Reviews (1)

Engaging engravings of everything
Dover does it again with an enormous offering of impressive engravings. Each of the 742 illustrations is labelled with name, location and date. Chapters are organized by function and then chronologically.These beautiful renderings by contemporary artists reveal the magnitude of architectural views published throughout the 19th century in the various methods available before photographic illustrations took over. Spanning 249 cities in 27 states, all major architectural period styles are covered. Although landmark buildings and leading architects are represented there is a full sprectrum of streets, squares, town views, public and private buildings.Each work is accompanied by available information including the name of the building and date.A bibliography lists the sources.

One cannot help but be pleased with this excellent collection which shows not only the buildings but the surroundings peopled with contemporary figures adding charm and interest. This valuable resource depicts everyday life as seen by contemporaries, clearly reflecting the prevailing sense of civic pride.I recommend this edition wholeheartedly.
... Read more

Book Description

America once had a love affair with bungalows -- and it's being rekindled coast to coast. This elegant book showcases exceptional examples and features a catalogue of period furnishings.

With a flaming fire in the cozy hearth, a comfortable Morris chair, and soft, natural colors everywhere, bungalows have long embodied the ideal of the American home. At the turn of the century they took the country by storm, providing well-designed and well-priced shelter nationwide. Bungalows revolutionized residential architecture in America and grew into a beloved symbol of domesticity by offering stylish yet affordable housing for the average person. Today whole neighborhoods of bungalows are being saved and restored by people who appreciate the simple and natural lifestyle made possible by these small houses.

Beautifully illustrated with more than three hundred color photographs, American Bungalow Style presents two dozen American houses that capture the bungalow spirit. Many are Arts and Crafts in style, others show a touch of Spain or colonial America, and all exemplify the charms that enticed thousands of bungalow buyers during the form's heyday from 1880 to 1930. Among the bungalows included are examples by famous architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Bernard Maybeck, as well as Gustav Stickley's own log cabin retreat. Many are the work of anonymous but skilled builders, and some were ordered by mail.

Bungalows may differ widely in style and size, but they have in common a simplified plan that places most of the living spaces on one floor. They are typically one or one and a half stories high, low in profile, and fitted with lots of built-ins and all the conveniences of their time. On their own piece of land, with a garden in front or back and space to park a car, bungalows provided the privacy and independence that many Americans favor.

The idea that simplicity and artistry could harmonize in one affordable house spurred the bungalow's popularity -- a rare movement in which good architecture was found outside the world of the wealthy. Bungalows allowed people of modest means to achieve something they had long sought: respectability. With its special features the bungalow filled more than the need for shelter. It provided fulfillment of the American dream.

A fully illustrated appendix features more than one hundred furnishings suitable for bungalows and Arts and Crafts houses. This special catalogue section highlights modern reproductions of tables and chairs, lamps, textiles, wall coverings, tile, and hardware that look right at home in bungalows old and new, commodious and compact. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Bunglopedia.
If your curious like me to what exactly is a Bungalow, what their history is, and would like to see lots of full colour examples, then I think you will find this book quite satisfying. Being that there where so many Bungalows built over such a wide geographic area, I doubt if anyone has covered every example of them in one book. So you may end up wanting to buy a few other books (which there are lots of good ones) to satisfy your curiosity. Non the less, this book does give you a good example of American and some Canadian Bungalow history, also it explores each room of the Bungalow and the rooms furnishings, all with quite a few excellent photo's.

In keeping with the architecture...
Wonderful photographs; light, informative reading. What's missing is a better representation of the different regional examples of the bungalow. And they're everywhere.

Residing in the Chicago area, for example, we have a tremendous variety and number of bungalows. Even in Atlanta, a region more famous for its colonial architecture, I noticed that the Virginia Highlands area also had some marvelous examples of the bungalow style.

A more appropriate title would be "The California Bungalow" given that nearly all of the examples are located there (and within that state, in Pasadena).

In other words, worth getting but not the definitive book.

Excellent photographs of Bungalow period interiors.
This book defines the Bungalow style, explains how it started and flourished, and tells about the men who built and sold them. Then it takes you into still-existing Bungalows across the USA, where the current owners have preserved the period style. Hundreds of beautiful, full-color photographs showcase these homes and give the reader a good feel for the American Bungalow style. At the end of the book there is a list of suppliers, sources of information, and further reading that I found useful also.

Makes the reader want to go out and purchase a bungalow!
This has to be one of the best books on art and architecture ever produced. Through hundreds of gorgeous photographs and detailed description, the history and development of the American Arts and Crafts movement comes alive. The author remains sensitive to the fact that most bungalow owners of the early 20th century were not following any set "style," but maintained and decorated their homes according to their personal tastes and means. The result is a presentation which would inspire any current bungalow owners to cherish and preserve their homes as they would works of fine art. In addition, this book contains a handy catalogue appendix listing businesses that deal in reproduction Craftsman style furniture, wallpaper, tiles, fixtures, etc.

