City Hall is the first book to feature striking contemporary images of the most architecturally significant city halls in the United States. This diverse collection includes New York, the oldest; Philadelphia, once the tallest building in the world; and Boston, the first major brutalist building in the United States. Organized chronologically, the book traces the evolution of American civic architecture from the early 19th century to the present day and represents diverse styles such as Federalist, art deco, and modern. Architects, current and former mayors, historians, and preservationists tell the story of how each city hall came to be, what it says about its city, and why it’s important architecturally.With a foreword by noted historian Douglas Brinkley and an essay by architectural writer Thomas Mellins, City Hall spotlights these often underappreciated civic buildings and affirms architecture’s unique power to express democratic ideals and inspire civic engagement. By Arthur Drooker, Foreword by Douglas Brinkley, and Contributions by Thomas MellinsArthur Drooker is the author and photographer of American Ruins (Merrell, 2007), Lost Worlds: Ruins of the Americas (ACC, 2011), Pie Town Revisited (UNM Press, 2015) and Conventional Wisdom (Glitterati, 2016). For more information, please visit arthurdrooker.com.
Foreword by award-winning historianDouglas Brinkley,professor of history at Rice University, the CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor atVanity Fair.
Essay by Thomas Mellins, an author who has curatedexhibits for institutions including the Museum of the City of New York, the National Building Museum, and the New York Public Library. 88 color and b/w imagesMasterpieces of American Civic Architecture88 color and b/w images