Art Deco

I didn’t go to Paris seeking out Art Deco buildings, whose style spanned about 30 years (1910 to 1939). But as I wandered around the 15^th arrondissement, they kept popping up — including Art Deco churches, which weren’t on my radar at all.

Churches

Église St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1910)

Église St-Antoine-de-Padoue (1933)

Hotels and apartment buildings

Ernest Billecocq, 66 Rue Falguière (1914)

Below: A 1914 apartment building whose brickwork resonates with Art Deco. The rounded shape of the building also foreshadows the Art Deco “ocean liner style” (Fr. Style paquebot) of the 1920s, a streamlined form borrowed from the shape of luxury transatlantic liners.

Charles Lefebvre, building on Boulevard de Strasbourg (1914)

Below: 1914 Art Deco-inspired reinforced concrete office building. Lefebvre’s design features ceramic cladding and polychrome mosaics.

Lutèce Hotel (1928)

3 Rue Boussingault (1935)

1 Rue Nicolas Houël (1932)

Theatre

Le Berry (1930s)

The Art Deco-style little theatre Le Berry was built during the 1930s. The photograph below was taken in the mid-90s, when it was in disrepair and threatened with demolition. Some young Parisians that I had met were circulating a petition to save the building. They were horrified at the prospect of a McDonald’s replacing it — a real possibility at the time.

I’m happy to learn that Le Berry is back in business, with a spiffed-up facade.

Métro entrance

Vaneau

A few architectural details

Animal bas-reliefs on Rue Pasquier (1929)

Across the street from the Chapel Expiatoire is this whimsical building with panel friezes of finely carved animals: camel, elephant, alligator, shark among coral:

Rue Brancion

Next: Brick Play

Camille Martin