Excellent resource book and coffee table book in one!
This book provides preservationists and homeowners alike with valuable information on the architecture and associated style of bungalow homes from the turn of the century through WWII. This is not strictly a history text nor is it strictly a coffee table book. A reader can take pleasure simply from the sheer beauty of the photography -- yet each photograph illustrates important design elements that may be found in bungalow architecture, allowing for careful study. The text, concisely written, provides excellent information on bungalow architecture and furnishings, both from an artistic and social perspective. The book begins with a simple overview of bungalow architecture. It then features photography and detailed text on a number of outstanding bungalow homes in the United States, focusing primarily on those found in California, Chicago, and rarer cases the East Coast. It concludes with a very brief section on currently available Craftsman styled furnishings. As a reference book and style guide, this is an excellent resource that I highly recommended. If you are seeking detailed historic information on Gustave Stickley, the Arts and Crafts Movement, etc., the text is not exhaustive. It is very specific in its scope and presents its subjects quite well -- the American bungalow. If anything, this book is best used to inspire current bungalow owners of the possibilities contained in these remarkable homes ... Read more

Book Description

A sophisticated blend of ambience and attitude.

From cobblestones to churches, row houses, fishing boats, and tree-lined streets, Brooklyn boasts enriching public spaces and diversely beautiful landscapes.

The illustrious history of Brooklyn comes to life in this guide, which focuses on northern and central Brooklyn, including the oldest urbanized areas, the vast "brownstone belt," and some of the principal industrial areas such as:

·Downtown

·Brooklyn Heights

·Prospect Park

·Fort Greene and Clinton Hill ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A delightful compendium from our city¿s best tour guide
Rare is the architectural guidebook that merges intricate depictions of the masterpieces with compelling tales about how they came to be. Yet that is precisely what Mr. Morrone has accomplished with this tome, which shows off a borough he clearly loves to great effect. This is a book you can, and should, hold in your hands as you walk through the neighborhoods Mr. Morrone has chosen to include. He made me love Brooklyn even more than I thought possible, and made me wish I lived both in this era and some many years ago, when the many buildings and neighborhoods he describes were coming into being. A must-have book for anyone who intends to look at the buildings of Brooklyn, whether for scholarly pursuits or for pure weekend pleasure.

Factually dead on, but a tad fatiguing
Everything in this book is 100% correct: Mr Morrone is doubtless a perfectionist in his research and I mean that as a compliment. You want to know the history of a building, an area in Brooklyn or an architect, this book is the ne plus ultra.

I give it 3 stars because his writing style is a tad heavy. It reminds me of Frasier Crane, he of the tv show "Frasier".

But it is good enough to merit a double purchase: One you keep at home and the second you rip out pages at a time as you work your way through the various sections/chapters in Brooklyn. I am never in favor of destroying books, but given the size of this tome, buying two and giving one of them a good going over in the streets of Brooklyn is entirely acceptable.

An Delightful and Necessary Addition to New York Guides
An elegant writer and gifted independent scholar, Francis Morrone has done his adopted home proud in An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. With sharp descriptions and apposite facts, Morrone conveys both the complexity and vibrancy of one of New York City's largest boroughs. Readers may well disagree with a few of his assured opinions but what use is a guidebook without a point of view? Morrone's perceptive comments, illustrated by James Iska's graceful photographs, make An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn a boon for both the Brooklyn visitor and the armchair New York fan alike.

A Spirited Urban Delight
Francis Morrone's new book on the architecture of Brooklyn proves once again that he is not just a masterful prose stylist, he is a uniquely high-spirited urbanist of wide-ranging tastes, keen architectural discrimination and infectious enthusiasms. At every page I wanted to jump up and rush out to Brooklyn to walk up and down the streets with *An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn* in hand, sharing Francis Morrone's delight in Brooklyn's wonderful, and even its less wonderful, buildings. A popular lecturer on New York City history at NYU, and long-time principal guide for the Municipal Art Society of New York, Morrone does not merely describe the architecture of his own borough, Brooklyn, he savors it, he uncovers it--many Brooklyn treasures have never been described in print before this book--and he loves it. He knows the fascinating histories of the buildings and their owners, he knows his architecture, he looks not just at the buildings but at the neighborhoods and the whole borough. He has read deeply, he has walked the streets of the borough many times, and his research has even taken him to the best web sites. A wonderful, richly detailed, helpfully illustrated book for every urbanist, architecture fan, history buff and, indeed, for every reader. If you love cities, architecture and good writing, read this book!

passionate and intelligent
Morrone's passion for urban life is infectious. He puts things in a broad historical and cultural context to give a real sense of how and why the neighborhoods of Brooklyn evolved. Few books of this kind even attempt to do that, let alone do it well. The book is well written, with many astute observations, and often very funny. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Ideal for hiking in Harlem
This is yet another excellent title in the New York Landmarks Conservancy's series of briefbut comprehensive guides to some of New York City's most important historic districts.

