BiblioVault - Books about New York State

Architecture Walks

The Best Outings Near New York City

Rosenfeld, Lucy D

Rutgers University Press, 2010

Welcome to the fascinating world of Architecture Walks--from reflections of three hundred years of history to expressions of the most modern design, authors Lucy D. Rosenfeld and Marina Harrison guide you on a tour of inspiring, informative, and aesthetically intriguing architectural treasures in and around the New York area.

Early colonial saltboxes, as-yet-unfinished contemporary structures on college campuses, nineteenth-century follies, Gilded Age palaces, lighthouses, windmills, romantic ruins-- the pages of this delightful book, filled with adventures, treat readers to sites within approximately two hours' driving time from New York City. With book in hand readers will marvel at college campuses, small villages, planned and utopian communities, National Historic Sites, castles and forts, churches and temples of architectural interest, and even a Buddhist monastery, all in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, the eastern edge of Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

By including descriptions of architectural styles, suggestions for special adventures, and lists of jaunts arranged by architect or designer, architectural style, and particular types of sites, Rosenfeld and Harrison help make day trips even more enjoyable. Whether explorers or armchair adventurers, readers of all ages will find something that captures their interest in the nearly one hundred sites and forty photos included in Architecture Walks.

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Iroquois Culture History in the Niagara Frontier Area of New York State

Marian E. White

University of Michigan Press, 1961

Marian E. White describes seven Iroquois sites in detail and reports on the archaeological data, including pottery, pipes, and projectile points. She also writes about the ethnohistory and culture history of the Niagara Frontier Region of New York. She concludes with comparisons to sites and cultures surrounding the region.

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Sounding Salsa

Performing Latin Music in New York City

Christopher Washburne

Temple University Press, 2008

Written from the perspective of salsa musicians,this ethnographic journey into New York salsa of the 1990s, this pioneering study examines how musicians navigated their everyday lives, grappling with the intercultural tensions and commercial pressures that were so pronounced on the salsa scene. Author Chris Washburne examines the organizational structures, recording processes, rehearsing, and gigging of salsa bands, paying particular attention to how bands created a sense of community, privileged "the people" over artistic and commercial concerns, and incited cultural pride during performance events. He considers how violence, the illicit drug trade, and issues of gender informed sound structure, salsa aesthetics, and performance practice. He concludes the book with a discussion of salsa style in the 1990s, emphasizing how certain structural principles involved in music making (e.g., clave) and the intercultural dynamics of Puerto Rico and New York informed performance practice.

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