Book Description
FIRST MAJOR WORK PUBLISHED ON 20th CENTURY MASTER APARTMENT BUILDING DESIGNERS, ROSARIO CANDELA AND JAMES CARPENTER
Living on Park Avenue or Fifth could be regarded as a good sign you've arrived in New York but, for some, good is never quite good enough. True arbiters of taste define ultimate opulence by what hovers above and beyond the address: past the uniformed doorman, up the elevator, and across quiet thresholds. Here lies a world only a very privileged few call home — the coveted suites created by Rosario Candela and James Carpenter, time-honored masters of 20th century apartment house design.
Now, Acanthus Press offers the first major work on two of the most significant figures in the history of apartment house architecture: "The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter, by Apartments of the Affluent author Andrew Alpern.
Richly illustrated with archival photographs and floor plans, Alpern's book provides the architectural and social history of the great buildings of Candela and Carpenter, demonstrating the breadth of the designers' contribution to Manhattan's exterior and interior landscape. Added to the vintage photographs of elevations and interiors are later interiors done by some of New York's design elite: Buatta, Couturier, Cullman, Ferguson Shamamian & Rattner, Gwathmey, McMillen, Mark Hampton, Molyneux, Parish-Hadley, and others. Illuminating the volume with carefully researched facts and anecdotal narrative, the author demonstrates how Candela (1890-1953) and Carpenter (1867-1932) produced a golden age of apartment house design that was parallel to the golden age of New York's skyscrapers.
"Rosario Candela has replaced Stanford White as the real estate brokers' name-drop of choice," writes New York Times "Streetscapes" columnist, Christopher Gray. "Nowadays, to own a 10- to 20-room apartment in a Candela-designed building is to accede to architectural, as well as social cynosure."
Indeed, Candela and Carpenter not only understood the needs of discerning clientele; they effectively defined those needs. In concert with enlightened builders, these distinguished designers helped the affluent appreciate the amenities that separated the finest New York edifices from common residential buildings. "There was a wonderful assurance and solidity to his [Candela's] buildings," writes architecture critic Paul Goldberger. "They don't display any visible effort, in the greatest traditions of old money."
With well-proportioned rooms and imaginative layouts, Candela and Carpenter created the lavish structures that to this day continue to be the gold standard of Manhattan living spaces. More than a half-century later, their suites of rooms in the 124 remaining structures of the 127 they built prevail as the homes of the most successful New Yorkers.
The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter, features introductory essays by Christopher Gray and the prominent architectural designer David Netto.
Customer Reviews:
A Beautiful book of New York History and Architecture.......2006-07-15
An exquisite book! There are stories about each apartment house and how it came to be. I found the two architects, Candela and Carpenter, to be very interesting characters. The homes they designed are ahead of their time. The floor plans are fascinating. The book also shows, by the floor plans, how people lived and what their needs were. The authors even quote costs of building and tell of the people who lived there. If you like real estate you will find this fascinating.
Grand New York.......2005-08-30
Let me first say that I loved the period black and white photos of the buildings, I also appreciated the fact that all of the buildings mentioned came with requisite photos, that is a must in book of this sort. I really didn't know that much about these buildings nor the architects so this book gave me a real education, I came away more knowledged and very impressed. The attention to detail the architects employed in these buildings is amazing and the fact that so many are still extant is a tribute to the artistry and talent that went into designing and building them and obviously contempory wealthy apartment seekers appreciate these attributes or else we all know these buildings would have been pulled down long ago, just like so many of the Gilded Age mansions they replaced. This publishing house puts out such finely crafted books and this one does not disappoint, I highly recommend it.
Andrew Alpern's Labor of Love.......2001-12-27
Candela and Carpenter were two of New York's most noted architects of the inter-war era, specializing in luxury apartment buildings. Architectural historian Andrew Alpern has assembled a reference text of their buildings, organized in geographic sequence. In this book, a typical building has two pages dedicated to it. One page consists of a floor plan, and the facing page has a photo or rendering of the exterior, combined with a one-to-six sentence description. Also, there are several brief essays at the beginning of the book.
I enjoyed this volume, which Alpern has directed at a very narrow segment of readers, but it's not for everyone. This is a volume for architectural enthusiasts who are intrigued by room arrangements. Others might be better served by a book broader in scope (including some by this same author).
