The Burlingame Historical Society meeting drew about 75 people to the library last night.  They came to hear local architect and Planning Commissioner Richard Terrones talk about the history and characteristics of the Art Deco style.  Richard delivered a solid hour on the origins of the style punctuated with a zillion photos of buildings' exteriors and interiors, posters, furniture and planes, trains and automobiles!  I found the differentiation between "Hard Deco" and "Soft Deco" particularly enlightening.

As always the Burlingame-specific examples drew a lot of interest.  The Wells Fargo building on the Avenue, Sterling Cleaners, Adeline Market, and early views of Washington School got the crowd fired up about Moderne.  Using his professional knowledge, Richard took Q&A on a variety of related topics like the current "Dwell" movement, Eichlers, the old Post Office and Deco buildings elsewhere in the Bay Area.  If you aren't a member of the Historical Society, getting the newsletter and attending the quarterly meetings, you are missing out.