Book

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990.

Sidewalk critic : Lewis Mumford's writings on New York / edited by Robert Wojtowicz.

New York : Princeton Architectural Press, ©1998.

279 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

"Best known for his "Sky Line" column in the New Yorker, where he served as architecture critic for over 30 years, Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) is still revered as one of America's leading cultural critics and an international authority on architecture and urbanism. His provocative and polemical pieces are as well known for the emotion of his writing as for the wit and clarity of his style. A man of letters and part of Manhattan's intellectual elite, Mumford wrote more than 20 books over 6 decades, bridging the seemingly disparate arenas of architecture, technology, literary criticism, biography, sociology, and philosophy, which he synthesized into a highly original body of work." "Sidewalk Critic collects over 50 of Mumford's writings that were originally published in the New Yorker between 1931 and 1940. These seminal essays focus almost exclusively on the New York metropolitan area, providing an unusual glimpse into one of the formative decades in the city's history. They cover all aspects of New York's architecture, including museums, theaters, bridges, tenements, parks, and recreational areas, and they range from a short musing on a midtown luncheonette to an extended series on Rockefeller Center."--BOOK JACKET.

Architecture -- New York (State) -- New York -- History.

Wojtowicz, Robert.

A selection of essays from the New Yorker, published between 1931 and 1940.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Also issued online.

A New York Childhood: Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay -- A New York Adolescence: Tennis, Quadratic Equations, and Love -- Frozen Music or Solidified Static?: Reflections on Radio City -- The Sky Line: Bridges and Buildings -- The Sky Line: The Modern Hospital -- The Sky Line: From the Palace of the Popes; The Cantilevered Front; Return to Sobriety -- The Sky Line: Unconscious Architecture -- The Sky Line: Organic Architecture -- The Sky Line: A Survivor of the Brown Decades; De Mortuis; What Might Have Been -- The Sky Line: Medals and Mentions -- The Sky Line: On Making a Museum; Post-Boom Tower; The Modern Restaurant -- The Sky Line: Gas Tanks and Tower; The New Architect -- The Sky Line: The Laundry Takes to Architecture -- The Art Galleries: The Rockefeller Collection -- The Sky Line: Two Theatres -- The Sky Line: The Architects Show Their Wares -- The Art Galleries: Early Americans; Ben Shahn and Tom Mooney; Mr. Rivera's Mural -- The Sky Line: Skyscrapers and Tenements -- The Sky Line: Portholes on the Avenue Bankers and Goldfish -- The Sky Line: Mr. Rockefeller's Center -- The Sky Line: The New York Lunchroom -- The Sky Line: On an Incinerator: Renovated Brownstone -- The Sky Line: Concerning Foley Square -- The Sky Line: Modern Design; And the New Bryant Park -- The Sky Line: Meditations on a Zoo -- The Sky Line: Bars and Lounges -- The Sky Line: Mr. Wright's City; Downtown Dignity -- The Sky Line: Menageries and Piers -- The Sky Line: A Park with a View; M. Le Corbusier; Indians and Platters -- The Sky Line: The New Housing -- The Art Galleries: Fifth Avenue's New Museum -- The Sky Line: Old and New -- The Sky Line: Fiftieth Anniversary; A Georgian Post Office -- The Sky Line: Houses and Fairs -- The Sky Line: Modernity and Commerce -- The Sky Line: Parks and Playgrounds; New Buildings for Old -- The Sky Line: The City of the Future -- The Sky Line: Buildings and Books -- The Sky Line: The World's Fair -- The Sky Line: Bridges and Beaches -- The Sky Line: Gardens and Glass -- The Sky Line: New Facades -- The Sky Line: For the Common Good -- The Sky Line: At Home, Indoors and Out -- The Sky Line: The New Order -- The Sky Line: Pax in Urbe -- The Sky Line: Bauhaus; Two Restaurants and a Theatre -- The Sky Line: Westward Ho! -- The Sky Line: The American Tradition -- The Sky Line: Growing Pains; The New Museum -- The Sky Line in Flushing: West Is East -- The Sky Line in Flushing: Genuine Bootleg -- The Sky Line: Modern Housing, from A to X -- The Sky Line: Millions for Mausoleums -- The Sky Line: Versailles for the Millions -- The Sky Line: The Dead Past and the Dead Present -- The Sky Line: Rockefeller Center Revisited.

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description

98018843

1568981333

9781568981338

39060567

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1

62039

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720.97471 Mumford