MEDIA ADVISORY When the Time Warner Center formally opens on Feb. 4, it will stand as the most expensive single structure built on American soil. But, despite its price tag, the $1.8 billion complex, and the partially constructed New York Times building, mark a return to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when newly built newspaper buildings were symbols of the ascendant role of the press in the modern city. Research by New York University Assistant Professor Aurora Wallace reveals that, much like today, these enterprises resulted in increasingly bold architecture intended to advertise each individual newspaper and distinguish it from its competitors.
“Tall buildings proved to be an effective means of corporate advertising, illustrating the social, political and commercial aspirations of their owners,” she writes, noting that the New York Times vacated its downtown space for Times Square 100 years ago this year. “And like today, media companies enlisted the most high-profile architects they could in order to help garner publicity for their new structures.”
Professor Wallace is part of the Department of Culture and Communication at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education.
Reporters interested in speaking with Professor Wallace on past and present media buildings and their function in urban America should contact James Devitt at (212) 998-6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.
EDITOR’S NOTE The Steinhardt School of Education is a rich source of ground-breaking scholarship on issues of national and global significance and innovation in research, teaching, practice and performance. The school prepares students to be educators, health professionals, counselors and psychologists, academics, musicians, artists, communication specialists and policy analysts. The Steinhardt School values its location in New York City, where it is engaged in research, partnerships and community service aimed at improving urban life and the city’s institutions.