We are honoured to publish this phenomenal article on the priceless Art Deco architecture of Springs. Thank you to the Arts, Culture and Heritage team from the Ekurhuleni Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture for sending it through. Enjoy!
The City of Springs boasts the largest number of small scale Art Deco design buildings in the world, outside of Miami, Florida USA. The design style, which has become synonymous with the coastal town of Miami, is achieving more and more attention as potential tourism money-spinner for Springs.
The Art Deco design style had its hey-days between World Wars One and Two and achieved its prevalence in Springs, as this was also the period that characterised the greatest growth in the history of the town.
By the mid 1930s Springs was one of the six largest towns in South Africa and was mentioned in the same breath as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Particularly in the field of architecture, Springs took the lead away from the mining architecture of its origins into an industrial age of opportunity.
Date on the Coalition Building (The Heritage Portal)
The term Art Deco had its origins with the international exhibition “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes” held in Paris...
