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Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925, the Ile’s Ocean-Going Perfection:
interiors marked the beginning of Art Deco on the high seas. It was the The Extraordinary Normandie
new modern and the immediate standard of ocean liner decor and style.
The new design style could also be seen in office buildings, hotels, France’s Normandie was the most glamorous and superbly decorated
railway terminals, movie theaters, and department stores. The designers Atlantic superliner. Its exceptional $60 million cost ($1.2 billion in
of the Ile de France introduced the sleek new age of angular furniture, 2021 dollars), heavily underwritten by the French government, also
sweeping columns and panels, inventive and indirect lighting, and a made it the most costly liner of its time. It was planned as the largest,
great sense of spaciousness that all but eliminated the heavy clutter of fastest, and grandest ship, but also as a showcase for “the genius of
prior ocean liners. The first class bar was the largest afloat and the main France,” according to the French Line’s publicity department. The ship
restaurant, compared to a modern Greek temple, rose three decks in was a floating ambassador, a grand flag-waver, but also a floating hotel
height. It had a grand staircase as a main entrance, another feature that and even a floating museum.
became a French Line trademark. The main foyer rose three decks high,
and the chapel was designed in a Gothic-inspired style with fourteen
pillars. Indeed, a floating city, the 1,786-passenger Ile also had a
shooting gallery, merry-go-round, and a fully equipped gymnasium.
“From the beginning of her days, the Ile always had a great
reputation,” recalled the late Lewis Gordon, a veteran of over 100
Atlantic crossings. “She was said to be the happiest and cheeriest way to
cross the Atlantic. And, of course, she had great glamour. More
celebrities—royalty, politicians, and especially Hollywood stars—
preferred her. The Ile always, always had a distinct tone of chic, that
very special French chic, about her!”

Dual Purpose:
An Empress of the Seas

The North Atlantic
run to Eastern Canada
warranted many more
small and medium-sized
passenger ships than the The main dining room aboard the Normandie
route to New York, but The very finest designers and decorators in France would contribute
only one super liner: to this maritime tour de force. However, Vladimir Yourkevitch, a
the Empress of Britain former designer of Imperial Russian battleships, was placed in charge of
of Canadian Pacific the project, creating the advanced overall design and exterior. The
Steamships, which was Normandie was exceptional in every way: the first liner to exceed
commissioned in 1931. 75,000 tons and the first to surpass one thousand feet in length. Names
Capped by three oversized such as Neptune, General Pershing, Le Belle France, Napoleon, Jeanne
funnels and with an all- d’Arc, and even Maurice Chevalier were suggested before Normandie
white hull, it was the was finally selected. Launched at Saint-Nazaire in western France in
grandest, largest, and October 1932, the ship already had experienced a tragic event: one
fastest liner ever to sail on hundred workmen were swept into the Loire at launching.
the Canadian route With its construction halted for a time due to the Great Depression,
between Southampton it was finally completed and entered service between Le Havre,
and Quebec City. In Southampton, and New York in May 1935. The maiden voyage broke
winter, the ship served all transatlantic records: thirty-two knots at full speed and with a pas-
an alternate purpose: sage of four days and three hours.
four-month-long, luxury On board, the Normandie was beyond impressive and certainly
cruises around the world. wondrous. The ship was an Art Deco paradise, a floating fantasyland of
The Empress also had 1930s decor. The main restaurant, decorated in bronze, hammered
superb accommodations: glass, and Lalique fixtures, was longer than the Hall of Mirrors at
columned lounges, a
An evocative Empress of Britain poster
Grecian-inspired main
lounge, luxurious suites and staterooms, and the very first large tennis
court on its top decks. The ceiling of one of its many bars depicted the
history of the cocktail while the Cathay Lounge was designed in
Chinoise Moderne, or what we might now call “Shanghai Deco.”

On the Sunny Southern Route:
Italy’s Rivieras Afloat

Mussolini and his Fascist ministers wanted their share of the ocean
liner business and created two superliners, the Rex and the Conte di
Savoia, in 1932. They were both Art Deco super ships of the early
1930s and together would offer the first big ship service on the
Mid-Atlantic, to and from Mediterranean ports (Naples, Genoa,
Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Gibraltar).
Both the Rex and the Conte di Savoia had lavish lounges, superb
dining, and the first outdoor pools aboard superliners. With striped
umbrellas and real sand covering the decks, this outdoor pool area was
called the “Lido Deck.” This novelty deck and the ships themselves The tiled, lighted indoor pool aboard the Normandie
were often described as the Rivieras afloat. measured almost 100 feet in length

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