St. Charles Municipal Building

2 E. Main Street, St. Charles, IL 60174

Architecture

The St. Charles Municipal Building was designed in 1940 by architects R. Harold Zook. Art deco was an inspiration for the Municipal Building, but the end result conformed more closely to the Moderne movement.

Favored motifs are faceted surfaces, zigzags, chevron patterns, and octagon shapes. The Municipal Building has all these elements. The St. Charles Municipal Building is truly a Modern building which promotes this striking style through its maintained high degree of architectural integrity. The distinction of being classified as Modern instead of Art-Deco lies in the fact that the Municipal Building is an example of the phase of design after 1930 in which buildings were drastically stripped of surface ornaments and windows were grouped in bands.

White Georgia Marble with a black granite base provides an exterior appearance for the Municipal Building which, in its geometric forms, shows a conscious modernity and artistic expression to compliment the machine age.

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