Architectural Lamentations

Tocks Island Dam & The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

2010-08-20T18:52:00.007-04:00

The Delaware Water Gap - As Viewed From The Kittatinny Ridge

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000 acre Federal Park. It is located along the banks of the Delaware River on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides in the Poconos Region. This National Park features miles of hiking, scenic waterfalls such as Silver Thread Falls & Dingman's falls, fishing, camping and boating.

Dingman's Falls

A "Water Gap" is an opening or notch through which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. The Delaware Water Gap was once plains millions of years ago. Through the power of erosion and the gradual uplifting of the land the Delaware Delaware River carved a beautiful gap through what is now known as the Blue Mountains portion of the Appalachian Mountain Chain. The Delaware RIver Itself, is a 360 mile long pristine River, whose watershed serves a major fresh water supply for New York City.

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a beautiful park in which all people can find rest, relaxation and enjoyment while surround by beautiful mountains and a scenic river. However, this National Park was not created philanthropically by the Federal Government for the benefit of the people, as it would appear upon first glance.

The Delaware River

The genesis of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation lies in the Tocks Island Dam Project, which was to have been located as it's namesake implies along Tocks Island in the Delaware River, in the Southern Portion of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Tocks Island Dam largely came under consideration in 1950's just around the time of a massive flood in 1955 which caused several deaths and huge amounts of damage to the Delaware River Basin. Two hurricanes struck in that year that left so much water that over 60 people were killed.

View Larger Map
Tock's Island Map

The deaths and destruction led to the formation of enough political power that caused Congress to pass the Flood Control Act of 1962. This act later signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson authorized the construction of a massive dam at Tocks Island. The dam would have created a lake over 30 miles long and inundated countless acres, towns, farms, camps and homes under water. This lake was to be surrounded by a park and provide hydroelectric power and drinking water for New York and Philadelphia.

This Federally sanctioned dam, if built would have been disastrous at the very least. It would have destroyed the scenic "S" shaped bend in the Delaware River and ruined an important ecological and scenic treasure. After passage of the Act, the Government quickly began doing one of the things it actually does well, exercising it's right of eminent domain and forcing compulsory purchase of over 3000 homeowners and farmers land. Often times these compulsory purchases were done by giving property owners far less then the true value of their property. Several Boy Scout summer camps were seized within the Water Gap's boundaries as well, the remnants of which can still be seen today. Homeowners were forcibly evicted many times by Federal Marshals in order to accomplish the Flood Control Act's goals.

Rising costs of construction of the Tocks Island Dam, whose means and methods of construction at the time was technologically questionable at best, combined with protestors and and organizations formed to stop the construction of the dam finally caused the project to be postponed indefinitely and ultimately scrapped. In hindsight the Tocks Island Dam proposal could be viewed as a blessing in disguise, considering the large area of scenic land conser

ved and preserved for today. The entire fiasco caused irreparable damage to the private citizens and land owners within the current park's boundaries on a scale that equals or perhaps even surpasses the damage done by the great flood of 1955. It is true that we are lucky to have this beautiful park today, but it's price was certainly paid for and suffered by the local residents.

The Great American Tiki Culture

2010-04-30T12:58:00.007-04:00

In Maori and Marquesan culture "Tiki" refers to the first man, creator of first man or God of the artists. According to Central Eastern Polynesian Culture "Tiki" denotes large wood human-like carvings. However, In the United States of America "Tiki" is most often associated with this latter definition of wooden human-like carvings. "Tiki Culture" or the "Tiki Movement", is 20th century eclectic, decorative style largely derived from and influenced by Polynesian, Asian and other "Exotic" non-western cultures. This style does indeed derive it's name from a Tiki carving and or Tiki the first man.

19th Centruay Maori Tiki Carvings - Image via wikicommons

The roots of the American "Tiki Culture" design aesthetic can be traced back to writings of explorer Captain James Cook's describing his visits to the South Seas. He found uncorrupted (by westerners), scantily clad natives such as Hula Girls existing and thriving in a virtual paradise. These writings, as well as other visits and tall tales of the far East provided the initial framework in which an idealized, exotic and romantic picture of Polynesia began to emerge in the minds of Westerners and Americans in particular. The awareness of the exotic and idealized South Seas , "Tiki Culture" and the Hawaiian styled music craze in particular grew in the United States during the annexation of Hawaii in 1898 and continued to grow through the early 1900's into the 1920's.

Zombie Village Oakland Menu - Image Via http://blog.humuhumu.com

These developments all formed the base from which "Tiki" design would come to thrive in America. Restaurants and bars especially in trendy Hollywood, began to incorporate Polynesian themed elements into their design. A plethora of cane furniture, shrunken heads, thatched wall treatments, colorful exotic flowers, fake palm trees, paintings, spears, torches and of course the obligatory wooden Tiki carvings began to appear throughout California bars and restaurants.

Bali Hai Restaurant in New Orleans circa 1950's - Image via Wikicommons

In post prohibition America Cailfornia, Don The Beachcombers was founded by Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt in 1934. Mr. Gantt's had a talent for concocting Mr. Gantt was born in Texas and in the 1920's spent time traveling around the world, including islands of the South Pacific and Carribean. Mr. Gantt, Don The Beachcomber's propreitor had a tremendous talent for inventing rum drinks. Don the Beachcomber's served beautifully presented drinks in fresh fruit or zombie styled mugs with paper umbrellas, such as the Mai Tai, Tahitian Rum Punch, the Zombie and the Navy Grog. Many of these drinks were first concocted by Mr. Gantt personally.

Tiki Drinks - Zombie

These exotic themed drinks were oddly complimented at Don the Beachcomber's tables with typical Chinese Cantonese dishes such as sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls and Lo mien as well as some Americanized Polynesian cuisine. Don the Beachcomber's is purported to have served the first Pu Pu platter as well. Don the Beachcomber's was decorated to the hilt with Polynesian themed items such as nets, wrecked boats, cane furniture, and other tropical nicknacks.These establishment featured a unique atmosphere based on "Exotic" asisan culture. The design objects, interior finishes, food and drinks, although historically and culturally inaccurate are nonetheless Americanized versions of Polynesian and Asian culture. The design aesthetic and cuisine of "Tiki Culture" remains, uniquely American, beautiful and fun.

Don The Beachcomber's Interior - Image via www.petergreenberg.com

The mix of Chinese cuisine, Polynesian themed drinks and a tropical atmosphere were a hit. Several other Tiki Bar restaurants sprung up including the famous Trader Vic's. Both Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber's flourished in post World War II suburban America catering to returning war veterans, many of whom had seen action in the tropical island's of the Pacific Theatre. Both restaurants expanded into nationwide chains, fed in part by the thriving post World War II American economy and a generation of escapist minded Americans clad in Hawaiian shirts. "Tiki Culture" sprawled from restaurants and bars into Casinos, Hotels, Homes and of course poolside. The movement reached an apex in the late 1950's and early 1960's as Hawaii was admitted as a State to the Union.

Tiki Cuisine - Pupu Platter

As all good things must come to end, the popularity of "Tiki Culture" waned in the 1960's and was out of style by the 1970's. The "Tiki Culture" became old and tired. Many of the great Tiki establishments closed and American's tore down their backyard Tiki huts and hung their Hawaiian shirts in the closet for good. In the 1990's a "Tiki Culture" revival began in America as people became nostalgic for all thing Polynesian. "Tiki Culture" is underway ans still going strong, spearheaded by Sven A. Kirsten's wonderful book The Book of Tiki and a new generation of Americans discovering and rediscovering the exotic "Tiki Culture".

The Five Points and "Paradise Square"

2010-03-24T18:57:00.009-04:00

The Five Points was formed by the intersection of Cross, Anthony, Little Water, Orange and Mulberry Streets in New York City's Lower East Side. In the center of the Five Points was a space known as "Paradise Square". The name bore little resemblance to the actual qualities of the space. "Paradise Square" was one of the only spaces in which New York City's poor were welcomed for recreation.

Image of Buildings Nearby the FIve Points - Image Via Wikipedia

Although originally the area was moderately peaceful through the first two decades of it's existence, yet around 1820 "Paradise Square" and the surrounding Five Points began to degenerate into one of the worst areas of the City and in fact the world. This paralleled the flight of middle and upper class New Yorkers to Upper Manhattan and was exacerbated by the draining and poorly done filling of the nearby Collect Pond. The amounts of murder vice and misery in this area rivaled even contemporary London's worst districts. The Points was populated by The North recently emancipated African Americans as well as by the recent arrivals of the Irish, whom were the vast majority of residents.

"More than 3,000 people huddled in Baxter Street from Chatham to Canal, a distance of less than half a mile, and one lot in that street, twenty five by one hundred feet, held slums which sheltered 286 persons. Around the Points and "Paradise Square" were 270 Saloons, several times that number of blind tigers, dance halls, houses of prostitution" (The Gangs of New York, by Herbert Asbury).

The Five Points - Image Via Wikipedia

Charles Dickens, referring to the Points wrote "This is the Place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth. Debauchery has made the houses prematurely old. See how rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl dimly, like eyes that have been hurt in drunken frays" (American Notes, by Charles Dickens).

The area was plagued by rodents, dilapidated buildings overflowing with the poor and criminals alike. Murder, pickpocketing, theft, begging, drunken fighting, intoxication and sexual promiscuity were rampant. It must have been quite the place to visit. In one building, formerly a beer brewery a little girl was stabbed to death after foolishly showing a penny she had begged, and her body lay for 5 days before her mother buried her in a shallow grave in the floor.

Little was done to fix this the area until the 1850's by some reform minded ministers and liked minded volunteers. This area existed in one form or another until slum clearance efforts spear headed by Jacob Riis finally demolished the area between 1885 and 1895. Sadly, today the area once known as the Five Points and "Paradise Square" is gone and is located near Columbus Park. "Paradise Square" once a haven of crime and debauchery is located beneath the New York County Courthouse. What was once Anthony Street is today known as Worth Street. Much of Cross Street is gone, yet what remains is today Mosco Street. Orange Street became Baxter Street and Little Water Street is gone, with the New York County Courthouse and New York State Office Building sitting on it's former site.

Then and Now Map of Five Points - Image modified Sanborn Map

The Five Points is today beautiful area surrounded by loverly Columbus Park and the famous Courthouses surrounding Foley Square. The area chronicled in Herbert Asbury's masterful The Gangs of New York served as the inspiration for the film by the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese. Ironically this area once the most dangerous of the City and arguably the world sits beneath Foley Square, the center of New York's Courts and is known worldwide as "the grand steps walked up by everyone as they go to court" in the famed TV series Law and Order and countless movies. Although "Paradise Square" and the Five Points is long gone, it's remnant scars in New York's street grid can still be seen today.

