| Description: |
|
Sidewalk Critic opens with two charming autobiographical essays that introduce readers to Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), who was the architectural critic for the New Yorker from 1931 to 1963. He also published more than 20 books on various topics including architecture, literary criticism, technology, and philosophy. Sidewalk Critic is a selection of Mumford's writings, primarily taken from the "Sky Line" column of the New Yorker, which he wrote during the '30s. As a born and bred New Yorker growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mumford offers a wonderful vantage point from which to view the changing city: "It was about 1905 that automobiles were becoming so common that crying 'get a horse' didn't seem so funny anymore." Maybe it was Mumford's roots in New York that caused him to have rather emotional reactions to new architecture in the city. He attacked the plans for building Radio City in Midtown, criticizing the increase in congestion that another skyscraper was sure to bring: "When the cross-town traffic permanently blocks the downtown traffic ... and when the queues form at the subway stations at five o'clock ... the practical man may finally come down to earth. At present he is still in cloudcuckooland. It was by the cannons of cloudcuckooland that Radio City was designed." In various columns Mumford discussed such well known New York landmarks as the Museum of Modern Art, the Cloisters, and the Triborough Bridge. Throughout the book are attacks on stylistic atrocities, overspending, urban planning, and an occasional congratulations for a job well done. The 272-page book includes 16 pages of black-and-white photos. --Jennifer Cohen |
