Art Deco Architecture in Peterborough, Ontario – Interwar Design

Peterborough, Ontario features a modest but significant collection of Art Deco architecture, reflecting the city’s growth and modernization during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s. As industry, transportation, and civic institutions expanded, new buildings adopted the streamlined forms and geometric ornamentation of Art Deco, expressing confidence, progress, and efficiency.

Art Deco architecture in Peterborough is most commonly found in civic, institutional, and commercial buildings, where the style’s emphasis on clarity, symmetry, and verticality suited public and professional uses. Typical characteristics include flat roofs, strong vertical elements, stepped massing, and subtle decorative details such as linear reliefs, stylized lettering, and geometric stone or brick patterns. Ornamentation is generally restrained, integrated into façades and entrances rather than applied in a highly decorative manner.

Local materials such as brick, limestone, and concrete were widely used, giving Peterborough’s Art Deco buildings a solid, enduring presence that aligns with the city’s broader architectural character. Compared to the bold Art Deco expressions found in major metropolitan centres, Peterborough’s examples represent a practical and civic-focused interpretation of the style, adapted to local scale and economic realities.

These buildings form an important transitional layer in Peterborough’s architectural history, bridging earlier historic styles and the functional modernism that emerged following the Second World War. Today, Art Deco architecture contributes quietly to the city’s streetscape, offering insight into a period defined by modernization, optimism, and thoughtful design.

Exploring Art Deco architecture in Peterborough reveals how international design movements were translated into locally meaningful architecture — dignified, purposeful, and enduring.