MOMA's Incredible Tim Burton Exhibit

2010-02-10T12:17:00.005-05:00

Exhibit Entry Graphics

Tim Burton, born in Alabama spent most of his youth in suburban Burbank California. He is a visionary American film director, author, and producer. His movie career began with the directing of Pee Wee's Big Adventure in the 1980's and includes the following famous movies:

Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Beetlejuice
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Batman Returns
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Ed Wood
Mars Attacks
Sleepy Hollow
Planet of The Apes
Big Fish
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Corpse Bride
Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Big Fish
Alice in Wonderland

Tim's work is often groundbreaking. Burton's films feature an interesting mix of original stories, screenplays by others and remakes of classic stories. His sets often draw upon influences of eerie German Expressionism films of the 1920's. his movies many times feature an interesting mix of love and morbidity at the same time. Burton draws much influence for his sets from his critical reaction to the traditional American Suburan sprawling communities, including Burbank where he grew up. His unique films dealing with these topics of morbidity, criticism of contemporary American communities and feeling of alienation as a youth have garnered Mr. Burton a cult following of enthusiastic dedicated fans.

Rotating Neon Sculpture

As part of the process of developing the quirky, unique and stunning sets, designs, props, wardrobes and cinematography for his movies, Tim Burton produces great quantitates of models, paintings, sketches and drawings. Tim's works of art are original and breathtaking. His works in a variety of media including text, watercolors, pencil, ink, markers amongst others. Burton easily jumps between and mixes media as necessary and crafts beautiful images. His works often display a quick sketchiness quality, yet remain extremely polished and well thought through as well. As such, the Musuem of Modern Art in New York City has recently exhibited a show of Mr. Burton's artwork.

Neon Skeleton and Heart Painting

MOMA's exhibit features a multitude of Burton's sketches, drawing, paintings, models, films and conceptual designs for his films as well as artifacts from these films as well. Interesting notes and scribbles from Tim's time in school are particularly fascinating. The exhibit is broad in scope and extremely thorough, organizing Mr. Burton's work by the different periods in his life.

The accompanying book to the exhibit is disappointingly short with only 60 pages. Sadly the book is heavy on text and light on reproductions of Mr. Burton's artwork which is just incredible in my opinion. The show has been so popular that the Museum recommends purchasing tickets for the exhibition ahead of time. Due to the small size of the MOMA and it's galleries, even after its recent renovation and expansion, coupled with the great popularity of Mr. Burton causes the exhibit to be extremely crowded, even in comparison to MOMA's typically overcrowded galleries. This overcrowding sadly inhibits the proper enjoyment of the expansive amount of Tim's great works of art. MOMA certainly needs to plan better for exhibits of the size and scope in the future.

Nonetheless the exhibit is well research and curated and features an interesting monster with sharp teeth, through which visitors must pass in order to enter the exhibit. I highly recommend it to any fans of his movies or general art enthusiasts as well. Tim Burton surely posses one of the most creative and unique styles of both his contemporary filmmakers and artists. His influence in these fields is immense and well deserved. Tim Burton truly is a uniquely American filmmaker and artist.

Moster Like Exhibit Entry Threshold

Hugh Ferriss's Renderings and the 1916 NYC Zoning Resolution

2009-12-22T20:12:00.008-05:00

Hugh Ferriss was born in 1889 in St. Louis Missouri. He attended Washington University and was trained as an Architect after being inspired by a photograph given to him of the Parthenon. Mr. Ferriss went to work in Cass Gilbert's office after arriving in New York City in 1912. His employer, Gilbert designed many famous buildings including the Woolworth Building, the New York Life Building and the US Supreme Court Building. Ferriss worked as a delineator, or one who drafts and renders perspectives of buildings. In 1915 he left Gilbert's office and set up his own office as a delineator.

Hugh Ferriss at Work - Image Via Wikipedia

Ferriss' early images are more literal in appearance and some of his earliest renderings were of Gilbert's Woolworth Building. His trademark renderings are often set at night, with the subjects lit from floodlights below. In 1916 New York City passed the first Zoning Resolution, its impact changed the world and nothing has ever been the same. The 1916 Zoning Law was enacted largely in response to the construction of the Equitable Building on Broadway in downtown Manhattan. The Equitable Building was completed in 1915 and rose to a then staggering height of 538 feet (42 storys) without any setbacks. The building was so massive that it prevented almost all light from reaching the narrow streets of downtown New York and cast a 7 acre shadow.

Crude Clay For Architects - Image Via Delirious New York

The Zoning Resolution in 1916 allowed buildings to cover 100% of its lot. The law prescribed a series of formulas that mandated buildings set back until only 25% of the lot remained. This 25% of the lot was then allowed to rise unobstructed to any height desirable. The City did not want to limit the height of skyscrapers. Prior to this point in time buildings were designed to be economical and functional. They were designed to generate the desirable profitable return in a manner which the market and technology could bear. However the 1916 Zoning Law and todays Zoning Law drives developers to maximize profit by building to the very maximum allowable floor area permitted within the specified Zoning envelope. While the clause allowing a building to rise unobstructed in height for 25% of the lot area resulted in the stately skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building, today's Zoning Laws are far more restrictive and hence result in much more bland and poorly massed buildings.

Evolution of the Setback Building - Image Via Delirious New York

Hugh Ferriss understood the incredible impact of the 1916 New York City Zoning Law and as a delineator was able to visualize the envelope in breathtaking views. His renderings depicted the zoning envelope prescribed by law and the buildings that were possible with this restriction in place. His artwork is inspirational and although they represented what seemed to be a significant restriction on what people were allowed to build in 1916, today they resemble a Zoning Law that would be liberating compared to our current Zoning Resolution. One can only dream of the jobs that could be created and stunning buildings that could be built utilizing today's technology if we had a more practical and liberal Zoning Law like the Resolution of 1916. Nonethelss, Ferriss's renderings today are both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time and are inspired works of art.

Hugh Ferriss at Work - Image Via Delirious New York

GNYC to Sell Pouch Camp While Selling Out Boy Scouts.

2009-12-17T18:12:00.008-05:00

Pouch Camp's Lake Orbach - Image via savepouch.com

William H. Pouch Scout Camp, or more commonly referred to as "Pouch Camp" is a 120 acre camp located in Staten Island. This massive property, featuring the 20 acre Orbach Lake is located in the heart of Staten Island's Greenbelt and is owned by the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The property was previously owned by Ernest Flagg, the famed architect of Manhattan's once tallest building, the Singer Building and the US Navy Academy in Annapolis Maryland. The camp is named after William H. Pouch a prominent businessman and winner of the Silver Buffalo, one of scouting's highest awards. The first portions of the camp were secured from the estate of Ernest Flagg in 1949.

View Pouch Camp in a larger map

This Boy Scout Camp is packed with facilities such as multiple cabins, 55 leantos, 20 tent sites, a Camp-O-Ree field, Picnic Groves, an amphitheater, Trading Post, a Lodge, a Chapel and a lake. The camp is utilized for small groups of campers such as Patrol Camp outs, Cub Scout camping and larger events such as the annual Camp-O-Ree or the Klondike Derby. Pouch Camp remains New York City's only Boy Scout Camp. The Greater New York Council or "GNYC" operates two other scout camps, Alpine Scout Camp in New Jersey and Ten Mile River in Upstate New York.

Tragically, GNYC is currently facing financial difficulties, due to "steep declines in corporate and community funding amid rising operational and outreach costs." Therefore the Council is once again exploring the possibility of selling William H. Pouch Camp. According to GNYC "The Council serves a diverse population of children throughout the five boroughs, providing substantial financial assistance to low-income families to ensure that no child is turned away from a quality program and camping opportunities." Providing "substantial financial assistance to low income families" seems to be particularly misguided in my opinion. Sending children away to Scouting Camps costs money and going away to Summer Camp is privilege for families that can afford it, not a right for every child. Selling Pouch camp in order to finance camping for the poor creates one small problem. No one, whether rich or poor can go camping without a campground to camp in.

In order to continue to subsidize low income families, GYNC has most likely enacted a program of differed maintenance on many of it's camping facilities as well as poor financial planning. In order to increase its coffers, GYNC is attempting to leverage its limited assets. The Council has taken cost-saving steps, including reducing office space by 60%, cutting paid staff by 40% and slashing its overall budget from $15 million to $10 million and should be commended for these actions. However these savings still appear to not be adequate in order to right the Council's financial ship.

WIlliam H. Pouch Camp Map - Image Via Tenmile RIver Archives

Alpine Scout Camp in New Jersey is a deed restricted property, in which if it is not operated as a Scout Camp, it must be returned to the State. This leaves only Ten Mile River and Pouch Camp as the two assets that can be "leveraged" meaning sold or developed. Ten Mile River is a large vast property of 12,000 acres, encompassing multiple individual scout camps. The camping facilities within it have shrunk over the years with many individual camps closing. However this camp facility houses summer camps and largely can not be touched.

This leaves wonderful Pouch Camp, where mostly short term camping takes place on the auction block. Currently the Council is trying to get New York City to secure a Conservation Easement on the Camp, which would permanently keep the property as open space. The Council is seeking approximately $30 million dollars for this easement which is roughly 1/2 the $60 million dollar value of Pouch Camp. This easement would allow GNYC to continue to operate the camp. If the funds for an easement are not secured, the Greater New York Council will likely sell some or all of the property to private land developers. The council has already selected Jones Land Lasalle to market or sell the property.

The property is currently zoned as a fairly restrictive R1-1, meaning only large single family detached houses could be built on its acreage. However, the development of this property as homes would result in increased development on the already overdeveloped, and underserved by public transportation borough of Staten Island. The threat to outright sell the land to home developers amounts to an attempt to extort $30 million dollars from the government in my opinion and is shameful at best.

Who looses in this situation surely almost everyone. New York City Scouts could loose there only camp. Nature lovers will loose a beautiful and scenic piece of land, rich with wildlife in the heart of Staten Island's Greenbelt. Staten Islanders will once again be continued to be overdeveloped with it's streets ever increasingly full of cars. The City of New York and taxpayers will be out of another $30 million dollars. The only winners are the Scouting Executives and land developers, whose bank accounts will be flush with cash. What is the purpose of the massive Scout Council bureaucracy other than to provide the best camping facilities for Scouts? The Council's actions are shameful and an embarrassment to Scouters.

I am an Eagle Scout and have camped in all of GNYC's camps on numerous times. I joined the Order of the Arrow at Pouch Camp and I can personally attest to the scenic beauty of Pouch Camp and the serenity that can be gained by spending a weekend in it's grounds. As a Scouter who grew up in Staten Island I understand how much this camp means to New York City residents and Staten Islanders in Particular. It is our home camp and our only camp. Whether the GNYC shamefully accepts a $30 million dollar bailout from the City or sells the land to developers, all City Scouts will loose. The Greater New York Council is selling Pouch Camp and in the process it has sold its campers out.

