A Place for Us: “West Side Story” and New York

 By Julia L. Foulkes ’86. The University of Chicago Press, October 2016. Available on Amazon. A lifelong fan of the West Side Story, Julia Foulkes became interested in its history when she made an unexpected discovery: scenes for the iconic film version were shot on the demolition site destined to become part of the Lincoln Center redevelopment area—a crowning jewel of postwar urban renewal. Foulkes interweaves the story of the creation of the musical and film with the remaking of the Upper West Side and the larger tale of New York’s postwar aspirations.