Overview

The first detailed study of ""Neo-Antique"" architecture applies an archaeological lens to the study of New York City's structures Since the city's inception, New Yorkers have deliberately and purposefully engaged with ancient architecture to design and erect many of its most iconic buildings and monuments, including Grand Central Terminal and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch in Brooklyn, as well as forgotten gems such as Snug Harbor on Staten Island and the Gould Memorial Library in the Bronx. Antiquity in Gotham interprets the various ways ancient architecture was re-conceived in New York City from the eighteenth century to the early twenty-first century. Contextualizing New York's Neo-Antique architecture within larger American architectural trends, author Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis applies an archaeological lens to the study of the New York buildings that incorporated these various models in their design, bringing together these diverse sources of inspiration into a single continuum. Antiquity in Gotham explores how ancient architecture communicated the political ideals of the new republic through the adaptation of Greek and Roman architecture, how Egyptian temples conveyed the city's new technological achievements, and how the ancient Near East served many artistic masters, decorating the interiors of glitzy Gilded Age restaurants and the tops of skyscrapers. Rather than classifying neo-classical (and Greek Revival), Egyptianizing, and architecture inspired by the ancient Near East into distinct categories, Macaulay-Lewis applies the Neo-Antique framework that considers the similarities and differences-intellectually, conceptually, and chronologically-among the reception of these different architectural traditions. This fundamentally interdisciplinary project draws upon all available evidence and archival materials-such as the letters and memos of architects and their patrons, and the commentary in contemporary newspapers and magazines-to provide a lively multi-dimensional analysis that examines not only the city's ancient buildings and rooms themselves but also how New Yorkers envisaged them, lived in them, talked about them, and reacted to them. Antiquity offered New Yorkers architecture with flexible aesthetic, functional, cultural, and intellectual resonances-whether it be the democratic ideals of Periclean Athens, the technological might of Pharaonic Egypt, or the majesty of Imperial Rome. The result of these dialogues with ancient architectural forms was the creation of innovative architecture that has defined New York City's skyline throughout its history.

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Making the very new from the very old: Macaulay-Lewis's exploration of the long fashioning of New York in Neo-antique shapes wonderfully illuminates the metropolis, lucidly explicating how quotation and transformation of ancient models served New Yorkers' needs and aims thanks to a range of architects, artists and patrons, starting from the earliest years of the United States. Monuments known even far outside Manhattan shine here in new ways, and so do less-traveled street corners; lost buildings, and monuments reconstructed, beckon too, as the book moves between bank and arch, skyscraper and lobster palace. Valuable, naturally, to anyone interested in the post-antique world's reception of ancient Old World architecture, it has much to give anyone studying American history and society. Macaulay-Lewis's guidance is a welcome gift also to anyone studying the ancient paradigms; their understanding is enriched in seeing how ancient forms and esthetics could signify in such multiplex ways in the early modern and modern city.--Ann Kuttner, University of Pennsylvania Seeking evidence of the ancient world in 400-year-old New York might seem like a fool's errand, but Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis unearths a trove of examples -- from Federal Hall, which evokes the Parthenon, to the San Remo's towers, inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates -- that delivered gravitas and timelessness to the incipient American city.--Sam Roberts, The New York Times

Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City by Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis looks at how ancient architecture was reconceived in New York City and places it within larger American architectural trends.-- Publishers Weekly Making the very new from the very old: Macaulay-Lewis's exploration of the long fashioning of New York in Neo-antique shapes wonderfully illuminates the metropolis, lucidly explicating how quotation and transformation of ancient models served New Yorkers' needs and aims thanks to a range of architects, artists and patrons, starting from the earliest years of the United States. Monuments known even far outside Manhattan shine here in new ways, and so do less-traveled street corners; lost buildings, and monuments reconstructed, beckon too, as the book moves between bank and arch, skyscraper and lobster palace. Valuable, naturally, to anyone interested in the post-antique world's reception of ancient Old World architecture, it has much to give anyone studying American history and society. Macaulay-Lewis's guidance is a welcome gift also to anyone studying the ancient paradigms; their understanding is enriched in seeing how ancient forms and esthetics could signify in such multiplex ways in the early modern and modern city.---Ann Kuttner, University of Pennsylvania, Seeking evidence of the ancient world in 400-year-old New York might seem like a fool's errand, but Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis unearths a trove of examples--from Federal Hall, which evokes the Parthenon, to the San Remo's towers, inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates--that delivered gravitas and timelessness to the incipient American city.---Sam Roberts, The New York Times,

Author Information

Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis is Associate Professor of Liberal Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. She is also the Executive Officer of the MA Program in Liberal Studies at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York.

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