Thanks to the generosity of theAmerican Express Company, this beautifully produced volume is that rarestof commodities in today's book industry: a genuine bargain.

The entiretext is printed on glossy stock, providing excellent definition for thebook's many period photographs and line drawings.

Dolkart, the author ofseveral other highly regarded New York City guidebooks, and Sorin haveprovided extremely insightful essays which trace, in brief, Harlem'sevolution as a black metropolis. Their discussion of David King's ModelHouses and Striver's Row is an exemplary integration of architectural,social, and cultural history in a nutshell.

The authors cast their netwidely in only 138 pages, though perhaps not widely enough in a few cases.Thus, for instance, one can visit the home of Vertner Tandy, bestremembered as the architect of Villa Lewaro, the Hudson River estate ofMadame C. J. Walker. Yet, inexplicably, there is not a mention of herdaughter A'lelia's mansion at 108-110 West 136th St., immortalized as the"Dark Tower" in some of the literature of the Harlem Renaissance.Perhaps the twin brownstones no longer exist.

The numerous andwell-chosen historic photographs of outstanding Harlem buildings andpersonalities are extremely enlightening. But they may leave some readerswishing for a few contemporary views short of actually visiting the sitesin person.

These are minor criticisms, however, when set next to theconsiderable achievements of this handsome, elegant, and easy-to-useintroduction to a neighborhood known to all Americans but quite likelyvisited by too few. ... Read more

Book Description

Lauded in recent years as a 20th-century masterpiece, Schindler House in West Hollywood was designed and built by Viennese emigré Rudolph M. Schindler in 1921-22. Intended as a communal dwelling for the architect and his wife and another couple, and featuring open living spaces and rooftop “sleeping baskets” suited to the mild Southern California climate, this remarkable home is considered the first modern house to be built in the world.

This, the first book on the Schindler House, features new photography—specially commissioned color images by Grant Mudford, one of the leading architectural photographers working today—as well as many archival shots. Author Kathryn Smith incorporates new research on Schindler as she analyzes every aspect of the house’s design and construction and shows why it was such a radical departure from residential architecture that came before—and why it is one of the icons of the modern era. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Feels like you're actually there
I was looking for a book on Neutra and came across this beautiful book instead. The photographs, taken by Grant Mudford, give a vivid sense of space and relationship. He does an excellent job of capturing the light and emotion of the home. It feels much like a Japanese teahouse. Sparse and natural, bringing the outdoors in. Also included, a wonderful selection of archival photographs providing history and a glimpse of Schindlers personal life. Kathryn Smith, who actually lived at the house for five years, understands the spirit of the place. Her text covers Schindler's history, the house's structural engineering, and the philosophy upon which the cooperative dwelling is based. A truly inspiring home. The next time I am in Los Angeles, I will certainly make time to visit the Schindler House.

Author's response to Jason
...My book was the result of over ten years of research in the Schindler archives, revealing new information and unpublished photos taken by Schindler himself. It is a monograph on one of the most important buildings in the history of twentieth century modernism. Half of the book consists of stunning color photos by Grant Mudford which were taken especially for this book. Grant has visited the Schindler House numerous times over the last ten years (as he lives in LA) and he has a great sensitivity and insight into its spatial qualities and how to capture this elusive character in light and shadow. The price of the book (even less on Amazon.com) is aimed at a general audience, especially students. It is an affordable introduction with sumptious photos and a text that covers history and analysis. The printing is excellent on very good quality stock; Abrams (the top art publisher in the US) did a superb job. I hope you make this a part of your library. Kathryn Smith.

Schindler Schminndler
Eh. Smith knows how to talk. But the subject at hand isn't the greatest for an entire book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Update for previous review
It has been about 3 years since I wrote the first review for this book on Amazon.com. In that time there have been some new, and I feel better publications about R. M. Schindler

The most comprehensive Text is Judith Sheine's book (entitled R. M. Schindler) published by Phaidon. Please see my review for more details. Sheine is also the editor and narrator for two CD-ROMs produced by Planet Architecture. These are both excellent sources. Lastly is the lavishly photographed catalog for the Schindler Exhibit entitled The architecture of R. M. Schindler by Elizabeth A.T. Smith. This has good essays and photos although I feel is better as supplementry text to Sheine's new book

Nice photos, light in content
I am an avid fan of this master architect/builder and I am pleased to see that Shindler is finally getting the attention he deserves. There is an abundance of material about Schindler now available to the public. Whereas, just ten years ago only a few books were available about Schindler (Gebhard and McCoy). This is a large format book with lavish color photos. Early books on Schindler, such as those by Gebhard, McCoy, and Sarnitz were small in format and contained equally small black and white images.

