Search

Beginning in 1972, the photographer John Margolies (born 1940) spent thirty-six years documenting commercial vernacular buildings across the United States. His body of work, now including an archive of thirteen [...]

"Modern Mobility Aloft: Elevated Highways, Architecture, and Urban Change in Pre-Interstate America" by Amy D. Finstein explores the impact of elevated highways on urban development in the United States from 1890 to 1960. The book focuses on three case studies: Wacker Drive in Chicago, the West Side Elevated Highway in New York, and Boston's Central Artery. Finstein argues that these highways, with their modernist design and separation from the urban fabric, represented a shift from train to car and had significant social and environmental consequences. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the planning, construction, and aftermath of these elevated highways. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract This article examines the religious and architectural history of the Royal Abbey of Fontevrault, in the French province of Anjou, investigating the active and deliberate role women played in [...]

Greg Castillo Cold War on the Home Front: The Soft Power of Midcentury Design Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010. 312 pages. 93 black-and-white illustrations. ISBN 978-0-8166-4691-3, $75.00 HB ISBN [...]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the Roman brick industry and announcing the existence of the Society of Architectural Historians.

An essay is presented on the work of architectural photographer John Margolies, with a particular focus on his photos of commercial vernacular buildings in the U.S. According to the author, Margolies contributed to the development of post-modernism by using his writings and exhibitions to critique mainstream architectural values and the cultural hegemony of modernism. Other topics include populism and Margolies' book "The End of the Road".

The article presents a content analysis of architecture and design in American motion pictures in the Depression-era nineteen thirties. The films were a form of mass marketing that exploited the mores and standards of the consumer culture. Motion picture sets had the ability to influence Americans, arbitrate public taste, and set trends.

This article presents the picture of New York City during 1930's as captured by real property survey of the city, done by a governmental body, Works Progress Administration. This survey was divided into two systematic projects of documentary photography. One of these, Berenice Abbott's Changing New York, is well known. It produced over 300 views of a rapidly changing urban environment. The second major photographic portrait of the city during the Great Depression also records the changing cityspace, but this is generally unknown. It is comprised of over 700 000 black and white photographs depicting every real state in the city. The purpose of this project, named as "Real Property Tax Card Record System for the City of New York," was to collect and record information about every piece of real estate in the city in order to assess and levy property taxes in an equitable manner. These photographic collections now serve as one of the most interesting record of the history and the tax photographs are used by architects, historic preservationists, historians and film consultants as documentary evidence of the state of the building and the state of the city during 1930 and 1940.

The article discusses the importance of marketplaces in providing a place for city dwellers to come in contact with fresh produce and its sellers in the U.S. It traces the development of market places as a form of catalyst in the regeneration of urban living and cites the redevelopment of the Faneuil Hall Market Place and Pike Place Market. Moreover, it discusses the design and architecture of modern marketplaces in the country that reflect convenience and luxury.