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An Archaeology of American Urban Modernity, 1819-1919
University Of Chicago Press
February 2010
On Sale: February 1, 2010
397 pages
ISBN: 0226946649
EAN: 9780226946641
Paperback
$25.00
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Non-Fiction
American ruins have become increasingly prominent, whether
in discussions of “urban blight” and home
foreclosures, in commemorations of 9/11, or in
postapocalyptic movies. In this highly original book, Nick
Yablon argues that the association between American cities
and ruins dates back to a much earlier period in the
nation’s history. Recovering numerous scenes of urban
desolation—from failed banks, abandoned towns, and
dilapidated tenements to the crumbling skyscrapers and
bridges envisioned in science fiction and
cartoons—Untimely Ruins challenges the myth that
ruins were absent or insignificant objects in
nineteenth-century America. The first book to document an American cult of the ruin,
Untimely Ruins traces its deviations as well as
derivations from European conventions. Unlike classical and
Gothic ruins, which decayed gracefully over centuries and
inspired philosophical meditations about the fate of
civilizations, America’s ruins were often “untimely,”
appearing unpredictably and disappearing before they could
accrue an aura of age. As modern ruins of steel and iron,
they stimulated critical reflections about contemporary
cities, and the unfamiliar kinds of experience they enabled.
Unearthing evocative sources everywhere from the archives of
amateur photographers to the contents of time-capsules,
Untimely Ruins exposes crucial debates about the
economic, technological, and cultural transformations known
as urban modernity. The result is a fascinating
cultural history that uncovers fresh perspectives on the
American city.
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