Hugh ferriss

Futuristic city.

Designing a metropolis: Hugh Ferriss (1889-1962).

This is the fourth installment of the series, the New York City that Never Was (Part I: Buildings, Part II: Bridges, Part III: Roadways and Railways) When it was completed, the 1915 Equitable Building had the largest total floor area in the world. Although it could never claim the title as the world’s tallest building, the skyscraper was nevertheless a behemoth that eclipsed the sun and cast a shadow onto its neighbors. Many New Yorkers feared that the carte blanche held by developers would…

Hugh Ferris owns Gotham & Metropolis. That's his vision in all that strident architecture. Check him out. The Nonist Barista

In the 19th century, we learned to create buildings using steel frames. These could soar well above buildings framed in the incumbent wood, brick or stone. And in the same century, elevator technology became practicable, so the masses wouldn't have to work out those quads going up endless stairs. Architects

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Hugh Ferriss is one of those people whose work we're all familiar with but whose name most of us don't know.

This historic drawing is from the Hotels Collection at the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis.

Some called Hugh Ferriss a draftsman, others called him a delineator. More accurately– he was a trained architect, visionary designer and iconic artist. Without ever formally designing a bu…