Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865-1913

Cumberland, Rhode Island, U.S.A.: Yale Univ Pr. New. 1996. Hardcover. 0300064446 .*** FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request *** – – *** IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT - FLAWLESS COPY, BRAND NEW, PRISTINE, NEVER OPENED - 496 pp; 206 black and white illus. , 8 1/2 x 11 -- Winner of the 1997 American Institute of Architects International Architecture Book Award; Winner of a 1997 American Institute of Architects International Architecture Book Award in the category of history; Winner of The Victorian Society in America’s 1996 Ruth Emery Book Award * "No one who cares about the history of the skyscraper, its function, its technology, its form, and its symbolism can overlook this book. "--Robert A. M. Stern * "A definitive history of the rise of skyscraper architecture in the place where it really started. "--Adolf K. Placzek, Avery Librarian Emeritus * The invention of the New York skyscraper is one of the most fascinating developments in the history of architecture. From the seven-and-a-half-story Equitable Life Assurance Society Building, the first business building to realize the possibilities of the elevator, to the world-famous Woolworth Building, hailed after its completion in 1913 as the "Cathedral of Commerce, " New York City’s early tall buildings transformed the appearance of the city and played a critically important role in the evolution of this "made-in-America" building type. * This authoritative book chronicles the history of New York’s first skyscrapers, challenging conventional wisdom that it was in Chicago and not in New York that the skyscraper was born. Two experts--an architectural historian and a historian of technology--draw on rich and diverse contemporary sources in order to provide in-depth coverage of developments in commerce, land use, technology, design, and zoning law as they related to the New York skyscraper. Landau and Condit investigate the key role of engineers in skyscraper construction; the evolution of the metal frame, fireproofing technology, and elevator transport; and the relation of form and style features to site conditions and building code provisions. They discuss the architectural and engineering history of specific buildings: the monumental high-rises of the first half of the 1890s, which were expressions of corporate power and authority; the buildings constructed on speculation by anonymous real estate interests in the second half of the 1890s; the major works of the first decade of the twentieth century (among them the Times and West Street buildings); and such culminating works as the Singer Building, Metropolitan Life tower, and Bankers Trust Building. Throughout they report on the public’s (often scathing) response to these great buildings looming in their midst. -- AUTHOR: Sarah Bradford Landau is a professor of art history at New York University and vice chairman of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Her books and articles have focused on the work of nineteenth-century New York architects. Carl W. Condit is professor emeritus of art history and history at Northwestern University and author of numerous books on Chicago and New York architecture and transportation systems. -- with a bonus offer-- .