This book is divided into two parts: Essay and Selected Works. The essay, by noted California Author/Historian James Steele assumes that the reader has some familiarity with Schindler and the Wagnerschul. The author skips over biographical data on the architect, such as birth, upbringing, family life etc. and instead presents the reader with a concise, competent essay on Schidler's place in Early Twentieth Century architecture. The essay shows how Schindler was influenced by his mentors and peers such as Loos, Wright, Nuetra, and Irving Gill. It also touches on Schindler's rejection from Johnson and Hitchcock's International Style exhibit.

The second part of the book - selected works - presents the reader with thirty-two of the architect's built works in a chronological order. The selected projects include twenty-five houses, six apartment buildings/complexes and a Baptist church. Each work contains a brief description. About half the projects contain color photos. These appear to be recent photos and include many interior shots. Some projects, such as the Kings Road House and the Wolfe Residence contain reproduced color drawings (plans, sections, elevations) There are also a few renderings, color and b/w. Other projects are, disappointedly, not given proper attention. The Lovell Beach House, considered by many to be Schindler's masterpiece does not have the plans and section that are so essential to the understanding of this seminal structure. One project, The Grokowski Residence, contains only one, small black and white photo - not sufficient to give an adequate description.

The book also contains a map of L.A. with the architect's projects pin-pointed and a brief biography at the end. There is no bibliography that could point the serious scholar to additional sources, nor does the book contain any of Schindler's writings.

THE BOTTOM LINE This book contains nice color photos - some apparently previously unpublished, some good graphic resources. It is not a deep book, however it can be a nice compliment to previously published work on this master architect/builder. ... Read more

Book Description

As old as a roadway that was once a Native trail, as new as the suburban subdivisions spreading across the American countryside, the cultural landscape is endlessly changing. The study of cultural landscapes--a far more recent development--has also undergone great changes, ever broadening, deepening, and refining our understanding of the intricate webs of social and ecological spaces that help to define human groups and their activities. Everyday America surveys the widening conceptions and applications of cultural landscape writing in the United States and, in doing so, offers a clear and compelling view of the state of cultural landscape studies today.

These essays--by distinguished journalists, historians, cultural geographers, architects, landscape architects, and planners--constitute a critical evaluation of the field's theoretical assumptions, and of the work of John Brinckerhoff Jackson, the pivotal figure in the emergence of cultural landscape studies. At the same time, they present exemplary studies of twentieth-century landscapes, from the turn-of-the-century American downtown to the corporate campus and the mini-mall. Assessing the field's accomplishments and shortcomings, offering insights into teaching the subject, and charting new directions for its future development, Everyday America is an eloquent statement of the meaning, value, and potential of the close study of human environments as they embody, reflect, and reveal American culture. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

The Man Who Raised Our Consciousness
15 years before this book appeared, the author, born in Austria but converted to a love of Victorian architecture upon his arrival in the US, produced "The Gingerbread Age," the first popular volume that dared to express admiration for a period in building then considered the nadir of the art. In his Foreword to this work he talks of the "torrent of fan mail" that followed. It's not saying too much to maintain that his work was responsible for the eventual revival in Victorian architecture which began with the hippies creating Painted Ladies in '70's San Francisco and swept the nation in the mid-'80's. Having established the true quality of post-Greek-Revival, pre-World-War-I houses, he turns here to a deeper analysis and description of the different major styles--Gothic, Italianate, octagons, Mansards, Queen Anne, Richardson Romanesque. Lavishly illustrated with bw photographs, floor plans, and reproductions of period pictures, its text written in everyday language with little specialized jargon, and provided with a large appendix listing where to view existing Victorians and a sound list of books to go on to, the book concentrates chiefly on exteriors, though some views of notable rooms are included. If you're looking for good basic overviews of domestic building of the era, Maass's two books are indispensable to your collection. As a social historian, I consult them often.

Presents fascinating architectural coverage
Over two hundred black and white illustrations blends an architectural survey with a history of Victorian times from 1840-1900, examining the many styles of town and country homes of the times and describing both interiors and exteriors. The Victorian Home In America presents fascinating architectural coverage. ... Read more

Book Description

Chicago Architecture, 1872-1922: Birth of a Metropolis accompanies a major traveling exhibition of the same name.Including twenty essays by leading specialists, it surveys those international interactions which helped Chicago to become the mid-western metropolis that it is today.This lavishly illustrated volume, which also contains an extensive catalogue section and an annotated bibliography, provides a contribution of lasting value to the scholarship on this important topic.

