The Architecture Traveler: A Guide to 250 Key 20th-Century American Buildings

I like this book a lot - it has guided me to many buildings I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. But it is outdated now and a new edition has recently come out, with a number of cool new buildings, especially in LA, New York and Chicago. The new book includes 263 buildings and also gives web addresses, which is very useful. I recommend you look for the new edition instead of this older one.

To appreciate the life and values of a particuliar culture and time, one has to examine the literature, music and the arts. Architechture is probably king of the arts, the expense of constructing a building, you have to consider the thoughts of the persons or committee spending this money and their appreciation of the overall impression of the structure. I find that Leblanc has truly captured, from an Art Historian's point of veiw, the most significant structures and her writing leaves the reader with much significant knowledge of the most important architectural works of the 20th century. Readers of the future will be able to grasp a concept of this century in America along with a study of the other arts using this reference book as a handy guide. I consider this an indispensible reference work.

A friendly, witty guide to great classic buildings, plus the hot new ones. The book is thick and useful with good maps. Most of all, I like it because it gives such a solid architectural history while it is actually telling "stories" of the people who designed and built these fascinating buildings. I've often used this book in its earlier editions, and now this one -- it's never failed me. Even when I thought I knew everything about a particular city's architecture, I've found new discoveries. It's nice to have a book of this kind that is authoritative and also a lot of fun.

From the "Prairie Style" Robie House of Frank Lloyd Wright to the stunning Art Deco Chrysler Building to the modern, organic ripples of Frank Gehry's Weisman Art Museum, author Sydney LeBlanc takes her readers on an architectural tour of the United States. Thoughtfully designed chronologically, this guidebook of 250 masterpieces of American buildings is a great survey of the key architectural achievements of the twentieth-century. A must for architecture enthusiasts, this book is not just for the armchair, architecture traveler. Indeed, this slim volume includes an invaluable appendix of detailed maps so the reader can plan a driving tour and see their favorite buildings in-situ. A great, well-written resource!

This classic guide keeps getting longer and stronger. This latest edition has been updated to include the remarkable new buildings constructed through the 90s; a period when unprecedented prosperity, a fresh generation of architects, and a new materials technology began to realize a new American style. Compact, helpful, witty and accurate: all the buildings are visible, and many are open to visitors. Hours, addresses, phone numbers and maps are provided. The maps are especially interesting because they show you where the architecture is in America. In visiting some of these buildings over the years I have occasionally spotted other devoted Architecture Travelers carrying their copies of The Guide, which has by now been published in English, Chinese and German. It is just the right size to travel with yet it has a nice heft - useful photos and solid, substantial research. Plus lots of interesting, little known tales of the architects, clients, builders and designs behind America's classic buildings.