(Apartment Houses, East River)

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• Apartment Houses, East River, c. 1930

  In Edward Hopper’s New York  (Spanish)

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  Apartment Houses, East River, c. 1930

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  Narrator: En Apartment Houses, East River, Hopper pintó un complejo de viviendas basado en sus bocetos de algunos edificios de este tipo que se encontraban cerca del puente Macombs Dam, en el Bronx. Estos complejos eran parte de una tendencia en el desarrollo urbanístico que era nueva en ese entonces y que reemplazaría las amontonadas casas de vecindad.  

  Andrew Berman: La idea era construir estos edificios más grandes y altos que abrieran el espacio para que todos pudiesen compartir o disfrutar un entorno con más luz, más aire, etc.; era más económico.

  Narrator: Andrew Berman es director ejecutivo de la Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation. 

  Andrew Berman: Era más o menos el comienzo de lo que se vio durante todo el siglo XX, una especie de paradigma de la torre en el parque; imagino que Hopper hubiese tenido sentimientos encontrados al respecto. Por un lado, son —técnicamente— un lugar mejor. Pero, especialmente al ser nuevos y construirse en mayor escala, me imagino que podrían haber parecido algo intimidantes e inhumanos.

• Apartment Houses, East River, c. 1930

  In Edward Hopper’s New York 

  0:00

  Apartment Houses, East River, c. 1930

  0:00

  Play Transcript

  Narrator: In Apartment Houses, East River, Hopper painted a housing complex based on some that he had sketched near the Macombs Dam Bridge in the Bronx. These complexes were part of a trend in urban development that was new at the time, a replacement for cramped tenement housing.  

  Andrew Berman: The idea being you build these big taller buildings. That opens up more space that everybody can sort of share or enjoy with more light, more air, et cetera. It's cheaper.

  Narrator: Andrew Berman is Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation. 

  Andrew Berman: It really was kind of the beginning of what you saw then throughout the twentieth century, which was the sort of paradigm of the tower in the park, which, you know, I could imagine that Hopper would have mixed feelings about. You know, on the one hand, sort of on paper, it's a better place. But especially when new, at this sort of larger scale, I would imagine that it would seem sort of somewhat intimidating and inhuman.