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Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The book is disappointingBy Scott A. Des PlanquesPlease note that this review in no way means I am unhappy with the seller; they did a great job. For the cost incurred I expected way more information from the book; something like the McAlesters A Field Guide to American Houses. The book however is disappointing; with a title of Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial Architecture... I expected more information for the price; more of an academic book describing the stylistic types and architectural terminology and features involved in commercial buildings.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Useful Beginners Guide to Basic Forms of Commercial ArchitectureBy AlexLongstreth sets out to create typologies for the commercial buildings of American main streets that he defines and explains in this guide. As a preservationist; he believes setting out the different types of commercial buildings can help other professionals better classify and understand these buildings and begin to confront larger questions about the variation (or lack thereof) in these commercial forms across the country. His intent is to provide users of this guide with a “fresh perspective” on commercial architecture that he hopes will illicit further study and understanding of these building types.The book begins with a very clear introduction of Longstreth’s methodology. In the “Introduction” and a section on “Using This Guide” he explains his focus on only building facades; the scope of his nation-wide study; how the eleven typologies he creates fit into two larger categories of buildings with different primary (inherent to the character and structure of the building) and secondary (changeable; able to be altered without changing the basic character of the building) characteristics; and explains his intent to promote further study of main streets by creating this guide. These two sections are very straightforward and provide an express outline for the rest of the book.The bulk of the text of the guide is broken down into eleven distinctive basic “forms” of commercial buildings. Each of these sections are structured so they have an introductory line drawing of the basic form as a reference point and then feature an array of pictures of different buildings from the across the United States that reflect this basic type. The text provides a verbal description of each form; a history of where this basic form originated; and a chronology of the different iterations of the form over time as American main street architecture found itself shaped by different architectural movements from the mid-nineteenth century to the twentieth century. These eleven chapters do an excellent job demonstrating the breadth of styles and appearances of the facades of each typology. The images and line drawings of the building types are essential to Longstreth’s explanation; making a case not only for the variation in each typologys ornamentation and other secondary features; but also for the geographical spread of these styles across the nation.What is somewhat puzzling about these chapters is Longstreth’s decision to shy away from works of well-known architects; focusing instead on more “commonplace” examples because “ordinary buildings of any given era…contribute far more than the truly extraordinary ones to the historical character of the American landscape (21).” While I do not disagree with this assessment (and works by well-known architects are not wholly omitted from his examples); his analysis of these buildings types seems to not seriously consider the influence these works of well-known architects could have had on the popularity of his eleven typologies. Especially since he poses the question of why so many simple; similar types are pervasive across hundreds of thousands of examples of commercial architecture; it seems strange to discount the potential for works of masters to be seen as sources of inspiration and emulation for other architects; contributing to the rise of some of these types.Longstreth’s text succeeds as a guide for establishing basic architectural typologies for these main street facades; simplifying the wide breadth of different commercial building facades to eleven types. His work is effective as a beginner’s guide; but for more advanced questions about main street architecture that he poses to truly be answered; the reader will have to conduct their own further research and exploration.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating guide to commercial architectureBy Sarah LerchRichard Longstreth is the Director of Historic Preservation and a Professor of American Civilization at George Washington University. His areas of expertise include historic preservation and American architecture and thus are reflected in his work. His written work incorporates various aspects of late nineteenth and twentieth-century architecture; such as urban renewal projects and commercial architecture with a focus on specific cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial Architecture is Longstreth’s second book; following On the Edge of the World: Four Architects in San Francisco published in 1983. In 2000; a new edition of The Buildings of Main Street was published; which included preface dedicated to the preservation of Main Streets since the book was originally published. The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial Architecture explores the commercial architecture of a Main Street in various towns across America. The structures on a Main Street served as the junction of business and recreation. Across America; towns were developing their own Main Streets and despite the differences between an urban and more rural setting; uniform characteristics began to emerge. Longstreth includes an extremely helpful section at the beginning; “Using the Guide;” that explains how the book is set up and how the structures are grouped. His identification of the different structures is based on the appearance of the façade and the way in which it is composed. According to Longstreth; there are 11 types of common commercial facades from the mid nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century; discussed in the book; which are subdivided into two categories of six and five structures. Each façade is differentiated by how it is divided in distinct sections or zones. The first category is characterized by the arrangement of a vertical; multistoried façade; while the second category is characterized by the use columns; openings; and enframed wall surfaces. Each category of structures is presented with photographs; line drawings; description of its primary characteristics; and a comment on the origin of the structure. Longstreth incorporates 220 black and white photographs of structures such as hotels; offices; and theaters. The photographs encompass a significant portion of the book and help illustrate the characteristics of the categories.His one limitation is that he focuses exclusively on the facades of buildings. This was a conscious decision however; that he explains in the introduction. He argues that most commercial buildings from the early nineteenth century to mid twentieth century were designed to be seen only from the front; as opposed to a freestanding structures. It is the façade of the building that gives the structure its distinctive commercial architectural features. Longstreth provides a solid overview of commercial architecture that is useful for students and interesting for the public.