Catchphrases like 'urban renewal' have a nice ring to them, but none measure up to the tectonic, often brutal metamorphoses that have remade Lower Manhattan over the last century. A Century Downtown raises these and other pivotal events - some mere footnotes to the city s official history - into sharp relief. Informing and expanding on this extraordinary imagery is a rich, multilayered narrative spotlighting the parallels, ironies and oddities of downtown's remarkable arc.