In the early years of the 20th century, New York was facing dark times — literally. Climbing to a record 57 stories in 1913, the Woolworth Building nabbed the title of the world’s tallest building. Two years later, the hulking Equitable Tower took up an entire square block on lower Broadway, plunging everything around it into shadow. One editorial cartoon at the time showed a residential skyscraper called “Himalaya Flats,” with a ski resort perched on its stratospheric upper floors. But for most New Yorkers, the skyscraper crisis was no laughing matter. In a city where rents and good living conditions were predicated on access to light and air, what would happen when buildings — offices and...
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