The Rise Fall and Rebirth of New York City's Pennsylvania Station - Part 2

2009-11-27T18:25:00.004-05:00

The Farley Post Office

New Yorker's have never quite recovered from losing Pennsylvania Station. The city's mad dash to preserve any and all noteworthy buildings after Penn Station's almost criminal destruction, reflects the permanent scar left on the city's psyche. In the early 1990's, New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan floated plans to move Pennsylvania Station out of it's hole in the ground under Madison Square Garden. He proposed to relocate the Station into the Foley Post office, directly across 8th Avenue.

Senator Moynihan - Image via Wikipedia

Similarly to Pennsylvania Station, this wonderful post office was designed by the same architectural firm, Mckim, Meade & White. Like Pennsylvania Station, The Foley Post office occupies two entire city blocks, and is masterful classical styled building. The building features a grand, monumental staircase leading to a corinthian colonnade. Upon entering the Post Office, one walks through a large, vaulted ceiling main room which is exquisite to say the least. This amazing building is both on the National Register of Historic Places and a New York City landmark and rightfully so.

Post Office Interior

The building was opened in 1912 and the train tracks from Pennsylvania Station run underneath the Foley Post office prior to passing through the Amtrak tunnels under the Hudson River. This massive post office breas the famous inscription of "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds".

The plan for a new Pennsylvania Station floated by Senator Moynihan proposed to relocated Amtrack to the Foley Post Office as much of the functions of the Post Office have been leaving the building. A design by Skidmore Owings & Merrill's David Childs was released in 2001. This design was referred to as the "Potato Chip" design and featured an interesting, soaring glass train hall. In 2005 HOK released a second design for the station while Skidmore Owning & Merrill released a third design in 2006. Past scheme for this new Pennsylvania Station have varied widely even including the relocation of Madison Square Garden at one point. However, most recently the plans call for creating a new train hall in the eastern portion of the building and finding some sort of new use for the western portion of the building.

It is said that "time heals all wounds", yet time will most likely never heals the pain that New Yorker's feel over what was done to Mckim, Meade & White's Pennsylvania Station. Today we are still searching for a replacement. Our best hope remains "Moynihan Station".
Moynihan Station Rendering - Image via www.moynihanstation.org

In February of 2007 the Empire State Development Corporation purchased the Farley Post Office from the Postal Service. In the many years since the beginning of this proposal, Amtrack was going to move to the Farley Post office, then announced it would not and now intends to move again. New Jersey Transit and the LIRR are also looking to move into the new train stationAs of 2006 the projected costs of construction were to be $900 million dollars.

Coming Soon Sign

Whether or not this project will ever be realized remains a question mark. In my opinion, a tasteful, appropriate renovation of the historic Farley Post Office could make for a stunning new train station for New York, and in even the most pessimistic estimate will be better the the current dreary Pennsylvania Station. I certainly hope this new train station will retain the grand hall when one enters as a Post Office, otherwise the famous inscription on the facade of the building will seem sadly out of place. This new station will never heal the wounds of losing the original Pennsylvania Station, and New Yorkers will ultimately be forced to trade it's precious Post Office for a decent train station. It appears to be a trade that must be made. It is also worrisome that both the names of Pennsylvania Station and The Farley Post Office might disappear from New York in order to make way for "Moynihan" Station. The late Senator should be praised for his efforts in realizing this train station, however he does not deserve the naming rights.

The Rise Fall and Rebirth of New York City's Pennsylvania Station - Part 1

2009-09-25T12:55:00.010-04:00

Original Pennsylvania Station's Concourse - Image Via Wikipedia

The great qualities of New York City's harbor had made it a center of trade since colonial times. The construction of the Erie Canal had permanently fixed New York City as America's greatest port. During the age of the railroads, countless lines were built crisscrossing all of America, yet aside from the New York Central, coming from upstate, Railroads coming from the west, through New Jersey could travel no further then the banks of the Hudson River. Several railroad terminals were eventually built in Hoboken and Jersey City. At this point passengers and freight had to be transferred to ferries in order to complete their journey to the Island of Manhattan.

Aerial View of Original Pennsylvania Station - Image Via Wikipedia

The famous Pennsylvania Railroads' terminus was at Exchange Place in Jersey City. The invention of electrified rail made possible the construction realistic underground tubes. Prior to electrified railroads, the steam and coal fumes from a steam train would have poisoned any travelers in an underground tunnel. Therefore in 1901, The railroad's president Alexander Cassatt announced plans to tunnel under the Hudson River and to build a grand station on the West Side of Manhattan, south of 34th Street.

Original Pennsylvania Station Facade - Image Via Wikipedia

Original Pennsylvania Station's Main Waiting Room - Image Via Wikipedia

The tunnels were successfully built and the famous architectural firm of Mckim, Meade and White were hired to design the new train terminal for the Pennsylvania Railroad, envisioned to compete with Grand Central Station. Pennsylvania Station was loosely based upon the Roman Baths of Carcalla. The magnificent structure was built of steel clad in pink granite. Corinthian columns were used on the facade. The structure occupied the entire area between 31st and 33rd Streets and 7th and 8th Avenue. The steel and glass vaulted interior's and train shed's were beautiful well detailed and. The building was truly a New York icon and in my opinion is was even more beautiful then it's legendary rival Grand Central Station.

Pennsylvania Station's Interior Today - Image Via Wikipedia

Sadly, with the rise of the automobile in the years following WW2, the Pennsylvania railroad was in financial trouble and was in and out of bankruptcy. In 1963 demolition of the Station began, in order to make way for the eye sore complex of Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza. The granite facade was ripped down and thrown into swamps in New Jersey. Today Pennsylvania Station is shoved beneath Madison Square Garden. 600,000 passengers a day coming from Amtrack, New Jersey Transit, The Long Island Railroad and the New York City Subway are crammed into a windowless dark cavern.

Madison Square Garden Today - Image Via Wikipedia

The demolition of this grandly scaled elegant complex left a permanent scar on the psyche of New Yorkers. It's demolition did indeed help lead to the creation of the Landmark's Preservation Commission, so that no new crime of this magnitude could ever be committed again. It was said by famous Architectural Historian Vincent Scully, that "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat." The statement is the honest truth.

The Audubon Society's Mount Borestone

2009-09-13T16:46:00.006-04:00

Mount Borestone Scenic View

Mount Borestone is located in western Maine near Elliotsville in Piscataquis County. The 1,600 acres on which the mountain is located is owned by the Maine Audubon Society. The Mount Borestone was originally a fox farm in the early 1900's. The operator of the old fox farm, Robert T. Moore sold pelts utilizing the nearby Canadian Pacific Railroad station. Robert Moore hired Bangor architect Wilfred E. Mansur to design the adirondack style lodges on the mountain's ponds. in 1958 Moore gave the Mount Borestone to the Audubon Society.

Mountaintop Ponds

Borestone notably features an old forest. It has not been cut for timber in over 100 years. The Mountain is home to a rich varitey of birds including yellow- bellied sapsuckers, red-breasted nuthatch, boreal chickadee, several vireos, winter wren, hermit thrush, white-throated sparrow, ravens, turkey vultures, and several warbler species. Small animals such as the Canada Lynx and snowshoe hare populate the mountain as well.

Old Growth Forest

Western Peak

Mount Borestone has two peaks. The eastern peak's elevation is 2,200 feet and the mountain's total elevational gain is 1,100 feet. The Mountain features three scenic spring fed, albeit fish-less fresh water ponds. The base trail is .8 miles long. It terminates at a nature center as the elevation with the three fresh water ponds. From these three ponds, a mile long summit trail rises to the western peak and then to the final eastern peak.

Base Trail

The final eastern peak features amazing 360 degree views of the surround countryside. One can see the Penobscot River, ponds, lakes as well as other mountains. The mountain trails are well maintained. Borestone with it's rich wildlife, old growth forest, ponds and spectacular views make this mountain a true treasure for all.

Eastern Peak

New PATH Train Cars Are Now Rolling Into Stations

2009-09-03T19:26:00.004-04:00

The 300 plus rolling stock of The Port Authority Trans Hudson Railway is being replaced. These new modern cars are being built by Kawasaki the famous company that developed the Shinkansen "Bullet" trains of Japan. The entire fleet is scheduled to be replaced by with Kawasaki PA-5 series subway cars by 2011. Kawasaki also built the PATH system's PA-4 series which debuted in the late 1980s.

New PATH Train Cars

The PATH system's average train cars age is currently over 40's years, meaning the PATH system currently runs on some of the oldest train cars in America. The new trains feature three doors on both sides of the car. The new cars are powered on AC and will eventually allow the already overloaded PATH system to increase its service by around 20%. This increase in service will also be made possible by a new signal system and longer platforms. This entire overhaul of the ancient PATH system will cost the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey upwards of 3 billion dollars. Around 500 million of this 3 billion is dedicated to procuring the new fleet of Kawasaki cars.

New Onboard TV Displays

The first of the next generation of PA-5 cars debuted on July 10th and are currently running on the Newark to World Trade Center Line. I recently had the pleasure of riding one these new cars. The new cars are fairly well done. It will take some getting used to the bright blue interiors of the new cars. I must admit the new cars fell a bit smaller on the interior of the car, due to the addition of some of the new electronic equipment located at the top of the car's interior.

These new train cars feature onboard TV screens featuring news, weather and sports. This type TV information is appearing almost everywhere in New York from elevators to taxi cabs and now PATH trains. While at times this information can be helpful, it does tend to become overbearing annoying. Everyone has this information available of mobile phones now. However in the end, this investment in the PATH system is worthwhile and overdue. These new cars will help improve capacity, reliability and help bring the venerable PATh system into the 21st Century.

New Path Train Car's Interior

The Ignominious Brooklyner is Now Brooklyn's Tallest

2009-09-02T20:09:00.005-04:00

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, was constructed in 1927 and boasted a height of 512 feet. It was designed by the architectural firm of Halsey, McCormack and Helmer. This grand building is still one of the world's tallest clock towers and is elegantly topped with a copper dome. Step Aside Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, 111 Lawrence Street is now Brooklyn's tallest building.

111 Lawrence Street is now Brooklyn's tallest building with 51 stories of bland condominiums. It is impressive that this building managed to escape relatively unscathed, from public outcry or protest. This is especially so considering the amount of attention Frank Gehry and Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project Miss Brooklyn received.

Image Via Curbed

According to 111 Lawrence Street's developer, The Clarett Group this building is being dubbed "The Brooklyner". This unoriginal name is befitting a building as unoriginal as 111 Lawrence Street. Brooklyn's now tallest building, The Brooklyner was supposedly designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects. However, In my opinion this building is so boring and unoriginal that it would almost appear to have no architectural design at all.

