1930s–1940s · United States, Worldwide
Streamline Moderne
Also known as Art Moderne, Streamline
The aerodynamic, late phase of Deco — curved corners, smooth horizontal lines, and a nautical, machine-for-speed look.
Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BSG_Streamline_Moderne_building.jpg
Across disciplines
- Graphic Design: WPA Poster
- Graphic Design: Art Deco Graphics
- Graphic Design: Mid-Century Travel Poster
- Industrial Design: Streamline Industrial
- Industrial Design: Automotive Styling
About the style
Streamline Moderne stripped Art Deco's applied ornament and replaced vertical drama with horizontal speed. Inspired by aerodynamics, ships, and automobiles, it favored rounded corners, long horizontal banding, porthole windows, and smooth white or pastel surfaces. It read as optimistic and forward-looking during the Depression — the architecture of motion and the future. In doing so it drifted toward the austerity of functionalist modernism even as it kept a streamlined glamour.
Notable examples
- ▸Pan-Pacific Auditorium (Los Angeles)
- ▸Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia (New York City)
- ▸Coca-Cola Building (Los Angeles)
Anatomy of Streamline Moderne
The numbered markers call out the design elements that define this style. Hover or tap a marker to see its breakdown.
Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BSG_Streamline_Moderne_building.jpg
The building turns the corner on a smooth curve rather than a hard angle — the aerodynamic move borrowed from ships and automobiles.
Bands of glass block wrap the curve, letting in light while keeping the surface sleek and continuous — a favourite Moderne material.
Thin horizontal trim lines race around the walls, stressing horizontality and a sense of motion.
Surfaces are smooth painted stucco with no applied ornament; a flat-roofed parapet tower gives a vertical accent over the entrance.
How Streamline Moderne connects
Styles form a network, not a tree. Explore the direct neighbours below — click any to travel the map one hop at a time.
- Evolved from
- Influenced by
- Parallel / cross-current
Evolved from Art Deco — stripped Deco ornament for aerodynamic curves and horizontal lines
Influenced by International Style — drifted toward functionalist austerity and smooth surfaces
Googie evolved from Streamline Moderne — inherited Streamline Moderne's aerodynamic curves and speed imagery, amplified into Space Age theatricality
WPA Poster parallel / cross-current Streamline Moderne — the same 1930s streamlined, machine-age aesthetic in print
Art Deco Graphics parallel / cross-current Streamline Moderne — shared the late-Deco streamlined, aerodynamic machine-age look
Mid-Century Travel Poster parallel / cross-current Streamline Moderne
Streamline Industrial parallel / cross-current Streamline Moderne — the product counterpart to Streamline Moderne architecture
Automotive Styling parallel / cross-current Streamline Moderne — shared the aerodynamic, jet-and-rocket imagery of streamline moderne
Describe it like this
Prompt-ready vocabulary for describing or re-creating the Streamline Moderne look.