New York and Chicago are the birthplaces of skyscrapers, but tall office towers radically transformed every city in America. For his new book, MultiStories: 55 Antique Skyscrapers & the Business Tycoons Who Built Them, Mark Houser traveled widely to find the best landmark high-rises in 36 cities in the United States and abroad. In this talk, the award-winning writer and speaker will discuss his extensive research with observations gleaned from touring these spectacular old high-rises, with a focus on New York. His presentation will include Beaux-Arts facades, dazzling lobbies, rooftop decks, and behind-the-scenes surprises in antique skyscrapers from Manhattan to Miami, Cincinnati to San Francisco, and unexpected details about the Gilded Age millionaires who commissioned the world’s first skyscrapers. These soaring structures — “machines that make the land pay,” as Woolworth Building architect Cass Gilbert described them — proclaimed their owners’ influence and remain as legacies of a fascinating, forgotten past.
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
Something wrong with this post? Let us know!
