Review of Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865-1913 by Sarah Bradford Landau and Carl W. Condit.

Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865–1913 by Sarah Bradford Landau; Carl W. Condit Review by: William D. Moore New York History, Vol. 77, No. 4 (OCTOBER 1996), pp. 459-460 Published by: New York State Historical Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23182557 . Accessed: 24/09/2014 15:49 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . New York State Historical Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to New York History. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:49:49 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Book Rise of the New York Skyscraper, Haven Carl W. Condit. (New and Rex'iews 1865-1913. Landau By Sarah Bradford 1996. Yale University Press, & London: Pp. xvi, 478. $50.00.) Reviewed by William York, New York. D. Moore, Director, Masonic Livingston Library, New The American urban landscape was transformed radically in the years between the Civil War and the firstWorld War. While social, economic, and technological forces altered the shape of cities across the country, these were dynamics concentrated particularly the island upon of Man hattan. The centralization of business activity,convergence of capital, and concentration of population which occurred in New York City during this period led to the development of towering multi-story edifices. Rise of theNewYorkSkyscraper, 1865-1913, by Sarah Bradford Landau and Carl W. Condit, is both a technological history of the development of this ar chitectural form and a detailed catalogue of the individual examples built in Manhattan. The authors have attempted to provide a holistic approach to their sub ject by combining both the art and the science of architecture. The me chanical systems which made these buildings possible are explicated mi nutely. Plumbing, heating, framing, lighting,ventilation and elevators are all examined while the architects' individual aesthetic goals and accom also plishments The public are evaluated. reception also of skyscrapers forms one of the authors' con tinuing themes. Throughout the period of this study,New Yorkers partici pated in an ongoing increased as income the Western monumental sumer dialogue through Union structures confidence. concerning higher Telegraph while Company and to symbolize Simultaneously, skyscrapers. buildings, corporate civic Developers corporate F. W. strength groups and giants, Woolworth, and inspire governmental sought such built con agen cies, like the Municipal Art Society and the Department of Buildings, sought to control good." The the height constantly and appearance changing legal of skyscrapers compromises reached for the "public by the often conflicting interests within the city,as outlined by the authors, provides a useful framework for understanding built forms. The text throughout the volume is admirably thorough and well-re searched, drawing heavily upon the contemporary periodical press of the engineering and architecturaltrades. The extensive bibliography will prove valuable to researchers, while a wealth of period photographs, floor-plans, renderings and construction details are integrated into the text and add immeasurably to the work as a whole. Words and images together form an inspiring documentation of the achievements of New York's architec This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:49:49 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NEW YORK HISTORY turai, financial, and engineering communities surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. If the volume has a shortcoming, it is that, although focused on one of the world's most influential urban centers, in the final analysis this work is a local history and verges, at times, on the antiquarian. While it can be argued that each of these buildings deserves meticulous attention, the reader may wonder how many individuals outside of the metropolitan area are truly interested in the number of water-closets located in the basement of architect Post's George New York Cotton The Exchange. authors provide a surfeit of this type of detail while failing to tie their subject matter adequately to the larger historical discourse. The text, for example, does not address the cultural and psychological impact that oc cupying these buildings had upon their inhabitants, nor does it discuss the ramifications of New York's high-rise architecture for the rest of country. Landau and Condit do an exemplary job of explaining how and when New York's skyscrapers were built. They are not as effective in explaining why these structures are historically significant. Jewish Farmers of the Catskills: A Century of Survival. By Abraham D. Lavender and Clarence B. Steinberg. (Gainesville, Fla.: University Press of Florida, 1995. Pp. xiv, 271. $39.95.) Reviewed Abraham and Lavender personal dents, and Clarence of American altering people. newsletters, and history thereby an urban Kent State University, McCombs, by Douglas the common the use Through many other have Steinberg Jews crafted as farmers and that Jews perception of oral histories, Jewish sources, Kent, Ohio. Farmers an small have interesting town been agricultural resi mainly society of the Catskills de tails the perseverance, determination and community effortsof Jews who moved to the Catskill region of New York to pursue their livelihoods in farming. According to Lavender and Steinberg, Jews, historically, have had a strong during connection the middle ages to agriculture when many even were though forced that link was to become severed more urban ized. By the 1880s, however, several attempts were made to reestablish Jews in agriculture. The Am Olam movement, for example, encouraged Russian Jews to settle on communal farms in the United States, and by the 1890s number the German of organized, benefactor, agricultural Baron Maurice communes de Hirsch, for Jewish funded immigrants a in both North and South America. In this particular book, the authors have decided to look more closely at an extensive Jewish rural community that This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:49:49 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions