Mackay - The Building of Manhattan

Invariably the people involved in the planning and construction of the buildings, and those working for the city and for the utilities, have been helpful. I regret not having asked more individuals for their names; some preferred to remain anonymous. If by chance someone reads this and recalls his or her own contribution, my thanks to you. Most especially to Elmer Richards and George Tamaro of Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, who offered their time, knowledge and help and to my son Neil, with his invaluable word processor and assistance.

To John Hughes and Mary Layton of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Alan Ritchie of John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson, Frederick B. Davidson of the Battery Park City Authority, John Leeper, Sol Olsher and Frank Rohauer of HRH Construction Corp., Chuck Appel and Martin Gitten of Con Edison, William Heard of Otis Elevator, Bevin Maguire of Rockefeller Center Management Corp., Felix Sanchez and Paul Leontzwick of NYNEX, Edward Stegeman of Empire City Subway, William Rosado and his associates, Ronnie Pollicino and his crew. To John Hunt and Harold Manchester especially, and to Ed Schussler and all those who put up 527 Madison Avenue.

To Fred Liebmann, Ralph Lamo, Fred Sturges, Bruce Kahan, Wallace Rosenwach, Dana Gunter, Jim Duggan, Robert McGiveron, Tim OBrien, Don Casamassina, Philippe Petit, George Willig, Owen Quinn, William Reidy, John Brennan, Lillian Alaya, Dr. Sherene Baugher, Dr. Nick Isyumov, and many others, thanks.

To the City of New York and its Department of Environmental Protection for its many books and pamphlets, and to the citys own bookstore, Citybooks, where in addition to codes and regulations, one can buy a sixty-five pound cast-iron Seal of the City that once was part of the West Side Highway.

I made extensive use of both the Central Research Library and the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the New York Public Library. The portion of the Ratzer Map of 1767 and the portion of the Viele Map of 1874 are both from the Map Division; the 1797 watercolor by George Holland of Broad Street is from the I. N. Phelps Stokes Collection; the line engraving of the cast-iron store front from Badgers Catalog is from the Art, Print and Photographs Division; and the line engraving showing cast-iron construction, 1858, is from the General Research Division. All of these are from the Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations of the New York Public Library, with help from Anna Bartrnon. The librarys technical and historical books, and the microfilm records of the New York Times and of technical journals were invaluable.

The Museum of the City of New York has been very helpful, especially for its displays of the early Dutch settlers on Manhattan Island. The Teunis Tomasen mentioned in the text. also known as Teunis Tomasen Quick, is an early ancestor. Thanks to Terry Ariano for her help with the Museums Print Collection. Also to Martha de Montao of the Museum of the American Indian, and to Katherine Naylor of the New York Historical Society. The drawings of the men working on the Empire State Building are imagined, based on photographs taken by Louis Hine, courtesy of George Eastman House and Coralee Aber.

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IN THE BEGINNING

M anhattan Island is of very recent ori of very recent gin, in geological time.