Walking Broadway: Thirteen Miles of Architecture and History
224
Walking Broadway: Thirteen Miles of Architecture and History
224Paperback
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Overview
'Two ingredients make this title as pleasurable in an easy chair as on foot: the author’s exceptional sense of how to capture the particular personality of a building in words and images and [the] book designer’s skilled composition of typography, color, and image.' - Library Journal
Walking Broadway encapsulates the architectural history of Manhattan with fourteen walks that guide readers along New York's most famous street
Walking Broadway offers readers an architectural tour of the entire length of Broadway from Bowling Green to the Harlem River. Through fourteen structured walks the book not only presents the history of New York's most famous avenue, but also explores its architecture in depth, block by block, building by building.
This is a book about what can be seen and experienced on Broadway today. Buildings are chosen for discussion first and foremost because they are interesting to look at. In a relaxed and engaging style, the author presents the building's story, explores the reasons why it is there, and explains why it looks the way it does.
Along the way, the reader not only has the chance to discover fascinating and unusual buildings, but also gains a comprehensive understanding of the historic, social, economic, and political forces which shaped Broadway's growth and character.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781580935357 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Monacelli Press |
| Publication date: | 06/16/2020 |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Sales rank: | 626,427 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
PREFACE
For most people, “Broadway” means show business—bright lights, glittering marquees, glamorous crowds, all the excitement that is part of the theater. This was certainly the case for me as a stage-struck teenager living in suburban New Jersey during the 1960s. Virtually every weekend I would hop on the train and head into the city to take my place among the standees at the back of a Broadway theater, haunt stage doors, or throw myself into acting classes in a creaky old studio in the tower above Carnegie Hall. I was in love with “Broadway” and determined to have a life in the theater.
As time passed, I discovered that there was more to New York than Broadway and more to Broadway than the theater district. I began to spend Saturday mornings before a matinee wandering the streets, exploring neighborhoods and attempting to capture their look and feel in photographs. Along the way, I became curious about the varied architectural styles I encountered.
A plan began to take shape: I would walk the island from one end to the other. Starting at the Battery, I would follow Broadway all the way to the Bronx, tackling this nearly fourteen-mile trek of discovery in manageable segments. In the following months, I found myself spending more time walking and less standing at the back of the theater. But then the inevitabilities of teenage life intervened, and my progress slowed. The “Broadway Project” ultimately petered out somewhere around Houston Street. I departed for college, grad school, and a museum career. Now half a century later, my wife and I have moved back to the city we have always loved. What better moment to pick up where I left off?
So, what kind of a book is this? On the most fundamental level it’s about walking and looking, about observing and wondering. It’s also a book about a specific street, focused on what we can see and experience in real time as we walk. Finally, this is a book for both fireside and curb side, designed both to be read at home and to be taken out as a guide to the streets.
In our daily lives, we set out on foot for a variety of reasons—to get to work, to run errands, for exercise, or for the pleasure of a relaxing stroll. No matter what its impetus, a walk can be a journey of discovery. When we walk, we can set our own pace. We may press briskly ahead toward a destination, or choose to amble, pausing whenever we like to look up or down or around. We give ourselves permission to study things in time, not just in passing. As we move along, structures catch our eye and prompt questions: “What an interesting/peculiar place. I wonder what it is.” “Why is it here?” “What goes on inside?” “Who built it?” “When?” “Why does it look that way?” “Would I like it better if I knew more about it?” As we walk, our impressions of individual buildings coalesce into an overall sense of the personality of a neighborhood or district. We gain an understanding of how the city grew and developed and why neighborhoods, the villages that make up the metropolis, look and feel the way they do.
In the end, this is a book about the experience of looking at and thinking about the architecture of a remarkable city—building by building, block by block. And what better way to proceed than with a series of walks up New York’s oldest and longest avenue?
Table of Contents
Preface 6
Broadway: A Historic Overview 9
Using This Book 11
Walk 1 Bowling Green to Fulton Street 15
Walk 2 Fulton Street to Canal Street 33
Walk 3 Canal Street to Houston Street 53
Walk 4 Houston Street to 14th Street 71
Walk 5 Union Square to 23rd Street 93
Walk 6 23rd Street to 32nd Street 107
Walk 7 32nd Street to 42nd Street 119
Walk 8 Times Square to 57th Street 129
Walk 9 Columbus Circle to 70th Street 147
Walk 10 70th Street to 96th Street 163
Walk 11 96th Street to 122nd Street 185
Walk 12 122nd Street to 153rd Street 203
Walk 13 153rd Street to 178th Street 215
Walk 14 178th Street to the Harlem River 229