111 Lawrence is another building of bland condos featuring all of the unoriginal "luxuries" such as a fitness center and 24 hour doorman. This building's facade's design is cold and foreboding. The building features little if any of the charm associated with it's predecessor as Brooklyn's tallest building. I feel the Brooklyner's massing is slab like and is essentially devoid of any positive aesthetic character whatsoever. Nonetheless, 111 Lawrence Street will feature impressive views as Brooklyn's tallest building. Unfortunently, merely having good views does not make a good building. The title of Brooklyn's tallest building, has been passed to from the grand Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower to the dull Brooklyner.

New York City's Ubiquitous Wooden Water Towers

2009-08-30T12:25:00.005-04:00

New York Style Water Tank

New York City's skyline is famous for many things such as soaring Art Deco topped skyscrapers and grand spires. One building element that can be seen atop almost all of New York City's taller buildings is a distinctive form of the water tower. These unique wooden water towers began springing up across the Big Apple in the 1800's as buildings began to grow taller.

Water towers are utilized in taller buildings. They are installed because the water pressure in New York City's water mains is not sufficient to provide water at acceptable pressures for fixtures such as lavatories or showers at higher storys. If water service in the streets was to be provided at greater pressures, it would cause water pipes to burst.

New York City's wooden water tanks are typically used in buildings over six stories tall. Potable water is pumped up from the water main in the street into these storage tanks. When water is later used at a fixture or for fire fighting purposes, gravity allows the water to flow down from the water tank at the proper pressure.

Cedar Water Tanks

New York City's distinctive water towers construction has descended from the tradition of coopers or barrel makers. These old barrel makers expanded into the burgeoning new water tank business as New York City grew taller. These tanks are constructed of cedar wood and are held together by steel cables. This method of construction allows for members to be more easily rigged into position atop a roof for installation. The cedar members constituting the tank walls are not water tight upon completion of installation. They leak until the wooden members absorb enough water and swell. The swelling of the cedar members makes the water tanks tight. The Cedar tanks are usually built atop a supporting steel structure.

These water tanks are still used because they are more affordable than steel water tanks and due the ease of assembly. These unique New York City water towers have a life span of about 35 years. Only two companies build these tanks today in New York. These last two companies are Isseks Brothers and the Rosenwach company. Both of these companies have been in existence since the late 1800's and can provide a new water tower in the event of an emergency in a few days.

Roof Top Water Towers

These water tanks which were originally strictly functional and utilitarian are actually quite beautiful. This is certainly the case because they grace the top of so many of New York City's taller buildings. These Cedar structure are both functional and beautiful. If one looks close, they can see these tried and proven structures everywhere atop New York City. The Cedar water tanks are as uniquely New York as the Empire State Building or Central Park.

The Fate of The Rainbow Room

2009-08-24T18:32:00.004-04:00

Located atop the "GE Building" nee the "RCA Building" is the Rainbow Room. The Ge building is the main vertical element of Rockefeller Center, which is indeed one of the best examples of how good urban design can be when it goes right. The restaurant is indeed the crown that sits on the head of of the tallest building of Rockefeller Center. The Rainbow Room is perched high above Rockefeller center. It looks down over the ice skating rink and christmas tree in the winter and the bustling plaza in the summer.

The Rainbow Room - Image Via WikiCommons

This elite supper club like restaurant open in 1934. It features a world renown revolving dance floor and exquisite views of the New York City Skyline. The Rainbow Room was decorated in the lavish art deco style of the 1930's and was often frequented by celebrities. The Restaurant itself underwent major renovations in the 1970's and most recently was operated by the Cipriani family. The Cipriani family has been struggling to keep the Rainbow Room afloat over the past few years.

Last week on August 1st 2009 the Cipriani's returned the Rainbow Room to Rockefellar Center's Landord, Tishman Speyer. The Rainbow Room became yet another victim of the 2008 recession and has shut it's doors. With the destruction of Windows on the World, what will become of this, the last of New York City's great sky high restaurants? According to The Rainbow Room official website "The Rainbow Room and Rainbow Grill are currently closed and a new operator has not yet been named." Ideally any new operator will bring a new menu and any additional physical renovations to the Rainbow Room that will be in keeping with the character tradition and history of this the crown jewel of Rockefeller Center.

Monument Avenue - One of America's 10 Greatest Streets

2009-08-21T17:33:00.007-04:00

Jefferson Davis Monument

Monument Avenue is located in the Richmond, the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia and notably the former capital of the Confederate States of America. The Avenue itself is located in western Richmond. Historically it has featured Civil War heros of the Confederate States of America. It has more recently been expanded to include non Civil War heros of Virginia as well. The Avenue proper is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the surrounding area is designated as the Monument Avenue Historic District.

Monument Avenue is located in Richmond's fan district. The area surrounding Monument Avenue was originally developed as an extension of the Franklin Street. A rich variety of architectural styles can be seen in the homes fronting this wonderful avenue including Tudor, Beaux Arts and Georgian.

The roots of this beautiful yet controversial street lay in the post civil war South. In America the Southern states still had great feelings of nostalgia for the antebellum south. The South had great pride in it's history and the Confederacy. The entire war was romanticized and thought to have been a lost cause. Even to this day Southerners will often refer to the American Civil War as "The War of Northern Aggression" or "The War for Southern Independence". One southern hero of the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee was particularly celebrated amongst Southerner's as a gentleman of renown bravery, and dignity in defeat.

Robert E. Lee Monument

Therefore it is of little surprise that Virginian's wanted to honor the commander of The Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee with a memorial and statue. Groups such as the Lee Monument Association and The United Daughters of Confederacy raised funds and selected the site for Lee's Statue in the then suburbs of Richmond. Construction on the Statue began in 1887. This statue featured General Lee mounted on horseback and is located in the center of a traffic circle today. The statue was unveiled to a crowd of 10,000 people in 1890.

Stonewall Jackson Monument

Throughout the years statues to other Confederate Civil War heros were installed for JEB Stuart, Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate President Jefferson Davis until 1920. Monument Avenue is a four lane road today. Each side of the road traveling in one direction has two lanes of traffic and one lane of parking. The street itself is paved with pavers, not traditional asphalt. A grass lawn separates the eastbound and westbound traffic and is elegantly lined with two rows of trees. The monuments are at intersections of Monument Avenue. The Sidewalks are also tree lined as well.

Jeb Stuart Monument

This Street is truly picturesque and is a must see in the fall, with autumn foliage. Monument Avenue was named one of the 10 Great Streets of America by the American Planning Association in 1997. It was selected for it's historic architecture, urban form, quality residential and religious architecture, diversity of land uses, public art and integration of multiple modes of transportation. The aesthetic qualities of grand avenue are not to be debated. It is wonderful street and remains a highly desirable place to live to this day.

Monument Avenue Architecture

Although Monument Avenue is a grand space to live in or enjoy, it nonetheless remains controversial to this day. The Street remains a symbol of the once racist and sadly pro-slavery South and can be offensive to people. It does feature statues of those whom were slave owners and pro slavery supporters. It also celebrates those whom attempted to destroy the United States through armed rebellion. Attempts have been made to temper these popular negative views of Monument Avenue through the addition of a monument to Oceanographer Matthew Maury and the famous tennis star and civil rights advocate Arthur Ashe.

Monument Avenue Trees

Monument Avenue has become a place in which Virginians and all Americans can remember and reflect upon some of our great conflicted historical figures as well as some of the deplorable things they stood for. It is a place of pride in our rich history and a place in which me must learn from mistakes of the past, in order to never repeat them again. It remains a great area to live work and play. Monument Avenue is uniquely American, full of beauty and is surely a national treasure. It is rightly designated one of Americas 10 Great Streets.

The New York Times Building - Piano's Masterful New Home For The Old Grey Lady

2009-08-19T19:14:00.006-04:00

The New York Times Building

The New York Times building was completed in 2007. It was designed by the world renown Italian architect Renzo Piano and as it's namesake implies, The New York Times is it's principle tenant. The building represents a joint venture by Forest City Ratner and the New York Times.

Located at 42nd Street and 8th avenue in Manhattan, it is one of the new generation of skyscrapers that have sprung up along Midtown's western edge of 8th avenue, including the Time Warner Center and Hearst Tower. These new buildings have pushed the frontier of traditional Midtown New York further west. The site of this wonderful new building was made possible by the condemnation of 10 properties by the Empire State Development Corporation.

View North Along 8th Avenue

The relocation of the New York Times to this building keeps the headquarters of New York's "Periodical of Record" near to its previous headquarters on 43rd Street and it's old headquarters in Times Square. The New York Times building features green features such as natural gas cogeneration and recycled steel, although it is not LEED certified.

This 50 plus story tower is a steel structure rising in height to 748 feet. The plan of the building is cross shaped and features a birch tree lined interior garden at the center of the ground floor. At the ground floor a auditorium, shops and banquet hall can be found as well.

Ground Floor Interior Garden

The exterior of the building is probably it's most interesting feature. The building exhibits large quantities of steel and elegantly reveals is x braced shear walls. An interesting system of 1" diameter ceramic rods gently clads the facade of this new skyscraper. They are used to help shade the interior of the building and are located on all facades excluding the northern facade. These gray colored rods provide an interesting texture for the facade. The entire system is essentially attached to the rest of the glass and steel facade.

Ceramic Rods and Yellow Light Fixtures

These beautiful and unique rods stop at certain points along the facade to allow unobstructed views out. They have been criticized for allowing ice to build up and then fall off of them during the winter. These rods have also been used as a ladder and have been climbed by several daring individuals.

View of Facade

The building's great facade is mainly grey and is certainly appropriate for the New York Times, which is often referred to as "The Old Grey Lady". At the ground floor light fixtures are colored yellow, helping to blend and transition the building out into the street, along with New York City's standard yellow street lights and crossing signs. From a distance one can notice the interesting red interior staircases as well.

This building is by far my favorite of the new generation of skyscraper additions to western midtown. Although the building is a bit boxy, it nevertheless seems to reach for the skies, with the ceramic rods and a architectural spire soaring past the highest occupied floors. The building is incredibly well detailed, it is classic Renzo Piano. Wonderful details can often make a building, and as legendary architect Mies Van Der Rohe once said "God is in the details".

The Old Essex County Jail and It's Failed Preservation

2009-08-17T19:05:00.010-04:00

Old Essex County Jail

Located at the intersection of Newark Street and New Street is the Old Essex County Jail. This structure was built around 1837 in Newark New Jersey. It was designed to hold various law breakers of Essex County. The irregularly shaped lot of land this building sits on was generated by the curve of what was once the Morris Canal and today is the Newark City Subway. The Essex County Jail was designed by notable prison architect John Haviland. The jail consisted of around 300 prisoner cells after a set of expansions and featured running water and toilets. The several structures of this jail complex were built with local New Jersey brownstone and brick.

Essex County Jail Exterior

This Historic correctional facility has been abandoned since the 1970's. It has been home to drug dealers, derelicts and squatters ever since. This building complex is overgrown with weeds and sits as a single historical gem surrounded by the mostly bland new developments of Science Park and the New Jersey institute of Technology.