The second volume and sequel is Chicago Architecture and Design 1923-1993, which is the first volume to document the architectural evolution of the city in relation to the social and architectural environments before and after the Great Depression and World War II. The book identifies significant changes in city planning, land use, and transportation, and it explores some of the most exciting architecture in the world in the context of America's political, social, and cultural climate.

The book contains over 600 illustrations, including line drawings of key sites and specially commissioned photographs of buildings, furniture, and other artifacts. The plates are accompanied by extensive annotations. Seventeen original and authoritative essays by scholars working in a variety of fields, including design history and American studies, offer a panoramic view of the mature twentieth-century city. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Outstanding Architectural Overview of Chicago
This two volume set is a collection of essays from experts, each dealing with an aspect of Chicago's growing and evolving architecture from before the fire `til today. This isn't just a study of the evolution of skyscrapers. It covers everything from the region's airports, to shopping malls, to personal residences. But yes, Chicago's role in the evolution of high rise buildings does take center stage. If Chicago architecture fascinates you, this two-volume collection is a must. And if you'd like to learn how a big city adjusts to changing social and technical forces, there's an awful lot here. From the impact of the car, to the impact of zoning restrictions - yes, there's a reason why the Chicago and New York skylines are very different - this book will tell you how and why a city grows. Some authors you'll greatly enjoy, and some are dry as dust. But each essay is just 10 pages or so long, so you can skip what you don't like and move on to areas of interest. The books are chock full of photographs, which is worth the purchase price even without any text. ... Read more

Book Description

He had no professional license, but was named one of the "three best architects of 1957" along with Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. He drove a red Ferrari with the license plate VROOM. His succession of wives brought him clients and influenced his designs. He relied on a staff of talented assistants to realize his ideas.

If ever there was a product of Hollywood, it was architect Craig Ellwood (1922-1992). A fiction of his own making--even his name was an invention--Ellwood fashioned a career through charm, ambition, and a connoisseur's eye. By the 1950s Ellwood had a thriving practice that infused the Germanic rationalism of Mies van der Rohe with an informal breeziness that was all Southern California. A series of dramatic, open, and elegant houses made him a media star, and interest in him and his work has only increased in recent years.

California Modern: The Architecture of Craig Ellwood is the first compre-hensive monograph on this prolific, influential, and complex character. Copiously illustrated with contemporary images--including many striking black and white photographs by Julius Shulman--plans, drawings, and specially commissioned new photography, California Modern traces Ellwood's fascinating personal history, provides a critical evaluation of his work, and establishes his importance as a pivotal shaper of the California style. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Upgrade and a bow to superior knowledge!
Based on Jeff Ellwood's assessment, I'm upgrading my rating for this book by a full star as blood is likely thicker than admiration.

A very honest look at my father's work and life
This is an excellent and comprehensive book about Craig Ellwood's life, both professional and personal.It is thoroughly researched, well laid out and fascinating in its detail.

In sharp contrast to Rob Davis' review of this book, I have to say that from my point of view as Craig Ellwood's eldest son, Neil Jackson's book presents a very accurate and honest depiction of my father's work and life.There is no "prejudicial attitude" on Jackson's part.While it is true that the words of my father's former employees should be taken with a grain of salt (obviously!), I can attest that much of what they have to say is correct.Not all of it, but they are not totally off-base.Jackson leaves it up to reader to arrive at his or her own conclusions.

I also take issue with Davis' assertion that Jackson was "rankled" at Craig Ellwood's lack of a license.To the contrary, Jackson allows the irony of Ellwood's being an "architect" (with quotation marks around the term) to speak for itself: license or no license, his work was significant and important.Jackson's book is far more accurate than Meredith Clausen's "concise" hatchet job.Jackson actually took the time to get his facts straight.Clausen's "exposé" was riddled with gross errors and based on mis- (and dis-)information, with little discernible attempt to do the research to get it right.Her article was self-serving rubbish.It is clearly Clausen who wrote from a prejudiced attitude, not Jackson.Without an axe to grind or some personal agenda, Jackson provides an honest look at Craig Ellwood the person.The book is impressive for its extensive research, for the balanced presentation of Ellwood's life and body of work, for the depth of information provided and for the choice of illustrations included.

My only disappointment was with the cover photograph, which is not the most representative of Ellwood's work.This was the US publisher's choice, however.The UK publication has a much better, more visually pleasing cover.

