This book, like much of the content of the New York Times, would not have been possible without Jeff Roth, the omniscient, and unheralded, steward of our precious morgue. Jeff was responsible for mining most of the historical photographs. Credit—and my deepest gratitude—for nearly all the contemporary ones goes to George Samoladas, my wise and principled friend and admired nephew-in-law whose keen insight into—and commitment to—the people around him illuminates far more than the two-dimensional field of photography. Thanks, too, to our unsung research staff, including Jack Begg, Alain Delaquérière, Sheelagh McNeill, and Susan Beachy.
I’m grateful to my colleagues in the obituaries department for indulging my occasional dazed or distracted glares: Bill McDonald, Peter Keepnews, Dan Wakin, Amy Padnani, Richard Sandomir, Bob McFadden, Jack Kadden, Katharine Seelye, Neil Genzlinger, Erica Ackerberg, and Dan Slotnik, and, with special appreciation, the three generations of the Sulzbergers who have so generously and consistently committed their family to the pursuit of the best journalism that my colleagues and I can produce.
Thanks to all those who suggested the many more than twenty-seven buildings that were squeezed into this book and helped flesh out the details, including Pauline Toole and Ken Cobb at the Municipal Archives; borough historians Michael Miscione of Manhattan, Jack Eichenbaum of Queens, Ron Schweiger of Brooklyn, Lloyd Ultan of the Bronx, and Thomas Matteo of Staten Island; Mary Beth Betts and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Bronx County Historical Society, the Brooklyn Historical Society, Louise Mirrer and the New-York Historical Society; Whitney Donhauser and Sarah Henry of the Museum of the City of New York; Tony Marx and the New York Public Library; and to James Sanders, Brian Merlis, Ken Jackson, Mike Wallace, Andrew Blum, Edward Glaeser, Clifton Hood, John Tauranac, Christopher Gray, Paul Neuthaler, and Karen Salerno.
Andrew Blauner, my indefatigable agent, has been, as always, my chief cheerleader and literary guide. The folks at Bloomsbury have done themselves proud not only as publishing professionals but also as congenial colleagues. Thanks, especially, to Nancy Miller, Jessica Shohfi, Sara Mercurio, Barbara Darko, Greg Villepique, Maureen Klier, and Kay Banning.
None of what I do would be possible without my family. I am eternally grateful for the love, guidance, and support I get regularly from Michael, Sophie, Dylan, Isabella, and William Roberts, Jessica Sierra-Roberts, and, especially, from my wife and best friend, Marie Salerno.
INDEX
Note: Italic page numbers refer to illustrations.
African Americans, 56, 94–95, 116, 122–23, 187–96
Allee, David, 50–51
American Bank Note Company, 171–76, 255
American Bank Note Plant
design of, 172, 175
renovation of, 176, 177
site of, 4, 171–72, 175
typical workday at, 173–74
views of, 169, 177
American Revolution, 17, 19, 34
Amoros, Sandy, 125–26
The Apollo
closing and reopening of, 194
legacy of, 195–96
name of, 191–92
views of, 187, 196
Wednesday Amateur Night contest, 192–93, 195
Arthur, Chester A., 94–100
Arthur, Ellen Lewis Herndon, 95, 96
Asch, Joseph J., 133, 138
Asch Building
plans for, 133–34
Triangle Waist Company fire and, 136–40
views of, 131, 139
Astor, Vincent, 243, 244
Astor Place riots, 134, 153
AT&T Building, 262–63, 266, 267
Atlantic City, New Jersey, 200, 201, 203
