New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age

by Robert A.M. Stern, Thomas Mellins, David Fishman

This is the fourth volume in architect and historian Robert A. M. Stern's monumental series of documentary studies of New York City architecture and urbanism. The three previous books in the series, New York 1900, New York 1930, and New York 1960, have comprehensively covered the architects and urban planners who defined New York over the course of the twentieth century.

In this volume, Stern turns back to 1880 -- the end of the Civil War, the beginning of European modernism -- to trace the earlier history of the city. This dynamic era saw the technological advances and acts of civic and private will that formed the identity of New York City as we know it today. The installation of water, telephone, and electricity infrastructures as well as the advent of electric lighting, the elevator, and mass transit allowed the city to grow both out and up. The office building and apartment house types were envisioned and defined, changing the ways that New Yorkers worked and lived. Such massive public projects as the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park became realities, along with such private efforts as Grand Central Station.

Like the other three volumes, New York 1880 is an in-depth presentation of the buildings and plans that transformed New York from a harbor town into a world-class metropolis. A broad range of primary sources -- critics and writers, architects, planners, city officials -- brings the time period to life and allows the city to tell its own complex story. The book is generously illustrated with over 1,200 archival photographs, which show the city as it was, and as some parts of it still are.

Genres: New York, Architecture, History, Cities

1164 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern, was an American architect.

Stern's work is generally classified as postmodern, though a more useful classification would be a particular emphasis on context and the continuity of traditions. He may have been the first architect to use the term "postmodernism", but more recently he has used the phrase "modern traditionalist" to describe his work.

Credit: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Ramon de Santiago]

This is essentially architectural porn for me. Vintage architectural porn but sexy nonetheless. Awesome photographs and distinct, specific, specialist knowledge of places forever gone in New York. Especially awesome was learning about the quirky "backwoods" people who lived in what is now Morningside Heights and the unique character of architecture along those banks on the river. Who knew Manhattan had waterfalls?

[Heidi]

Very thorough, good pictures, an invaluable resource for anyone researching this era.

[Abby]

My daughter was a research assistant on this book and was credited in the acknowledgements. What can I say?

[Steve Clark]

Awesome book. One of my all time favorites. Beautifully written. Read it!!