The Intimate City

"A cultural, architectural, and historical guide to twenty walks around and through New York, led by the NYT chief architecture critic during the height of COVID-19. As New York came to a standstill in March of 2020, Michael Kimmelman composed an email to a group of architects, historians, writers, engineers, and city planners, and invited them to take him on a walk. As the chief architecture critic for the New York Times, he was no stranger to the city. But during a time of uncertainty and confusion-where being outside seemed safer than staying inside-he hoped that these strolls around town, led by a group of people who could offer innovative ways of thinking about the city, might function as a public good. They would provide distraction, consolation, and joy, not only for himself, but for his readers. This series, which began with a walk down 42nd Street amidst the darkened theaters of Broadway, quickly took on much larger meaning, at a moment when the news and social media were conjecturing about the death of cities. The walks and the accompanying interviews between Michael and his guides together became not only a testament to the city, but a declaration of New York City's resiliency. Interspersed with over one hundred stunning photographs, all taken while the city was shut down, The Walks bears witness to the city's unyielding beauty and inspiration, even in the midst of great trauma. Each route is thoughtfully conveyed for the native New Yorker and visitor alike, guided not only by avenues but the windowed facades of skyscrapers, cornices of townhomes, and the public art to be found throughout the city. Honoring the Mannahattan of the past, when rivers, flora, and fauna covered the island, and through the engineering breakthroughs, design trends, economic booms and busts, waves of immigration, and the weathering of time, here is both a thoughtful and kaleidoscopic portrait of New York City itself, and a promise-to the millions who call it home-that it will endure"--