AUSTRALIAN SHADE SAILS

Financial District, Lower Manhattan

The U.S. Realty Building, designed by Francis Hatch Kimball and built in 1907, is among the first Gothic-inspired skyscrapers in New York. Kimball's sensitive adaptation of this historical style established a sympathetic relationship between the earlier Trinity Building and its neighbor, Trinity Church, which is continued in the design of the U.S. Realty Building. An entirely freestanding, steel-framed structure, the U.S. Realty Building, like its near twin, the Trinity Building, anticipates the skyscraper "cathedral" tcwer type which emerged a few years later—of which the Wool worth Building is the most notable example. The spire of Trinity (hurch, the picturesque rooflines of the Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings, and the Wool worth Building twer form a romantic ensemble and create a striking, Gothic silhouette on Lower Broadway.

Kimball, who had worked with the English Victorian Gothicist William Burges, had won acclaim as a designer of theaters and churches before receiving several important skyscraper commissions at the turn of the century; these tall buildings are known for their important innovations in the technology of caisson foundations. His strong predilection for Gothic design and his engineering expertise made Kimball the ideal architect of for the U.S. Realty Building commission.

Development of Lower Manhattan
Since the seventeenth century, Lower Manhattan has been New York's center of commerce and finance. By the last decades of the nineteenth century, many major American businesses had established headquarters there, and by the early twentieth century, the skyline of lower Manhattan had been dramatically transformed as the early skyscrapers appeared. The advancement of elevator technology and new developments in structural engineering allowed architects to construct tall, spacious, and efficient office buildings, suited to the narrow sites of the island. In the 1880s and 1890s, Broadway became the main artery of the district. Insurance companies, conscious of their public images, were among the first to erect structures celebrating their wealth and prosperity.

In 1898, the five boroughs were consolidated into Greater New York, awakening a strong awareness of the city's history and a sense of civic pride on the part of the general public. At this time, there was also a growing mistrust of monopolies and big business practices were severely criticized. Large corporations attempted to counter such sentiments by erecting buildings that would give an impression of not merely financial stability but of trustworthiness, tradition, and integrity, in order to imply that big business served the needs of the public.

As this new building type emerged, so did the need for appropriate stylistic and compositional expression. Architects found solutions in a variety of historical styles, but none was more pervasive than classicism. The classical, tripartite division of the elevation into a base, a shaft, and a capital was widely accepted, in part because it could accommodate the large proportions of skyscrapers; the neo-Classical style was commonly employed for civic architecture, thus providing, by association, a positive image for the corporation.
The Neo-Gothic Style

Although the Gothic Revival was influential in the United States during the nineteenth century, the style was rarely employed for commercial architecture and early skyscraper designs. Contemporary architectural criticism focused on the notion that no single historical style could accommodate the variety of building types demanded by modem life, and until "a distinct system of architectural forms appropriate to our age and civilization" was found, historical styles should co-exist. Despite the acceptance of stylistic variation, Gothic was generally not considered to be relevant to the design of office buildings, prior to the erection of the Woolworth Building, (Cass Gilbert, 1911-13, a designated New York City Landmark). Although few, the early, Gothic-inspired skyscrapers were massive, stylistically innovative structures which proved to have a great impact on Manhattan's skyline.

In addition to the Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings, other outstanding examples of Neo-Gothic skyscraper design are Gilbert's West Street Building, (1905); Kimball's enormous City Investing Building, (1908, demolished); and the Liberty Tower by Henry Ives Cobb, (1909, a designated New York City landmark).

The subjective connotations of the Gothic style—spirituality, scholasticism, fraternity, craftsmanship—seem to have little to do with an architecture of capitalism. As the "Commercial Gothic" developed, however, critics made formal, stylistic comparisons between the verticality and thrust of Gothic cathedrals, (particularly their spires), and skyscrapers. Due to their location next to Trinity Church, a sense of place and the picturesque qualities of the Gothic style were decisive factors i

Using a steel saw blade mounted on an improvised bent iron bar to cut bamboo into specific sizes, all bound to be window shades and those cute wind spinning decor found behind him.

Taken during the Canon Photo Marathon Philippines. This year held in Tagaytay International Convention Center (TICC) last November 14, 2009. Yup not 2011 (as in the exif), it happens to be one of Canons requirement, to anti-date your cameras I guess to nullify industrious photographers who had all the time to go there beforehand and snap some images...smart move.

One whole day, three themes, released one after the other. Submit one photo per team, no post processing, no RAW. Submit it straight off the camera. Filters and accessories allowed.

Theme 1: (9:30-12:00)
Envy the eagles for they can fly the open sky;
Everything so huge would seem to grow smaller as they recede from the eye;
A wider perspective would be a breath taking experience,
Especially if its captured through our magnificent lenses.

Theme 2: (1:30-3:50)
Filipinos no matter where they go,
be likely to leave a mark of his hard work and merit;
The challenge is to capture his great efforts; impart his message through narrating photos.
It can be the fruit or the remarkable deed; for it will surely receive an overwhelming remark on your spirit.

Theme 3: (4:00-6:00)
Tagaytay is known to be a city of character qualities.
Look up and search for these moral traits.