Bank of the Manhattan Company, 86, 224–25
Bank of United States
closing of, 215–19
immigrants and, 210–211, 214, 216–17
insolvency crisis of, 213–15
opening of, 208–11
stockholders of, 211–12
views of, 207, 218
Battery Park City Authority, 106
Bayard, Nicholas, 46–47
Bayonne Bridge, 108
Belasco, David, 157, 159
Belasco Theater, 190
Belmont, August, Jr., 112, 113
Bill of Rights, 7, 13, 23
Black, Harry S., 144, 145, 147
Blaine, James G., 95, 96, 97, 99
Blanck, Max, 135–38
Blizzard of 1888, 99, 112
Bloomberg, Michael R., 44, 55, 107
Blum, Andrew, 266, 267, 268
Bogart, Michael H., 42, 61
Bossert Hotel
Brooklyn Dodgers and, 119–20, 122, 125, 126–28, 126
design of, 121–22
Jehovah’s Witnesses and, 129–30
restoration of, 130
views of, 119, 130
Bowne, John, 7, 10–13
Bowne House, Queens
John Bowne’s banishment, 10–11
Flushing Remonstrance and, 6–10, 12–13
preservation of, 270
views of, 6, 14
Brecher, Leo, 191–92
Brighton Beach, 199, 200, 204, 206
Broadway, 67–72, 152–55
Broderick, Joseph A., 214, 218
Bronx
Bedford Park, 233, 235
Bruckner Expressway, 176
Cross Bronx Expressway, 175
growth of, 208
James Lyons’s campaign for United Nations meeting in, 231–36, 239
manufacturing in, 171
Lewis Morris’s campaign to make nation’s capital, 229–31
population of, 177, 235
South Bronx, 170, 175, 176, 177, 207–8
subway service in, 170, 208, 236, 255
Bronx River, 85, 86
Brooklyn
Coney Island beach access and, 199
ferry service to, 111
Manhattan’s relationship to, 124–25, 127, 130
population of, 130
public housing projects in, 247
subway service to, 113, 170
trolleys of, 129
Brooklyn Bridge, 99, 112, 124, 149, 200
Brooklyn Bridge Park, 109
Brooklyn Dodgers, 119–20, 122, 123–28, 126
Brooklyn Eagle, 49, 124, 127
Brooklyn Heights, 120–21
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, 121
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, 200
Bryant Park, 42
buildings. See also specific buildings
definition of, 1–2
inner dynamics of urban forms, 271
“landmark” buildings, 3, 5, 271–72
people making connections with, 5, 270
as reflection of people’s needs and aspirations, 2–3, 4, 270
repurposing of, 270, 271
transformative qualities of, 2, 272
Burr, Aaron, 37, 85–86, 89
Cadman, S. Parkes, 127–28
Cadman Plaza, 127
Cadman Plaza West, 129
Canyon of Heroes, 41, 106
Central Park, 87–88
Chelsea Market, 268
Chelsea Piers, 109
Chiang Kai-shek, 173
Chicago World’s Columbia Exposition (1893), 124, 145, 198
Chrysler, Walter P., 224, 225
Chrysler Building, 148, 224, 225, 226, 227, 255, 272
City Beautiful movement, 114
City Hall
architectural competition for, 35–36, 80
building of, 25, 32–33, 36–38, 39, 44
criticism of, 39–40
inauguration of, 38–39
limited public access, 43–44
Marble Palace compared to, 70
as oldest city hall, 4, 41
preservation of, 42, 61
remodeling of, 23, 44
statue of Justice, 43
Tweed Courthouse and, 54–55
views of,
32, 44
City Hall Park, 40–41, 43, 88
City of New York. See New York City
City Tavern, 33
Civil War, 28, 95, 132, 161, 263–64
Clay, Henry, 98–99
Clerke, Thomas W., 56–57
Clinton, DeWitt, 38–39, 179
Cohen Brothers Realty, 255–57
Commodore Hotel, 253
Common Council, 23, 34–36, 39, 41, 43, 80, 152
Coney Island Boardwalk
amusement parks of, 198, 202–3, 204, 224
beachfront as private property, 199, 199
Sigmund Freud on, 198–99
Maxim Gorky on, 197–98
Half Moon Hotel, 197, 203
Joseph Heller on, 204, 205–6
plank deck of, 200–201
reconstruction of, 205
views of, 197, 205
Conference House on Staten Island, 272
