Overview
Architect George Howe thought there were three pioneers of American architecture: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William L. Price. Although history has borne out Howe's observation on Sullivan and Wright, Will Price still awaits discovery.Architect George Howe thought there were three pioneers of American architecture: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William L. Price. Although history has borne out Howe's observation on Sullivan and Wright, Will Price still awaits discovery.
Price, a disciple of Frank Furness who practiced in Philadelphia from 1833 to 1916, established the architectural character of the two of the nation's greatest resorts, Atlantic City and Miami, thus shaping the architecture of the Roaring Twenties. Although his biggest and best-known projects, the Art Deco Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City and the Chicago Freight Terminal, are both destroyed, his arts and crafts utopian community in Arden, Delaware survive to attest to the vigor of his ideas and the leadership he exerted.
Price left a legacy of exquisite houses, railway stations, and commercial structures stretching from Atlantic City to Chicago and from Canada to Florida taht were widely emulated and reacall the best works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene & Greene. In addition, Price was accomplished writer and furniture designer whose work was regularly featured in Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman.
Price's role in shaping American architecture in uncovered in this lavishingly illustrated volume, which documents the architects complete works—including over 350 hotels, houses, and pieces of furniture—bringing to light this unknown American master.
Synopsis
Architect George Howe thought there were three pioneers of American architecture: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William L. Price. Although history has borne out Howe's observation on Sullivan and Wright, Will Price still awaits discovery.
Architect George Howe thought there were three pioneers of American architecture: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William L. Price. Although history has borne out Howe's observation on Sullivan and Wright, Will Price still awaits discovery.
Price, a disciple of Frank Furness who practiced in Philadelphia from 1833 to 1916, established the architectural character of the two of the nation's greatest resorts, Atlantic City and Miami, thus shaping the architecture of the Roaring Twenties. Although his biggest and best-known projects, the Art Deco Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City and the Chicago Freight Terminal, are both destroyed, his arts and crafts utopian community in Arden, Delaware survive to attest to the vigor of his ideas and the leadership he exerted.
Price left a legacy of exquisite houses, railway stations, and commercial structures stretching from Atlantic City to Chicago and from Canada to Florida taht were widely emulated and reacall the best works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene & Greene. In addition, Price was accomplished writer and furniture designer whose work was regularly featured in Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman.
Price's role in shaping American architecture in uncovered in this lavishingly illustrated volume, which documents the architects complete works—including over 350 hotels, houses, and pieces of furniture—bringing to light this unknown American master.
Library Journal
Regrettably, Philadelphian Price has largely eluded the attention of critics and historians. Thomas, who developed this book from a dissertation, ably corrects the oversight. Early in Price's career, country houses were the greater part of his work. After 1900, however, he designed a broader range of building types, such as hotels and buildings for industry and commerce. Because he integrated steel and reinforced concrete into his designs and used American and European arts-and-crafts sources, Price is considered a noteworthy protomodernist. In four rather inscrutably titled chapters, the author delineates Price's career and argues as well for Philadelphia's place in the history of innovative American architecture. The following catalog and chronology of his work contain ample descriptions, detailed historical data, and excellent illustrations. A fine addition to larger architecture collections.--Paul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\