Art Deco Lens


I’ve moved and am now housesitting just outside of Lens in northeastern France.



The city was occupied by the Germans during World War I. With 90% of its buildings destroyed, it undertook a massive reconstruction during the 1920s.



The cause is tragic, but the result is magical as the downtown centre is filled with lovely art deco buildings with touches of romantic seaside architecture.



There is brightly-coloured stucco, mosaics, two-story bow windows, fancy brickwork, and roofs à pas de moineaux [sparrow steps], which go up step by tiny step.



One of my favorites is labelled Ville de Limoges and has the most wonderful strips of floral mosaic.



The train station is designed in the shape of a locomotive with murals inside honouring the region’s coal miners.


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