Skyscraper Gothic

Medieval Style and Modernist Buildings

Kevin D. Murphy estate, Lisa Reilly

• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780813939735
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Urban Planning & Landscaping

Of all building types, the skyscraper strikes observers as the most modern, in terms not only of height but also of boldness, scale, ingenuity, and daring. As a phenomenon born in late nineteenth-century America, it quickly became emblematic of New York, Chicago, and other major cities. Previous studies of these structures have tended to foreground examples of more evincing modernist approaches, while those with styles reminiscent of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe were initially disparaged as being antimodernist or were simply unacknowledged. Skyscraper Gothic brings together a group of renowned scholars to address the medievalist skyscraper—from flying buttresses to dizzying spires; from the Chicago Tribune Tower to the Woolworth Building in Manhattan.

Drawing on archival evidence and period texts to uncover the ways in which patrons and architects came to understand the Gothic as a historic style, the authors explore what the appearance of Gothic forms on radically new buildings meant urbanistically, architecturally, and socially, not only for those who were involved in the actual conceptualization and execution of the projects but also for the critics and the general public who saw the buildings take shape.

Contributors:
Lisa Reilly on the Gothic skyscraper ? Kevin Murphy on the Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings ? Gail Fenske on the Woolworth Building ? Joanna Merwood-Salisbury on the Chicago School ? Katherine M. Solomonson on the Tribune Tower ? Carrie Albee on Atlanta City Hall ? Anke Koeth on the Cathedral of Learning ? Christine G. O'Malley on the American Radiator Building

INDEX

Italicized page numbers refer to illustrations.

Adams, Henry, 13, 23, 82n5, 119, 126, 131n20

Adams, Rayne, 186

Allegheny County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial (Pittsburgh), 159

Alsop, Charles R., 50, 54n32

American Architect, 4, 9, 180n33

American Architect and Building News, 9

American Architecture of To-day, The (Edgell), 157, 171–72, 200

American Express Company Building (Chicago), 89, 108n3

American Institute of Architects, 82n5, 146, 195

American Radiator Building (New York), 15, 35, 134, 150, 183–204, 184, 192, 199, 201, 203, 204n2, 208n58; main street-level entrance, 191

American Radiator Company, 15, 35, 183, 184, 186, 188, 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206n25, 207n28, 209n75; catalogue cover, 203; The Ideal Fitter, 201

American Standard, 204, 206n25

Amerika: Bilderbuch eines Architekten (Mendelsohn), 198

Amiens Cathedral, 24, 25, 122

Antwerp Cathedral, 71, 123, 123, 124, 126, 127, 187

Architectural Forum, 175, 196

Architectural League of America, 62, 69, 85n40

Architectural Record, 9, 79, 124, 195, 201

Architecture, 77, 195, 196

Architecture of the Night (Neumann), 193, 207n42, 207–8n43, 208n56, 209n64

architecture parlante, 196, 208n56

Arras, 122, 123, 129

Art Deco, 15, 1...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Skyscraper Gothic from Nineteenth-Century Origins to Postmodern Expressions
• Design and the Study of the Past: The Gothic Skyscraper
• The Gothics of Francis Kimball: From Nineteenth-Century Revivals to the Early Skyscraper
• Medievalism, Mysticism, and Modernity in Early Twentieth-Century New York: Cass Gilbert’s “Skyscraper Gothic”
• The Gothic Revival and the Chicago School: From Naturalistic Ornament to Constructive Expression
• Tribune Tower: Medievalism and Memory in the Wake of the Great War
• Forward Atlanta: G. Lloyd Preacher and the Atlanta City Hall
• Gothic with an American Accent: The Cathedral of Learning
• Radiant Heat and Glowing Lights: Raymond Hood’s American Radiator Building
• Selected Bibliography of Published Sources
• Notes on Contributors
• Index