The Civic Architecture of Paul Cret

by Elizabeth Greenwell Grossman

Elizabeth Grossman's study is the first to examine the civic architecture of Paul Cret, one of the most gifted architects of the twentieth century. Focusing on six important civic projects erected between 1907 and 1939, Grossman demonstrates how Cret's architecture contributed to the debate about modern architecture and classicism which engaged the architectural profession and clients as they reconceptualised civic values, particularly during the 1920s and '30s. The practical needs and symbolic ambitions of the government and cultural agencies that commissioned work from Cret are, moreover, related to the architect's own concern for an architecture that might advance participation in the country's burgeoning republican institutions, including libraries, museums, and state and federal agencies.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 1996