The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City's Historic Buildings

Average customer rating:

Landmarked but Flawed

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years

The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City's Historic Buildings
Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel
Manufacturer: Monacelli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1580931545
Release Date: 2005-05-09

Book Description

The Landmarks of New York is a definitive resource book on the architectural history of the city, documenting and illustrating more than 1100 buildings that have been accorded landmark status over the past forty years. The chronological organization gives the reader a sequential overview of the city's architectural richness and diversity. The book presents a broad range of styles and building types-simple colonial farmhouses, churches, schools, libraries, Gilded Age mansions, and the great twentieth-century skyscrapers that are recognized throughout the world.

That so many of these structures have endured is due, in large measure, to the efforts of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, established in 1965. Since then, New York city has become the leader of the preservation movement in the United States, with more buildings and districts designated and protected than in any other city. Within this constantly changing metropolis, old buildings are often adapted to new uses, offering further proof of the quality of their design and construction.

Customer Reviews:

Landmarked but Flawed.......2006-12-18

Pound for pound this was the most disappointing of a series of books on New York City architecture that I have read over the past several years. This does not make it a bad book; its 600+ pages are filled with more information on New York City's 1100 designated landmarks than any other single volume, and each is accompanied by a fine black and white photo. Its format, with the buildings ordered by the year they were build allows the reader to thumb through the 1860's for example and see a succession of French Second Empire buildings with their iconic mansard roofs.

Still there are several flaws I have found with this book that weighs nearly seven pounds and has a sticker price of $65.00.

First and most egregious is the apparently careless editing.

One entry, that of the Van Cortlandt Mansion in the Bronx, seems to be lifted word-for-word, without attribution from Goldstone and Dalrymple's wonderfully literate book, "History Preserved". It is possible that Ms. Diamondstein-Spielvogel had permission to do this, perhaps the authors were friends from their days together on the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Maybe "The Landmarks of New York," is a successor to the older book. As there is no bibliography or explanation we will never know.

A second entry, that of Staten Island's Gardiner-Tyler House, the author writes in part, "Mrs. Tyler rarely visited the house before 1868, when as a widow she returned to Staten Island with Tyler's seven children from a previous marriage."

The author is of course referring to President Tyler's second wife Julia, whom he married in 1844, when she was 24 and he 54. By 1868, Tyler's youngest child from his first wife Letitia, Tazewell Tyler was 38, a physician, and living in California; his oldest surviving child Robert Tyler was 52; and only four of his children from Letitia were still alive. It is hardly likely that any of them followed Julia to Staten Island. What the author meant to say was that Julia moved there with her seven children from Tyler.

Another example, more one of carelessness than error is found in her entry on 359 Broadway, a fine Italianette style building found on the corner of Broadway and Leonard Street and best known for housing the studios of the great Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady, for a few years in the 1850's.

The last paragraph stated, "At the end of the century, the Ladies Mile neighborhood changed from a fashionable shopping district to a textile and wholesaling zone."

My first, surprised reaction upon reading this, was how the author could place this building, situated at the edge of today's Tribeca, in the Ladies Mile, which as anyone interested in New York history knows was located further uptown, along Broadway and 6th Avenue from about West 8th Street to West 23rd Street. As it turns out, this area was once called a ladies-mile, about a half-century before its better-known successor. But the entry doesn't explain this subtlety and there lies the confusion.

What this book is really lacking are neighborhood or area maps that locate each of the Landmarks. While a map isn't necessary to conceptualize the location of a building with a typical Manhattan grid address, the Alwyn Court Apartments at 182 West 58th St. for example, it would be nice to be able to quickly see the location of a farmhouse in Brooklyn or an old church in Staten Island, especially when that farmhouse or church is positioned on a page with a townhouse on the Upper East Side, a building it has nothing in common with aside from the year in which it was built. Perhaps in a future edition a map section could be added to the end of the book and an easy key can be developed to clearly cross-reference an entry to its map number or page.

