DOC Battle of Gettysburg: A Visual Tour (2nd Edition) by Jack L. Kunkel in History

Description

Life at the Dakota is a deliciously entertaining social history which describes the lives of the rich and trendy who have lived at the Dakota; a New York apartment house daringly erected in 1884; “too far up” and on the wrong side of town.In Stephen Birmingham’s witty chronicle; the atmosphere of this elegant edifice is so powerful that the building itself becomes an unforgettable major character. From its start the Dakota has attracted a lively mix of people; from celebrities Leonard Bernstein; Roberta Flack; and John Lennon; to a ground-floor tenant who kept a stuffed horse in full armor in the living room; and yet another older tenant who was spotted wandering naked through the cellar by some workmen; mistaken for a ghost of the building.While detailing the active and often contentious life within the building from the nineteenth century to the present; Mr. Birmingham also brings to life the New York social scene and that of other fashionable American cities. Just as the sixty-foot rooms; the elaborate moldings and rococo ceilings are lushly described; so is the changing atmosphere in Central Park; the smell and sound of the street below; the judgments about what was fashionable and what was not throughout the years. Here is a window into the marvelous world of The Dakota and through it; the changing view of New York.