Product Description

CHICAGO APARTMENTS is a unique examination of nearly100 elevator structures whose luxurious amenities, generous or unusual interior spaces, architectural features, locations or innovations have made them significant in the history of Chicago apartment life. An introductory essay traces larger themes in the development of the city and the stories behind the creation of these fabled structures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #524216 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-01
• Released on: 2004-09-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Review
Chicagoans and non-Chicagoans alike will swoon over the splendid exteriors by David Adler, Benjamin Marshall, Mies van der Rohe and others as well as the magical interiors by the likes of Samuel Marx, Cornelia Conger and Frances Elkins . --Town & Country

Harris has documented 100 elevator-equipped apartment buildings, from South Shore to Edgewater, with hundreds of original photographs and, even more seductive for the reader, their floor plans . --The Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher
The book features work by a number of extraordinary architects of the 1920s, such as Benjamin Marshall, Phillip Maher, and Robert DeGolyer,as well as more recent practitioners who include Lucien Lagrange, Bertrand Goldberg, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Included in the volume are seldom seen drawings and photographs from public and private collections. Dramatic interiors from some Chicago's most important architectural firms, such as Booth Hanson, Krueck Sexton, Tigerman McCurry, and Vinci Hamp demonstrate how vintage apartments have been refined and enhanced.

About the Author
The Preston and Sterling Morton Professor of History and Professor of Art History at the University of Chicago, Neil Harris is well known for his far-reaching and stimulating studies of American cultural history. His books include the classic "The Artist and American Society", "Humbug: The Art of P.T. Barnum", "Cultural Excursions: Marketing Apetites and Cultural tastes in Modern America", and "Building Lives; Constructing Rites and Passages".

Customer Reviews

The Rise of Chicago
Having been born in the windy city it was with great relish that I bought Mr. Harris' book. I was not disappointed. It is fascinating and full of details about the people who designed these dwellings and the people who populated them. Overlooking Lake Michigan these buildings were the envy of many cities. The natural shoreline provided a perfect setting for the imagination of the architects and builders who created these edifices for their wealthy inhabitants. The changes that took place as the city became more vertical and more populace is a truly exciting look into the growth of the United States. Mr. Harris has done a superb job.

For the lake front dreamers
This is a first-rate survey of the great apartment buildings of Chicago. The title is misleading since Professor Harris covers over 120 years of architecture with his nearly 100 buildings. The interior decoration shots are fantastic: there are modernist interiors alongside misplaced historical interiors, there are Elkins and Adler designs too. Harris'introduction is a wealth of sociological information. This is a must buy for anybody interested in apartment buildings in Chicago.

A Surprise
This book was a gift from a friend, since I live in a lakefront high-rise and have an interest in Chicago architecture, I walk past dozens of these building throughout my daily travels in the city with a new appreciation now. The amazing vintage photographs plus the many detailed floor plans, along with splendid elevation drawings make this book both a joy and a valuable addition to any library.