Stacked Vertical Block
Soaring land values and the corresponding demand for ever-taller buildings in urban centers during the second half of the 19th century led to the development of three new compositional types, all vertical in configuration. In each case, the underlying aim was to create a means of expressing the special qualities of this new building form. One of these types is the stacked vertical block, which embodies the characteristically Victorian taste for picturesqueness and variety. Used for buildings with five or more stories, the type has at least three horizontal divisions. Each section is treated in a different manner, and none of them receives appreciably more emphasis than the others. Photo from New York City, New York, 2018.