For anyone who wants the most complete and balanced work on Craig Ellwood, this is the book.It is neither a whitewash nor a hatchet job.Rather, it is the best attempt so far to capture and record the spirit of an imperfect, perfectionist designer whose work influenced his associates and American architecture itself for decades.

No Inspector Morse here....
This book is reminiscent of the Paramount Pictures executive that wrote of Fred Astaire "Can't act. Can't sing. Balding. Can dance a little."

The book is spottily written and makes too much of Ellwood's humble family background, that he changed his name, and is reported not to have been able to draw. It follows University of Washington Professor Meredith Clausen's exposé of a couple years back, which tread on the same subject matter, though more concisely.

Once much published in the architectural press, Ellwood had until recently been fairly well forgotten, which is a shame in that modern design would have been poorer without his undeniable contribution. The central precept of Neil Jackson's book seems to hinge on whether Ellwood was a designer that communicated via graphic means or an exponent and impresario of modernist design. That he wasn't licensed seems to rankle the writer (and the architectural profession) perhaps mostly in that his office continuously produced award-winning work from its inception to Ellwood's retirement.

A series of verbatim interviews with several of Ellwood's past associates' paints a generally unflattering picture of both Ellwood and in the process, the interviewees themselves. Much is made of Ellwood's high living style but in the end the reader learns very little of how he lived except for the foibles of his mid-life crisis. While the reader is regaled with carefully researched minutia like Ellwood's business telephone listings in the late 1940's, there are significant gaps in the story.

Missing entirely is any description of Ellwood's sense of humor, his visual sensibility, his methods of communication within his office or personal details like whether or not he lived in a house of his own design.

More than his associates and most of the architectural profession, Craig Ellwood knew how to create opportunities for good design and this is the critical distinction between those that rise to prominence and the 98+ percent of practitioners licensed (or unlicensed) that don't. In his pursuit of demeaning Craig's generally enviable career, the author has even stooped to suggest that publisher John Entenza's homosexuality might have been a factor in the consistent publication of Ellwood's work in Arts & Architecture magazine, as Craig was a strikingly handsome fellow.

A more logical explanation of the Jackson's seemingly prejudicial attitude may come from embarrassment at having devoted the predominately laudatory Chapters 5 & 6 in his previous book (The Modern Steel House. Van Nostrand Reinhold. New York. 1996.) to Ellwood's work as a designer, only to later discover that the technical design of many of the projects could, well after the fact be attributed, in part or whole, to others.

Typographically this book is hard to read having been set in too light and too grey a typeface. It is poorly illustrated, the pictures being generally too small and lacking in descriptive quality.

This book is worth reading but should be taken with a grain of salt as the melancholy accounts of Ellwood's former employees, now claiming full responsibility for his genius, come more than 10 years after Ellwood's death.

Perhaps like Fred Astaire history will be kinder to Craig Ellwood. ... Read more

Book Description

By World War I, Toledoís prosperity paralleled the growing popularity of the automobile, which transported citizens to impressive homes along the Maumee River, Ottawa Hills, Westmoreland, and Old Orchard. After World War II, stores, theaters, and businesses migrated out of 19th-century city boundaries as well.ÝÝToledo in the 1920s and 1930s boasted elegant department stores, the Commodore Perry Hotel, the towering new Ohio Building, and the legendary Paramount Theater. Great expressions of faith, Rosary Cathedral and Doc Hettingerís "Garden of Eden," were built.Depression years saw the Zoo, the University of Toledo, and the Peristyle at the Art Museum built. Toledo innovations, glass block and vitrolite, were used to great effect at the new Main Library building.ÝÝ ... Read more

Book Description

From Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, this book explores the origins, nature, and future of themed environments in information-overloaded America. The Theming of America explores the nature of social change in America since the 1960s-from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, from the Mall of America to your local mall. Modern Americans cannot escape the profusion of recognizable symbols and signs attached to virtually all aspects of our culture, tying our media culture and the seductions of consumerism to the production of ingeniously designed spaces. This accessible second edition has been revised and updated.This second edition of Theming of America is an analysis of American society in which the author, Mark Gottdiener explores the nature of social change since the 1960s as reflected in the "theming" of America--from Graceland to Dollywood, from Las Vegas to Disneyworld, from the Mall of America to your local mall. Nowhere can modern Americans escape the profusion of recognizable symbols and signs attached to virtually all aspects of our culture, constantly reminding us that we are on familiar and comforting ground."Just come in, friend, and buy; make yourself at home," these symbols seem to say, thus tying our media culture and the seductions of consumerism to the production of ingeniously designed symbolic spaces. Mark Gottdiener's book is the first to explore the origins, nature, and future of themed environments in our information-overloaded world. This second edition has been revised and updated. Gottdiener begins with a brief historical account of the shifting importance of themes in the construction of built space. He then evaluates the economic basis for the increasing reliance on symbols in the marketing of commercial enterprises and analyzes contemporary trends in themed restaurants, malls, airports, theme parks, museums, and war memorials. Final chapters are devoted to examining such critical issues as the disappearance of public space, the relation between themes and mass media industries, and the future of symbolic spaces.

