New York Minute: Public Clocks That Make the City Tick
New York Minute: Public Clocks That Make the City Tick
New York Minute: Public Clocks That Make the City Tick
Description
Description
Before watches and mobile phones were widely accessible, people relied on public clocks to keep them running on time. New York City has long been adorned by extravagant public clocks--towers, pediments, skyscrapers, building lobbies, and even sidewalks feature timepieces counting out the pulse of a great metropolis. In New York Minute, Matthew White provides a fascinating tour of fifty-three spectacular clocks, encouraging us to look up and behold the city in a new way.
The book's twelve chapters, each devoted to a particular category of clock, are ordered as one might move through the city, from workday to weekend. The journey begins at Grand Central Terminal, where the highest number of public clocks are concentrated within a single building, and which itself is crowned by an extravagant Gilded Age clock. As we move toward the weekend, time slows down when we visit iconic New York clocks while shopping, going to church, or taking in the delights of automaton clocks. We end with the clocks of the lost Pennsylvania Station and the contemporary clock in Moynihan Train Hall, the latter reminding us that public timepieces are here to stay.
New York Minute contains over 150 images, including historical and contemporary photos, and charming drawings by the author. Published in an attractive, giftable format, this timely book is for native New Yorkers and visitors alike.
The book's twelve chapters, each devoted to a particular category of clock, are ordered as one might move through the city, from workday to weekend. The journey begins at Grand Central Terminal, where the highest number of public clocks are concentrated within a single building, and which itself is crowned by an extravagant Gilded Age clock. As we move toward the weekend, time slows down when we visit iconic New York clocks while shopping, going to church, or taking in the delights of automaton clocks. We end with the clocks of the lost Pennsylvania Station and the contemporary clock in Moynihan Train Hall, the latter reminding us that public timepieces are here to stay.
New York Minute contains over 150 images, including historical and contemporary photos, and charming drawings by the author. Published in an attractive, giftable format, this timely book is for native New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
Ostensibly a study of clocks, Matthew White's disarming and whimsical book manages to be so much more: a vivid history of New York through an unexpected lens, a masterful study of design, and a cunning exploration of the very nature of time itself.--Doug Wright, Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award winning playwright
These revelatory pages prove that New York's public clocks are more than just keepers of time; they are, with their ceaseless determination and perpetual swirl of activity, reflections of the city itself. With the eye of a designer, the mind of a historian, and the heart of a true New Yorker, Matthew White shows us how these timepieces have shaped our urban landscape--and the rhythm of our daily lives--in ways both practical and profound.--David Rockwell, architect, designer, and founder and president of the Rockwell Group
Matthew White captures the very soul of New York through the beauty of its hidden-in-plain-sight timekeepers, as they quietly and insistently mark the pulse of a city that never sleeps. Father Time has never felt so omnipresent nor so wonderfully life-affirming.--Joel Grey, award-winning actor and photographer
Matthew White adroitly relates with what generosity the city was endowed with so many clocks, beautifully made and in great variety. He carefully documents both those which survive and others long lost. My assessment of his fine book is the highest praise possible to give: Oh how I wish I had written it myself!--Michael Henry Adams, Harlem-based preservationist, historian, and author
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Abbeville Press
Pub date:
2025-10-07
Length:
192 pages
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