In a book devoted specifically to "designated" New York City landmarks, how does one handle those buildings that are good enough to be landmarks on their own, but have never been designated individually because their inclusion in one of the several dozen Historic Districts before being considered for individual designation obviated the need for such designation? New York's two greatest Historic Districts, Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Height contain many of these worthy buildings. In its" Guide to New York City Landmarks", the Landmarks Committee deftly handled this issue by separately listing and discussing the dozen or so most important buildings in each of those two districts. Ms. Diamondstein-Spielvogel, however, chose to ignore them completely. So there is no mention of the famous Washington Memorial Arch, no mention of the unique teak wood detailing of the façade of the Lockwood deForest House, no mention of the great Jefferson Market Library, that whimsical Victorian Gothic building that has become a symbol of the village and was one of the first and finest examples of use conversion envisioned by the Landmarks Preservation Committee as a way to save old buildings. There is also no discussion of Brooklyn Heights' best buildings including Plymouth Congregational Church, where the fiery abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher preached, or Minard Lafever's Gothic Revival masterpiece First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn.

The book does however have a section that describes each of the Historic Districts so that a reader can get an overall feel for these districts, and ironically, given their nonexistence elsewhere in the book, has fine maps attached to each entry, showing the boundaries of each of these districts.

Any single book with this much information about its subject certainly deserves a recommendation, but for this book to reach its pretensions of being the standard reference of New York City Landmarks there is much that can be improved.

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06

If it's one weighty, definitive library reference you need to New York City's landmarks, make it Landmarks Of New York: An Illustrated Record Of The City's Historic Buildings: its scope and format can't be beat. Art and architectural libraries as well as New York City specialty collections will welcome documentation of over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years. A chronological arrangement guides readers through a wealth of building styles and types, from farmhouses and churches to mansions, with black and white photos of each accompanying descriptions, comments on style and design, listings of architects involved in the building's construction and redesign over the decades, and style descriptions. A 'must' for any serious architectural or New York history collection.

Over 1,100 buildings which have earned landmark status over the past forty years.......2005-10-06

Book Description

An easy-to-follow guide for beginning artists shows how to create 30 different forms of transportation by combining circles, cubes, squares, and rectangles. Step-by-step illustrations help create everything from a canoe and antique locomotive to an ocean liner and a seaplane. Also provides young artists with a basic understanding of shape, form, and dimension.

How to Draw Boats, Trains & Planes (How to Draw)

Average customer rating:

Great how-to book for all ages!

How to Draw Boats, Trains & Planes (How to Draw)
Michael LaPlaca
Manufacturer: Troll Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0893754978

Customer Reviews:

Great how-to book for all ages!.......1998-07-28

I bought this book for my 5-year old son who loves trains, planes and boats. He was always asking me to draw these things for him, and I did the best I could. I figured this was a small amount to pay to see if this could help me draw better. Well, HE can draw better than I can! His confidence has also grown as he sees his drawings praised by others. This book has step-by-step instructions showing how to start out with basic shapes and to add details to complete the drawing. I, too, can draw these items better and with more detail than before. I will be purchasing the other books in this series. Money well spent.

Average customer rating:

How to Draw Boats, Trains, and Planes
Michael Laplaca
Manufacturer: Troll Communications Llc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M3QE8C

Amazon.com

There's not a word of commentary in this book, but that part is up to you. Certain things begin to stand out as you flip through the pages. Like the always blue skies. (Positive thinking!) Or the potentially interesting details that are uniformly obliterated, thanks to those polite middle-distance views and the muddy qualities of cheap lithography. There's a weird tension between the blandly generic ("Fine Food" reads the only visible sign atop a low-slung white building) and the proudly local (according to the postcard caption, this is "The famous Blue Grill on U.S. 40, St. Elmo, Ill."). In its silently subversive way, Boring Postcards proposes that we look more closely at this hallowed form of marketing to see what it tells us about the values and standards of mainstream American culture. --Cathy Curtis

Book Description

You know those old postcards that show the local meatpacking factory in all its cinder-block glory or the sickening color scheme of a cheap '70s motel room? Well, here they are. Beginning with panoramas of highways in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and other U.S. states, Boring Postcards segues to truck stops, restaurants, motor inns, malls, airports, military bases, factories, tools, and automobiles. Every image is certifiably boring, whether by dint of a photographer's ineptitude (dead-on views taken from too far away) or the sorry state of corporate architecture and interior design. And yet, as earnest advertisements for the American Way of Life, they all radiate a sunny faith in the uniqueness and desirability of whatever they portray.There's not a word of commentary in this book, but that part is up to you. Certain things begin to stand out as you flip through the pages. Like the always blue skies. (Positive thinking!) Or the potentially interesting details that are uniformly obliterated, thanks to those polite middle-distance views and the muddy qualities of cheap lithography. There's a weird tension between the blandly generic ("Fine Food" reads the only visible sign atop a low-slung white building) and the proudly local (according to the postcard caption, this is "The famous Blue Grill on U.S. 40, St. Elmo, Ill."). In its silently subversive way, Boring Postcards proposes that we look more closely at this hallowed form of marketing to see what it tells us about the values and standards of mainstream American culture. --Cathy Curtis

Customer Reviews:

Boring? Not!.......2007-09-02

This is an awesome book, made up entirely of old postcards with pictures of highways, restaurants, airports, and other prosaic places.

