Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Towering over the White House, the colossal granite Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) was first constructed to house the departments of State, War, and Navy in the nineteenth century, and it now serves as the home of the Executive Office of the President. Having outlasted decades of plans threatening alteration or outright demolition, the building survives as one of the foremost examples of Second Empire design in the United States.

Palace of State details the building's rich architectural and historical legacy--from the beginnings of federal civic architecture in Washington to its construction as the world's largest office building after the Civil War, and culminating in the recently completed restoration process that began in the 1980s. Featuring beautifully rendered architectural drawings, historic images, and lush contemporary photography, this illustrated history presents a comprehensive study of an iconic landmark that continues to serve in its role as a monumental setting for statecraft.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Palace of State is noteworthy on several counts. It offers abundant new information on a key work of 19th-century public architecture in the US--a building that is well known but previously scantily examined. The book also offers extensive context on the great surge of ambitious public building construction during the Gilded Age--again a topic that has suffered from scholarly neglect. And there is welcome material on the building's architect, Alfred Mullett (1834--90), who shaped the complexion of major federal buildings for more than a decade. The building's then state-of-the-art technology and its demanding construction program are examined in detail. Palace of State looks not only at the building's original function--it housed the Departments of State, War, and the Navy--but also at how those functions changed over time and the conversion of the building to executive offices for the president after WW II. The last of the book's eight chapters is devoted to the meticulous restoration of many parts of the building's fabric in recent decades. The book's large format, the enormous number of both historical and contemporary images, and the sumptuousness with which they are reproduced make the book as elegant as it is substantive. An exceptional resource for those interested in public and/or 19th-century US architecture. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. --Richard Longstreth, George Washington University

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Thomas E. Luebke has served as secretary to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts since 2005.