Jail Cells

Cell Block Stairs

In 1991 the old Essex County Jail, one of the oldest buildings in Essex County was placed on the Register of Historic Places. No attempts to preserve this wonderful piece of Newark's history have been made by the county or state. Upon entering the grounds of the Old Essex County jail today, once can see collapsing wings of jail cells and twisted rusting iron ruins overgrown with weeds. However, after passing through these initial ruins one can still enter into the main cell block, in which tall windows and multistoried steel jail cell blocks can still be seen today.

Miscellaneous Steel Debris

Crumbling Steel Jail Cells

It seems as if this building will only survive until if finally collapses from years of neglect, fire or is torn down as a safety hazard. The unfortunate and disgusting state of this great building building stands as a monument to the government's failure to protect it's historic structures. Nonetheless this building could ideally be preserved and potentially reused. Although filled with garbage on the interior, this abandoned building is quite beautiful in it's decayed state. Those brave enough to venture in before this great building finally disappears will undoubtedly be treated to a wonderful tour of a historic and scenic building of Newark's once great past.

Jail Cell Block Interior

Mr. Jefferson's University of Virginia

2009-08-03T18:34:00.006-04:00

The University of Virginia Rotunda and Colonnades

The University of Virginia, often referred to as Mr. Jefferson's University was indeed the brainchild of President Thomas Jefferson. As early as 1800, then Vice President Jefferson had written of his plans for a public University.

The University of Virginia was not the first college in Virginia. The College of William and Mary predates it and Jefferson himself had studied there. However Thomas Jefferson had major problems with the religious bias of the College of William and Mary, as well as other Universities of the time in America, such as King's College in New York, Yale in Connecticut and Harvard in Boston. These Universities were descendants of the monastic like universities of Europe and thus centered around theology. Jefferson had wanted to create a University with a greater emphasis on Science and a innovative new socialized method of learning. At that time college's permitted only degrees in law, medicine and religion. This curriculum presented major deficiencies to Jefferson's scientific oriented mind.

The land upon which the University of Virginia sits was originally owned by President James Monroe as farm land. It was sold to the University during James Monroe's Presidency. The University of Virginia was revolutionary for it's time in terms of it's curriculum, educational methodology and physical form. Thomas Jefferson insisted that theology be eliminated from the course offerings and instead focused on areas of education with which Jefferson was himself personally enamored with including, botany, architecture and political science.

University of Virginia Academic Village Plan - Image Via Wikicommons

The exclusion of theology had major implications for the physical layout of Jefferson's University. For the first time a library, representing knowledge was selected to be the most important building of a University, instead of a church, which had traditionally been the centerpiece of Universities up until the University of Virginia. Jefferson's selection of Library as the focal point of the University was revolutionary and represented a break between institutions of higher learning and the church.

The Rotunda or Library

Inside The Rotunda

Equally, as revolutionary as Jefferson's decision to use a library as the University's focal point was the remainder of the design of Jefferson's "academic village". The Pantheon inspired library, often referred to as "the rotunda" is located at the northern most end of the great lawn. The lawn's edges are defined by a series 10 pavilions. Each pavilion included space for professors to live on the upper floors and classroom space on the lower floors. These educational pavilions each have a rear garden enclosed by a brick, sine curve like wall for structural stability. The 10 pavilions, all which are architecturally unique are connected by student housing. Beyond the rear gardens lies additional building including dining halls.

Sine Curve Shaped Rear Garden Wall

The professor's pavilions and student housing are connected by a continuous colonnade, linking them to the famous rotunda. Jefferson had intended for students and faculty to interact, live and learn all together. From a social and organizational stand point was also new and unique in comparison to the top down, hierarchical organization of the University of Virginia's contemporaries. The architectural style and detail of the University was brick and featured classical Roman revival elements. It was highly influenced by one of President Jefferson's favorite architects, the great classicist, Andrea Palladio.

Professor's Quarters and Class room

View Of Colonnade

The great lawn of the academic village was the formal garden and main public space of the campus, in opposition to the more private rear yard gardens of the pavilions. The lawn is terraced down in order to deal with hilly topography of Charlottesville. The lawn is flanked on each side by a formal, french influenced, alley of trees.

University of Virginia Academic Village

The University of Virginia's design ultimately became the paradigm for American collegiate campus design. The formal lawn, library as the spiritual center of campus, brick palladian revival ornamentation and alley of tree laden campus influenced campuses all across America. Rice University, The University of Maryland, Duke University, John Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology all owe an enormous debt to the University of Virginia in terms of physical form and spatial organization. The influence of Mr. Jefferson's University cannot be understated. It truly changed the world.

Asbury Park's Casino: A Symbol of Seaside Decline and Hope For the Future

2009-07-31T19:12:00.005-04:00

Asbury Park's Deteriorated Casino Facade

Asbury Park's famous Casino is located at the southern boarder of Asbury Park and Ocean Grove New Jersey. The Casino which has suffered, become dilapidated and decayed, similarly to it's town, Asbury Park. It has long been a favorite of photographers and visitors as a symbol of the decline of the once thriving seaside resort town of Asbury park.

The Casino that survives today was built in 1903, after a fire destroyed an older version of the building. It was designed by the New York Architecture Firm Warren and Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style. This historic Casino consisted of three main programmatic elements. The eastern portion of the building was an arena featuring a skating rink. This portion of the building extended from the boardwalk out over the beach.

All that Remains of the Arena Portion of the Carousel

The western portion of the Casino extending past the boardwalk, included space for various games, including skee ball and bumper cars. At the western most end of this portion of the building a beautiful semi circular space was designed for a classic wooden Carousel. The arena and the carousel were connected by a glazed multi story walkway along the boardwalk proper. One can pass through this walkway, from Asbury Park into neighboring Ocean Grove. An additional outlying building served as mechanical space and a boiler room for the Casino as well.

The Casino's Carousel Enclosure

The Walkway Portion of the Casino

The Casino's Boiler Building

The original Casino complex did not feature any gambling despite it's namesake. The building was constructed of steel and masonry. The Asbury Park Casino itself was elegantly detailed with copper roofs and decorative elements. These elements include nautical themes such as lanterns, sea-horses and Greek inspired motifs, such as Medusa like designs.

The Casino's Carousel Copper Decoration

The Casino along with the nearby Palace amusements and The Convention hall formed the core of Asbury Park's historical amusement attractions. Sadly the complex has been allowed to deteriorate for decades. In the 1980's the roof over the Arena failed and in combination with storms and water damage, forced the that portion of the building to close. The arena portion of the building was so badly damaged, that it was torn down in 2006. Plans have been proposed to replace it with a similarly massed and detailed structure, albeit without a skating rink, yet no construction has begun on a permanent replacement for the arena to date. Sadly, the Carousel's gorgeous hand carved horses were sold off in the 1980's as well. Most of the copper inspired decoration of the walkway portion of the Casino has also disappeared throughout the years and much of it's glazing is missing as well.

Interior of The Casino's Walkway

Although the arena is now gone, the Carousel buildings is in fine condition. Although no longer used as a carousel, the building has been used for antique sales and other functions recently. The walkway has been stabilized after the demolition of the arena in 2006 and has been reopened for people to pass though from Asbury Park to Ocean Grove. Hopefully a new arena building will begin construction soon in conjunction with a full renovation and restoration of the Walkway. Until it does, the Casino will stand as monument to Asbury Park's rich history and decline, as well as a symbol of hope, for it's planned rebirth.

New York City's Chinatown

2009-07-29T19:29:00.006-04:00

Mott Street

New York City's Chinatown is located in the borough of Manhattan. Chinatown is an ethnic neighborhood and is rivaled only by San Francisco's Chinatown as the best in America. Chinatown is Located in New York City's historically ethnically diverse Lower East side. The Lower East side once had ethnic enclaves of Italians, Irish, Jews and Germans. Manhattan's Chinatown's borders were traditionally held to be between The Bowery, Canal Street, Worth Street and Baxter Street. However since the 1970's Chinatown has continued to expand engulfing areas which were once considered to be part of Little Italy and Tribeca. It has arguably become the largest Chinese neighborhood in Western Hemisphere.

Canal Street Temple

Chinatown is located on what was once the known as the Five Points. This area was well regarded as one of the worst areas of vice in Manhattan in the 1800's. It featured many bars, brothels and tenements. The area was full of gang fights lewdness and theft. Today Columbus Park, Chinatown's only park is located where the once violent Five Points were.

Chinatown initially began to thrive with the arrival of Chinese laborers in the mid 1800's. These poor laborers flocked to America to build the Transcontinental Railroad. The workers were paid poorly and often could only send for their families after many years of work. Chinatown was therefore historically male dominated and faced chronic shortages of females.

Ah Ken was credited as the first permanent Chinese man to emigrate to Chinatown circa 1860. Chinese businesses began to spring up around his initial cigar store. Chinese businesses included laundries, Chinese restaurant's serving Cantonese cuisine and retail stores. Bloody gang wars were fought by the Chinese Tongs or gangs in the area. Smaller ethic areas of Vietnamese and other asian group exist within Chinatown as well. A variety of languages such as Cantonese, Mandarin and Min.

Chinese Influenced Facade Elements

Today Chinatown is dominated by electronic stores, Chinese groceries and restaurants and light manufacturing. The heart of Chinatown is centered around the intersection of Mott Street and Canal Street as well as the intersection of Doyers and Pell Street. Canal Street is a major business artery of Chinatown and it's pedestrian packed sidewalks contain a high concentration of businesses. The winding streets of Doyers and Pell street are more quiet in nature. One area of Doyer's Street has a famous bend in it known as the bloody angle. It takes it's name from the many murders in Tong wars which once took place there.

Doyers Street - "The Bloody Angle"

One can find any type of Chinese shop in this wonderful ethnic enclave. The scents of asian cuisine drift from the storefronts and fresh fruit aromas of exotic eastern fruits such as lychee can be noticed along the streets. The architecture of Chinatown consists mainly of traditional brick bearing walls and wood floor joist buildings. However, often time these buildings are modified to have traditional eastern elements, such as pagoda like decoration, filled with bright red, yellow and greens. The business signs are mainly in Chinese and Street signs bear Chinese characters as well.

Chinese Character Street Signs

Sadly due to rising real estate prices in Manhattan and gentrification, Chinatown has begun to shrink, as Chinese Americans are pushed further out to suburban Chinatowns in Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey. However Chinatown continues to thrive to this day and will ideally continue to in the future. Manhattan's Chinatown is a rich treasure not only for the Chinese Americans but for all New Yorkers. Whether one is visiting this great neighborhood for the cuisine, shopping, culture or architecture a wonderful time is to be expected.

Chinatown Shopping

Sears Tower or Willis Tower? Is the Name of a Building Important?

2009-07-20T19:45:00.007-04:00

The Sears Tower or The Willis Tower?