The postcards aren't like the ones you see today, photographs of beautiful places. They look like someone snapped a picture of the highway or restaurant, without even bothering to pick a scenic spot. Only, many of them have captions describing the pictures as 'beautiful' or 'scenic.' That only makes it funnier.

On the one hand, I applaud the use of average, even somewhat ugly images in this book to convey a feeling of time and place. At the same time, I can't believe anyone thought these pictures would make good postcards -- even decades ago.

The pictures are quirky and make me laugh. Best of all, they feel like a window into another time. I can look at these photographs and feel like I'm there... in that prosaic, rather ugly place, probably filled with real people with all their quirks and oddities. It's like a time machine!

All in all, I'm very glad I acquired this book.

Great Gift Idea .......2007-08-09

I have sent this as a gift several times. All recipients loved the book but all were sorry that postcards were not removable.

not boring, really real.......2007-03-25

i agree with other reviewers in that the post cards speak for themselves. Perfect!!! as a footnote, i'd like to add, i have actually been to at least 8 -10 of these places, not because i was trying to find it, but coincidentally went through these places as well, many still exist. scary.

You might have been there!.......2006-01-29

This makes an interesting gift for a friend or relative.
If you are older than 45, or so, you have probably visited at least one of the places shown in these pictures!

humerous.......2005-10-08

These postcards are really boring, but they make for a funny collection of airport and shop postcards.

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully Campy...

Boring Postcards
Martin Parr
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0714843903

Book Description

160 boring postcards of the British Isles, reproduced as they have been found, actual size, from the collection of the great iconoclast of British photography, Martin Parr. This is a serious art book, a depiction of a tragic Britain with tragic taste, and a photographic entertainment which a large audience will enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully Campy... .......2007-07-24

This coffee-table book of boring postcards is a collection of the tackiest and most boring postcards imaginable. It is wonderfully campy and sure to provide a good laugh.

By the way, I read the previous "1-Star" review, and it is hard to believe that any person with an ounce of common sense would think they are actually buying a book of real postcards that they could tear out and mail to friends!

Average customer rating:

Boring, yes; yet strangely moving, too!!
Entertaining, if you are open to it
Hilarious and kind of sad
Hilarious and kind of sad
Hilarious and kind of sad

Boring Postcards
Martin Parr
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0714838950

Amazon.com

As the title of this little book suggests, each of the postcards that fill its pages is, in a sense, quite boring. Stale, often dully composed images of corporate headquarters, roadways, bus-station parking lots, convalescent-home dayrooms, hospital cafeterias, and undistinguished motels. But look carefully, and the cards--culled from the collection of artist Martin Parr--are filled with fascinating little details. As a group, they offer readers the interesting opportunity to puzzle over the collective psyche of the people of the 1950s and '60s (the approximate vintage of the images) who were inclined to create, buy, and send these cards. What, one can't help but wonder, could be so scintillating about a room at the Fortes Excelsior Motor Lodge near Pontefract, Yorkshire? The singular force of the orange bedspreads, carpet, drapes, and walls punctuated by the inexplicably white leather upholstered panel attached to the wall unit behind each of the room's beds. The exterior of the Mirfield Modern School, shot at a distance and unimaginatively placed dead in the center of the gray sky and green playing field? The building's Bauhaus-like lines. The tarmac of Luton Airport in London? The pink jumbo jet being towed into the frame from the left. The uniformly shaped trailers parked at the Freshwater Caravan Camp? The handwritten X that presumably marks the sender's location. The Chalets at Llandanwg? Arguably, not much. The few hundred images here, unfettered by any explanatory text, offer a far from dull diversion for any readers interested in mid-century design or the mundane details of daily life. --Jordana Moskowitz

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Boring, yes; yet strangely moving, too!!.......2003-01-10

I just love this collection of postcards - they are truly mind-numbing, and as I was leafing through the book, my over-riding thought was WHY??? Why on earth would anyone take a picture of the National Giro Centre, Bootle, Preston Bus Station, numerous Forte motorway restaurants and the Bull Ring centre? Perhaps these buildings and roads were something to be proud of when they were built - a brave new post-war Britain. I can see the point of a few of them, but some are just mind-numbingly boring and just plain odd. The oddest, in fact, is Basingstoke. Three pictures in one postcard, all showing the same view of construction work on a pedestrian precinct.
Ahhh - the pedestrian precinct!! How 60's is THAT!!!!!

