If not a member of APT (Association for Preservation Technology) then you will
not have received this, or other, book reviews in your recent copy of APT
Communique. For informaton on APT, including membership, go to www.apti.org.

_Early Everyday Erector Set_

A new book by Friends of Cast Iron Architecture founder and historic
preservationist Margot Gayle examines the life of James Bogardus, the father
of cast iron construction.

Cast-Iron Architecture in America: The Significance of James Bogardus, Margot
Gayle and Carol Gayle, W.W. Norton & Co., NY, 1998. ISBN 0-393-73015-8.
Includes bibliographical references and index. 272 p.

My first encounter with skeleton structures was a plastic building set
consisting of interlocking beams, columns, and very thin infill patterns. The
concept of modular construction is one on which many of us have been raised.
But, at one time the idea of building with interchangeable lightweight metal
parts, sized to fit together in a variety of patterns, was a wholly new
concept. Understanding where the novel becomes commonplace and starts to be
manifested in the built environment, connects modernity with historic
preservation. This is true whether or not the word modern is spelled with an
uppercase "M"

Several years ago I found myself involved in the business of repainting cast-
iron facades in the Soho Cast Iron District in New York City and became
intrigued to know more of the history of the once-modern cast-iron
architecture. Until I purchased the Gayles' book I had to remain satisfied
with a crude photocopy of an article by James Marston Fitch describing the
mystery of the Laing Stores. The facade of the Laing Stores (erected in 1849
and the second of Bogardus facade commissions) was dismantled in 1971,
carefully stored with the intent of future restoration, and in 1974 was carted
off by someone not-in-the-know -- like so many old steam radiators to be sold
for scrap iron. This act has engendered a small degree of paranoia among
experienced preservationists and it has always been of value to me, as a
preservation contractor, to know from where the sentiment is derived. The
Gayles tell not only the saga of Bogardus' Laing Stores, but provide the
background story that makes the tragedy of this lost landmark more compelling.

James Bogardus (1800-1874) was a nineteenth-century American inventor,
machinist, architect, engineer, manufacturer, and builder in a time, unlike
our own, where an individual could do almost anything industrious and put a
good name to it afterward. His inventions included the eccentric mill, and the
self-supporting cast iron facade. With construction in 1855 of the McCullough
Shot & Lead Company shot tower -- a structure of non-bearing brick wall panels
entirely supported by an iron frame rising to a height of 217 feet -- Bogardus
anticipated the skeletal steel-framework of our urban environment. At the time
of its completion this structure was the tallest in Manhattan. Shot is formed
in towers as lead passes through a sieve at the top structure. As it falls it
forms spherical pellets before plunging into a bath of cold water, where it
hardens. By necessity the shot tower must be tall, economical to build, and
resistant to forces exerted by gusting winds. It is curious that the modern
skyscraper was born of the necessity of the armaments industry.

Bogardus, in an age where mechanical invention was modern, was a practical and
ambitious entrepreneurial builder seeking profitable income. If he were alive
today he might not have any particular interest to looking into the past or
special concern for preservation of the historic fabric that he was building
for us then.

But as good as this book is, it has a few shortcomings. The book is one of
facts, dated and attributed thoroughly, that represent a great amount of
admirable research. And, unlike many books of facts derived from historical
records, this book is readable, the authors have a smooth and patient prose
style. What is missing is insight, or even speculation, about the impact
Bogardus' work had on his customers and the culture. The closest this book
gets is: "As for his customers, they probably were not concerned with
architectural revolution or looking into the future. They wanted structures
that accomplished the task at hand. Bogardus' buildings did so. And that was
that."

Nevertheless, I recommend the book to anyone with a serious curiosity about
cast-iron architecture, particularly if they are the owners of one of these
beautiful facades. For those readers not familiar with the streets and
buildings of New York City I advise keeping a street map and a copy of White
and Willensky's AIA Guide to New York City nearby. I read the book on the
subway in the dead time between business meetings and was pleased to recognize
a few of the buildings when emerging above ground. The author sticks pretty
firmly to Bogardus and cast iron buildings and does not wander very far into
concurrent events, therefore a timeline of American history or a short history
of New York City would assist the casual reader in imagining a familiar
context. The year 1855 in which Bogardus' first shot tower was built marks the
publication of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the building of the first
oil refinery in Pittsburgh.

Though the majority of Bogardus' work was in New York City he built cast-iron
structures in several other locations including Chicago, Philadelphia, Albany,
Charleston, the District of Columbia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Santo Domingo
(a lighthouse), and Havana. From 1848 to 1862 Bogardus built 43 structures.
Five of them remain standing: four in New York City and one, the Iron Clad
Building, in Cooperstown, New York.

Margot Gayle, a founder of the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, is an
authority on cast-iron architecture and has been a major inspiration behind
the historic preservation movement in New York City. She recently celebrated
her 90th birthday, and deserves as thoroughly researched a biography as she
has provided us here for Bogardus.

[Ken Follett is a member of the Board of Directors of APTI, an outspoken
mason, and vice president of Apple Restoration & Waterproofing, a contracting
concern based in Brooklyn, New York.] -- And is interested in doing more book
reviews related to historic preservation issues.