Manhattan Skyscrapers - Hardcover

Nash, Eric P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1568985452 ISBN 13: 9781568985459

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005

Synopsis

New York City is a lot of things, but most of all it's a city of skyscrapers. From the cake-icing Gothic detailing of the Woolworth Building to the shimmering Art Deco of the Chrysler Building, tall buildings make Manhattan the ideal image of a city. Manhattan Skyscrapers was the first book to document the highs and highers of the Big Apple’s search for the sky. With its authoritative text by New York Times contributor Eric Nash, newly commissioned photos by Norman McGrath, and archival images of the city, the book became the reference work on the skyline.

The city skyline changed dramatically on September 11, 2001, when its southern anchors, the World Trade Center towers, were attacked and destroyed. While mourning their loss, the city has continued to carry on its tradition of building. The new structures that have arrived—the green skyscraper of the Condé Nast Building, The Donald's soaring residential Trump World Tower, the hopeful Freedom Tower planned for Ground Zero—prove that the New York attitude still thrives. This new edition of Manhattan Skyscrapers covers ten new buildings including the glittering new LVMH tower and represents seventy-five historical structures, with such recent renovations as Louis Sullivan's Bayard-Condit Building. A new introduction by Skyscraper Museum Director Carol Willis adds insight into the city in the 21st century. This book is a must for both the serious student of architecture and the casual collector of all things New York.

About this title

Review

Whether or not New York City, in all its teeming chaos, strikes readers as exciting or abominating, its superb urban architecture is undeniable. Life in the Big Apple is so fast-paced that most of the time the buildings that fill the island go unnoticed. Manhattan Skyscrapers offers the chance to leisurely peruse the stunning skyline, one building at a time, by compiling 75 of the most noteworthy towers in Manhattan (and one in Brooklyn). Spanning about a 100-year history and organized in chronological order, the book treats each skyscraper to its own section replete with photographs, commentary, and history. And the shifting architectural styles are fascinating to see in one volume. These tall buildings can appear intimidating, dwarfing the people who live in their midst, but this book offers readers an intimacy with these immense structures. There are details here that readers could easily miss in person; for instance, built into the lobby of the gothic-style Woolworth Building of 1913 are gargoyles depicting F.W. Woolworth counting his fortune and the builder in a monk's hood. The photographs are beautiful, with clear perspectives that seem almost impossible to get on the crowded streets of New York. --J.P. Cohen

About the Author

Eric P. Nash has been a researcher and writer for the New York Times since 1986. He is the author of several books about architecture and design, including New York's 50 Best Skyscrapers , The Destruction of Penn Station , and SoHo . He lives in a Gothic-s

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1568985452
• ISBN 13: 9781568985459
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 197