Chicago: Art Deco Gods and Goddesses
Online Walking Tour
Art Deco is an architectural style that is typified by streamlines surfaces, symmetry, geometrical shapes—and a dose of glamour and history. Art Deco epitomized the exuberance of the Roaring 20s, but it also included motifs from ancient times. Join Royal Oak and Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) docent, Bill Collins, for a tour of how images of Greek gods and goddesses add art and meaning to many of Chicago’s most beautiful Art Deco buildings. This virtual program will showcase gods and goddesses that identify a post office, an electrical substation, a musicians’ union and more than one bank.
In each example, the gravitas and familiarity of the classical deities complement the gaiety and novelty of Art Deco, making the building both identifiable and easy to love. Bill is the tour director for the CAC’s two Art Deco walking tours and has presented lectures about Art Deco at the CAC and at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a program of Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies.
Art Deco detailon elevator doors at One North LaSalle (detail). Photo courtesy of the Chicago Architecture Center
