Cheney-Delaney Residence (Long Beach, California)

 house, landmark, place with historical importance, Art Deco (architecture)

2642 Chestnut Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90806

Constructed in 1937, this high quality example of Streamline Moderne architecture exemplifies many typical features of the style, plus many fine, customized details. It is an asymmetrical single-story house, with two bedrooms and a den. The forms are unified by a projecting horizontal cornice below the roofline. This horizontality is repeated in three lines above the cornice, in the unified horizontal window bands and with horizontal lines on panels between the windows. The exterior has curving corners at the living room and entry canopy. The corners have wrap-around windows and a curving window bay. The entry canopy is supported by a slender metal cylinder. Behind a modern screen door, the original door has a chevron design, and original period hardware. Adjacent is a round porthole window, divided into four parts, made of yellow opaque glass. The kitchen window projects in a shallow bay, articulated underneath with geometric steps. The rear door is sheltered by a curved canopy. The seafoam green exterior color may be original.

The interior contains many unique design features in the Streamline style that demonstrate fine customized craftsmanship. The entry hall is defined with a curved wall and a stepped pyramid arch. The stepped pattern is carried throughout the house, from the moldings to the living room ceiling where built-in lights are located. The kitchen contains curved corners and some period hardware. The den is paneled in blond wood, and unusual wood panels over the windows with the stepped pyramid pattern contain recessed lighting. Except for the flagstone fireplace and wall moldings in the dining room, the interior appears to be totally intact and unaltered.

The house is significant architecturally, as a very fine example of Streamline Moderne architecture, popular in the `thirties. The style represents a fascination with modernity, and utilizes forms from abstract cubist art: the cube and the cylinder (or cylinder segment). Forms are integrated into a unified whole, with windows flowing around walls and different elements united by continuous horizontal lines. The repetition of horizontal lines and curving shapes indicate an interest in "streamlining" and the imagery of speed.

Streamline Moderne architecture is relatively rare in Long Beach, compared with the prevalence of California Bungalows, Spanish Colonial Revival and other period revival styles.

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