April 16, 2007 New Library Publications Feature the Architecture and Engineering of Lighthouses and Bridges
May 9 Program to Celebrate New Publications
Press Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022
Contact: W.W. Norton contact: Kevin Olsen (212) 790-4323
The Library of Congress and W.W. Norton & Company will celebrate the publication of “Lighthouses” and “Bridges” with a special program to be held 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, in Madison Hall, located on the first floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The program is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required. “Lighthouses” by Sara E. Wermiel and “Bridges” by Richard L. Cleary are the fourth and fifth volumes in the Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks in Architecture Design and Engineering series. They join “Barns” by John Vlach, “Canals” by Robert Kapsch and “Theaters” by Craig Morrison. “Lighthouses” conveys the romance and beauty of these iconic navigational aids while explaining their development and structure. The book covers lighthouses from all parts of the United States from the late 18th century to the 1940s, when control of the lighthouses was transferred to the Coast Guard and after which few new ones were built. Images of lighthouses from coast to coast provide examples of striking design and setting as well as celebrating technological achievement and the work of important engineers. “Bridges” surveys these ubiquitous structures, from familiar monuments to modest designs. It categorizes American bridges from coast to coast in terms of four fundamental structural types (beam, arch, truss and suspension) as well as movable bridges (swing, lift and bascule). The volume includes “A Call for Preservation” of the engineering heritage of the American bridge, written by Eric DeLony, former chief of the Historic American Engineering Record at the National Park Service. The May 9th program will feature illustrated presentations by the authors, book signings and a reception. The event is made possible by the Library’s Center for Architecture, Design and Engineering, Publishing Office and Science, Technology and Business Division in cooperation with W.W. Norton, the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians and the National Capital Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. “Lighthouses” and “Bridges,” which include CD-ROMs containing images, are each available for $75 in bookstores nationwide and through the Library’s Sales Shop, Washington, D.C. 20540-4985. Credit card orders are taken at (888) 682-3557. Online orders can be placed at www.loc.gov/shop.
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PR 07-081
2007-04-17
ISSN 0731-3527