Exasperation is running high when demolition is broached as a way to deal with an unused historic building. When demolition is actually supported by both public officials and a plurality of citizens, despite the building’s decent condition and exceptional architectural character, you can fairly assume frustrations are approaching absurd levels. Case in point: St. Paul’s School in [...]
Lincoln Center is not a landmark - at least by designation. Most would agree that it is a landmark of some sort - if not architecturally, certainly for its cultural impact. And yet, despite concerted (and well-founded) efforts made by groups like DOCOMOMO and folks like Andrew S. Dolkart, the city and state have opted [...]
When the National Guard deserted (most of) its post at the Kingsbridge Armory in 1994, few people knew what to do with the massive Romansque structure. Replace it with 10 schools? Amateur athletic complex? Offices? Apartments and condos? A shopping mall, perhaps?
Now that the latest - and most concrete - proposal (shopping mall, a few offices, etc.) has been [...]
So much for being excited about the construction of another Manhattan landmark. Three years ago, architect Lord Norman Foster revealed renderings of two slender, elliptical towers that would rise 30-stories above Walker & Poor’s original, squat, limestone building at 980 Madison Avenue. Although it was less adventurous than Foster’s brilliantly executed Hearst Tower, which rises [...]
Who knew? Strip clubs can pave the way to urban revitalization and redevelopment! Well, maybe not. But consider the Norshor Theater in Duluth, Minnesota (it’s a cool city), the first entry in…Forlorn Building of the Day.
Cities across the country have countless buildings, a few worth saving and many more worth “remembering,” in varying states of [...]