Civic Classicism in New York City's Architecture
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2014 Apotheosis of the Public Realm: Civic Classicism in New York City's Architecture Paul Andrija Ranogajec Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/96 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] APOTHEOSIS OF THE PUBLIC REALM: CIVIC CLASSICISM IN NEW YORK CITY’S ARCHITECTURE by PAUL ANDRIJA RANOGAJEC M.A., University of Virginia, 2005 B.Arch., University of Notre Dame, 2003 A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The City University of New York 2014 © 2014 PAUL ANDRIJA RANOGAJEC All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Art History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Kevin D. Murphy, Chair of Examining Committee Date Claire Bishop, Executive Officer, Ph.D. Program in Art History Rosemarie Haag Bletter Sally Webster Carol Krinsky Supervision Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract Apotheosis of the Public Realm: Civic Classicism in New York City’s Architecture by Paul Andrija Ranogajec Adviser: Kevin D. Murphy In the years around the consolidation of Greater New York in 1898, a renewed interest in republican political theory among progressive liberals coincided with a new kind of civic architecture. For the first time in American history, cities and the urban public emerged as crucial parts of democratic citizenship, at least for progressives such as Frank Goodnow, Frederic Howe, and Herbert Croly. At the same time, New York City was promoted as the nation’s cultural and commercial capital: the “American metropolis,” in Croly’s words. Architects, too, played a key role in articulating the city’s and the urban public’s new status and visibility. New York City was a site for the simultaneous reimagining of citizenship, the public realm, and architectural and urban form. In this context, an informal school of architecture in New York that I call “civic classicism” developed three distinctive design modalities to reform the city’s public space: the ensemble of buildings in a garden-like terrace, the continuous street wall around a historic square, and the free-standing monument juxtaposed to the gridiron urban plan. By attending to issues of publicity—of public space and visibility—broadly considered, architectural works by Carrère & Hastings, Cass Gilbert, and others are shown to be linked to the civic, political iv concerns of their time. The dissertation thus moves beyond the conventional biases in the historiography of this architecture, which has treated the work in mostly pejorative terms. Chapter one traces the course of the nineteenth-century American “architectonic public realm”—that is, the ways in which political thought and architectural and urban form conditioned one another— as a foundation for understanding the changes around 1898. In Chapter two, Herbert Croly’s political theory and architectural criticism are studied together to reveal the connections between his republican politics and his pragmatic architectural aesthetics, which championed civic classicism’s suitability to the modern city. Chapters three, four, and five examine the three architectural modalities at the Staten Island Civic Center, Bowling Green, and the New York Public Library, respectively. The conclusion briefly suggests some reasons why civic classicism declined in the 1920s and after. v To Pamela, for unstinting encouragement; and Roy, for helping me see architecture as an architect sees it. vi Acknowledgments I sincerely thank my advisor, Kevin D. Murphy, for his wise counsel and patient encouragement. I am grateful to Rosemarie Haag Bletter, Sally Webster, and my outside reader, Carol Herselle Krinsky of New York University, for their service on the examining committee. They provided insightful criticism and helpful ideas for further work. For their professional assistance, I am grateful to the staff at the various institutions where I conducted research: the New York Public Library’s manuscript room, art and architecture reading room, and general circulation desk; Avery Library and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University; the library of the New-York Historical Society; the Archives of the Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor; and the CUNY Graduate Center’s Mina Rees Library—especially its unfailingly helpful interlibrary loan office. This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and good will of these individuals and institutions. A number of friends and professional acquaintances generously shared ideas, read parts of the manuscript, or provided other kinds of support and intellectual encouragement (even if they didn’t know it at the time): Sandra Vitzthum, Thomas Gordon Smith, and Mark Gunty of the University of Notre Dame; Cammy Brothers, Richard Guy Wilson, and Maurie D. McInnis of the University of Virginia; and Bryan Clark Green, Richard Guy Wilson, Roberto C. Ferrari, Nadia Palacios Lauterbach, and Jason Tippeconnic Fox. The late Henry Hope Reed spurred my interest in Bowling Green many years before the square would even emerge as a topic for study. I am deeply grateful to Agustin for his inimitable emotional support during the long period of doctoral coursework, exams, research, and writing. Other family and friends, especially Pamela and my mom, Margaret, provided unflagging encouragement. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................vii List of Illustrations ..................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter One The Architectonic Public Realm in the Nineteenth Century ....................................................... 21 Chapter Two Herbert Croly: “A Vigorous and Conscious Assertion of the Public” ......................................... 66 Chapter Three A “Noble Line of Civic Buildings”: The Richmond Borough Civic Center ................................ 98 Chapter Four The Continuous Street Wall and the Historic Square: Bowling Green ...................................... 168 Chapter Five Podium and Park against the Grid: A Third Way at the New York Public Library ................... 242 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 280 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 284 Illustrations ............................................................................................................................. 329 viii List of Illustrations 1.1. View of the central lawn of the University of Virginia (Academical Village), by Thomas Jefferson, Charlottesville, VA, 1819-26. Photograph, Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, item VA,2-CHAR,1—1. 1.2. Andrew Jackson Downing, “Design II, A Cottage in the English or Rural Gothic Style.” From Cottage Residences (1842). 1.3. Andrew Jackson Downing, “Design VI, A Villa in the Italian Style, Bracketed.” From Cottage Residences (1842). 2.1. View of the garden facade of the William L. Stow House, by John Russell Pope, Roslyn, NY, 1902. From Architectural Record, April 1905. 2.2. View of the entrance façade of the Mrs. Henry Barton Jacobs House (“Whiteholme”), by John Russell Pope, Newport, RI, 1900-03. From Architectural Record, April 1905. 2.3. Starrett & Van Vleck, Mills & Gibb Building (300 Park Avenue), 1910. Photograph, from Architectural Record, December 1910. 2.4. Charles A. Valentine, Fourth Avenue Building (381-385 Park Avenue), 1910. Photograph, from Architectural Record, December 1910. 2.5. Clinton & Russell, Cooper Hewitt Building (387-401 Park Avenue), 1910. Photograph, from Architectural Record, December 1910. 3.1. Vernon H. Bailey, A Bird’s-eye View of Greater New York. Drawing, from House & Garden, June 1903. 3.2. Lower Manhattan as a transportation center of Greater New York. From The New York Times, 29 March 1903. 3.3. Jules Guérin, View of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Drawing, from The Century Magazine, August 1902. 3.4. Jules Guérin, View of the Flatiron Building. Drawing, from The Century Magazine, August 1902. 3.5. Jules Guérin, View of the First Appellate Courthouse. Drawing, from The Century Magazine, August 1902. 3.6. Napoleon LeBrun and Sons, Metropolitan Life Building, 1893-1911. Postcard, 1910s. New York Public Library, digital ID 836867. ix 3.7. Joseph Pennell, New York Custom House. Drawing, from John C. Van Dyke, The New New York (New York: Macmillan, 1909). 3.8. Joseph Pennell, The Old and the New. Drawing, from John C. Van Dyke, The New New York (New York: Macmillan, 1909). 3.9. Carrère & Hastings, Richmond Borough Hall, 1904-06. Photographs from The Brickbuilder, January 1907. 3.10. Views of Staten Island. Lithograph, 1865. Museum