Beginning in the 19th century, peaking in the Art Deco period, and enjoying a renaissance in the 1990s, terra-cotta has been used to ornament facades, rooflines, doors and windows and create numerous architectural reliefs within American architectural history. This text presents the history, manufacture and art of architectural terra-cotta through documents, drawings, archival photographs and colour images. Also included is a catalogue of 200 extant terra-cotta buildings in New York, as well as directories of terra-cotta manufacturing and preservation organizations.