Alpern's best work yet.......2001-11-05
Alpern has written several books about New York apartment buildings and this is his best. This time he focuses exclusively on the genius of two ground-breaking designers, James Carpenter and Rosario Candela. If you are not adept at reading floor plans (of which there are many), it might not be immediately obvious what defines the genius of these two architects. It is the innovation of their layouts and the graciousness of their spaces that made apartment house living so desireable, allowing for the migration from town house to apartment building. Regardless, everyone will still enjoy the exterior and interior views of these great New York buildings and get a sense of how the rich really live. Alpern raises our awareness of the apartment house type in the City to a higher level, just as others had focused on the greatness of NYC's commercial structures.
Each building is described in detail and there is some chatty material about who lived where, who bought what, and maybe a little more of that would have added fun to the book. There is a chronology of all the buildings and I would have liked to have seen thumbnail pictures of the buildings next to the timeline, since the book is organized geographically. It is otherwise an excellent and elegant study of the complete apartment house works of these two great designers.
New York Luxe.......2001-10-26
Alpern has collected a comprehensive array of images and information both past and present that illustrate the breadth of work by Carpenter and Candela. Their buildings still house the privileged members of New York's social set that these apartment houses were designed for. Netto's intro is overwrought, pretentious and obviously included to lend a certain cachet from a card carrying member of Park Ave society. The book is a good visual reference, yet somewhat anticlimactic in it's format.
Book Description
This is a gossipy account of the billionaires, movie stars, and corporate giants and the white-gloved, million dollar penthouse apartment buildings they inhabit. Included are the details of the resident selection process, with heartbreaking social, racial, and political stories of prejudice and privilege, where the majority of applicants are blackballed from certain buildings. This book can serve as a blueprint for how to handle the application process, supplying advice on who to ask for letters of recommendation, what to wear to the co-op interview, how much to reveal to the board, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
High Rise Low Down.......2007-07-16
This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. For someone like myself who is obsessed with all things New York, this gave an unprecedented look at what goes on behind the walls of NY's most coveted buildings. A definite must read.
High Rise Low Down.......2007-06-27
If you are a New Yorker like I am and enjoy history of New York buildings, this book is for you. It will be one I read over and over and even imspired me to go around to all the buildings and take my own pictures of them. I LOVE NEW YORK and especially the buildings. I thank the ladies who wrote this book as they did a very good job. I have always been in love with New York buildings. You will enjoy it too if you are so inclined.
Well worth the cost!.......2007-05-07
This book is a great and easy read. I enjoyed shuffling the chapters so that I could read about the most famous/notorious buildings first. The best thing is that each chapter "tackles" a different building. In addition, each chapter reads like a Movie of the Week - stranger than fiction. The stuff is so bizarre that it could not be made up. The wealth of information shows that the authoress really did her homework.
high rise low down.......2007-03-21
Great read if the outrageously rich, shallow and pompous icons (of thier own minds) facinate you. I couldn't put it down!
Product Description
GREAT HOUSES OF NEW YORK, 1880-1930 presents the stories of 43 most elegant houses built in New York. With over 300 archival photographs and floor plans and a decade of research, Michael Kathrens profiles New York houses known only for their magisterial presence on the city s most elegant boulevards, some of which still exist today. IN the book the lavish rooms are brought to life again polished black and white columns reflect in the marble floor of a grand entryway, Dutch master paintings line damask walls in the second floor reception room, a crystal chandelier softly lights a dining rooms whose boiserie glows with paintings by Boucher evoking the elegant private life that has become a trademark of the wealthy New Yorker.
Customer Reviews:
Architectural Joy.......2007-08-16
A fascinating book, covering the now mostly demolished great homes of New York, during the extraordinary flowering of wealth and enterprise in the late C19th.
All the famous families appear together with Edith Wharton style stories of scandal and excess...
The book boasts beautiful photographs, attractively reproduced, and fascinating floor plans.
Great Houses is exceptionally well written and a joy to the eye. One for architecture enthusiasts everywhere!
awesome book.......2006-06-23
A must read for design, architecture and house enthusiasts. Well written and althought all pictures are in black and white they are fabulous. An easy read full of great backgound and rich in history.
Gilded Age New York.......2005-07-15
I have been waiting for a book like this for some time, and this one does not disappoint. It is well researched with wonderful historic black and white photos. The book is of the finest quality and the text is well put together. This is such an interesting subject and the authors are very thorough in their research, the book really feels complete. I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in wonderful Gilded Age residental architecture or just an interest in the rich history of this great city. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in this book and I commend the authors on doing such a fine job on a most worthy subject. Thank you.
