A leader in the fields of both regional architectural history
and historic preservation, Catherine Bishir has collected essays
covering three decades into one volume. Just as the subjects of her
studies are at once regional and national, the essays included here
seek to think globally while researching locally. What one observes
in the architecture of the Upper South happens throughout the
nation: national models, far from being slavishly adopted or--as
some might suggest--misinterpreted through provincialism, are
adapted to be locally useful and meaningful.
Recognizing that design is seldom an isolated act, the essays
collected here explore the conditions of construction itself in
shaping communities in the Upper South. Bishir examines the roles
played by local economies and class structures as keys to
understanding building practices and results. The builders
themselves take a leading role in the story, and one of the great
accomplishments of the book is revealing not only the importance
but the often overlooked expertise of slave artisans in antebellum
construction. Bishir also traces, with striking specificity, the
pathways by which national ideas entered regional usage. The book
provides illuminating case studies--from an antebellum builder's
adaptation of popular architectural books to an early twentieth
century city's cultivation of an architecture representing the Old
South mythology. All of these illuminate the complex transformation
of national ideas into forms that express and define a region.
The book concludes with a pair of essays that treat more recent
developments to examine issues in historic preservation. Bishir
considers how monumental works coexist with more commonplace
architecture, the evolving and problematic role of preservation
regulations, and the various groups that influence preservation
issues.Eloquent and accessible enough to captivate the general
reader, Catherine Bishir's essays speak with equal fluency to both
historians and preservation professionals and will be a permanent
addition to the study of our nation's uncommonly diverse
architecture.
General
Imprint: |
University of Virginia Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
November 2006 |
First published: |
November 2006 |
Authors: |
Catherine Bishir
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
400 |
Edition: |
Annotated edition |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8139-2539-4 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
Architecture >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8139-2539-8 |
Barcode: |
9780813925394 |
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