Several years ago as an architectural student, I returned back home to New York on break. I visited Manhattan with a close friend. As we were walking along in the city, I looked up and noticed the famous chippendale top of 550 Madison Avenue, designed by master architect Philip Johnson. Being young and enthusiastic about my recent learnings in architectural history class, I explained to my friend, "Look, there is the AT&T building, a wonderful post-modern building built in 1984 by Philip Johnson!" My friend replied to me "That's not the the AT&T building. It's the Sony Building."

I argued with him that I knew for sure the building was indeed the AT&T building. I was sure he was wrong. My friend informed me that he had been at the building recently and saw the name of Sony inscribed upon it's facade. We decided to visit the building to determine who was right. I knew that I was right, after all I had studied this building in class and could not confuse it's chippendale like top. When we approached the building, I did see the name Sony on a plaque anchored into the stone facade. My friend was right, and he had proved 550 Madison Avenue was indeed the Sony building. Yet I was right as well, that building would always be the AT&T building. 550 Madison Avenue was built and designed for the American Telephone and Telegraph company by Philip Johnson. AT&T moving out, selling the building and Sony hanging a new name on the facade will never change who and what that building was designed for. Both my friend and I were right. 550 Madison avenue is the AT&T building and it is the Sony Building.

Our argument had highlighted some of the problems associated with changing the name of a building. It makes conversation and communication difficult. Name changing in buildings, specifically those associated with architectural importance, historical significance or socio-cultural attachment cheapens and degrades the individual building and seems to be an almost betrayal to the public.

We have all grown coldy accustomed to the name of sports stadium being sold to the highest bidder. In the case of the basketball arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands, is the name of the building the Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena or the Izod Center. With each name change and new ugly coat of paint applied in varying horrifying colors to that building, it becomes less and less inviting or attractive. I can only liken the names changes of that establishment to prostitution. Each time the building owners whore the name of the structure out to the highest bidder, it is less and less desirable. Long gone are the days in which sports stadiums were named after heroic, or at least noteworthy individuals such as Bill Shea, Brendan Byrne or Joe Robbie. No longer are stadiums given interesting or unique names like Camden Yards, Ebbets Field or Fenway Park. We have merely been left with ever changing corporate names such as Citifield, Tropicana Stadium and Enron Field.

Even noteworthy office buildings in Manhattan are not safe from this name changing cycle. In Uptown New York CIty the Pan Am building is now the Met Life Building. Rockefeller Center's famous RCA building is now the GE building. The AT&T building has become the Sony Building. Downtown the Cities Service Building is now the American International Building. Donald Trump purchased 40 Wall Street and changed it's name from The Bank of Manhattan Trust building to The Trump Building. Boston Properties has renamed the Citicorp Tower to 601 Lexington Avenue and is contemplating selling it's naming rights as well. Will we sell the name of the Empire State Building next? How about the Mcdonald's Building or the Microsoft Tower as potential names? If we do sell The Empire State Building's name we should only sell the naming rights for 5 years, that way we can sell the name again to really confuse people.

The RCA Building or The GE Building?

Sadly on July 16, 2009, at 10:00 am, the United States of America's tallest building was renamed. For 30 years our tallest building was known as the Sears Tower. The name of that building and what it stood for was a source of pride for Americans. Today that building is known as Willis Tower. It is sad and embarrassing to see America's tallest building's name sold after 30 years. I do believe that landmarking of names should be considered and allowed during the landmarking of certain select high profile buildings. Loosing the name of building with significant cultural attachment destroys a sense of character and potentially pride. All american;s loose when a the name of significant iconic building vanishes Where will we draw the line with corporate name changing in buildings of extreme architectural significance? Will we ever?

Atop the Bank of America Tower

2009-07-17T18:18:00.013-04:00

View of Bank of America Tower

The Bank of America Tower is located between 42nd and 43rd Street at 6th avenue in New York City. The Tower was designed by the architecture firm Cook + Fox. At 1,200 ft feet tall it is the second tallest building in New York City and short only to the Empire State Building.

View of Bank of America Tower from Hearld Square

At 54 stories high and 2,100,000 square feet in area the building is massive. It occupies two thirds of its city block. This tower is jointly owned by the Bank of America and the Durst organization. The total project cost has been placed at approximately 1 billion dollars. This building has been both hailed as a groundbreaking, environmentally efficient building and criticized for it's use of Liberty Bonds for it's financing. The massive 259 foot tall spire atop the Bank of America Tower is merely decorative in nature, it is not used for telecommunications.

View of Bank of America Building's Spire

The Bank of America Tower was intended to meet LEED platinum certification. It features such green elements as a highly efficient cogeneration system, which uses ice storage to cool the building. The building's green elements also include grey and rain water reclamation systems as well. Although touted as green, many of these green decisions were primarily driven by economic decisions, as they should be, instead of environmentalist propaganda. By using a cogeneration system and generating ice at night, the building is able to save money by being charged for electricity at an off peak hour rate. The ice is later used to cool the building during the day, when the same quantity of electricity would be charged at a higher rate.

Bank of America Tower's Ice Storage Bins

One existing building located on the area of land in which the Bank of America Tower was developed was Henry Miller's Theatre. This theatre open in 1918 and was designed in a neo-classical style. The facade of the theatre was landmarked and thus could not be bulldozed, as were the remainder of the existing buildings on the Bank of America Tower's site.

View of Henry Miller's Theatre's Landmarked Facade Under Renovations

The existing 900 seat theatre was levelled and the existing facade and entranceway were preserved. The existing preserved portions of Henry Miller's Theatre are currently being repointed, renovated and preserved. A new slightly larger theatre of about 1000 seats was constructed in the cellar, to replace the existing theatre. The new theatre preserves some of the more interesting artifacts from the original theatre including old doors and classical ornamentation . Although it is sad to see the original historic theatre disappear, the new theatre is fairly well done.

Interior of New Henry Miller's Theatre

Preserved Column Capital Artifact From the Original Henry Miller's Theatre.

Sitting Area of New Henry Miller's Theatre

The Bank of America Tower did not have to comply with the New York City Zoning ordinance, due to some of the existing properties on the site being condemned by New York State agencies. Nonetheless, give backs were given to the public in the form of wide sidewalks, and subway and street improvements. The building was largely done to establish the Bank of America's presence in the New york City market and features many large, deep trading floors in it.

The building's facade's glazing system is constructed out of low iron glass. This helps give the Tower's facade a more blue hue, instead of a typical green tint. The glass chosen for the face truly realizes what Mies Van Der Rohe had been hinting at in his early sketches for glass skyscrapers. The Tower is light and airy, despite being massive in volume. The Bank of America Building does taper away from Bryant Park to help minimize the shadows cast into the a Park. These angled setbacks are a bit quirky and although interesting, they seem a bit arbitrary. These angles may be merely an attempt to help give some semblance of character to what would otherwise be a typical, boring, square, corporate glass office building. Nonetheless I must concede that these small angular gestures largely succeed in making the Bank of America Tower a success and welcome new addition to New York City.

Exterior View of the Bank of America Tower

The building is humble enough to not wrest away the title of tallest building in New York City from the Empire State Building, seeing as that task will be appropriately left to the Freedom Tower. The building is elegantly detailed and interesting in shape and form. Without a doubt the Bank of America Tower provides premier views of the city around it. The combination of a skyscraper and New York City almost always makes for magical views and therefore success. At 1,200 ft feet tall and being loacted in mid town New York City, the Bank of America Tower aptly fulfills that classic New York combination. It provides an unparalled view of both the Chrysler and Empire State Building. The Bank of America was well done indeed and it repsresents a job well done by Cook + Fox.

Northern View Atop The Bank of America Tower

Southern View Atop The Bank of America Tower

Eastern View Atop The Bank of America Tower

Marcus Agrippa, Lucii Filius, Consul Tertium Fecit

2009-07-14T15:28:00.010-04:00

M. Agrippa L. F. Cos. Tertium Fecit, or Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit in its unabbreviated form is the inscription on the architrave of the Pantheon. This famous inscription translates in english as Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time made this.

View of the Pantheon's Architrave's Inscription

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, born in 63 BC, was a Roman general. Agrippa was a close friend to Ceasar Augustus. He is remembered for winning many of Agustus' military battles including the Battle of Actium, in which he defeated Mark Antony. Agrippa was indeed a Consul of Rome for several terms as the inscription of the Pantheon reminds us.

Bust of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa - Image Via Wikicommons

Marcus Agrippa did construct the Pantheon in 31 BC, after the Battle of Actium. However, the Pantheon built by Agrippa does not stand today. The original Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all the Gods, burned around 80 AD. It was rebuilt and then burned a second time. After the second burning of the Pantheon, the Pantheon that stands today was constructed around 100 AD.

View of The Pantheon's Oculus

The Pantheon is constructed of concrete and is still the largest dome spanned by unreinforced concrete today. The dome is approximately 142 Ft. diameter at it's base. The coffered dome was once covered with bronze and it features a massive 30 ft. diameter oculus. This old pagan temple to all the Gods was converted into a Catholic Church in the middle ages. It is loacted in Rome's Piazza Rotunda and masses are still celebrated in it today.

View of The Patheon's Oculus' Light Pattern

The Pantheon today was most likely designed during the reign of Emperor Trajan. It thus could potentially have been designed by Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus. The Pantheon was likely finished during the reign of Trajan's successor Handrian. However, the design of the Pantheon should not be attributed to Hadrian as it was thought in the past. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa died around 12 BC and thus did not "make" the legendary Pantheon that stands today as the architrave's inscription claims. The Pantheon's architraves' inscription can thus not be taken literally, it was merely a historical reference or tribute by either Trajan or Hadrian to the great general of Caesar Augustus and builder of the original Pantheon Marcus Agrippa.

Asbury Park's Tillie

2009-07-13T18:43:00.009-04:00

View of Tillie

On February 3 1862 George C. Tilyou was born in New York City. His father Peter Tilyou and family ran a hotel in the Brooklyn seaside resort town of Coney Island. In 1897 Tilyou built Steeplechase Park. Steeplechase at the time, was world famous amusement park featuring a ferris wheel, and of course the steeplechase ride. Tilyou's enclosed amusement park was referred to as the "the funny place"and survived until 1964. All that remains of Steeplechase Park today is the landmarked Parachute Jump.

Steeplechase Park - Image via creative commons

Tilyou's influence upon the burgeoning seaside amusement scene was unparalleled. In Steeplechase Park he had created a brand name associated with a premier seaside amusement park. He opened amusement parks in other states as well including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California. The tickets he used for rides and entrance to the park featured a cartoon of Tilyou himself. The cartoon was often shown as grinning. This is most appropriate, considering Steeplechase Park was indeed "The funny place".