Book Description
For seventy-five years, it’s been Manhattan’s richest apartment building, and one of the most lusted-after addresses in the world. One apartment had 37 rooms, 14 bathrooms, 43 closets, 11 working fireplaces, a private elevator, and his-and-hers saunas; another at one time had a live-in service staff of 16. To this day, it is steeped in the purest luxury, the kind most of us could only imagine, until now.
The last great building to go up along New York’s Gold Coast, construction on 740 Park finished in 1930. Since then, 740 has been home to an ever-evolving cadre of our wealthiest and most powerful families, some of America’s (and the world’s) oldest money—the kind attached to names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Bouvier, Chrysler, Niarchos, Houghton, and Harkness—and some whose names evoke the excesses of today’s monied elite: Kravis, Koch, Bronfman, Perelman, Steinberg, and Schwarzman. All along, the building has housed titans of industry, political power brokers, international royalty, fabulous scam-artists, and even the lowest scoundrels.
The book begins with the tumultuous story of the building’s construction. Conceived in the bubbling financial, artistic, and social cauldron of 1920’s Manhattan, 740 Park rose to its dizzying heights as the stock market plunged in 1929—the building was in dire financial straits before the first apartments were sold. The builders include the architectural genius Rosario Candela, the scheming businessman James T. Lee (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s grandfather), and a raft of financiers, many of whom were little more than white-collar crooks and grand-scale hustlers.
Once finished, 740 became a magnet for the richest, oldest families in the country: the Brewsters, descendents of the leader of the Plymouth Colony; the socially-registered Bordens, Hoppins, Scovilles, Thornes, and Schermerhorns; and top executives of the Chase Bank, American Express, and U.S. Rubber. Outside the walls of 740 Park, these were the people shaping America culturally and economically. Within those walls, they were indulging in all of the Seven Deadly Sins.
As the social climate evolved throughout the last century, so did 740 Park: after World War II, the building’s rulers eased their more restrictive policies and began allowing Jews (though not to this day African Americans) to reside within their hallowed walls. Nowadays, it is full to bursting with new money, people whose fortunes, though freshly-made, are large enough to buy their way in.
At its core this book is a social history of the American rich, and how the locus of power and influence has shifted haltingly from old bloodlines to new money. But it’s also much more than that: filled with meaty, startling, often tragic stories of the people who lived behind 740’s walls, the book gives us an unprecedented access to worlds of wealth, privilege, and extraordinary folly that are usually hidden behind a scrim of money and influence. This is, truly, how the other half—or at least the other one hundredth of one percent—lives.
Customer Reviews:
My head is spinning.......2007-06-27
I'm on pg 184, and vow to get to the end, but I don't expect it to be easy. Like the other comments, I agree that pictures would have been wonderful to include, just so I could attempt to keep some of these people straight. This book gets so weighed down with names, and they've become a blur. Junior Rockefeller was interesting, but all the names of each and every lawyer and law firm and decorators and whatnot it just bogs it all down.
I'm doing Google searches on the main people, just so I can try to paint a better mental picture.
**edited - I didn't make it through the book. It's not worth my time.
No One Does NY Dish Better.......2007-05-24
Michael Gross has been living in New York City his entire life. That's a nice way of saying that he comes by his real estate obsesssion naturally. All New Yorkers seem to talk about these days is where they live, where they want to live and how much it costs.
That makes 740 Park is a natural subject for Gross who's got a sharp wit and fine sense of what makes his native city's power brokers tick. 740 Park is a great read for anyone wanting a history of one of the city's big name building, one of those places that almost everyone in towns wants to own but only a few - very few - even get to visit.
I liked this book both for its dish and its perpective and that's a hard act to pull off successfully. Gross does a fine job.
When Does This End?.......2007-05-17
I lived in NY from 1989-1994, worked around the corner at Ralph Lauren and have always had a strong interest in architecture and New York history. I bought this book with enthusiasm.
I couldn't believe how much information is packed into it. There are over 500 pages! About page 20, I began to get lost. I simply couldn't read it. It is packed with so much minutae and tedious history of each and every tenant that it became absurd.
