How did we get here? NYC Design: 1915-1945

C.C. Sullivan -- Interior Design, 10/3/2012 12:29:39 PM

1915 – 1935: Reaching for the Sky

Inventors of the skyscraper – apologies to Chicagoans – New Yorkers are moved by land values and ambitious notions to world-record heights, adopting fast elevators and even air-conditioning. Setback zoning (1916) yields the ubiquitous wedding-cake towers. American modern art takes root at the fabled Armory show – the International Exhibition of Modern Art (1913) – rocking the fashion and design set. In 1916, the New York School of Interior Design opens.

The Daily News Building is a famous example of setback zoning. Built in 1929 by architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Division.
A poster from the Armory Show, 1913.
New York School of Interior Design Founded in 1916. Photo courtsey of New York School of Interior Design

1925 – 1945: Deco, Baby!

The mother of modernism, Art Deco mutates into monuments like the glamorous Chrysler Building (1930), Radio City Music Hall (1932), and Rockefeller Center’s International Building (1935). When Raymond Loewy shows off his streamlined office concept (1934), Deco invades the workplace. Contract interiors are born.

The Chrysler Building, 1930, by architect William Van Alen for a project of Walter P. Chrysler. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Postcard showing the interior of Radio City Music Hall, 1932. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Raymond Loewy's streamlined office concept. Photo courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.


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