Skyscraper : The Search for an American Style 1891-1941 [Hardcover]

Roger Shepherd (Author)

Book Description

Series: An Architectural Record Book | Publication Date: September 25, 2002

This work chronicles the skyscraper's emergence and architectural importance. It chronologically details the ascension of the skyscraper as an artform from 1891. It is broken down into six major time frames each characterized by the tallest building of the time. Subcategories tie the architecture to other themes of the time including materials, visionary architecture, commerce, style and philosophy. The text also examines each building in depth - how its inhabitants feel about its interior space, how they function as public cultural artefacts, how their designers conceived of their projects, and how they see them now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

by Stanley Abercrombie

Although the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center was, among other things, a vivid demonstration of skyscraper vulnerability, both of the two finalists in the competition for rebuilding the site proposed towers taller than those destroyed. Clearly, our fascination with the skyscraper as building form is stronger than logic and more enduring than the skyscraper itself. This new book illuminates that fascination in an unusual way.

"This is not a history of the skyscraper," Roger Shepherd, the book's editor, notes in the preface -- and indeed it leaves unmentioned many important and interesting tall structures -- but it is, in fact, a history of opinions about the skyscraper, being a compilation of criticism on that subject from a half-century of ARCHITECTURAL RECORD. It presents a wealth of clear thinking, good writing, lofty philosophizing, and perhaps unnecessary wringing of hands (a recurrent theme being "the problem" of the skyscraper). The list of authors is impressive, among them Russell Sturgis, Ely Jacques Kahn, Lewis Mumford, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Represented in marginal excerpts are Philip Johnson, Talbot Hamlin, Herbert Read, Douglas Haskell, Le Corbusier, Fiske Kimball, Paul Philippe Cret, Erich Mendelsohn, Ralph Adams Cram, and more. Serving as the book's epilogue is a 1951 article by historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock, "The International Style Twenty Years After." And editor Roger Shepherd, author also of the 2001 Structures of Our Time: 31 Buildings that Changed Modern Life, adds an introduction to each of the nine chronologically ordered sections, and has assembled a collection of vintage photographs. An interesting additional feature is that subtle bands of color key each reprinted article to the building that was tallest in the world at the time the piece was written: the 309-foot World Building from 1890 to 1899, for example, and the 612-foot Singer Tower only from 1908 to 1909.

From this rich pudding of articles and excerpts, each reader will pluck some personal plums. Mine include the following:

Writing in 1896, Montgomery Schuyler, one of the founders of RECORD, suggested a legal height limit of 120 feet, and then three years later, apparently reconciled to greater height, complained that there was "more of conformity and homogeneousness among the 20-story buildings than there used to be among the five-story buildings."

In 1903, Claude Bragdon described Carrere and Hastings's recently completed Blair Building in New York (now destroyed) as "the finest flower which has sprung skyward out of the Beaux Arts hotbed."

In 1915, A.N. Rebori criticized Burnham and Root's Reliance Building in Chicago -- and particularly its structure-concealing skin of white terra-cotta -- as "not an artistic solution of the problem, but only a statement of it."

In 1923, Louis Sullivan complained about the awarding of the second prize, rather than the first, to Eliel Saarinen's entry in the Chicago Tribune Competition. The decision, Sullivan writes, "has deprived the world of a shining mark, denied it a monument to beauty, to faith, to courage and to hope."

And in 1924, Harvey Wiley Corbett called Raymond Hood's new American Radiator Building in New York "a triumph of commercialism" and explained that this was no insult, for "commercialism in its present significance spells gradual freedom and liberty for the average man."

A frustrating thing, however, about this 50-year history is that it comes to an end on the eve of World War II. In the 62 years since then, many more skyscrapers have been built and many more RECORD articles have analyzed them. Let's hope Roger Shepherd is planning a sequel that will bring us up to date. (Architectural Record 20030501)

Excerpts from review by W. B. Maynard, Johns Hopkins University

This welcome book delves into the gold mine of historical information that is Architectural Record and presents the best articles on skyscrapers by the top critics and designers of the day: Montgomery Schuyler, Russell Sturgis, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lewis Mumford. To make these primary documents widely available is a great service. Moreover, Shepherd does it with real flair.

A book designer on the faculty of New York's Parsons School of Design, he brings a unique visual sensibility to bear. Articles fill the center columns; excerpts from other articles run down the margins, as do annotations that explain obscure period references. Shepherd seems intent on generously squeezing the maximum textual content onto each page. And virtually every page is illustrated. For the pictures alone the book would be valuable, because many of these skyscrapers have been demolished. Again generously, quite a few illustrations are in color, including many taken from old postcards. The book celebrates both the early skyscraper and the strengths of Architectural Record itself: eloquent writing and aesthetical design. ... Summing Up: Recommended. (Choice 20030101)

Excerpts from review in Spring 2003 edition
by Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA
Oculus: A publication of the American Institute of
Architects New York Chapter, Volume 65

...fascinating new book...Within the 50-year period, it is astonishing that Roger Shepherd who compiled and annotated the book, was able to uncover such a wealth of skyscraper material...Shepherd uses the ideal word scrapbook -- that is difficult to put down once you've started reading.