Here is what (my version) of his writing is. Imagine 500 pages of:
"Lucretia Davis was the widow of Malcom Dodge Davis, the same Dodges who came over on the Mayflower and began to buy up land outside of Dodgeville, MS. The old Mississippi Dodges met the Fish family when wintering in Jekyll Island and they began a friendship that cultimated in Betsy Fish's marriage to Dennis Davis and the birth of their daughter Emily Davis in 1911. In that year, the entire Davis clan, and the Fish family formed a corporation, known as Dodge Fish which eventually became the F. Dodge Fish Financial Bank. This bank began serving customers on July 21, 1921 but not before a terrible fire at 5 Wall Street which began on the night of July 20, 1921 and severely burned Mrs. Fish Davis so that she was forced to recuperate in Oyster Bay, NY where she met her next husband Dr. Leonard Foxhound Koop."
This book should not be read in bed or on a full stomach.
740 PARK.......2007-01-27
This book is the very definition of over rated..how on earth do you have a book like this and no images of these supposed fantastic apartments, I suggest a book on the architects of this building, Rosario Candela and James Carpenter, now that will show you the famous Rockefeller apartment, and fyi, it's a fantastic book, this book on the other hand is inane dribble...what a bore.
Amazing.......2007-01-10
One of the most fascinating and classy books I have ever read so far. Read it, you won't regret it.
Product Description
HOUSES OF THE HAMPTONS, 1880 1930 explores more than 30 houses, many designed by some of America s leading architects McKim, Mead & White, John Russell Pope, Harrie T. Lindeberg and by less well-known but equally gifted designers such as Edward Purcel Mellon, Isaac H. Green, and John Custis Lawrence. Less enamored with showy grandeur than Newport, but clearly a place apart from the whitewashed cottages of New England, the great summer places of the Hamptons present an ensemble of exceptional architectural variety and achievement. Here, American Colonial, half-timbered Tudor, and red brick Georgian vie with shingled cottage and Mediterranean fantasy. The book is illustrated with more than 300 photographs and floor plans, and its text provides a rich and informative portrait of the American leisure class at play. Authors Gary Lawrance and Anne Surchin lead the reader on a tour of a bygone era when couples in white flannel played tennis or croquet on verdant lawns or when America s aristocracy flocked to watch the students of William Merritt Chase s Shinnecock Art School at their paintings. The volume also contains biographical sketches of individual architects, a comprehensive bibliography, and a portfolio of some 40 grand residences of this beautiful and unsurpassed vacation enclave. Through word and image, HOUSES OF THE HAMPTONS recaptures the grace and beauty of an era long vanished. Lovingly researched and chronicled by the authors, that era lives again in these vibrant pages.
Customer Reviews:
SUMPTUOUS HAMPTONS.......2007-06-09
This is yet another well researched, beautiful book put out by Acanthus Press. Ms. Surchin does the Hamptons proud, with her insightful text and wonderful period images, I had no idea that there where so many period houses in the Hamptons, of course I knew all about the North Shore of Long Island, the famous Gold Coast, but i had thought all the huge houses in the Hamptons where fairly new, needless to say this book was a very pleasant surprise. If you have any interest in the Hamptons or just have an appreciation of beautiful books then I highly recommend this book; well done, indeed.
Book Description
The popular guide to New York co-ops and condos returns in a fully updated and revised edition! This user-friendly guide should be required reading for anyone who is curious about entering the fray of the co-op and condo market in New York. With over twenty-five percent new mater-ial, this revised edition answers all the questions that many apart-ment dwellers have but are afraid to ask their board, broker, lawyer, and accountant, such as: -Is this building right for you? -How can you make the approval process go as smoothly as possible? -What should you do if the board rejects you? -Can you keep your dog? -And much more.
Customer Reviews:
Great way to get started on your co-op hunt.......2007-04-16
This book has a lot of great details on how to think about buying (and living in) a co-op in New York City. 2 caveats come to mind:
1) Book is much more suited for you if you're buying in Manhattan. Many of the co-ops in Brooklyn I researched didn't quite match what I expected based on this book.
2) Though condos are mentioned in the title, the book is really more about co-ops... look elsewhere for details on buying a condo.
It's $13 that you NEED to spend, if you want to buy, bought or are selling an apartment in NY........2005-12-29
Pros of co-op ownership:
You can actually afford to own something.
You can have a tax write off like normal people.
Cons of co-op ownership:
Everything else.
Enter The New York Co-op Bible. I had it, read it, lost it am now purchasing a second copy after looking high and low for the first one I bought. That should tell you something.