Conkling, Roscoe, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100
Cooper, Ralph, 193, 195
Cornog, Evan, 34–35, 39
Crescent Films, 147–48
Cross Bronx Expressway, 175
Croton Aqueduct, 86–88, 90, 243
Croton Dam, 112
Croton River, 87
Dakota apartments, 272
Day, Henry S., 254–55
de Blasio, Bill, 249
Democratic Party, 58
Department of Education, 55, 62–63
department stores, 4, 64–65, 71, 132. See also Marble Palace
Depression, 4, 158, 165, 173, 216, 222
DeWitt Clinton Park, 116
Dickens, Charles, 41, 67
Dix, Morgan, 17, 19, 21
Domino Park, 51
Domino Sugar Refinery, Brooklyn
buildings replacing, 51–52
closing of, 50–51
employees of, 48–49, 50, 51
Filter, Pan, and Finishing House as landmark, 51
refining capacity of, 47–48
sign of, 45–46, 51, 52
views of, 45, 52
working conditions of, 48–51
Domosh, Mona, 65, 69
Dowling, Eddie, 220–21
Draft Riots (1863), 134, 165, 189
Dreamland Park, 198, 224
Duchamp, Marcel, 166, 168
Dutch Reformed Church, 8, 10, 152
Dutch West India Company, 7–12, 76, 78
East River, 111, 124
Ebbets, Charles, 120, 124
Ebbets Field, 120, 121, 124, 125, 129
Eichner, Ian Bruce, 260
Eidlitz, Leopold, 43, 61
Ellis Island, 107
Empire City Subway, 268
Empire State Bank, 224
Empire State Building
architects of, 122, 226
as architectural icon, 3, 148, 221, 224, 226, 227, 228
construction of, 224–26
design of, 222, 225
Grand Central Terminal compared to, 179
height of, 225–28
origin of plans for, 220–22, 224
views of, 220, 228
Eno, Amos, 143–44
Erie Canal, 25, 57, 66, 86–87, 103, 107, 179–80, 263
Famous Players Film Company, 157–58
Farley, Philip P., 201–2
Federal Hall
as Custom House, 23, 25, 26–27
demolishing of, 25, 34, 35
enlargement of, 24–25
Federal reacquisition of site of, 25–26
Hunter College Gymnasium compared to, 234
rebuilding of, 25–26
renovation of steps, 29–30
role in making of American republic, 22–23, 34
U.S. Constitution and, 13, 23
as U.S. Treasury branch, 23, 28–29
views of, 22, 30
George Washington inaugurated at, 19, 23, 24, 29, 30–31, 234
George Washington statue on steps of, 30
Federal Reserve System, 29, 213, 217
ferry service, 103, 108, 111
Fifth Avenue Hotel, 143
Finn, James Wall, 155–56
First Houses
budget for, 244, 248
as public housing project, 242–46, 248
tenants of, 246–48, 249
views of, 241, 250
Fish, Elizabeth, 79, 81
Fish, Nicholas, 79–80, 81
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 45–46
Flatiron Building
criticism of, 142, 148–50
steel-skeleton construction, 141–42, 144–46
tenants of, 146–47
views of, 141, 150
V-shaped property and, 142–45, 148–49
wind-tunnel effect created by, 147–48
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, 236
Flushing Remonstrance, 6–13
Fraunces Tavern, 272
Fred F. French Company, 223, 247
Freeman Theater, 208
Freud, Sigmund, 198–99
Friedman, Milton, 216–17
Friedman, Rose, 216–17
Fritchie, Barbara, 253, 256
Frohman, Charles, 154, 155, 158, 159–60
Frohman, Daniel, 154, 155, 156–59
Frohman, Gustave, 158
Fuller Building, 148
Fuller Company, 144–46, 148
Fulton, Robert, 103, 105
Furillo, Carl, 126–27
Garfield, James A., 96–98, 99, 100
Garvey, Andrew J., 59–60
Gilbert, Cass, 170, 223
Gilchrist, John F., 214–15
Glaeser, Edward, 3, 46, 183
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 3
Goldberger, Paul, 63, 186
Google, 267, 268
Gorky, Maxim, 197–98
Gould, Jay, 170, 264
Government House, 25, 34
Grand Central Station, 180, 184
Grand Central Terminal
blueprints for, 179
