco cities such as New York, Paris, or Miami, Portland contains ample opportunities for the deco-seeker to explore and discover deco treasures.

Any tour of art deco buildings in Portland should begin downtown. Though Portland has none of New York City’s deco skyscrapers that soar to the heavens, we do have our more restrained version of Superman’s Daily Planet in the Terminal Sales Building on SW Morrison. The stylish Charles F. Berg Building on SW Broadway, just up from Pioneer Courthouse Square, is arguably Portland’s most distinguished deco building. Its explosively theatrical terra cotta motifs of deco-styled chevrons, sunbursts, raindrops, and peacocks could hold their own with the most elegant deco storefronts of any city in the world. Similarly, the cast bronze interior of the Gus Solomon Federal Courthouse at SW Broadway and Main is among the finest of any government building in the United States. Also downtown is the pre-deco Governor Hotel, designed by William Knighton in 1909. The stylized “space men” on the building’s top cornice show the transition from the flat planes of cubism to the angular, geometric forms which would later become art deco. A walk in any direction away from downtown reveals any number of art deco apartments, stores, theaters, churches, office buildings, garages, and even a former mortuary!

Another good place to find art deco buildings in Portland is along the broad, straight boulevards that criss-cross the city. These streets achieved their prominence in the 1920s and 1930s, the prime era of deco construction. Clusters of art deco can be seen along parts of Sandy Boulevard, NE Broadway, E Burnside, SE Hawthorne, and N Lombard. The Inner-Eastside Industrial Area (MLK/Grand Ave corridor) also contains a large collection of art deco buildings.

Unlike those in California and Florida, art deco houses in Portland are relatively rare. Homebuyers in that era usually chose more traditional European Revival styles. Art deco apartment buildings are another matter, however. Any Portland neighborhood that contains older brick apartment buildings will almost certainly have some very fine examples done in the art deco style. Younger people tended to live — as they do still — in apartments rather than houses. Stylish deco apartment buildings easily conveyed the idea of youthful big-city fun, just as they do today.

Art deco is currently enjoying a revival of sorts in new construction. Perhaps the best known of these new buildings is the Gregory Condominium in the Pearl District. It is 10 stories of pure deco delight. Other smaller apartment, commercial, and single-family homebuilders are choosing deco details to highlight their designs. And many owners of older deco buildings are now painting with deco-appropriate color schemes or clearing shrubbery away from their buildings to reveal long-hidden deco features. It’s taken nearly half a century, but Portlanders are finally discovering and appreciating their city’s art deco heritage.

Jack Bookwalter is a freelance writer and archictural historian living in Portland, OR.