Art Deco in the Regency Ballroom

On July 10th, the Court House ballroom, restored a few years ago in authentic Regency style, was the setting for a talk by Paula Fletcher about the Art Deco style of architecture that became popular 100 years after the Regency period. 

Her illustrated talk was this month’s main attraction at the regular social gathering “In The Ballroom” which includes tea, coffee and cake and time to chat. 

Art Deco became a popular style after a World Trade Fair held in Paris in 1925 coinciding with the emergence of the American movie industry in Hollywood that quickly swept the style across North America and Western and Eastern Europe, and as far as Australia. The Art Deco style of sleek, modernist lines was adopted with particular enthusiasm by architects in the USA, notably in New York, Chicago and in Florida, where the Miami Beach style of hotels and apartments built after the first world war is now much admired.

Paula used to live in Miami and became expert in the elegant architecture of the 1920s and ’30s, conducting tours of some of the most famous buildings.

Next month’s social get-together In The Ballroom will be on  Wednesday August 14th, and will be an antiques road show, with auctioneer Steve Bruce telling of some notable finds and unexpected items. If you have a small antique item for him to look at, bring it along and he may be able to tell you more about it. 

There’s no need to book. Just turn up at the Jury Street Court House for a 2pm start. In The Ballroom, organised by Unlocking Warwick for the Town Council, costs just £2 per person including the refreshments.