Itinerary: Art Deco

Art Deco is a nickname for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Moderns. That exposition, held in Paris in 1925, had widespread influence on design in Western Europe and the United States.

Art Deco’s clean lines, streamlined shapes and stylized figures--often rendered in expensive materials--symbolized 20th century wealth and sophistication. The term has become an umbrella for all sorts of design done in the 1920s and 1930s, but a stickler for detail would insist that there’s no such thing as Art Deco architecture. Art Deco is simply the style of ornament on the facade or the interior.

Los Angeles was booming just as Art Deco became the style--from the mid-1920s until the start of World War II--so the city is brimming with fantastic examples, from downtown to the Miracle Mile to the Sunset Strip.

Thursday

It’s not open to the public, but the Bullocks-Wilshire building (3050 Wilshire Blvd., [213] 738-8240) is always worth a drive-by. The store opened in 1929 and closed in 1993 after its wealthy customers had moved out of the neighborhood. After a $10-million restoration, the building reopened as the Southwestern University Law Library in 1997. Tours are available when classes are not in session; the next tours will be on April 7. The American String Quartet also will give a concert of Mozart music there on April 18 ($36. [310] 954-4300).

Friday

Art Deco styles were particularly popular in theaters, such as the 1931 Wiltern Theatre (3790 Wilshire Blvd., [213] 380-5005), where the narrow windows and tower give the impression of a building much taller than its 12 stories. There are no concerts at the Wiltern this weekend, but at the 1928 El Rey Theatre (5515 Wilshire Blvd., [323] 936-6400) there’s a show Friday by singer-songwriter and guitar hero Richard Thompson.

Another lasting Deco palace is the Warner Grand Theatre (478 W. 6th St., San Pedro, [310] 548-7672). Built in 1931, the theater was purchased by the city in 1995 and spruced up. It now shows classic films on the 30-by-50-foot screen. On Friday, “The Last Hurrah” (1958), about a mayor fighting corruption to get reelected, starring Spencer Tracy, screens at 6 and 8 p.m.

Saturday

Take your pick of Art Deco walking tours. In downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Conservancy leads its weekly Art Deco tour starting at 10 a.m. ($8. Reservations required. [213] 623-CITY). The two-hour tour goes in and around 11 of the area’s most impressive buildings, including the Oviatt Building (617 S. Olive St.) and the stunning Eastern Columbia Building (849 S. Broadway).

The Art Deco Society sets off on its monthly tour of the Miracle Mile at 10 a.m. ($10. Reservations required. [310] 659-3326). That area, along Wilshire Boulevard west of La Brea Avenue, has a great concentration of Art Deco-style buildings because it was being developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Sunday

To see the non-architecture side of Art Deco, visit Modern Times--the 20th Century Design Show and Sale of Greater Los Angeles at the Glendale Civic Auditorium (1401 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale. $6. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. [310] 455-2894). About 100 exhibitors sell collectibles from the 1900s to the 1960s.

Relax with a drink or meal at fenix, the restaurant-bar at the Argyle Hotel (8358 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. [323] 654-7100), one of the only Art Deco landmarks on the Sunset Strip. To avoid the onslaught of clubbers, go early.