The exciting new architectural style, which took design elements from automobiles, ocean liners, trains, planes, and even zeppelins, was suddenly de rigueur for filling stations, auto dealerships, bus depots, motels, and cocktail lounges – remember, Prohibition ended in 1933 – but it was never very popular for residential buildings. For every ten thousand commercial structures which were built during the heyday of Streamline Moderne, only one or two residential structures were built. People tend to be conservative when it comes to home-sweet-home.

Only a few Streamline Moderne houses were ever built, and few of those remain today, nestled in odd pockets. San Diego has only half-a-dozen Streamline Moderne houses, while its suburb to the south, National City, happens to have three times that many.

This copiously illustrated handbook (more than 80 photographs), the first in the Style Primer Series for prentice historic preservationists, recounts the history of Streamline Moderne and its relationship to industrial design; details how to identify Streamline Moderne structures; explains how to conduct an architectural survey; and describes how to nominate a building to the National Historic Register. It includes a survey of Streamline Moderne houses in National City. It also includes discussions of the various aspects of the expressed style and links to well-written National Historic Register Nominations to use as models.