Description
Book SynopsisMarble Halls is written for the intelligent layperson, rather than for the specialist in the history of architecture, who is interested in the architecture and interiors of America's Gilded Age as an expression of that era's quest for cultural equality with European nations, even as it paralleled the rise of the architectural style of Modernism.
Trade ReviewMarble Halls is a companion to Craven's Gilded Mansions (2009). Craven (emer., Univ. of Delaware) focuses this new work on civic buildings, using as examples state capitals, train stations, libraries, and museums. He also includes an entire chapter on Gilded Age gentleman’s clubs, though such buildings were typically accessible only to members. Craven begins as nearly all studies of Beaux arts classicism do, with a chapter on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In each subsequent chapter, he looks at the architects and artists who created the best-known works of the period, and provides economic and political context relevant to the creation of each building. With a few notable exceptions (the 1893 Exposition, the Boston Public Library), the examples Craven uses are located in New York City and Washington, DC. Marble Halls is written for general not academic readers and is well illustrated with images of classical American architecture and the interior decoration, polished marble, painting, and sculpture that defined the sumptuous Gilded Age. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Giant Rises Chapter 1. The World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 Chapter 2. City Planning: The City Beautiful Movement and the Resurgence of Classical Architecture Chapter 3. A Palazzo of Knowledge: The Boston Public Library Chapter 4. The Library of Congress: Democracy’s Palace Chapter 5. Civic Grandeur, Civic Religion, Architecture, and Allegory: “We have learned to live with magnificence” Chapter 6. Westward the Course of Governance Takes Its Way: Mighty Domes Arise in the Midwest Chapter 7. The Great American Train Station: Roman Doric Homes for the Iron Horse Chapter 8. Libraries Across the Land: The Halls of Carnegie Chapter 9. Palaces of Art: The Met and the Mogul Chapter 10. The Gentleman’s Club: A Home Away from Home; or, a Palazzo Away from the Palazzo Conclusion: The Last, but Magnificent, Hurrahs Endnotes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index
