sam530•18d ago

Update: Found a 1950s motel sign in Nevada that people keep calling 'art deco' when it's clearly streamline moderne.

I've been photographing the old 'Starlight Rest' sign off Route 95 for 5 years, and the rounded corners, horizontal lines, and lack of geometric ornament are textbook streamline, not deco, which matters because it tells a totally different story about when it was built and the optimism of that specific post-war era. Has anyone else run into a spot where the architectural style gets mislabeled constantly?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_green5818d ago

Is it the one with the big neon arrow? That's definitely streamline.

lisa83918d ago

Wait, streamline? I always thought that arrow made it look more retro than modern.

linda_butler281d ago

Yeah but that arrow is what makes it work though. The whole point of streamline design was to make things look like they were moving even when standing still, and that arrow does exactly that. It gives the shape direction and purpose. Without it you'd just have a rounded box that doesn't really say anything. The arrow is what ties the whole look together.