I own a co-op in Metro New York. My managing agent is a jerk, to put it mildly. He blames the board, the board blames him - It's this game they play and it successfully achieves getting nothing done. The super does nothing unless you hold a $20 bill in your hand when you ask. My maintenance is very high for my area. I estimate that it is about 30% higher than comparable properties near me.
This unit has a ground floor patio. I have access to about 30 feet of flower bedding (sans flowers) that lines the front of my unit. This is the primary reason that I bought this place 6 years ago. I am all alone here, from the rural South and I wanted a place to call my own and I needed greenery. And I was really eyeing up those beds and my neighbor's "yard" work which was just beautiful - and still is.
I can't plant anything because of excessive drainage - all the dirt washes into the sidewalk. I have been asking for the split gutter to be repaired (all 30 feet of it) for 6 years.
So - I bought this book. Now - this is the most important thing I learned . . .all this strife between me, the board and the management agent falls under Landlord-Tenant law. This made me feel immensely better. Landlord-Tenant law in the state of New York is normally something the courts don't play around with. Maybe I will have one stinking petunia this year.
The book gets 5 stars because it is very good, COMPREHENSIVE and it is the only single source of this much information on this subject that is available. This woman has really performed a public service by writing this book. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE who is considering the purchase of an apartment, has already purchased or is trying to sell needs to read this book. You need to know what the author is trying to convey to maintain your financial health and your mental health and possibly avoid a life sentence. :-)
It can be very diappointing, very stressful and you could find yourself feeling helpless and at the mercy of someone else. To get away from that is why you want to buy in the first place. As in everything else in life, average people who have been given authority like to excercise that authority, even if it does make the owner/tenants feel like crap. And then you might get lucky and get a managing agent like mine who is sadistic and has actually brought several of our elderly residents to tears. Nice guy.
By the way, no seller is legally obligated to tell you that the board are boobs and that the managing agent is a cretin. Do your homework, do your homework, do your homework.
So read Ms. Shapiro's book and BELIEVE what she is saying because it is the truth.
To be forwarned is to be forearmed. And being a shareholder of a coop can be war.
Good luck.
PS - If you need more immediate help, please call your local office of the Attorney General of New York. They publish and will provide additional information regarding your rights under New York State law.
Product Description
For over 20 years, the New York City Apartment Checklist has been the number one source for up-to-date compliance help for thousands of NYC residential building professionals. The Checklist is an invaluable resource with "working tools," such as city, state, and federal forms, deadlines and department directories; and simple explanations of all the latest laws, rules, regulations, and requirements in a fast-reading, easy-to-use, reference format. The 2007 Edition offers new tools and new information on: *Lead-based paint *Graffiti *Recycling *Facade inspections *Water and sewer bills Don't miss deadlines, file the wrong form, or blow an inspection. The 2007 Apartment Management Checklist gives apartment owners, managers, and superintendents the help they need to comply quickly and easily with today's flood of NYC apartment laws.
Average customer rating:
- Can't Wait For Summer!
- Just like being there... even better
- Fantasy Book or not ??
- A good addition to our second home stack
- EVERY COFFEE TABLE SHOULD HAVE ONE - FOR ALL TO SEE !!!
|
The Hamptons: Life Behind the Hedges
Susan P. Meisel , and
Ellen Harris
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Residential
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Interior Design
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Photo Essays
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Mid Atlantic
| United States
| Travel
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Decorating
| Interior Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Interior Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
New York
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Northeast
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Hamptons Pleasures
-
Hamptons Havens: The Best of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens)
-
The Hamptons : Long Island's East End
-
The Houses of Martha's Vineyard
-
Designing the Hamptons: Portraits of Interiors
ASIN: 0810934310 |
Amazon.com
Forget what you may read about the glittering social scene of the Hamptons; in The Hamptons, photographed and described by Susan Meisel and Ellen Harris, we're shown a lush, summery world meant for utter peace and relaxation. From the manicured lawns enclosed by privet hedges to the wide, sandy beaches and gentle surf, the Long Island landscapes shown here are both elegant and wild, extremely modern and utterly traditional.
