Living Now in the New York of the Gilded Age: Inheriting the Built Environment of the Nineteenth Century


I tell this story because I've been thinking about what it means to inherit and inhabit the architecture of an older era, in this case, nineteenth-century New York. Even in the midst of the city's current building boom, whole stretches of valuable real estate are still dominated by the visible symbols of Gilded Age extravagance and the aesthetic values of the society that created them.
Even as we process information at lightning speed, untethered to the traditional means of production, we venture forth into a city rich in reviving the symbolic legacy of an even more remote past - Gothic, Italianate, Roman, or French. The more modern we become, the more astonishing the presence of older

Ladies Mile, south from 15th up to 24th streets and west to east from 6th Avenue to Park Avenue South, is an excellent choice for strolling through the New York of the 19th century, preferably clutching an architectural guide. I recommend the AIA Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition, by Norval White and Elliot Willensky, even though it's weighty. Once the shopping district of choice for the most fashionable of New Yorkers, many of the buildings in this area near Union Square and Madison Square have been repurposed for the needs of the contemporary city.

See New York 1900: Edith Wharton and The House of Mirth, A Walk and a Map for the several related posts.
What a comprehensive article. One is truely transported back to Edith Wharton's day by following the path you have mapped out for us! Thank You, Cynthia Lyons
ReplyDelete