Guide to New York City: Cast Iron Architecture in SoHo & Tribeca (Travel Guide to NYC) [NOOK Book]

Travel guidebooks for the ultra curious, Approach Guides reveal a destination’s essence by exploring a compelling aspect of its cultural heritage: art, architecture, history, food, or wine.

New York City’s TriBeCa and SoHo neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan are home to the largest concentration of cast iron facades in the world. These architectural gems are the legacy of a now-defunct textile merchant industry that prospered from 1850 to 1890.

With their immaculately preserved cast iron facades, the neighborhoods’ buildings offer an unrivaled perspective into early industrial New York, a time before skyscrapers, thriving retail, and Starbucks Coffee shops on every corner.

We've recently updated! We've added over 30 new high-resolution images, improved maps, updated walking tour, and more. And as always, these updates are free for existing customers (see below). This guidebook includes:

* History. We cover how the SoHo and Tribeca neighborhoods emerged in the late 19th century and why merchants chose to base their businesses in this part of the city.

* Cast iron technology. We shed light on the nature of cast iron technology and why it was the ideal choice for the facades of merchants’ “store and loft” buildings.

* Architectural styles. We profile the five prevailing styles of facades and their defining characteristics: Italian Roman, Italian Venetian, Italian Sperm Candle, French Second Empire, and French Neo-Grec. For each style, we offer high-resolution images that reveal salient architectural and decorative features with color highlights.

* Walking tour of the highlights. We offer a walking tour that showcases eleven of the most impressive facades in SoHo and TriBeCa; for each, we provide a high-resolution image and a detailed review. To ease navigation, we have included a detailed map of the cast iron zone. Also, along the way, this guide provides insider tips based on our personal experiences.

FROM THE AUTHORS
As long-time residents of TriBeCa, we have created a guidebook that is deeply personal and inspires tourists and locals to look up and discover a unique asset of downtown Manhattan. With our guide, readers will come to appreciate the history and stylistic principles that gave form to New York’s magnificent cast iron building legacy.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE
One of the benefits of eBooks is that we can easily update content and release new editions of our guidebooks. These updates are FREE for existing customers. Please visit http://approachguides.com/updates for a list of recently updated guides and instructions on downloading the new version.