The Grid and the River by Elizabeth Milroy

The Grid and the River by Elizabeth Milroy

A collection of essays examining how patterns of use and attitudes to green spaces within William Penn's Philadelphia city plan and along the Schuylkill River informed notions of place, from the city's founding to the formation of the Fairmount Park system in the mid-nineteenth century.

“[Milroy’s] book comprises a much-needed synthetic narrative of the early development of Philadelphia’s environment, built and natural, that will appeal to landscape professionals, urbanists, and park enthusiasts alike. . . Milroy rounds out her expansive original research with an impressive array of specialized landscape scholarship, ranging from academic books by urban historians, literary scholars, and art and architectural historians to unpublished cultural landscape reports of particular historic sites. She offers more than a local history by setting the Philadelphia story in its broader context, showing how people who shaped local green places did so as self-conscious participants in international conversations about urban improvement, garden design theory, therapeutic landscape planning, and picturesque aesthetic conventions.”

—Whitney Martinko Landscape Architecture Magazine

“Though it considers one aspect of a particular city in a particular period, this work will be more widely beneficial than its title suggests. . . . Meticulously researched and painstakingly documented, Milroy’s study creates a blueprint for historical works and scholarly presentation.”

—Henrietta Verma Library Journal

“The Grid and the River is magisterial. It is both an immensely erudite history and a compelling narrative of the shaping of Philadelphia, whose famous grid plan and immense park system are among the world’s most distinctive man-made environments. Philosophy, sociology, technology, politics, and art are all shown to have been actors in the making of Philadelphia’s spaces from the city’s founding until the end of the nineteenth century. In telling their complex story, Elizabeth Milroy has written the best general history of the city in a generation.”

—David B. Brownlee, University of Pennsylvania

“Milroy has produced a grand history of public green spaces in Philadelphia, focusing on the development of, or rather, as Milroy reveals, the evolution of Fairmount Park through the 1876 centennial. . . . Thanks to Milroy, Fairmount Park can no longer be overlooked by city planning and design historians. Highly recommended.”

—A. E. Krulikowski Choice

“Even to those who think they know the well-told history of Penn’s founding of Philadelphia, there is new information and deeper nuance to be gleaned in this richly illustrated and extensively researched text. And while ostensibly about Philadelphia, the history told here is much more broadly applicable. It is a history of Philadelphia and of the formation of a uniquely American concept of landscape. Milroy’s approach is telescopic. Her research is sometimes almost obsessively detailed, finding quotes from private letters and references to the city’s green places in seemingly obscure legislative acts. The depth of her research is extraordinary, quickly building a powerfully authoritative voice.”

—Eric Kramer CAA.Reviews

“The Grid and the River unveils the timeless and dynamic tension between nature and the city. In an increasingly urban world, this book is essential reading for those who can still see a future graced by green and wholesome cities.”

—Bruce Stephenson Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

Elizabeth Milroy is Professor and Department Head of Art and Art History in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780271066769
ISBN 10	0271066768
Title	The Grid and the River
Author	Elizabeth Milroy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Pennsylvania State University Press
Year published	2016-03-08
Number of pages	440
Prizes	Nominated for Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award 2017
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.