A great book to have around and a great conversation starter.

Entertaining, if you are open to it.......2002-07-30

I would agree with some of the previous reviewers. I love this book. I keep it on my coffee table and look at it when I'm bored. Many people would look at it and think its completely pointless. After all, these postcards are exactly the type of thing my wife keeps trying to throw away because they're "junk." I don't think they are junk. Taken together, these pictures might say something about society, history or something of that nature. I say, "who cares?" I just think they're plain funny. Pictures of shopping malls and 60's hotel lounges - all entertaining. Some of the funniest ones are of some guy's body shop on an ugly lot somewhere in wherever, but it says, "Ray's Body Shop" proudly at the top of the card. If you like visual stimulation of any kind, you'll like this book.

Hilarious and kind of sad.......2001-12-11

Anyone interested in bad,sterile,depressing and bland architecture need look no further.This book provides perfect examples in how NOT to design living spaces and aestetically pleasing public landscapes and public buildings.The book easily could have been titled "How not to Feng Shui".What really strikes you as you glance over the whole of the motel,trailerpark and assorted public buildings is an overwhelming blandness,mismatching and tacky colors,stark,bleak and monotonous nothingness that envelops these cheap and thoughtless artifacts of a thankfully bygone era.A great sociological book could be written on why the general whole of the western world lost so much of its sense of aesthetic beauty in the 20th century and made books like this possible.Is it that 20th century man lost all higher hopes and feeling for beauty and that the horrors of the century can be reflected in the strictly utilitarian architecture that dominated the century?Or is it that the almost exclusively materialistic mindset of 20th century dictated that his environments reflect his inner state?Pore over this book and draw your own conclusions.

Hilarious and kind of sad.......2001-12-11

Anyone interested in bad,sterile,depressing and bland architecture need look no further.This book provides perfect examples in how NOT to design living spaces and aestetically pleasing public landscapes and public buildings.The book easily could have been titled "How not to Feng Shui".What really strikes you as you glance over the whole of the motel,trailerpark and assorted public buildings is an overwhelming blandness,mismatching and tacky colors,stark,bleak and monotonous nothingness that envelops these cheap and thoughtless artifacts of a thankfully bygone era.A great sociological book could be written on why the general whole of the western world lost so much of its sense of aesthetic beauty in the 20th century and made books like this possible.Is it that 20th century man lost all higher hopes and feeling for beauty and that the horrors of the century can be reflected in the strictly utilitarian architecture that dominated the century?Or is it that the almost exclusively materialistic mindset of 20th century man dictated that his environments reflect his inner state?Pore over this book and draw your own conclusions.

Hilarious and kind of sad.......2001-12-11

Anyone interested in bad,sterile,depressing and bland architecture need look no further.This book provides perfect examples in how NOT to design living spaces and aestetically pleasing public landscapes and public buildings.The book easily could have been titled "How not to Feng Shui".What really strikes you as you glance over the whole of the motel,trailerpark and assorted public buildings is an overwhelming blandness,mismatching and tacky colors,stark,bleak and monotonous nothingness that envelops these cheap and thoughtless artifacts of a thankfully bygone era.A great sociological book could be written on why the general whole of the western world lost so much of its sense of aesthetic beauty in the 20th century and made books like this possible.Is it that 20th century man lost all higher hopes and feeling for beauty and that the horrors of the century can be reflected in the strictly utilitarian architecture that dominated the century?Or is it that the almost exclusively materialistic mindset of 20th century man dictated that his environments reflect his inner state?Pore over this book and draw your own conclusions.

Average customer rating:

Boring Postcards
N/A
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VNVSIY

Average customer rating:

Boring Postcards
no author stated
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDWB8Q

Average customer rating:

Boring Postcards 10cc Counterpack

Manufacturer: Phaidon Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0714851183

Book Description

This brand new collection features comic gags that will look awfully familiar, but out-and-out hilarious.

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