Building the Skyline
Jason Barr, Oxford University Press, 437 pages, $49.95. The world is in the middle of an unprecedented skyscraper boom. Last year, more than 100 buildings more than 650 feet tall were built. What forces drive such ambition? A new book by Jason Barr, an economist at Rutgers University-Newark, focuses on Manhattan, and shows why these behemoths develop. And Barr, in "Building the Skyline: The Birth and Growth of Manhattan's Skyscrapers," manages to do so in a conversational style that almost makes you forget that you are reading a book about economic history. Why is Manhattan synonymous with skyscrapers? In the late 19th century, the island was booming: Demand to be in particular areas was so high that the only option was to build up. But geography also played a role. The famous grid pattern of the city's streets, imposed early in that century, meant that the average plot of land in the city was fairly small. New York's first skyscraper, the 11-story Tower Building, went up in the 1880s. Situated on Broadway, it was a technological breakthrough. The architect, Bradford Lee Gilbert, realized that supporting a super-tall building using conventional techniques would require walls so thick that there would be little floorspace left. So he created an iron frame for the building. Economists will appreciate Barr's careful use of wonky concepts; architects and historians will enjoy his keen eye for detail. But whatever your persuasion, after reading this book you will never look up at a skyscraper the same way again.
THE ECONOMIST
