Description: In 1872, Episcopal Bishop Henry Codman Potter announced plans for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which was to be erected on the site of a defunct orphanage in the New York City neighborhood that would become known as Morningside Heights. In the next five years, several major New York institutions -- St. Luke's Hospital, Columbia College, Teachers College, and Barnard College -- announced that they too, would establish themselves on the high plateau in Northern Manhattan bounded by Harlem, the Upper West Side, and the Hudson River. Undeveloped and geographically isolated within the city of New York, Morningside Heights was well suited to the needs of these institutions, providing access to a large urban population while remaining in relative seclusion. The neighborhood became indelibly associated with New York's educational, medical, and religious foundations, and was dubbed "the Acropolis of New York".

In this richly illustrated book, Andrew S. Dolkart explores the varied architectural styles and monuments built by these institutions to signify their missions -- from the Romanesque/Gothic majesty of St. John the Divine, to the light-colored, popular French Renaissance forms employed by St. Luke's Hospital, to Columbia's "pure Classic" design by Charles Follen McKim.

Dolkart also traces the history of the neighborhood in lively detail. In addition to his compelling account of the building of Columbia, St. Luke's Hospital, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, he discusses the spectacular building complex erected by Teachers College, Barnard College's efforts to build a campus that would closely relate to that of Columbia, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s successful efforts tobuild a nondenominational cathedral -- Riverside Church -- as a rival to the nearby Episcopal St. John the Divine, and the construction of distinguished buildings by Union and Jewish Theological seminaries and the Institute of Musical Art (which became the Juilliard School of Music). He concludes with a chapter on the residential buildings of the area, providing the first comprehensive analysis of the design and construction of the early 20th-century apartment houses that typify so many of New York's neighborhoods.

The result of extensive research and incorporating over 200 photographs, Morningside Heights will appeal to anyone with an interest in architecture, urban development, or the history of New York City, as well as to anyone associated with the neighborhood or the institutions that reside there.

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