The Palace Complex - 9780253039941

The Palace ComplexA Stalinist Skyscraper, Capitalist Warsaw, and a City Transfixed\nAuthor(s): Michal Murawski\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Indiana University Press, United States\nImprint: Indiana University Press\nISBN-13: 9780253039941, 978-0253039941\nSynopsis\nThe Palace of Culture and Science is a massive Stalinist skyscraper that was \""gifted\"" to Warsaw by the Soviet Union in 1955. Framing the Palace's visual, symbolic, and functional prominence in the everyday life of the Polish capital as a sort of obsession, locals joke that their city suffers from a \""Palace of Culture complex.\"" Despite attempts to privatize it, the Palace remains municipally owned, and continues to play host to a variety of public institutions and services. The Parade Square, which surrounds the building, has resisted attempts to convert it into a money-making commercial center. Author Micha? Murawski traces the skyscraper's powerful impact on 21st century Warsaw; on its architectural and urban landsca.