From Mumbai to Mozambique, explore some of the world’s most striking Art Deco landmarks in celebration of the movement’s centenary.
Emerging in the 1920s, Art Deco defined a new visual language of modernity through geometric forms, stylised motifs and rich materials. Its structured symmetry and decorative precision created a sense of rhythm, elegance and architectural confidence that felt both modern and monumental. This global selection highlights how the style has endured, with landmark buildings that continue to inform cultural identity today.
Miami Beach Architectural District, United States
The Miami Beach Architectural District is one of the largest surviving collections of Art Deco architecture in the world, with more than 800 preserved buildings constructed mainly between the 1920s and 1940s. Characterised by pastel colours, curved corners, neon signage and nautical references, it reflects the city’s development as a leisure economy during the interwar and post-Depression periods. Its preservation movement in the late 20th century was politically significant, as local activists fought redevelopment pressures and rising land values. The district is now a protected heritage zone, promoting Miami’s identity as a global cultural and tourism hub.
Napier City Centre, New Zealand
Napier’s Art Deco city centre was rebuilt almost entirely after the devastating 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake. The reconstruction coincided with global Art Deco trends, resulting in a rare fully planned Deco townscape. Buildings combine Streamline Moderne elements with local motifs, including Māori-inspired patterns integrated into façades. The rebuild was also politically shaped by central government control over recovery efforts, influencing urban planning decisions. Today, Napier stands as one of the most complete Deco cities globally, where civic identity, disaster recovery and architectural modernism intersect. Its annual Art Deco Festival reinforces its role as a living heritage site.
Grand Rex Cinema, Paris
Opened in 1932, the Grand Rex Cinema is one of Europe’s most significant Art Deco entertainment venues. Designed by Auguste Bluysen with interiors by John Eberson-inspired atmospheric theatre principles, it features a monumental auditorium with a stunning starry ceiling. Its façade reflects streamlined Deco geometry aligned with early 20th-century cinematic optimism. Politically, it emerged during a period when cinema was becoming a mass cultural tool in France, shaping public modernity. The building remains active today, hosting film premieres and cultural events, maintaining its role as both heritage monument and cinema.
Edificio Kavanagh, Buenos Aires
Completed in 1936, Edificio Kavanagh is one of the most important examples of Art Deco skyscraper architecture in Latin America. Designed by Sánchez, Lagos y de la Torre, it was at the time the tallest reinforced concrete structure in South America. Its stepped form reflects both New York skyscraper influence and European Deco refinement. The building is tied to Argentina’s elite urban development during the interwar period, symbolising economic modernisation and social stratification in Buenos Aires. It remains a landmark overlooking Plaza San Martín and is a UNESCO-listed candidate for its architectural significance.
Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Originally built for the 1937 International Exhibition of Art and Technology in Modern Life, the Palais de Tokyo represents a transitional form of late Art Deco moving toward modernism. Its monumental symmetry and stripped classical geometry reflect state-driven narratives of progress in pre-war France. Politically, the building was part of a broader exhibition strategy asserting national technological strength amid rising global tensions. Today, it functions as one of Europe’s leading contemporary art institutions, known for experimental programming. Its layered history makes it a key site where Deco-era monumentality intersects with current culture.
Eros Cinema, Mumbai, India
One of the most iconic Art Deco buildings in India, Mumbai's Eros Cinema was commissioned in 1935 by the cosmopolitan Parsi businessman Shiavax Cambatta. Built on the Back Bay plot, a landmass that had been reclaimed from the sea, it opened in 1938 to much fanfare. It was a masterful amalgamation of the Art Deco aesthetic and Indian sensibilities, with red Agra sandstone used extensively on its majestic facade. As multiplexes took hold of India's cinema-going audience, this landmark theatre fell into disrepair and closed in 2017. Restored and revitalised by a leading Indian designer, Hafeez Contractor, it reopened in early 2024.
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Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Maputo, Mozambique
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Nestled in the heart of Mozambique's capital, this Roman Catholic church in central Maputo was built between 1936 and 1944. Designed by Portuguese engineer Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, the church borrows its style from Art Deco architecture, very much in vogue in Europe. Made entirely of concrete and cement, the perfectly symmetrical cathedral invites light to pierce through its geometrically shaped stained glass windows.
Eastern Theatre District, Los Angeles
Designed by architect Claud Beelman in 1930, this thirteen-storey Art Deco building was erected in the Broadway theater district at the start of Hollywood's golden age. Considered the finest example of Art Deco buildings in Los Angeles, the Eastern Columbia Building today welcomes visitors as a residential space. Turquoise terracotta, geometric shapes and decorative clocks adorn the 80-metre-high building.
La Piscine Museum, Roubaix
Also known as La Piscine, the Musée d'art et de l'industrie André-Diligent presents collections of 19th-century art, including paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Housed in a former Art Deco swimming pool designed by Lille architect Albert Baert between 1927 and 1932, the museum offers conferences and workshops, as well as access to a restaurant and tea room in a unique architectural setting.
Musée de la mer, Biarritz
Inaugurated in 1933, Biarritz 's first Musée de la Mer faces the Rocher de la Vierge and covers more than 7,000 square meters. After undergoing its first renovation in 1992, the museum now houses an extensive collection of marine animals and has been extended to four floors. In the basement, aquariums showcase the marine life of the Bay of Biscay, thus becoming La Cité de l'Océan.
The Temple of the Press, Toulouse, France
Walk up to 42 bis rue Alsace Lorraine to discover the impressive Art Deco façade. The former sales hall of the Dépêche du Midi newspaper was built in 1926 by architect Léon Jaussely. Now a showroom, travel agency, radio studio and staff accommodation, the mosaic-covered building, depicting a Greco-Roman goddess, has never ceased to draw crowds.
La Bourse du Travail, Calais
Constructed in reinforced concrete, the Bourse du Travail was built by architect Roger Poyé in 1937 on the Place Crèvecoeur in Calais. Requisitioned by the Germans during the war, the building nestled between the courthouse and the church was restored in 1944.
U-Drop Inn and Conoco Tower, Texas
Built by architects J.M Tindall and R.C Lewis in 1936 to designs by architect Joseph Berry, the two towers with their Art Deco details house a gas station, restaurant and retail. An ideal complex for a refreshing break in the Texas desert.
Regent Theatre Mudgee, Australia
Opened in 1935, the family-owned Regent Theatre was forced to close its doors in 2006. Its symmetrical façade, designed by George N. Kenworthy was preserved, but the projection room was converted into apartments. The building is a fine example of the Art Deco style.
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Pennsylvania Train Station, USA
Described as Philadelphia's most emblematic Art Deco building, the Suburban Station has existed for nearly a century as the underground terminus for steam locomotives. Now used as a terminal for commuter trains, the station continues to serve regional and local travellers passing through the designer entrance.
Casa de Serralves, Portugal
Completed in 1944, this linear Art Deco villa is perched in Porto's Serralves Park. A listed cultural heritage site, the mansion houses the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, and was designed by architects José Marques de Silva and Charles Siclis between 1931 and 1944.
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