Cities from the Sky: An Aerial Portrait of America

by Thomas J. Campanella

Cities from the Sky, An Aerial Portrait of America features over 125 classic photographs that together form a definitive portrait of America's urban landscape. Taken by the intrepid photographers of the Fairchild Aerial Survey company over a five-decade span, these lavishly reproduced images provide a sparkling record of our cities in the boom years of the twentieth century. Charged by company founder and legendary American industrialist, aviator, and inventor Sherman M. Fairchild to document nearly every corner of the United States, the Fairchild photographers produced maplike shots taken from high altitude along with low-angle, raking views that depict landmark buildings and news events in stunning detail.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Architecture

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historic Fairchild aerial photos, double-oversize format, very cool book.

Recently reread. As good as I remembered. Do yourself a favor, and see if your public library has a copy. Added to my 100 Best Ever list.
Here's the review to read:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

And here are some sample Fairchild photos from that era:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/3684428...
Aerial view of Lower Manhattan, circa 1950. The open area at lower right later became Battery Park. It looks like it still had the historic coastal-defense fort (circular building) then.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8392121...
Same area in 1928

https://www.reckontalk.com/new-york-o...
Midtown Manhattan 1931, with a US Navy Zeppelin that appears to be (but isn't) docked at the Empire State building. It was built with a Zeppelin dock, but strong air currents from nearby buildings made it unsafe to use.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_...
Boston. Financial district and Federal building, downtown, 1932

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornell...
The Mall, Washington DC, 1936

Third reread, early 2023. Still a 5-star book, a truly remarkable collection of historic air photos. If your library has a copy, and if you like air photos, I highly recommend you check it out! I expect to revisit the book a few years down the line.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this while searching for aerial photographs and historic maps of cities. I really enjoyed this collection, and well-produced with a lot of design restraint which really lets the photographs shine.

Then it turns out I know the editor. He had an office next door at work a million years ago. I would have bought everyone this book for Christmas if I'd known sooner. A very belated congratulations to Tom on an excellent project.

[Eric Cartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cities, history, maps, and photography fascinate me, so I was pleased to find this book that brings them all together when I was lost in the stacks one day. Its generous dimensions and the high quality of its reproductions are perfect, especially for the photographs that fill an entire page. Campanella's opening and closing texts, as well as his captions for each photo, are most informative, and his thorough bibliography appears to be a fine resource. I wish there were more than the 125 images reproduced here, though, given that Fairchild Aerial Surveys produced a vast number of them, and that Campanella reviewed tens of thousands of them in archives. I also wish there were a separate book for New York City, because 20 pages are dedicated to it, and missing cities might have been represented, or pictured cities shown again years later or earlier. That said, I truly enjoyed leafing through this, particularly spending time with images of cities I've visited or lived in. Recommended whether you seek it out or happen to encounter it.

[Mayelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive compendium of images and history of aerial photography of major cityscapes in the U.S.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.