Deck 8: The Skyscraper As Icon

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT an object that symbolizes its city as a whole?

A)the New York skyline
B)the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
C)the French Quarter in New Orleans
D)All of the above symbolize the cities in which they are located.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Wohl and Strauss point out that the spatial complexity and social diversity of a city often become integrated by the use of…

A)a mosaic of small social worlds.
B)"sentimental history" in selected landscapes.
C)interdictory spaces.
D)non-urban images.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Hutter points out that few interactionists, aside from Strauss, have investigated, on the one hand, the interactional dynamics that underlie urban imagery, and on the other hand, the

A)mosaic of small social worlds that determine the images people have of cities.
B)extent to which urban imagery acts as an independent variable in shaping urban life.
C)extent to which urban imagery acts as a dependent variable in shaping urban life.
D)extent to which skyscrapers are not considered an important part if urban imagery.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In his analysis of how photographic art transformed skyscrapers as symbols of corporate power into a "skyline," Sam Bass Warner, Jr.argues that turning symbols of corporate power into objects of art…

A)was a valuable service that the corporations provided for urban areas.
B)was an unavoidable consequence of the increasing size of corporations in the early twentieth century.
C)deflected attention away from the source of urban problems in the slum and pacified those victimized by them.
D)provided the opportunity to focus on the real sources of urban problems and move toward solving them.

Question 5

Mecca has undergone a transformation, Batrawy observes that Mecca has become…

A)a place of renewed history and reflection.
B)more like Las Vegas than historical Mecca.
C)more modern and equitable to people of all social classes.
D)even more spiritual.

Question 6

New York City became the center of the development of skyscrapers early in the twentieth century because of the…

A)density and narrowness of Manhattan island.
B)the ethnic diversity created by the influx of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.
C)nature of New York as a "shock city."
D)need to take the spotlight away from Chicago as the nation's leading city.

Question 7

The emergence of giant corporations early in the twentieth century required…

A)a mosaic of small social worlds.
B)"sentimental history" in urban skylines.
C)large amounts of centralized office space.
D)shifting of offices to the suburbs.

Question 8

In the early twentieth century, growing corporations built skyscrapers because of their need for office space and their desire to…

A)develop a corporate image that would help advertise the company name.
B)help develop the New York City skyline as a symbol of the whole country.
C)create an ecologically sustainable city.
D)emphasize that skyscrapers could never replace churches as urban symbols.

Question 9

The Singer Building was designed…

A)to be the world's tallest building.
B)to over-awe Europe with the technological know-how of the United States.
C)in the image of a huge sewing machine.
D)both for office space and as an image to advertise the company.

Question 10

Hutter suggests that skyscrapers radically transformed the New York skyline from one based on the prominence of ________ to one based on ________.

A)industry; government.
B)concentric zones; multiple nuclei.
C)the sacred church steeple; commerce and civic government.
D)sewing machine production; large insurance companies.

Question 11

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Building symbolized by its location and architecture the replacement of…

A)the sacred skyline by the secular one.
B)the secular skyline by a renewed sacred one.
C)iconic sports venues, like Ebbets Field, with office buildings.
D)extremely tall buildings with shorter ones.

Question 12

The Woolworth Building was an imposing urban monument, but the company used little of it for its own office space.This suggests that it was most important to the company as a(n)…

A)advertisement for Woolworth's five-and-ten-cent stores.
B)reminder to New Yorkers of the importance of a sacred skyline.
C)model for future skyscrapers.
D)reminder that religion rather than business was central to the city.

Question 13

The Gothic design of the Woolworth Building inspired its nickname as…

A)the five-and-ten-cent store in the sky.
B)the "wedding-cake" skyscraper.
C)Woolworth's Gothic folly.
D)the "Cathedral of Commerce."

Question 14

Colton observes that the Soviet Union rebuilt the Moscow skyline in order to redefine it from emphasizing the religious, commercial, and individualist to emphasizing the…

A)secular.
B)statist.
C)collectivist.
D)all of the above

Question 15

The eight skyscrapers built around Moscow had rectangular bodies and recessed stages toward the top, leading to their nickname as…

A)"Cathedrals of Communism."
B)"wedding-cake" skyscrapers.
C)the Kremlin.
D)sacred skyscrapers.

Question 16

While the design of skyscrapers in Hong Kong reflected the high prices and limited amount of land in the city, it also reflected…

A)the effects of Communism.
B)symbolic factors.
C)long standing British influences..
D)the desire of Hong Kong to be seen as the center of China.

