Art Deco architecture along the English Channel
 

Most of the towns along the northern coastline of France were destroyed during WW2, but there is at least one notable exception -- the town of Mers-les-Bains in Picardy, which displays one of the most amazing collections of Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings in France this side of Nancy.

I went to check it out the other day and I was absolutely not disappointed. Although it was perhaps not the best time of year to admire the town, I still found it amazing. For anybody driving around this part of France, I heartily recommend it. If you also want to have a delightful meal of local seafood, the best restaurants are in Le Tréport only 3 kilometres away.

Here is the photo report that I made: http://tinyurl.com/picardyartdeco

Another great post from you, kerouac. Thanks so much!

The first pictures, including the Villa Parisienne, looked more like Art Nouveau than Art Deco.

Delightful report, the buildings stand out even on a dull, gray day.

Thanks so much!

magnificent as usual!

A lot of people don't know what Art Deco is, they use that term for Art Nouveau for some reason I have never figured out, as the styles aren't similar. But kerouac uses both so I think knows they are different. There isn't very much Art Deco artchitecture in France that I've ever seen, although there is a little in Paris (like the Rex theater or the Palais de Chaillot). New York and Chicago have Art Deco architecture.

but that report is really interesting, although I didn't see any Art Deco myself. Maybe some of those houses that were more modern could be called that.

Thanks, although another style mentioned about the houses in that town is "Napoleon III."

Again a visual revelation from the intrepid Kerouac. Visiting as an ignorant outsider I was surprised to see chalk cliffs matching their counterparts on the English side of the channel. Unfortunately my friend and guide had been an intelligence officer with the Resistance in WW2 and was only interested in pointing out machine gun emplacements, not architecture. Thanks for showing an under-appreciated area, Kerouac.

A few kilometers in the other direction from Dieppe, built at the same time:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...57624436592493

and the next half-dozen pictures.

Good writing and pictures. Thanks!

Michael,

Interesting. Love the house, it would be termed Arts and Craft in the UK.

I always jump when I see your name, Kerouac, and this was a super example of your photo adventures writ large for all of us to absorb.
Amazing photos, about a town I'd never even heard of.
Remind me a bit of that street in Antwerp, with the funny name, Cogyls - Osy-lei, or something close to that. Although the Antwerp street houses are fancier.

<i>it would be termed Arts and Craft in the UK.</i>

It was built by a British architect.

Christina .

If you like Art Deco, check out rue Mallet-Stevens in the 16th arrondissement.

Remind me a bit of that street in Antwerp, with the funny name, Cogyls - Osy-lei, or something close to that. Although the Antwerp street houses are fancier.>

Much muhc MUCH fancier - extant from a time when Antwerp was one of the world's richest and most important cities due to its port!

https://www.google.com/search?q=coge...=1600&bih=1075

kerouac, Thanks so much for this. We have a trip coming up that ends in Wimereaux and I was beginning to worry a bit that the 3 days I've planned there might be a bit much. You've given us a whole day's worth of stuff to explore. Now I'm getting excited. This will be fun. Appreciate your good work as always.

Well, if you're looking for places to visit, I guess I should add my report about Saint Valery-sur-Somme, just a few kilometres away: http://tinyurl.com/valerysomme

Oh, how did you know I was holding my bowl up for "more pudding?" Thanks for so generously obliging. The travel card is filling up, thanks to you. Thanks very much. And I'm sure my fellow travelers will be equally thankful.

There is quite a lot of Art Deco architecture along the Southeast Coast of England as well, so they share more than white cliffs and weather.

Luckily, the British coast was not bombed by the British and the Americans! ;-)