101-103 S Grove Avenue, Elgin, Il 60120
Designed by Albert Fehlow, the Salvation Army building was built in 1930 in a delightful ZigZag Moderne Art Deco style. The Salvation Army used a trendy, modern architectural style to show the organization looking to the future. Although two stories, the building’s main three- and 11-bay principal facades can read as a single design element since there is no strong horizontal feature dividing the first from the upper floor, expected in this Art Deco style known for soaring vertical elements. Built as the Citadel for the Salvation Army (till 1972), now home to Senior Services Associates, this building is an exceptional example of Art Deco architecture, with an intricate, faceted stone parapet and entry surround. Also, to be highlighted, are the historic metal windows and decorative detailing including faceted pilasters between bays, corner entry designs, vertically fluted spandrel panels between the first and second story windows and chevron motifs and inset triangular panels above the first story windows. Built of crisply cut limestone, this building continues to be featured on Architectural tours as a prime example of Art-Deco as well as One-Part Commercial Block.
Zigzag Moderne: was a movement in the decorative arts and architecture that originated in the 1910s and developed into a major style in Western Europe and the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. It was highly decorative with the facade of zigzag buildings adorned with geometric ornamentation from which it gets its name. It was a distinctly urban style that flourished in large cities where residents embraced forward-thinking modernism and the machine age. The Senior Services Associates building is built of cut limestone and is an exceptional example of Art Deco architecture, with an intricate, faceted stone parapet and entry surround. Be sure to look for the historic metal windows and decorative detailing including faceted pilasters between bays, corner entry designs, vertically fluted spandrel panels between the first and second story windows and chevron motifs and inset triangular panels above the first story windows.