Focusing on three towns (Sagaponack, Bridgehampton, and Easthampton), the photographs have been divided into chapters based on their content, rather than the area in which they were taken. The variety of architecture is showcased in the "There's No Place Like Home" chapter--it's not every town that encompasses the early Federal and saltbox styles of this country right along with sleek modern styles that have open decks and windows as their focus. A surprisingly practical side of the Hamptons is disclosed in "Field of Dreams," where photos of corn, potatoes, and wheat threshing reveal the down-home roots of this farming community. "For the Love of Blue" provides the perfect pictures to help beachcombers survive gray winter days; the close-up shots of crashing waves and the panoramic views of rocky beaches may well transport you via memory to your own favorite beach.
Each chapter has a page of written introduction, but throughout the book the text is minimal, serving only to provide brief descriptions of the glorious photos. This is exactly as it should be; the photos provide such a feast for the eyes, any additional information would merely detract from their loveliness. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
The Hamptons-that glorious stretch of beaches and farmlands along the South Fork of Long Island, New York, from Southampton to Montauk and the many villages in between-is one of the most talked-about and popular resort areas in the country. There, the celebrated, the artistic, the literary, and everyday people commingle all year long. This stunning photo essay offers an insider's view, in text and 200 color pictures, of the private homes, spectacular gardens, and other scenic wonders of the area.
An arresting mix of architectural and interior decorating styles, magnificent plantings and sculpture gardens, and great private art collections-not to mention the incredible sky and ocean-contribute to the enchantment of this popular resort area, drawing Donna Karan, Martha Stewart, Steven Spielberg, and Chuck Close, to name but a few. This book will be irresistible for the thousands who flock to the Hamptons each summer, and for all who like to peek at life behind the hedges in the real Hamptons.
SUSAN MEISEL is a well-known painter and, with her husband, art dealer (and Abrams author) Louis Meisel, a collector of Americana. The Meisels own a home in the Hamptons, in Sagaponack, noted for its extraordinary garden and collectibles.
ELLEN HARRIS and her husband are collectors of Americana, quilts, and tramp art. They also own a home in Sagaponack.
200 photographs in full color, 10 x 91/2"
Customer Reviews:
Can't Wait For Summer!.......2001-05-01
I love this book! Reading it over this past winter brought back all the great feelings of being in the Hamptons. I love the fact that the beautiful photographs don't focus on just the ocean, but show hamptons life behind the scenes. The photographs of the gardens and artist's studios are especially nice. This is a great collectable book and I highly recommend it as a gift.
Just like being there... even better.......2001-04-28
We live in the city - downtown. We have three children and wish/dream about getting out of town on a weekend and letting the children run and play on the grass in the country or sand on a beach. This book puts you there and without any of the sense of overwhelming and intimidating wealth that would take away from the beauty and feeling the Hamptons can offer. The photos are beautiful and the subjects are different and interesting. I truly do love this book and have given many as gifts to friends from out of town who have heard so much about the east end of the Island but have yet to visit.
Fantasy Book or not ??.......2001-02-15
This book is very nice, but fo not buy it when you are looking for a book which takes a look inside these beautiful houses. It only shows the outside and ,i think, too many pictures of the gardens. It is really a nice book but i thought there would be many pictures of the houses and not so many detailed pictures of gardens...
A good addition to our second home stack.......2000-11-15
My husband and I are beginning to collect books related to second homes as we dream about and plan our own great escape. Our favorites are Better Homes and Gardens SECOND HOME, FAMILY HOUSES BY THE SEA, CABIN FEVER, and Better Homes and Gardens COTTAGE STYLE. This book on the Hamptons is our newest purchase, and it has great photos. The best book in terms of combining the dreamy photos with helpful insights to guide our own second home planning, though, is SECOND HOME.
EVERY COFFEE TABLE SHOULD HAVE ONE - FOR ALL TO SEE !!!.......2000-09-03
From tag sales to spectacular homes. The photography is true to life. The scenery of flora, ocean landscapes, sunsets and to the history of a town that is small yet so BIG. A delight to see behind the hedges of wonderful homes, decor and art.
Book Description
A must-read for anyone thinking of buying or selling an apartment in New York City, The Ultimate Guide is clear, concise and packed with authoritative industry-insider information. The product of Bellmarc Principal Neil Binder's 26+ years of experience in New York residential real estate, the guide walks buyers, sellers and real estate brokers through the entire sales process. The third edition is newly updated for 2005! BUS054000
Customer Reviews:
Good primer on the high-level process.......2007-04-16
The pros:
- This book describes the high-level buying process for condos and co-ops.
