Black bricks are relatively common building materials, but they crop up usually as architectural pinstripes, rarely as a whole suit, so to speak. One glorious exception stands on an especially prominent site in Manhattan: Raymond Hood's American Radiator Building, the darkest masonry building in town.
Currently housing the Bryant Park Hotel, the American Radiator Building was the third skyscraper in New York landmarked by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, preceded only by the Flatiron and Manhattan Municipal Buildings. And with excellent cause. Hood's buildings don't usually top lists of the finest buildings in Manhattan, but any Top 5 or 10 list without them is severely suspect.
Read Full Article »
