LIBRARY NOTES
 
Book of the Year:
The Skyscraper and the City:
The Woolworth Building and the Making of Modern New York
Gail Fenske (University of Chicago Press)
The winning author and publisher were honored at a ceremony and reception on May 6, 2009 at the Library.
The award was presented by former Library trustee, architectural historian and New York Times columnist Christopher Gray. About the winning book, he said, "The Woolworth Building is one of the most iconic of New York City structures, and it has no abler chronicler than Gail Fenske. If you think you know everything about this very familiar landmark, then this is the book for you. It is so riveting to see the complex personal interplay between owner and architect - Frank Woolworth and Cass Gilbert. The New York Society Library is very privileged to give this year's New York City Book Award to Dr. Gail Fenske."
Dr. Fenske is professor of architecture at Roger Williams University. Her remarks included the following: "It's an honor to receive this award from an institution as old and distinguished as this one. To me the very idea of the New York Society Library and its collections calls to mind the history of the city itself. I imagine the collections here as a layered record of the city's culture and history not unlike its layered terrain. I can't help but hear voices of the people of the past who have invested these layers with depth and meaning. It's inspiring for me to share even a small part of this marvelous history.
"I wrote this book because I?ve always been interested in skyscrapers. I see them as the most visible signs of human endeavor. I'm intrigued by the stories and in particular by the people, like Woolworth and Gilbert, behind their design and construction. I've always been curious about why they were built. But this particular skyscraper especially intrigued me. From the first time I saw it in photographs, I was puzzled by why such a technologically audacious work of construction, built at a time when building technology was at the forefront of things, built in the nation?s chief metropolis on a highly visible site - why this audacious work, nearly 800 feet tall, the tallest in the world, should look like a cathedral. Why does it look like a medieval building when it's so exciting and new? I was interested in that contradiction: between its ambitious modern construction and the retrospection and romance of its imagery. How do you explain this cathedral of commerce in cultural terms?"
The full recording of the ceremony and Dr. Fenske's presentation on the book is available on our website.
Above right: Gail Fenske and Christopher Gray. Below right: jurors Cynthia Saltzman and Meg Wolitzer, with Jenny Lawrence (center).
The New York City Book Awards were generously underwritten by Ellen M. Iseman and Frederick J. Iseman.
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