Art & Statues
Rediscovering Art Deco U.S.A.
Rediscovering Art Deco U.S.A. by Barbara Capitman, Michael D. Kinerk, and Dennis W. Wilhelm
This 224-page hardcover surveys American Art Deco architecture across eighteen cities, from Miami Beach and Los Angeles to Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Authors Barbara Capitman, Michael D. Kinerk, and Dennis W. Wilhelm cover the full range of styles that fall under the Art Deco umbrella, including Zig-Zag Moderne and Streamline design, tracing the movement's spread across the country between the Jazz Age and World War II. Photographer Randy Juster's images anchor the text, and this particular copy carries a bookplate marking it as an autographed edition. The cover captures the Golden Gate Bridge from below, its red steel tower rising in the sharp geometric lines the authors trace throughout the book. City by city, the authors highlight both celebrated landmarks and lesser-known buildings, giving readers a genuine tour rather than a strictly academic survey.
The book moves through its city chapters covering Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas and Fort Worth, Detroit, the Hoover Dam, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami Beach, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Tulsa, and Washington, D.C. Each section highlights the architects, muralists, and craftsmen behind these buildings, among them Paul Philippe Cret, Raymond Hood, Timothy Pflueger, and John Eberson, along with the sculptors and metalworkers whose ornamental details defined the style at a smaller scale.
Barbara Capitman was a driving force behind the preservation of Miami Beach's Art Deco district, and her advocacy work shaped the book's larger argument for recognizing these buildings as a significant part of American architectural heritage. Michael Kinerk and Dennis Wilhelm brought their own research and preservation experience to the project, while Randy Juster's photography captures both grand civic landmarks and smaller commercial buildings with equal attention.
This book remains one of the most comprehensive city-by-city surveys of American Art Deco architecture available, making it a valuable reference for architects, preservationists, and anyone planning to explore Deco buildings firsthand. The autograph on this copy adds particular appeal for collectors of the authors' work.
