24/7 Wall St. Insights
- The Art Moderne style began in America in the 1930s and was highly influential for a period of about 10 years.
- As of 2024, there are nearly 800 buildings and sites classified as Art Moderne listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
- Art Moderne’s legacy is preserved in large and midsize cities throughout the East Coast and Southwest.
- Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever
Borrowing elements from Art Deco and French Art Nouveau, the Art Moderne style began in America in the 1930s and was highly influential for a period of about 10 years. Art Moderne was a response to the machine age, stressing hard edges, angles, and smooth walls with no ornamentation. The style found expression in public buildings like movie theaters, hotels, and office lobbies, as well as in the design of jewelry, cigarette lighters, and ashtrays. In residential architecture, Art Moderne homes may have featured curved window glass, flat roofs, and stainless steel door trim and railings.
Although the design fad was short-lived, the legacy of Art Moderne lives on in dozens of large and midsize cities throughout the United States. As of 2024, there are nearly 800 buildings and sites classified as Art Moderne listed in the National Register of Historic Places. And while the East Coast has the highest concentration of historic buildings overall, there are pockets of Art Moderne structures throughout the Midwest and West.
Phoenix is home to 10 of the nation’s registered Art Moderne buildings, including Hanny’s clothing store, the Title and Trust Building, and the Bragg’s Pies Building. In Albuquerque, the Jones Motor Company building, Tower Court motel, and Hendren building are key examples of Art Moderne architecture.
To determine the best cities for Moderne architecture, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on historic properties from the National Register of Historic Places of the U.S. National Park Service. Cities, towns, and villages were ranked based on the number of listings in the NRHP that are designated as Moderne architecture style as of October 2024. Supplemental data on median home age is from the 2022 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau.
25. Shreveport, LA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 4 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 63 properties
- Median home age: 51 years
- City incorporated: 1839
- Notable Moderne listings: Louisiana State Exhibit Building, Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, Masonic Temple
24. Mobile, AL
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 4 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 128 properties
- Median home age: 51 years
- City incorporated: 1814
- Notable Moderne listings: International Longshoremen’s Association Hall, Automobile Alley Historic District, Blue Bird Hardware and Seed, Lower Dauphin Street Commercial District
23. Birmingham, AL
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 4 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 156 properties
- Median home age: 59 years
- City incorporated: 1871
- Notable Moderne listings: Downtown Birmingham Retail and Theatre Historic District, Birmingham Wholesale Warehouse Loop West Historic District, North Lakeview Industrial District
22. Rochester, NY
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 4 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 156 properties
- Median home age: 85 years
- City incorporated: 1817
- Notable Moderne listings: Seneca Park East and West, East Main Street Historic District, Azalea-Highland Park Terrace Historic District, Four Corners-Genesee Crossroads Historic District
21. Kansas City, MO
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 4 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 361 properties
- Median home age: 56 years
- City incorporated: 1850
- Notable Moderne listings: Professional Building, U.S. Courthouse and Post Office-Kansas City, Aines Farm Dairy Building, Safeway No. 357
20. Sioux City, IA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 56 properties
- Median home age: 69 years
- City incorporated: 1857
- Notable Moderne listings: Municipal Auditorium, Grandview Park Music Pavilion, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Dick’s Diner
19. Little Rock, AR
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 282 properties
- Median home age: 46 years
- City incorporated: 1831
- Notable Moderne listings: Werner Knoop House, Adrian Brewer Studio, Darragh Building, Winchester Auto Store, Arkansas State Fairgrounds Historic District
18. St. Paul, MN
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 111 properties
- Median home age: 73 years
- City incorporated: 1854
- Notable Moderne listings: St. Paul Women’s City Club, Robert Street Bridge, Holman Field Administration Building, Harriet Island Pavilion, 3M Administration Building
17. Omaha, NE
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 187 properties
- Median home age: 52 years
- City incorporated: 1857
- Notable Moderne listings: Omaha Auto Row Historic District, Benson Commercial Historic District, Clifton Hill Commercial Historic District, Omaha Fire Department No. 5
16. Atlanta, GA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 241 properties
- Median home age: 39 years
- City incorporated: 1845
- Notable Moderne listings: Western Electric Company Building, Briarcliff Plaza, Whitehall Street Retail Historic District, Cascade Heights Commercial Historic District, F.H. Ross & Company Laundry Warehouse