Ticket for a Steeplechase ride circa 1905 - Image via creative commons

Asbury Park New Jersey was a burgeoning seaside town in the late 1800's, and as such it was highly influenced by Tilyou's Steeplechase Park. In 1888 the Palace amusements were opened, featuring a hand carved wooden carousel. The facility was expanded and renovated for years after it's construction to feature new rides such as a ferris wheel, for the growing amount of seaside tourists. In 1956 the Palace was expanded yet again and in this renovation, it acquired multiple smiling cartoon murals on it's exterior facade. These murals bore a striking resemblance to George C. Tilyou's own smiling cartoon of himself. They were undoubtedly a tribute to Tilyou and these wonderful neon lit murals were thus dubbed "Tillie". These murals were iconic and beacame associated with Asbury park throughout the years. Some Bruce Springsteen's early publicity photograph's with the E Street band were taken in front of Tillie at the Palace amusements.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in front of Tillie - Image via springsteenlive.com

Sadly the Palace amusements in Asbury Park was torn down as part of a redevelopment plan for Asbury Park, amid a wave of speculative building in 2004. Thankfully, the Palace amusements were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and preservationists were thus able to twist the developer's arm into removing and preserving the Tillie mural to be incorporated into the newly redeveloped area.

The Palace Amusements prior to demolition - Image via Sister72 on flickr

Since the redevelopment has stalled Tillie today has not yet been returned to the Asbury Park boardwalk and the mural's fate remains in limbo to this day. It is currently in the care of the developer's whom have apparently been negligent in caring for the mural since it's removal from the Palace amusements. All that remains on the Asbury Park boardwalk of Tillie is a tribute to the original mural at the Wonder Bar. This Tillie was painted on a concrete block wall of the bar and is itself in need of some repair and maintenance.

View of Wonder Bar

View of Wonder Bar

Whether the original Tillie will ever return to Asbury Park's boardwalk is unclear. Hopefully Tillie will return home one day. If it does not, the Wonder Bar's tribute mural will have to suffice as a celebration of both Asbury Park and George C. Tilyou himself.

Oak Park's Unity Temple

2009-07-08T18:29:00.007-04:00

Unity Temple

Unity Temple is located in a Chicago suburb, the famous town of Oak Park Illinois. The denomination of Unity Temple is Unitarian Universalist and so was the famous Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank lloyd Wright's first home and studio are located in this fashionable street car suburb. The temple itself was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was built between 1905 and 1908 after a fire destroyed the original church.

Unity Temple Exterior

Located on a fairly narrow piece of property, Unity Temple consists of two main spaces arranged about an axis. The first main space of Unity Temple is the "Temple Room" and the second is the "Social Hall". These two major spaces are linked by the central loggia like entry space. The design itself is brilliantly functional. One slides into Unity Temple perpendicular to the main axis of the building.

Entry into Unity Temple

From this darkly finished main entrance space, people pass into the temple room alongside and at a level a few steps below the main space featuring the pulpit and piano. It is truly a grand procession to enter the skylight filled Temple Room, seeing as one is unaware of the magnitude of the volume of the space, until turning and ascending towards the main temple level.

View on Entrance Interior

View of Approach to Temple Room

Light filters through Mr. Wright's celerstory stained glass windows providing both well filtered light and helping to mitigate any noise from the nearby streets. The Temple Room is finished with greens, yellows and browns mimicking nature. The building also is filled with furniture, planters and splendid lighting fixtures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as well.

Temple Room Balcony View

Working within a constrained budget, Wright selected reinforced concrete to be the material of the building. His use of this material was quite revolutionary for it's time. Unity Temple was one of the first non-industrial buildings to be built of reinforced concrete. It's design influenced the European modernists for years to come.The Temple room also features to balconies which are still fairly close to the altar and pulpit. These spaces provide intimate places to view the religious services. The skylight filled Social Hall features a ground floor space for meetings and congregating. SImilarly to the Temple Room it multistoried and features balconies. The second floor of this space has rooms for Sunday school.

View of Social Room

View of Wright's Lighting Fixtures

Celerstory Windows

Unity Temple is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's few religious buildings. It represents major steps forward in both materials and means of construction, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright's sense space within an architectural composition. The space Mr. Wright created are inspiring, quiet, intimate and yet grand all at the same time. Unity Temple was and is truly a treasure and a masterpiece of early 20th century architecture.

Monticello - Jefferson's Little Mountain

2009-07-07T18:42:00.004-04:00

Western View of Monticello

As a young Virginian student Jefferson befriended a man named Dabney Carr. Both Jefferson and Carr would ride horseback and study on a small mountain near Charlottesville in Virginia. Carr later married Thomas Jeffersons sister. They both promised that whomever would die first would make sure that the other was buried on what they referred to as "Tom's Mountain". Jefferson began to dream of building a home on this mountain. Both men were eventually buried on "Tom's Mountain". However Jefferson later dubbed this mountain and the plantation and home he would design on it Monticello, meaning little mountain in Italian.

View of Gardens and Mountains

Born on April 13th in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the American Declaration of Indepenance and has often been referred to as the pen of the revolution. Aside from authoring the the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was an Ambassedor to France. Govenor of Virginia, Secretary of State, founder of the Unversity of Virginia, a violnist, farmer and Both Vice President and President of the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson was truly a Renissance man. However it is little known that Jefferson was also an accomplished architect. To this day he remains our only Architect-President. Although not formally trained as an architect, Jefferson nonetheless loved to design buildings. Jefferson was a poor sketcher, however became an accomplished draftsman. He was self taught mainly through readings of books such as Palladio's 4 books of Architecture and through the places he visited. Monticello itself was highly influenced by the domed Villa Rotunda and Palladio's other works

In 1768 Jeffeson began to level the mountain top of Monticello. By 1770 he had moved into the Southern Pavillion of Monticello and two years later married his wife Martha Wayles Skelton. Jefferson worked Monticello for 50 years. He often modified and tinkered with his home adding and demolishing spaces and floors. According President Jefferson "Architecture is my delight, and putting up and pulling down, one of my favorite amusements."

View of Eastern Facade

One approaches Monticello from the East and enters into the first floor, formal Entrance Hall. This hall features many of Jefferson's collections including fossils, Indian artifacts and a custom made clock which also indicates the day of the week. Beyond the Entrance Hall on the main axis is the parlor in which much of Jefferson's artwork and musical instruments were displayed. This room opened out on to the western portico and the western lawn and gardens. This western elevation is perhaps the most famous and well known view of Monticello. It is featured on the tails side of nickels and was featured on the old two dollar bills, prior to the signing of the declaration of independence.

View of Western Facade

The southern wing of Monticello includes the South Square Room, Jefferson's Library, his office, a Greenhouse and Jefferson's Bedroom. Wonderful light filters into the greenhouse and Jefferson has portable bookcases with which he could bring on his travels located in his library. The bedroom features a French style alcove bed links the bedroom to the office. The office was Thomas Jefferson's most personal space filled with various instruments, including writing and drafting equipment and busts of people whom he admired The northern wing of Monticello features a dining room and tea room. Two visitors bedrooms including one used often by Presidents Madison's family is in this wing as well.

The second floor of Monticello was designed to house mainly bedrooms for the children and family. Windows flush with the floor make these rooms odd on the interior, yet work extremely well on the facade. The third floor features the dome. The dome is accessible by only small stars, which in turn led this "sky room" being used mainly as a children's playroom. The cellar of Monticello features beer and wine cellars. Monticello also has a north and south wing outside the main building. These wings are referred to as the dependencies. They include service spaces, such as slaves quarters, horse carriages, an ice shed and a kitchen. The kitchen was one of the best equipped of it's time in Virginia. It was stocked with french cooking equipment in order to prepare Jeffersons' favorite french foods, whith which he grew fond while ambassador to France. These dependencies were built into the slope of the site and took advantage of the natural terrrain. Walkways on top of these service wings allowed the Jeffersons to stroll up top from the Greenhouse and other portions of the main house.

Cellar Kitchen View

View of walkway above dependencies

President Jefferson's Property in Albemarle County included about 5,000 acres. He subdivided his plantation into farms and the center was his home farm on the mountain top of Monticello. Jefferson had a nursery for propagating trees and plants as he was a well known a horticulturist. Monticello's environs includes an eight-acre Fruit Garden, an orchard and vineyards. Jefferson grew various berries and herbs as well. President Jefferson also grew various trees for pleasure. Today his gardens continue to be well maintained in and around the surrounding the meandering western lawn. The lawn features an odd oval pond. It was used to keep fish caught in nearby rivers fresh prior to a meal.

Garden View

Fish Pond View

Although not formally trained, Thomas Jefferson was an extraordinary architect. Monticello ranks among one of the best homes built during its time period. Today the facility is well maintained. It is both a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Highly functional in it's in form, well sited, forwarding looking in its technology and beautiful in its composition and materials Monticello was and remains a stunning work of art by the third President of the United States.

The Hearst Tower - When Modernism Meets Classicism

2009-06-24T20:37:00.004-04:00

Hearst Tower

Sometimes when modernism meets classicism the result is nothing short of breathtaking. The two styles inherent differences often clash, but every once and a while, they highlight each others stylistic strengths. Classicism is full of symmetry, and heavy earth like stone ornamentation, often mimicking nature in the form of tree truck like columns or acanthus leaves. Classic buildings are inherently of the earth. Modern buildings are light, made of glass and metal and are airy in appearance, often times fading away. Modern building are inherently of the sky. While classicism represents history, modernism represents the future.

View North Along 8th Avenue

One such building in which these two diametrically opposed styles bend harmoniously and highlight each styles strengths is The Heart Tower located in Manhattan on 8th Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan. It features a classical base and modern tower addition. The new 35 story diagrid structural framed, metal and glass addition is by Lord Norman Foster. It was completed in 2006.

The original 6 story base of the building was completed in 1928 for William Randolph Hearst. It was intended to be the base for a grand skyscraper. However construction was stopped due to poor economic conditions during the Great Depression. The building is a New York City Landmark and the Landmarks Preservation should be praised for approving such a marvelous modern addition to the landmark historical base of 1928.

View Up Towards Lobby

The Hearst tower features office space for the 16 magazine titles of the Hearst Corporation. It features such interesting spaces as a cafe, tv station,test kitchens and a fitness center. The Hearst tower is the first LEED certified skyscraper in New York. It features such sustainable design elements as recycled steel structural members, the reuse of an existing structure, roof pavers to minimize solar gain and sensors to shut off lights when people are not in rooms. High E glazing and and high efficiency mechanical equipment are also used in this building. The lobby of the Hearst Tower features a large sculptural waterfall dubbed "icefall" in the lobby. This sculpture reuses collected rainwater from the roof to cool the lobby. The sculpture is elegantly done with building occupants sliding up and down through the sculpture on escalators to the upper level of the lobby. The upper lobby is a grand space in which one can sit and enjoy the sunlight streaming through skylights at the cafe. In this amazing space in which the original 1928 building meets the new 2006 addition.

