ART Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War 1. It is derived from Arts Décoratifs, which is from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It influenced the design of just about everything, most especially architecture.
As an architectural style, it is modernist in approach. Its main characteristics are its sleek, linear, often rectangular geometric forms, arranged and broken up by curved ornamental elements. A series of set-backs creating a stepped outline help create the monolithic appearance typical of Art Deco facades.
The Chrysler Building in New York City. Art Deco was the popular style of skyscrapers, then an emerging structure around the 1930s. PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS