ART DECO Society of New York

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The Art Deco Society of New York is a non-profit organization that advocates for the appreciation, understanding, celebration, documentation, and preservation of Art Deco architecture, design, and culture in New York and around the world.

Only two days away!We look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday, June 3, for an evening of cocktails, conversation and ...
06/01/2026

Only two days away!

We look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday, June 3, for an evening of cocktails, conversation and Art Deco charm at Conwell Hall, a stunning historic bank building transformed into one of New York’s most elegant bars.

Whether you arrive in full 1920s glamour or simply as yourself, all are welcome at this casual social gathering. Come meet fellow Deco enthusiasts, enjoy the atmosphere and celebrate the timeless spirit of the era.

Join us in toasting to a legendary Jazz Age icon! Can you guess who it is? Hint: They were born on June 3rd 👀

Check-in begins at 6:30 PM. Click the link in bio to register.

See you there!



Please note that all food and beverages are purchased individually by attendees; the Art Deco Society of New York does not cover the cost of drinks or refreshments.

Image: New Year’s Eve Party in France, circa 1925

05/31/2026

This National Preservation Month, we’re celebrating a powerful reminder that advocacy can shape the future of the past.

When the Waldorf Astoria New York closed in 2017, one of the city’s most iconic Art Deco interiors faced an uncertain fate. The exterior had been landmarked since 1993, but the celebrated interiors designed by Schultze & Weaver, unveiled when the hotel opened on Oct. 1, 1931, remained unprotected as plans emerged to convert much of the building into private residences.

Then ADSNY stepped in. Partnering with preservation groups around the world, we rallied a global community of Deco advocates by collecting over 5,000 petition signatures, hosting member walkthroughs and producing a livestreamed tour with Travel + Leisure that reached more than 120,000 viewers.

The result was a major preservation victory. In March 2017, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate the Waldorf’s first-floor public spaces as interior landmarks, ensuring their protection for generations to come.

Fun fact: The Waldorf Astoria reopened last year during Art Deco’s centennial with its interiors restored to their original grandeur. This moment is proof that preservation is not just about saving buildings, but also about safeguarding the artistry, craftsmanship and cultural memory they hold.

Preservation works, and this is what it looks like in action.

In 1930, the architect Ralph Walker wrote: “The skyscraper, to my mind, is the only means, and I am making that very bro...
05/29/2026

In 1930, the architect Ralph Walker wrote: “The skyscraper, to my mind, is the only means, and I am making that very broad, of living in this age of the machine.” Though Walker is perhaps most famous for masterpieces like 1 Wall Street or the Barclay-Vesey Building in Lower Manhattan, one of his most breathtaking Art Deco designs stands grossly overlooked in the heart of Chelsea. Now a luxury condominium called Walker Tower, the structure, originally built for the New York Telephone Company in 1929, features several distinctive setbacks that make the building appear somewhat like an elaborate, uneven staircase leading down from the sky. 

In this sky-piercing colossus of intricate brick and ornate metalwork, one of the most impressive features is its elegant entryway. The tall, nickel-plated entrance is original to the 1929 design, with bold geometric patterns framing the doors. 

Join us on June 20 for a closer look at this Art Deco landmark, and many more like it, as part of our Deco Stroll Through Chelsea. 

Register now at the link in our bio!

NYCArchitecture ArtDecoSocietyNY

Image 1: Walker Tower, circa 1929 / CetraRuddy Architecture

Image 2: Portrait sketch of Ralph Walker by Count Mario Grixoni, 1943 / “Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century” by Kathryn E. Holliday

Image 3: Walker Tower front entrance / JDS Development Group

Our Dancing Daughters (dir. Harry Beaumont, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928) was a landmark American Jazz Age synchronized sou...
05/28/2026

Our Dancing Daughters (dir. Harry Beaumont, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928) was a landmark American Jazz Age synchronized sound drama film that helped to cement Joan Crawford as one of the era’s leading film stars and an enduring emblem of sartorial modernity. 

Starring Crawford as Diana Medford, an outwardly flamboyant, sexually adventurous ingénue, who is, beneath her hedonistic exterior, fundamentally virtuous, this film vividly captured the vibrant atmosphere of major European and American cities of the 1920s: speakeasies, Charleston dancing, Prohibition-era nightlife, and Art Deco glamour. Crawford’s character came to typify Hollywood’s image of the “flapper,” a subcultural figure of the decade: a fashionably dressed, rebellious, seemingly carefree young woman, that in the eyes of older generations, embodied all of the disruptive social mores of modernity.

Costumes by David Cox represent the height of revealing, glamorous flapper fashions. Crawford appears perfectly coiffed and crowned by a felt cloche, feet fashionably-heeled, her body draped in sumptuous bias cut silks, generously embellished with beadwork. Cox’s most striking design for Crawford is a drop-waist, low cut evening dress, dripping in bugle beads, with a dynamic, fringed hemline that functions as a tangible expression of the restlessness and kinetic energy of the Jazz Age itself.

David Cox designed all of Crawford’s on-screen ensembles until the arrival of Gilbert Adrian at MGM Studios in 1928, the same year as the release of Our Dancing Daughters.

✍🏻: ADSNY Volunteer Liv Elniski,



Image Credits: Our Dancing Daughters (dir. Harry Beaumont, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1928). IMDb

Happy Birthday to the one and only Chrysler Building! Officially opened on May 27, 1930, the Chrysler Building remains o...
05/27/2026

Happy Birthday to the one and only Chrysler Building! 

Officially opened on May 27, 1930, the Chrysler Building remains one of New York City’s greatest Art Deco masterpieces and an enduring symbol of the Machine Age. Designed by architect William Van Alen for automobile magnate Walter P. Chrysler, the tower briefly held the title of the tallest building in the world at 1,046 feet tall.

Nearly a century later, it still stands as one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture ever built. 

   

Image Credit: , Chrysler Building captured by Richard Berenholtz, published in New York Deco

It’s that time! Just one week away!Join us on Wednesday, June 3rd, for an evening of cocktails and mingling at one of th...
05/27/2026

It’s that time! Just one week away!

Join us on Wednesday, June 3rd, for an evening of cocktails and mingling at one of the city’s most beautiful Art Deco-era bars. Set inside a historic bank reborn, Conwell offers a glamorous taste of the city’s past and present.

This casual social gathering is open to everyone!

Dress in your finest 1920s attire or simply come as you are or in whatever makes you feel most comfortable. Deco After Dark is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts, make new friends, and immerse yourself in the spirit of the era.

Check-in begins at 6:30 PM. Click the link in bio to register!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Rising above the Chelsea skyline, Walker Tower is one of the neighborhood’s most striking Art Deco landmarks, and a test...
05/26/2026

Rising above the Chelsea skyline, Walker Tower is one of the neighborhood’s most striking Art Deco landmarks, and a testament to how even infrastructure could be transformed into architectural drama. Designed by Ralph Walker for the New York Telephone Company and completed in 1929, the building was engineered to house massive telecommunications equipment, requiring an exceptionally robust structure.

Fun fact: While the tower’s powerful construction was built to support heavy telecom machinery, its iconic setbacks were also shaped by New York’s 1916 zoning laws. Walker transformed those practical requirements into the dramatic “wedding cake” silhouette that became a defining feature of the city’s Art Deco skyline.

Once an industrial hub of communication, Walker Tower has since been converted into luxury residences, but its bold vertical lines, intricate brickwork, and geometric ornament still tell the story of a time when technology, design, and ambition were reshaping the city all at once.

Hear more about the iconic deco buildings of Chelsea from architectural historian Matt Postal on Saturday, June 20. 

Click the link in our bio to register!

Image 1: Press photo via CetraRuddy Architecture / JDS Development Group, Originally designed by Ralph Walker (1929); Restored by (2012)

Image 2: Architectural rendering by Ralph Walker, Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker (c. 1927).

The Haleiwa Beach Park War Memorial in Hawaii is a striking example of Art Deco design applied to public remembrance. De...
05/25/2026

The Haleiwa Beach Park War Memorial in Hawaii is a striking example of Art Deco design applied to public remembrance. Dedicated in 1947, its clean geometric lines reflect the belief that beauty and civic purpose belong together.

On Memorial Day, we honor all those who served and sacrificed. May they never be forgotten.

Photo credit: Gerald Watanabe | Dreamtime.com

Next month at Deco After Dark, we raise a glass to the incomparable Josephine Baker, born June 3, 1906, whose legacy is ...
05/24/2026

Next month at Deco After Dark, we raise a glass to the incomparable Josephine Baker, born June 3, 1906, whose legacy is deeply intertwined with the spirit of the Jazz Age on both sides of the Atlantic.

While Baker found international fame in Paris, New York played an important role in her story. In 1936, she returned to the U.S. to star on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies, one of the era’s most prestigious stages. Already a global sensation, Baker brought her signature charisma and modern style to New York audiences. But her reception here revealed the racial barriers that still defined American entertainment at the time. Despite her worldwide acclaim, she faced discrimination that ultimately led her to return to France, where she was celebrated as a cultural icon.
Fun fact: Baker’s performances helped redefine what it meant to be a modern entertainer during the Art Deco era. With her daring costumes, innovative choreography, and magnetic stage presence, she embodied the glamour, energy and boundary-pushing creativity that defined the 1920s and ‘30s.

As we gather in the heart of Lower Manhattan to celebrate Deco style, we honor Josephine Baker not only as a performer, but also as a figure who challenged conventions and reshaped the cultural landscape of her time. 

Join us for our second Deco After Dark at Conwell Hall to toast to the legendary Josephine Baker! 

Wednesday, June 3
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Click the link in our bio to register! 



Image 1: Josephine Baker performing the Charleston in Paris, 1926. Captured by Walery. (Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution).

Image 2: Photo by Boris Lipnitzki / Roger-Viollet

Image 3: Rudi Williams / Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images. LAPI / Roger-Viollet via Getty Images

Image 4: Photograph of Josephine Baker, courtesy of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Image 5: Photo Credit: AP Photo / Bettmann Archive via Getty Images

Tucked beneath the former Hanover Bank Building in the Financial District, Conwell Hall occupies a space that speaks dir...
05/23/2026

Tucked beneath the former Hanover Bank Building in the Financial District, Conwell Hall occupies a space that speaks directly to New York’s early-20th-century rise as a global financial powerhouse. Originally part of Hanover Bank’s subterranean banking hall and vault complex, this interior was designed not just for function, but also to convey strength, permanence and institutional authority at a moment when architecture was playing a key role in shaping public trust in financial institutions.

Built during the interwar period, the hall reflects the broader architectural language of the era, when classical monumentality began to merge with the emerging modernism that would define Art Deco. The soaring vaulted ceilings, rhythmic arches and finely detailed stonework echo the grandeur of a Romanesque or Byzantine interior, while the clean lines and restrained ornamentation hint at the streamlined aesthetic that would soon dominate the city’s skyline. Spaces like this were intentionally theatrical, transforming everyday transactions into experiences framed by architecture.

Fun fact: Subterranean banking halls like this were engineered for both security and spectacle. Their thick masonry walls and limited points of access made them ideal for safeguarding assets, while their dramatic scale reinforced the feeling of stability. At a time when Lower Manhattan was the center of global finance, these interiors quietly supported the movement of immense wealth behind the scenes.

Today, as Conwell Coffee Hall, the space has been reimagined but not erased. Its historical fabric remains remarkably intact, offering a rare opportunity to gather within an environment once at the heart of New York’s financial system. Join us for Beyond the Lobby: An Exclusive Guided Walking Tour and experience this interior.

Beyond the Lobby: An Exclusive Guided Walkthrough.
June 3, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Click the link in our bio to register!

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PO Box 6205
New York, NY
10150

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