The Skyscraper Feud That Gave New York the Chrysler Building
William Van Alen and H. Craig Severance turned a broken partnership into the race between the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street.
Architecture
The New York Island Where Trash Disappears Underground
Roosevelt Island was rebuilt as a cleaner, quieter version of New York. Its strangest trick is a pneumatic trash system that moves garbage through tubes instead of streets.
The Manhattan Skyline Gap Is Not Really About Bedrock
The famous dip between Downtown and Midtown is often blamed on Manhattan's bedrock. The better explanation is money.
Why Manhattan's Tallest Buildings Keep Showing Up on the Same Streets
Manhattan's skyline was shaped by an 1811 street grid and a 1916 zoning formula that turned wider streets into taller towers.