cultural influence of, 181–82, 270
design of, 181, 184–86
as indoor town square, 185
opening of, 183–84, 186
proposal for, 180–81
as transportation hub, 153, 162, 178–79, 181–82
views of, 178, 186
Grant, Ulysses S., 95, 96
Greater New York
consolidation of five boroughs into, 42, 112, 124–25, 127, 170
growth of, 76
rapid transit for, 118
Great Fire of 1837, 86
Great Mistake of 1898, 127
Greeley, Horace, 41, 158
Greenwich Building, 138
Greenwich Village, 36, 47, 77, 86
Gromyko, Andrei, 232, 238
Guastavino, Rafael, 185, 263
Guiteau, Charles, 97–98
Hamilton, Alexander, 24, 37, 80, 85–86
Hamilton Grange, 272
Hammerstein, Oscar, 154–55, 190
Hanover Square, 16
Harlem, 187–91, 193, 247
Harlem Railroad, 90
Harlem River House Project, 247
Harper’s magazine, 42, 70, 80, 217
Harper’s Weekly, 58, 99
Harris, Isaac, 135, 137–38
Havemeyer, Frederick Christian, 47–48
Havemeyer, William, 47–48
Havemeyer, William, Jr., 47–48
Hayes, Rutherford B., 93–96
Heller, Joseph, 204, 205–6
Hell’s Kitchen, 116, 188
Henry Hudson Hotel, 235
Herman, Harold, 260
Herman, Jean, 251, 252–54, 256–57, 260, 270
High Bridge
construction of, 89–90
design of, 89, 91, 104
Manhattan’s water supply and, 83–91
views of, 83, 91
Hoe, Richard, 171–72
Holiday, Billie, 192, 193
Homberger, Eric, 22–23
Hone, Philip, 23, 67, 71, 88
Hood, Clifton,
115–16
Hotel Theresa, Harlem, 122
Howe, Richard, Lord, 18–19
Hudson, Henry, 105
Hudson-Fulton Celebration, 105
Hudson Realty Company, 189
Hudson River, 104, 107, 114, 180
Hughes, Langston, 194–95
Hugh O’Kane Electric Company, 268
Hunter College, 233–34, 238
Hunter College Gymnasium
design of, 234
United Nations Security Council meeting at, 4, 234, 235–40
views of, 229, 239
Hunts Point peninsula, 170, 171, 176, 255
Hurricane Sandy, 205
Hurtig, Jules, 190–91
immigrants
Bank of United States and, 210–11, 214, 216–17
Bronx and, 208
Coney Island Boardwalk and, 200
Ellis Island and, 107
as employees of Domino Sugar Refinery, 48
First Houses and, 248
in garment industry, 133, 135–36
New York as gateway for, 25
population of, 111, 130, 210
Alexander Turney Stewart as, 65
tenements and, 250
Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) system, 111–16, 118, 127, 170, 208
International Plaza, 257
internet, 4, 266–67, 268
IRT Powerhouse
design of, 114–15, 116
neighborhood surrounding, 116–17
subway service and, 111–15, 117–18
views of, 110, 117
Irving, Washington, 33, 80
Jackson, Kenneth T., 13–14, 22
Jahn, Helmut, 255–56
James, Henry, Jr., 43, 78, 131–32, 134, 135
James, Henry, Sr., 132, 133
Jennings, Elizabeth, 94–95
Jervis, John B., 87, 88, 89
Jewish immigrants, 210–11
Johnson, Philip, 2
John Street Theater, 152
Journal of Urban History, 42, 61
Kanin, Garson, 158–59
King’s College, 19
Knickerbocker Houses, 247–48
Koch, Edward I., 106, 176
Koolhaas, Rem, 78, 149
Ladies’ Mile shopping district, 72, 143, 153, 257
Lafayette, Marquis de, 19, 41, 81
La Guardia, Fiorello H., 192, 204, 242, 243, 245–46
Landmarks Preservation Commission, 3, 56, 70, 90, 115, 145, 155, 263
Landon, Alf, 228
Latrobe, Benjamin, 35, 36
Launy, David E., 32–33
Lehman, Herbert H., 214, 218, 238, 245
Lehman College of the City University of New York, 238
L’Enfant, Peter, 17, 24–25
Lever House, 70
Liberty Theater, 155
Lie, Trygve, 234, 237
Lincoln, Abraham, 41, 95
Lincoln Center, 116
Lindbergh, Charles A., 106, 202
Little Apollo Theater, 191, 195
Longacre Square, 154–55, 179
Los Angeles, California, 119–20, 128
Lumsden, May, 246–47, 249