Question 17

One controversy over the Hong Kong Bank building was based on Chinese beliefs that the location, design, and placement of buildings, roads, and furniture must be placed in harmonious positions.This is referred to as…

A)symbolic placement.
B)acupuncture.
C)feng-shui.
D)symbolic interactionism.

Question 18

Hutter suggests that an important reason that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center was because it was a symbol of…

A)the sacred skyline.
B)American capitalism.
C)American religious feelings.
D)Saddam Hussein's government.

Question 19

According to Michael Lewis, Wall Street and other financial centers are not just places but ideas, and the dominant idea is that of…

A)religion in public life.
B)architectural innovation.
C)liberty and capitalism.
D)tyranny.

Question 20

The total destruction of the twin towers had a massive ________ impact on Americans.

A)psychological
B)religious
C)constitutional
D)political

Question 21

There was much controversy over the building of the twin towers of the World Trade Center because…

A)they were seen as further secularizing the skyline.
B)their style was seen as antithetical to the small-scale buildings and streets in the area in which they were built.
C)they would not provide enough badly needed office space.
D)they were designed by Minouri Yamasaki, who also designed the Pruitt-Igoe housing project.

Question 22

After their construction, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were…

A)immediately loved and admired.
B)tolerated, but not loved, until several events humanized them.
C)viewed as re-establishing the sacred skyline of New York City.
D)seen as a model of architecture to be emulated all over the world.

Question 23

In considering the question of whether and how to rebuild the World Trade Center it is necessary to…

A)remember that it is basically a matter of replacing buildings and office space.
B)ensure that the New York skyline continues to outshine all other cities.
C)realize that it is not enough to replace buildings and offices but that rebuilding must also meet practical, aesthetic, and symbolic needs.
D)have complete unanimity before proceeding.

Question 24

Debate over rebuilding the World Trade towers centers around…

A)the continuing need for office space in lower Manhattan.
B)their environmental impact.
C)financing.
D)their symbolic importance for American culture and society.

Question 25

Kimmelman argues that the One World Trade Center is a missed opportunity because…

A)they should have built the identical twin towers again.
B)it fails to integrate with its new surroundings.
C)it should have been built taller as a symbol of freedom.
D)nothing should have been built at all.

Question 26

The "Ground Zero" mosque is one component of an Islamic Cultural Center that is planned to be built…

A)right at Ground Zero.
B)two blocks away from Ground Zero.
C)a mile away from Ground Zero.
D)in New Jersey.

Question 27

Underlying the debate over the "Ground Zero" mosque is the realization by all those involved in the debate of importance of…

A)symbols.
B)religious freedom.
C)office space.
D)getting it built.

Question 28

According to Hutter, the Los Angeles skyline became symbolic of the United States.

Question 29

The skyscraper, the tall building with passenger elevators and steel-frame construction, was developed in Moscow and Hong Kong.

Question 30

The architecture and location of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Building symbolized the replacement of buildings that had comprised the sacred skyline with ones that emphasized the secular skyline.

Question 31

Hutter suggests that the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 had a massive psychological impact on Americans.

Question 32

From the time they were built, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were widely loved.

Question 33

Wohl and Strauss point out that the spatial complexity and diversity of a city often become integrated by the use of "sentimental history." Give three examples of this.

Question 34

How has Mecca changed in the last decade? Why has this change occurred? Has this had an effect on Hajj?

Question 35

Why was Manhattan such a propitious location for the emergence and development of skyscrapers?

Question 36

In a symbolic sense, how did skyscrapers transform the New York City skyline?

Question 37

What was the Soviet Union's purpose in rebuilding the skyline of Moscow?

Question 38

According to journalists like George Will and Michael Lewis, what did the twin towers of the World Trade Center symbolize to those who attacked them?

Question 39

Hutter uses skyscrapers as icons to examine how imagery and symbols shape urban life.Drawing on his analyses of specific skyscrapers in New York City and also Moscow or Hong Kong, explain how he does this.

Question 40

In thinking about 9/11 and the attack on the World Trade Center, controversy has grown over whether and how to rebuild the twin towers.Using your understanding of the symbolism and importance of the site to inform your answer, explain your point-of-view on these questions.Do you think the World Trade Center should be rebuilt and, if so, how? Explain your answer and the reasons for it.How do you feel about building the "Ground Zero" mosque? (Instructors may want to separate this into different questions.)