New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age (Hardcover)

by Robert A. M. Stern (Author), Thomas Mellins (Author), David Fishman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Following New York 1900, New York 1930, and New York 1960, this is the fourth in a projected series of five volumes (New York 2000 is still to be written) chronicling the architecture and urbanism of New York City. Produced in the consistently comprehensive and extensively illustrated format, New York 1880 documents the years from 1865 to 1890, an era commonly known as the Gilded Age. At that time, New York City began growing up (thanks to Elisha Otis's hydraulic elevator) and out (as the first segment of the city's network of elevated trains was completed in 1878 and the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883). While this book is too prodigious for occasional readers, libraries that had success with previous volumes will want to add it to their collections.
-Jay Schafer, Bay Path Coll. Lib., Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
New York 1880 captures the complexity of architecture as design response. It is too bad it is not better literature, but it is difficult to imagine a better reference work in urban architectural history. -- The New York Times Book Review, James F. O'Gorman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1164 pages
• Publisher: Monacelli; First Edition/First Printing edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580930271
• ISBN-13: 978-1580930277
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,138 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful fabulous work of scholarship on New York City, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

While it is too heavy to lug around, NY 1880 is an eye popping journey into New York of 120 or so years ago. There are over 1,200 photographs and 99 pages of footnotes. Anyone interested in seeing what this wonderful city was like a generation before the First World War is strongly urged to grab this book. So much of what this book is about is no longer standing - churches, synagogues, clubs, apartments, etc.

Buy it!! This is the best of the 4 books in the series (NY 1880, NY 1900, NY 1930 and NY 1960) with NY 2000 to come in a few years.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars QUITE A TOME, January 21, 2007

By	Shannon Deason "SchylarRex" (Houston) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is the very definition of comprehensive, this book really hashes out beautiful Guilded Age New York. It is to be lamented that so many of these gorgeous buildings are no longer extant, but at least these wonderful archival images are available. As you walk around NYC today, you see glimpses of the grandeur that once pervaded the city, but this book conjures up the ghosts of an Age of unimaginable wealth and unparalled craftsmanship. High recommended to one and all.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars New York architecture in the late 1800s, November 17, 2001

By	saskatoonguy (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews

With over 1100 pages, this book was so difficult to handle physically, that it hampered my enjoyment of this epic-length volume. On the other hand, the book is a bargain in terms of cents per page! Photos average more than one per page; however, the quality of photographic reproduction is frequently very disappointing (even when compared to Stern's 'New York 1900,' which also uses very old photographs). There are approximately 75 floor plans, with most page space used for the less-than-rivetting text. Chapters are divided by building type. A surprising amount of page space is consumed by illustrations of entries in architectural competitions (Union League Club and Cathedral of St. John the Divine).