"Gottdiener's historical and semiotic exploration of the cultural forces behind 'theming' will engage readers across a number of disciplines. His inquiry into the ways in which material culture enables consumers to coproduce the experience of consumption is especially timely. Just how pervasively these structured environments shape and reflect consumer culture is revealed in his thoughtful treatment."-John F. Sherry Jr., Northwestern University

"This book is a much-needed and valuable addition to the literature on semiotics and the built environment. Gottdiener's use of a semiotic methodology to link themed environments as diverse as Disneyland and Las Vegas is brilliant and contributes to our understanding of the multiple meanings such environments have for all of us."-Talmadge Wright, Loyola University at Chicago

"The Theming of America brings cultural studies down to earth and illuminates some of our most familiar public spaces. It helps us to understand and navigate the themed environments that are colonizing our everyday life."-Douglas Kellner, University of Texas at Austin

Praise for the first edition, Theming of America: "Rich in historical detail and critical interpretation. It shows a thinking mind at work."-Contemporary Sociology ... Read more

Book Description

Nowhere else in the world can compare with the incredible array of domestic architecture in America. It sometimes seems that there are as many styles of houses as there are actual number of houses. While the earliest American houses were largely derived from English or Dutch prototypes, the diversity for which America is so celebrated soon emerged, reflecting mostly how Americans used their homes, as well as local and regional tastes and vernacular and folk origins from around the world. The variety and dynamism in the style of homes in that emerging pluralistic society marches on today in homes designed by adventuresome architects and clients.

In this extraordinary celebration of the American house, renowned author David Larkin, with commentary by some of today's leading architectural historians and critics, examines the paths that have led to distinctively American homes. Special attention is given to examining details of the makeup of each house as well as the functions of "the home" and how these functions have changed just as technology, social relations, and living arrangements have changed in the United States over the past 400 years.

Filled with more than 400 beautiful color photographs, this book also contains six double gatefolds, which offer dramatic presentations of the elements and details that make up the variety of architectural styles in American residential architecture. No other illustrated history of the American house can come close to this full portrayal of the historical and stylistic ranges of the place we call "home."
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Book Description

As the most important public space in the United States, the Mall in Washington, D.C., has been a vital emblem of national spirit and ideals ever since Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant first envisioned it over two hundred years ago. Although the Mall has undergone numerous changes since its conception, it has retained centrality within the life of the capital and has emerged as an essential symbol of American national identity and an influential model of city planning worldwide.

Featuring fourteen essays by prominent historians, architects, and leaders of some of Washington, D.C.'s most important institutions, this book explores the Mall's origins and growth as well as the shifting political forces and cultural values that have shaped it. Over 140 illustrations help to tell the story of the site, including beautiful vintage maps, prints, and drawings, in addition to numerous contemporary documentary and historical photographs.

Originally published in 1991, The Mall in Washington features a new introduction discussing recent developments on the Mall. ... Read more

Book Description

The only book on the exuberant work of a uniquely original American architect. Bart Prince, whose breathtaking buildings stand from Ohio to Hawaii, is recognized internationally for embodying the American tradition of individualism personified by Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Bruce Goff. This study of Prince and his architecture as an open-ended process of cultural discovery and experimentation shifts attention from theoretical abstractions like organicism to what Prince believes to be architecture's proper subject: the experience of place produced when an architect responds to the practical and psychological realities of a specific client, program, and budget in the context of a particular site. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Eye Candy!
If your a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, Greene and Greene or Kendrick Kellogg, then you will find this book quiet fascinating.
Prince seems to take his work a step further than most architects offering a touch of fantasy to his architecture. The book has lots of glossy photos, floor plans and information on Prince's life and work.

Yes, Yes and Yes. Prince is just that.
If Frank Lloyd Wright is King, than indeed Bart Prince is Prince. The photographs in the book are brilliant and Christopher Mead's Commentary is awesome and highly informative as well. Showing a lot into Bart Prince the man himself. I hope one day to own a Bart Prince Home.

