The civic architecture of Paul Cret

In The Civic Architecture of Paul Cret, Elizabeth Grossman examines the work of one of the most accomplished architects of the twentieth century. In this study the practical needs and symbolic ambitions of the government and cultural agencies that commissioned work from Cret are related to the architects own concern for an architecture that might advance participation in the United States' burgeoning republican institutions, including libraries, museums, and state and federal agencies.

Focusing on six important civic projects erected between 1907 and 1939, Grossman also demonstrates how Cret's architecture contributed to the debate about modern architecture and classicism, an issue that engaged the architectural profession and clients particularly during the 1920s and 1930s.