15. San Francisco, CA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 5 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 201 properties
- Median home age: 79 years
- City incorporated: 1850
- Notable Moderne listings: Rincon Annex, Aquatic Park Historic District, Coffin-Redington Building, U.S. Appraisers Stores and Immigration Station, Union Iron Works Historic District
14. Des Moines, IA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 6 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 190 properties
- Median home age: 64 years
- City incorporated: 1851
- Notable Moderne listings: Ashby Manor Historic District, Des Moines Fire Department Headquarters-Fire Station No. 1 and Shop Building, Elliott Furniture Company, Washington and Elizabeth Miller Tract-Center-Soll Community Historic District, East Des Moines Industrial Historic Dist
13. Wichita, KS
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 6 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 136 properties
- Median home age: 51 years
- City incorporated: 1871
- Notable Moderne listings: U.S. Post Office and Federal Building-Wichita, Mullen Court Apartments, Dunbar Theatre, Frank J. and Harvey J. Ablah House, Kellogg Elementary School
12. Minneapolis, MN
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 6 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 152 properties
- Median home age: 74 years
- City incorporated: 1866
- Notable Moderne listings: Minneapolis Armory, Rand Tower, Sears Roebuck and Company Mail-Order Warehouse and Retail Store, Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank, Hollywood Theater
11. Miami, FL
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 6 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 79 properties
- Median home age: 48 years
- City incorporated: 1986
- Notable Moderne listings: Miami Edison Senior High School, Walgreen Drug Store, Alfred I. DuPont Building, St. John’s Baptist Church, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Hangar at Dinner Key
10. Detroit, MI
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 6 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 291 properties
- Median home age: 77 years
- City incorporated: 1802
- Notable Moderne listings: Elwood Bar, Detroit Naval Armory, U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House, Marygrove College, Sojourner Truth Homes
9. Hot Springs, AR
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 7 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 85 properties
- Median home age: 53 years
- City incorporated: 1851
- Notable Moderne listings: Opal’s Steak House, Butchie’s Drive-In, Mountainaire Hotel Historic District, Cleveland Arms Apartment Building, Hot Springs Central Avenue Historic District (Boundary Decrease)
8. Albuquerque, NM
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 7 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 155 properties
- Median home age: 43 years
- City incorporated: 1891
- Notable Moderne listings: Spruce Park Historic District, Tower Courts, Jones Motor Company, Pig ‘n Calf Lunch, Hendren Building
7. Denver, CO
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 8 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 321 properties
- Median home age: 52 years
- City incorporated: 1861
- Notable Moderne listings: Alamo Placita Park, Tower of Memories, Railway Exchange Addition and Railway Exchange New Building, Nordlund House, Helene Apartment Building
6. New York, NY
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 9 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 809 properties
- Median home age: 73 years
- City incorporated: 1652
- Notable Moderne listings: Chrysler Building, Coney Island Fire Station Pumping Station, Empire State Building, U.S. Post Office-Canal Street Station, La Casina
5. New Orleans, LA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 10 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 204 properties
- Median home age: 66 years
- City incorporated: 1805
- Notable Moderne listings: Flint-Goodridge Hospital of Dillard University, Carver Theater, Blue Plate Building, Charity Hospital of New Orleans, Lykes Brothers Steamship Company Historic District
4. Phoenix, AZ
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 10 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 245 properties
- Median home age: 40 years
- City incorporated: 1881
- Notable Moderne listings: First Baptist Church, Title and Trust Building, 6th Avenue Hotel-Windsor Hotel, Hanny’s, Valley Plumbing & Sheet Metal
3. Chicago, IL
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 13 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 411 properties
- Median home age: 72 years
- City incorporated: 1835
- Notable Moderne listings: Immaculata High School, Gold Coast Historic District, South Shore Beach Apartments, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Mundelein College Skyscraper Building
2. Los Angeles, CA
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 15 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 252 properties
- Median home age: 60 years
- City incorporated: 1850
- Notable Moderne listings: Spring Street Financial District, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Superior Oil Company Building, Gerry Building
1. Washington, D.C.
- NRHP listings in Moderne style: 16 properties
- All listings in NRHP: 663 properties
- Median home age: 68 years
- City incorporated: N/A
- Notable Moderne listings: Folger Shakespeare Library, Hecht Company Warehouse, Garfinckel’s Department Store, U.S. General Accounting Office Building, Woodward and Lothrop Service Warehouse
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