Smiley’s demolition meant the city had one less example of a relatively rare architectural style in Denver: Art Deco, a distinct and often ornamental style. It’s shorthand for Arts Décoratifs, according to Steve Turner, director of the Historic Preservation program at the University of Colorado Denver and formerly the state’s preservation officer. “To describe Art Deco to the average person, I would say, think of the buildings you saw in the Superman or Batman cartoons growing up,” Turner said. “So it’s really a style that is contemporary with that period of time when those cartoons are being drawn in the ’20s and ’30s.”
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