Mead's writing/subject is enlightening, learned, enjoyable
A book as interesting as the funky forms it analizes. I have had the honour of both reading this book and attending Professor Mead's architecture retrospective class series. The book is filled with an incledibly informed, and informative text which is supported with excellent photos and diagrams. I highly reccomend this book for students of architecture, or just for an interesting read, and if you find yourself in the area of the University Of New Mexico, I highly suggest you do yourself the favour of sitting in on one of Professor Mead's lectures

Bart Prince
This is a beautiful book, not only on the architecture of Bart Prince, but about Bart Prince himself. It is an excellent book, one of the few in which you can find information on him. It is very detailed. It is usually very hard to find such detailed information about modern architects who are still alive. The written as well as the visual parts are very well done. The photographs are excellent, including images of plans, sections, and elevations. Usually all that is out there on Bart Prince is just concentrated on the Price House , the Prince Residence and his own home, but on this book you will find much more than that. Here, everything is included, his life, his architecture, and his origins. ... Read more

Book Description

A graceful combination of eccentric and traditional architecture.

Portland, Oregon, is a city widely known for its civic planning, preservation of historic buildings, attractiveness, and inviting atmosphere.

Within the five-mile downtown district can be found skyscrapers, nineteenth-century cast-iron-front buildings, a riverfront park, old brick warehouses and breweries still in operation, a train station with a 150-foot clock tower, five bridges, and a rich assortment of museums, government buildings, and shops. With more than 250 entries, this comprehensive guide includes the following:

·Pioneer Courthouse

·Union Station

·Chinese Classical Garden

·U.S. Bancorp Tower

·Historic Bridges

·U.S. National Bank Building

Please visit An Architectural Guidebook to Portland, the author's personal website, for more on this informative book. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A surprisingly fun read!
I picked up a copy of this book in the Portland Airport, although I will confess that I didn't have high hopes for it. This guidebook turned out to be a great traveling companion. Its short entries are perfect for bursts of reading, and the the book really keeps the history (and humor!) flowing. I appreciated the book's ongoing commentary and interesting (even bizarre) facts. King seems to have done a great job of providing a thorough overview of the city's buildings, from the oldest to ones from the 21st century.
I would not only highly recommend this book for the casually interested, and the architecture expert, but also for the disinterested . . . it will hook them in!

Easy to read, enjoyable
I have lived in Portland for 7 years. I really enjoyed this book. It is fun to carry this book while walking through downtown Portland.

Not a thoughtful work, but worth having.
This book is the only resource available if you're interested in the architecture of Portland, Oregon, but it has its problems. Mr. King is not an architectural critic, but rather a fan of Portland architecture, especially, apparently, that of the early 1900s. Few Modern buildings are reviewed, or reviewed well. There is an odd political commentary infused throughout the book which does little to help the reader gain insight into the architecture of this City. For example, he inexplicably calls the urban planner Robert Moses a "fascist" without any explanation as to why. About the convention center he observes: "one of those dreadful holding pens full of glad-handing salespeople and marathon foot journeys to get to the restroom." Many of his reviews are as hollow and as tinny as a grammar student who has been told to fill the page with a certain number of words: "Measuring sixteen stories high on its east side, the Federal Courthouse is the most ambitious building constructed in Portland during the 1990s and certainly the most expensive public building in Portland." (Huh?)

While this book doesn't achieve the critical level necessary to qualify as an architectural guide, it's still worth having as an introduction to Portland architecture---but skip the homilies by Mr. King, they're time wasted in your exploration of the buildings of this great City.

Amazing Voice!
I purchased this book thinking it would be a great addition to my coffee table, although of no interest to me! What a big surprise! I found this book to be charming and extremely well written. I enjoyed reading about places I have been and places I would like to go. Mr. King's voice is incredible, his sense of humor and knowledge sparkles in his writing. I especially enjoyed the little known and humorous facts included in many of the sections (they are bulleted). Enjoy!!

I couldn't believe it. . .
I bought this book because I work with the author. I assumed it would gather dust on the coffee table while making me look smarter for owning it. BIG SURPRISE!! I finished my novel and picked up Mr. King's book last week. I have to tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Not only did I find stories about places I have been, I learned about new places I would like to see. The bullets at the end of each section are some of the best writing, in my opinion. Mr. King's voice in this book carries the reader through. Enjoy!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good supplement on modern architecture in Southern CA.
This book made me aware of how visions of residential space has changed over the decades (such as the fact that family homes were often equipped with only two bedrooms). I enjoyed having the addresses on these homes listed in this paperback also -- now I can take an architectural tour on my own. More importantly, I learned the legacy of Arts & Architecture, the now defunct magazine that made the Case Study project possible. ... Read more

Book Description

In over 130 photographs and drawings, this superb book celebrates the architecture of Philadelphia’s theaters from the candlelight and gaslight eras to the fabulous legitimate theaters and movie palaces of the 20th century. Moving from one landmark to another, it explores the vigorous, often controversial role theaters played in the growth and life of this historic city. Captions supply important details such as the architect, seating capacity, architectural style and present status or demolition date. A Dover co-publication with The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
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