In America, we have the Beaux Arts style, from the late 19th c. till the mid-1920’s when Art Deco took over. In Europe they had Art Nouveau, and it was WWI that put a complete stop to that style. Since in many ways, WWII was a continuation of the first war, the massive building in Europe doesn’t happen until the 1950’s, so Art Deco isn’t all that common there.
Like Art Deco, Art Nouveau is much more than architecture, but that is what I am focusing on here.
Cafe La Terrasse in Chamonix is a wonderful example of Art Nouveau. Just like Beaux Arts, the buildings don’t look alike at all, they simply share similar philosophies. In reaction to modernization and mass production – Art Nouveau looks like something that was painstakingly made by hand. Anything but a sharp edge or a straight line.
It takes some sophisticated machinery to acheive this ‘natural’ look. It also takes a lot of design, man power and engineering to get the curved columns and the oval windows. I do agree that there is something very pleasing to the eye to have these rounded shapes and wonderful naturlistic vines.
Not sure about a whole block of buildings that look like this, I’m happy that they stand out in a crowd. I do love all the details, even that dusty rose pink color. 
Look how simple the adjoining building looks by comparrison. Although as I look at the windows, I see detail and planning that would be non-existant today. I didn’t go inside, I did look online, the exterior is the star, not the interior.
We went to Montreux in Switzerland, where I was happy to see many examples of Art Nouveau. See the contrast between the elaborate building in the background and the sparse apartment building in front of it. Art Nouveau is New Art in French. The ‘newest’ style is always, new, or modern or some other catch phrase. Sometimes, the New actually sticks, long after we see it as old and vintage.
The best way to describe Art Nouveau would be: overly ornamented. It also means that it was beig built at a time of prosperity. A time when people expected each building to be it’s own masterpiece that would survive forever. Another concept that died in two world wars. No matter how tall and imposing our buildings are today – they don’t have the artistic details. As if we know that very few of them will be worth preserving for centuries.
Extensive iron and glass awnings are wonderful areas for extensive designs.
How about this tower? Why can’t we have more towers! 
As we exited the train station, this is what I saw to my right, wedding cake kitsch in all its’ glory! I’ve looked online for information but found none. What is clear is that at some point two more stories were added. When I don’t know but talk about disrupting a building! If this addition saved it from being demolished, it was worth while, but still…..
I guess it’s an office building, there is a sign that something is available for rent.
There is another funky building between this and the train tracks, but still if these are apartments, the funkiness of the building may make it worthwhile.
Clearly, someone thought it was worth it to add to stories of blah above this magnificence. 
I really didn’t get enough details! But no one wanted to stand there with me while I tried to photograph from every angle.
Gold mosaic is a big part of Art Nouveau, there will be a seperate post on mosaics. I’m also loving this dragon or serpaint crawling along the marble.
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Leah