- Gives good overview of closing costs.
The cons:
- I later found almost all of the information I used in this book on-line.
- Advice is mostly high-level and generic. This info is still useful, however, if you're completely new (as I was) to the New York market.
- No advice on how to find recent comparable condo/co-op sale info in New York.
- Little to no advice on the negotiating process.
- The chapter on how to decide if it's better to rent or buy is completely stacked in favor of buying. For example, the author fails to mention the 6% broker's fee you're going to incur when you sell your place (unless you choose to sell it on your own). He also fails to compare buying a house (which he correctly notes is a highly leveraged investment) to the returns of similarly risky and leveraged investments in other assets (e.g. stock portfolios bought on margin). He also fails to mention how much money you're likely to have to spend updating and upgrading your home to be able to sell it for a price you're happy with.
- Much less advice regarding selling than buying (silver lining: knowing some of the advice the author gives to sellers - e.g. how to sell a dark apartment - can be useful to buyers as well)
The Book I Always Recommend To Friends.......2006-11-28
This book is short and to the point. If you learn and understand what's in here, you'll know more than 90% of the real estate brokers out there!
Walks you through the basics of the process, each step of the way.
Book Description
Handsome, superbly illustrated volume provides detailed mini-histories of some of New York's most luxurious lodgings: the stately Gramercy, the fashionably flamboyant Ansonia, the dramatic Hotel des Artistes, Joseph Pulitzer's palatial residence, magnificent Park Avenue apartments and many others. 175 illustrations — many from private sources — depict both interiors and exteriors. Introduction. Index.
Customer Reviews:
One doesn't realize just how many great.......2007-01-11
buildings there are until one reads this essential history of some of the greatest buildings in the city.
The luxury apartment house through the decades.......2001-10-02
Architectural historian Andrew Alpern takes the reader through a survey of luxury apartment buildings on Manhattan Island. There are 34 chapters, of which 28 are descriptions of particular buildings, their histories, and their unique features, each illustrated by one or more large b&w photographs. The book includes four floor plans. Buildings discussed include the Majestic, Century, Ansonia, London Terrace, Beresford, Osborne, and Alwyn Court. There are also six chapters dealing with more general topics: British 'antecedents of American apartments,' famous courtyard buildings, office-to-residence conversions, classic buildings of Fifth Avenue, double-height studios for artists, and changing fashions in floor plans.
There is substantial overlap with Alpern's earlier book, 'New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments,' although the two books were clearly separately written works. That earlier book is aimed at the reader whose interest is mainly in floor plans, while the reader who is more interested in detailed narrative descriptions might prefer 'Luxury Apartment Houses.'
A MUST FOR NEW YORKERS!.......2000-07-14
An interesting overview of the design and evolutions of apartment bulidings in NYC, originally published as the very hard to find 'APARTMENTS FOR THE AFFLUENT.' Cretainly good fun for todays real estate conscious New Yorker with photos, floorplans and even original selling prices of NY's tonier buildings.
A MUST FOR NEW YORKERS!.......2000-07-14
An interesting overview of the design and evolutions of apartment bulidings in NYC, originally published as the very hard to find 'APARTMENTS FOR THE AFFLUENT.' Cretainly good fun for todays real estate conscious New Yorker with photos, floorplans and even original selling prices of NY's tonier buildings.
Books:
- The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
- The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
- The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit: How to Make Money Buying Distressed Real Estate -- Before the Public Auction
- The Pre-Foreclosure Real Estate Handbook: Insider Secrets to Locating and Purchasing Pre-Foreclosed Properties in Any Market
- The Pre-Foreclosure Real Estate Handbook: Insider Secrets to Locating and Purchasing Pre-Foreclosed Properties in Any Market
- The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living
- The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk
- Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students (Design Briefs)
- Tiffany's Palm Beach
- Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Fourth Edition
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- I Heard That Song Before: A Novel
- Heartland #19: From This Day On: From This Day On
- Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans
- Environmental Effects of Marine Finfish Aquaculture
- Furniture 2000: Modern Classics and New Designs in Production
- History: Fiction or Science
- Femmes Fatal
- Spaces of Global Cultures: Architecture, Urbanism, Identity
- Case: Lucio Costa Brasilia's Superquadra
- Corpse Suzette
New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments, with Original Floor Plans from the Dakota
Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History
740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building
New York Apartments
Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930 (Urban Domestic Architecture)