...The book's fascinating odds and ends include an examination of trends in design and construction, critical analyses of major buildings, and technological predictions...

Ultimately the book focuses on style and form rather than function and technology....

Browsing through Skyscraper is an edifying and agreeable experience. Perhaps Shepherd will do a follow-up in the year 2016 to mark Architectural Record's 125th Anniversary. (Oculus 20021217)

Excerpts from review

... a collection of the best architectural criticism published in Architectural Record over a half-century.

The 37 pieces, presented in strict chronological order, include contributions by Louis Sulivan, Lewis Mumford, and Frank Lloyd Wright....Footnotes...excerpts...This, along with the copious illustrations, gives the book a multimedia effect... (Planning Magazine )

By Ann La Farge in "Constant Reader" column

...a neat new book...This lavishly illustrated (both color and black-and-white) book explores the meanings, dimensions and resonances of "the tall buildings," chronicling the skyscraper's emergence and importance (in the first half of the 20th century -- or, more exactly, 1891-1941) from the Wainwright Building to Rockefeller Center. As its editor says, "This book...is a compilation of some of the most pungent and effectual criticism written (for Architectural Record)." (Taconic Media )

By Ellen Louer

Skyscraper is the latest volume in the AR series. It explores the development of the American skyscraper through annotated extracts from the first 50 years of the magazine, and looks at how these structures functioned in the eyes of the public, the context against which they were conceived, how their designers originally envisioned each project, and other fascinating bits of history. By blending vintage articles and photographs with current criticism and images, it offers a fascinating analysis of an iconic building form.

According to Shepherd, "This book is not a history of the skyscraper. It is a look at how criticism works. It’s a compilation of some of the most pungent and effectual criticism written for one of the most influential architectural magazines ever published." Given the recent debates and new concerns about tall buildings in this post-9/11 world, it’s more important than ever to look back at the conflicts and criticism that helped shape some of our nation’s greatest skyscrapers.

Both Skyscraper and Structures of Our Time would be welcome additions to the bookshelf of any architect and architecture enthusiast. (ArchNewsNow )

From the Back Cover

FOLLOW THE CRITICAL HISTORY OF THE MODERN SKYSCRAPER AS AN ART FORM

Designed and produced under the direction of Architectural Record, this stirring study follows the development of the American skyscraper from 1891 to 1941.

Divided into nine periods, each characterized by the tallest building at the time, the author examines the correlation between the structures and critical attitudes towards materials, technology, commerce, style, philosophy, and the education of the architect.

Utilizing original articles from Architectural Record accompanied by current commentary, Skyscraper looks at how these structures function in the eyes of the public, the context against which they were conceived, how their designers originally envisioned each project, and other fascinating bits of history.

With influential vintage articles by Montgomery Schuyler, Russell Sturgis, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lewis Mumford, and others, hundreds of illuminating period photos, and thoroughly informative annotations, Skyscraper provides an intimate inside look at an important moment in modern cultural history.

DELVE INTO THE EXCITING HISTORY OF:
* The Metropolitan Life Building
* The Flatiron Building
* The Chicago Tribune Building
* Rockefeller Center
* The Empire State Building
* And others

FROM THE BACK AND FRONT FLAPS

“Beauty or beast, the skyscraper is a major force with a strong magnetic field. It draws into its physical being all the factors that propel and characterize modern civilization.” — Ada Louise Huxtable, in The Tall Building Artistically Reconsidered

More than a building type, the skyscraper stands as both emblem and artifact. Pointing to the sky, it represents the achievements of a culture, while reflecting the values of its creators and occupants.

This exceptional consideration of the skyscraper explores the meanings, dimensions, and resonances of these notable structures — literally the highest achievements of our civilization. Featuring both historical and current commentary, Skyscraper offers a unique opportunity to see the tall building through the eyes of critics contemporary to their creation, as well as to evaluate its impact, influence, and development during the century-plus of its existence.

No publication has chronicled the skyscraper’s emergence and architectural importance the way Architectural Record has. With AR articles from Montgomery Schuyler, Russell Sturgis, Lewis Mumford, Frank Lloyd Wright, and other important critics and commentators, Skyscraper:
* Chronicles the ascension of the modern skyscraper during its first half-century
* Examines buildings considered by AR’s writers as most significant, from the Wainwright Building to Rockefeller Center
* Defines eras of importance in skyscraper development
* Offers a beautiful graphical resource of historical images, designed and produced under the direction of Architectural Record
* Examines each building, with attention to ideas of the time, designer’s original conceptions and later reflections; occupants’ reactions; public views; and cultural impact

A search for meaning as much as well as a record of events and creations, Skyscraper, like its namesake, reaches for lofty goals. As noted artist/author Roger Shepherd writes in his Introduction: “This book is not a history of the skyscraper. It is a look at how criticism works. It’s a compilation of some of the most pungent and effectual criticism written for one of the most influential architectural magazines ever published.”

Skyscraper is, in short, a rich mine of architectural gold, rewarding to the digger or casual browser, the professional or the architectural aficionado. Read it and enjoy. (20030501)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (September 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071369708
• ISBN-13: 978-0071369701
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,089,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)