Yan Sun Art Museum's building is a typical Art Deco style building. It is on the National Register of Historic Places of America.

The former Ohio Power Company building, which is located at 604 Main St. of downtown Zanesville, is a typical Art Deco style building and is on the National Register of Historic Places of America. It features many general characteristics of Art Deco. For instance, the building has an upward feeling; vertical lines; as well as combination of modern, geometric patterns and graceful, flowing shapes. It is the "finest example, indeed one of only three examples of Art Deco architecture in the city" and "the interior treatment using the smooth, shiny surface of the locally produced tile is another characteristic of the Art Deco mode found in this structure." (Ohio Historic Places Dictionary, p. 1105.)

On July 26th, 1930, this beautiful Art Deco building had its Official Opening Day. We are so proud to add new life into this landmark architecture through exhibiting wonderful artworks by many artists, making it a gathering location of artists, art lovers, and art collectors. The architecture design was by Vernon Redding and Associates Architects. The marvelous tile art on the wall and floor was designed and manufactured by The Mosaic Tile Co. And the beautiful face brick was made by Hydraulic-Press Brick Co.

Art Deco style became a major style of architecture and related fields such as furniture, design, and fine art from the 1920’s to 1930’s in numerous American cities, including New York (Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, and Radio City Music Hall), Chicago (Carbide & Carbon Building, Century Tower, and Civic Opera House), Los Angeles (Bullocks Wilshire, Eastern Columbia Building, and Garfield Building), and Detroit (David Stott Building, Fox Theatre, and Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts). It also appeared in cities of Ohio such as Cincinnati, Columbus (The LeVeque Tower), Cleveland, Akron, Dayton, and Zanesville (Ohio Power Company). These Art Deco buildings became landmarks in their respective cities. The origin of Art Deco was the 1925 L'Exposition Internationale des Artes Decoratifs et Industriels Moderne in Paris.

Read More Featured Articles