THE INTIMATE CITY

Twenty tours through New York City reveal a rich tapestry of architecture, urban living, and civic resilience.

New York Times architecture critic Kimmelman originally published 17 of these 20 essays in the Times between March and December 2020. “The walks would become my own way of coping with those first months of the pandemic,” he writes at the beginning of this lively book, which includes excellent photos. His tours around the city were led by architects, historians, and preservationists. Many were conducted virtually, but all can be strolled in person, book in hand. We get street-level views of the culturally diverse neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Forest Hills; "America's first commuter suburb," Brooklyn Heights; and "the fountainhead of American bohemia," Greenwich Village. Kimmelman also devotes tours to specific streets (42nd Street) and buildings (Rockefeller Center, “New York’s Depression-era version of the pyramids…the largest private construction project in America between the World Wars”). Throughout, the author and his guides never lose sight of the people who live and work in these communities. Fascinating historical facts abound. In each one of New York's Chinatowns, for example, there is a park where the elderly can go for “fresh air and ‘san san bu,’ leisurely walks.” The East Village still shows signs of the Yiddish Theatre District of the early 20th century. The National Registry listing for the Stonewall Inn, site of a famous gay uprising, was achieved using criteria drawn for Civil War battlefields. In Harlem, architect David Adjaye demonstrates how to read the district's layers of history, architecturally: "If we walk north, through Marcus Garvey Park, along 127th Street, you'll see what I mean—houses from the 1850s to the early 1920s, which go from Romantic Classicism to Art Deco, brownstone to stucco." Adjaye's words about Harlem apply to this entire book: "Architecture is about more than shelter, after all. It’s about doing something that gives people dignity, hope, a belief in the future.”

An important book for readers interested in understanding New York through its architecture.