"Icefall"

The Hearst tower is one of several grand additions to New York City's skyline of the past few years located on 8th avenue, including the New York Times building and Time Warner Center. It is certainly the most environmentally sensitive. The tower represents an amazing union and joining of both classical and modern building elements. It is both sensitive to history and forward thinking. The Hearst Tower is representative of how the past and future can coexist peacefully in a dynamic and continually changing city such New York. It is truly great work of architecture, an elegant structure and a welcome addition to New york City.

View of Classical and Modern Elements

Coney Island's Historic Roller Coasters

2009-06-23T20:04:00.006-04:00

Located in Brooklyn, New York, Coney Island has a rich history of great amusement rides. Many are familiar with Coney Island's world famous Cyclone roller coaster. However, few know of Coney Island's other great roller coasters. One of Coney Island's amazing roller coasters was the Tornado. It was wooden roller coaster built in 1926. It was located at Henerson Walk and the Bowery on a particularly narrow lot. Unique to this ride was a series of small shops located under the roller coaster. These shops featured typical coney island stands such as a sausage stand and shooting gallery. Sadly, after several arson fires in the 1970's that damaged the Tornado badly, it was demolished in 1977

The Tornado circa 1974 - image via gottaloveconeyisland.com

Others may be more familiar with Coney Island's Thunderbolt roller coaster. It was located on West 15th Street and Bowery. This coaster was slightly older than the Tornado. It was built in 1925. Many are familiar with this classic roller coaster from Woody Allen's film Annie Hall. In the movie Woody Allen claims he was raised in the house beneath the the Thunderbolt, which in real life was known as the Kensington Hotel and was occupied by the the ride's operators. The Hotel predated the Thunderbolt, which was built on top of the existing hotel. Sadly this roller coaster ceased operation in 1982. It remained vacant until 2000 when it was torn down. It was considered to unsafe and an eyesore for the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball stadium.

The Thunderbolt circa 1995 - image via wikicommons

Last of Coney Island's three great wooden roller coasters was the Cyclone. It opened in 1927 and is still operated today. It is located at the corner of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. The roller coaster had ceased operation in 1969. Luckily, in 1971 amidst pressure to expand the nearby aquarium, a campaign to save the Cyclone began, New York City purchased this great ride for 1 million dollars. The ride has been refurbished and run by Astroland Amusement Park ever since. The Cyclone was designated a Hew York City landmark in 1988 and was added to National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Although unfortunately we have lost the Tornado and Thunderbolt, at least we still have the Cyclone, which appears will survive the planned redevelopment of Coney Island as well. It is critical we continue to preserve and protect he Cyclone, a truly great ride and wonderful piece of Coney Island's rich history.

The Cyclone 2008

View Coney Island's Historic Roller Coasters in a larger map
From left to right, the Thunderbolt, Tornado and Cyclone

Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward @ The Guggenheim

2009-06-21T13:14:00.004-04:00

Exterior View of The Guggenheim

Born in 1861, Solomon Guggenheim earned a great fortune through the mining business and in particular through his Yukon Gold Company. Upon his retirement he began collecting various pieces of modern art around 1920. He established the Solomon R. Guggenheim foundation and began to exhibit his large collection of art in a small museum on 45th Street in New York City. Guggenheim's collection quickly outgrew his gallery space and he contacted Frank Lloyd Wright in 1943 to design a permanent museum for his collection.

Located at 89th Street and 5th Avenue construction of the Guggenheim Museum would outlast both Mr. Guggenheim and Mr. Wright. It took 15 year and several sets of working drawings to finish the building. The Guggenheim museum was Frank Lloyd Wright's last major work of his long and productive career. The Guggenheim museum is a beautiful reinforced concrete structure featuring a ziggurat like exterior. The interior features a grand atrium in which spectators slide up and down a spiraling ramp to view art installations. The atrium features a circular skylight at the top which allows well filtered light to illuminate the ramped atrium. The exterior of the Guggenheim clashes greatly with the surrounding context of 5th avenue. The Guggenheim was initially met with some criticism, especially from the well to do residents in the vicinity of the museum. My only criticism of the Guggenheim itself is that almost no views out to Central Park can be had in the museum. Allowing for some views out to Central Park at the upper limits of museum would have been spectacular. The building is without a doubt one of Frank Lloyd Wrights great works and serves as a wonderful exclamation mark at the end of his legendary career. The Guggenheim museum is certainly a landmark in both museum design and New York City as well.

View of Guggenheim Exterior at Central Park

The Guggenheim which opened in 1959 is now fifty years old. In celebration of Mr. Wright's genius and his landmark museum design, the Guggenheim has an exhibit of his work. The exhibit features many great drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Imperial Hotel, The Johnson Wax building, The Larkin building and of course the Guggenheim Museum. The Exhibit titled Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward, includes many great models made specifically for the exhibit. It also highlights several of Frank Lloyd Wright's unrealized projects such as his plans for the City of Baghdad, which were particularly interesting. The exhibit takes up the entire atrium as well as one floor of the Guggenheim's addition.

Interior View of The Guggenheim Atrium

While well researched in materials and facts, a few flaws do exist with the exhibit. The exhibit was curated to be viewed walking up from the bottom of the Ramp to the top. Those familiar with Guggenheim know that it is best to lay out exhibits to be viewed by talking the elevator to the top of the ramp and walking down. The lighting of the drawings was also problematic as well. Projectors were used to show construction photos of Frank's realized works. Lighting appeared to be designed to emphasize the projected images instead of Mr. Wrights drawings. The lack of adequate lighting made it difficult to appreciate the the unique style of Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings. However this exhibit is recommended for any fans of Wright's work, the Guggenheim or architecture in general. Celebrating Mr. Wrights achievements in the Guggenheim itself is simply great and I'm sure Frank would have loved to see his works exhibited in his final masterpiece.

Destroying The House That Ruth Built

2009-06-17T17:07:00.005-04:00

Kudos to the New York Yankees! They have managed to destroy the House that Ruth Built. The original Yankee Stadium was built in 1923. It was one of the three surviving classic baseball stadiums along with Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Yankee Stadium was the home to both the New York Football Giants and the 26 time world champion Yankees. The entire idea that this stadium full of history will be torn down is apalling.

The Yankees had originally played at the home of the New York Baseball Giants, the Polo Grounds. After the Yankees and Babe Ruth began to outdraw the Giants, the Giants ownership forced the Yankees to find a new home. Ownership selected a site in the South Bronx and built the original Yankee Stadium. The rest is history. The Yankees went on to become baseball's biggest winners.

Original Yankee Stadium in the 1920's - Image via WikiCommons

Yankee Stadium was baseball's first three levelled stadium. It also featured a elegant frieze which became one of the stadium's signature design elements. Major renovations were carried out on Yankee Stadium in the 1970's. The frieze was removed from the upper levels and move toward the outfield. Columns supporting the upper tier were removed as well. The 1970's renovation also saw the moving of the monuments to past great Yankees into Monument Park. A smaller frieze was also placed in the rear of the stadium.

Post 1970's Renovations Yankee Stadium Exterior

Post 1970's Renovations Yankee Stadium Interior

Although the 1970's renovations substantially altered the character of Yankee Stadium, it nonetheless remained the original building. Sadly the building is currently under demolition today, after the completion of a New Yankee Stadium. After the original stadium's demolition a park dubbed Heritage Field will be where the original stadium once stood.

2009 New Yankee Stadium Exterior

The New Yankee Stadium is quite nice. The exterior is plain and neo-classical in style, looking back toward the original facade of Yankee Stadium. A awesome new frieze was added to the upper level of this new stadium as well. All in all the stadium was well done. The facade is clean looking, grand in proportions and done in a stone like finish. It appears to be a great place to play baseball despite it feeling slightly corporate.

2009 New Yankee Stadium Interior

Sadly this great new stadium should never have been. In my opinion the original Yankee Stadium should have been designated a Landmark. Major alterations, additions and renovations should have been allowed to be compatible with ownerships needs. However a restoration of the original facade and frieze should have served as stipulations for any of the proposed alterations. We have lost one of the great historic stadiums. Yankee stadium should and could have been saved. We have lost the House That Ruth built forever, during an era of speculative building. Both the Yankees ownership and the Landmarks Preservation Commission are to blame.

New York's Best Neighborhood - Brooklyn Heights?

2009-06-16T22:36:00.005-04:00

Promenade View

Could Manhattan's most beautiful area to live in be in......Brooklyn? This is the question I asked myself, while strolling in Brooklyn Heights earlier this week. One could make this case in an argument and potentially win. Brooklyn Heights is located on the eastern shore of the East river. The area itself is located atop a steep bluff. This area was first settled, as was much of old New York City by the Dutch in the 1600s.

A significant fortification existed in Brooklyn Heights during the Revolutionary War and was used by General George Washington. It was later torn down by the residents at the end of the war. The area of Brooklyn Heights was largely developed in the early to mid 1800's. Brooklyn Heights was one of New York City's earliest commuter towns, with ferry boats carrying commuters to Manhattan every day. Brooklyn Heights' development was made possible by both the ferry boats and the area's proximity to Manhattan.

Due to Brooklyn Height's period of initial development, this great district features wonderful historic brownstone townhouses. These were mainly built in Italianate style. Other notable styles of homes that can be found in Brooklyn Heights include Greek and Gothic revival homes, as well as a few wonderful wood frame houses. Many of the tree lined streets in Brooklyn Heights feature cobblestones as well. Particularly good examples of homes can be found on Montague Street.

Typical Brooklyn Heights Housing Typology

Brooklyn Heights today is a living record of Brooklyn's early housing typologies. However, this is not Brooklyn Heights' best feature. Due to the bluff on which Brooklyn Heights sits, a breathtaking view of downtown Manhattan can be enjoyed along a Promenade. This Promenade is heavily planted with trees and greenery, which buffer the historic townhouses along it's eastern edge. The view that can be had of Manhattan along this promenade rivals and surpasses any view that can be had in New Jersey, Queens or any other area of Brooklyn.

Promenade Edge Buffer

The Promenade came into being when When Robert Moses proposed routing the Brooklyn Queens Expressway through Brooklyn Heights. Public opposition to this plan, which would have forever scarred Brooklyn Heights, stopped Moses' ambitions. Brooklyn Heights was designated as the first "Historic District" in New York City by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. This designation forced Moses to locate the Brooklyn Queens Expressway along the edge of Brooklyn Height's bluff, instead of through the heart of the neighborhood.

The BQE was routed along the edge of Brooklyn Heights with the northern bound traffic above the southern bound traffic. These two tiers of expressway were capped with the promenade that exists today. Brooklyn Heights' Historic District designation has helped spare the area from tall new developments. Between the Promenade and the amazing historic building stock, Brooklyn Heights is and will remain one of New York City's premier areas to visit, live in and enjoy.

Getting Our City Streets Right

2009-06-12T21:52:00.005-04:00

It is hard to believe how much Americans still struggle with city building today. During the modern movement, city planning was highly influenced by the idea of setting a building back from the street in order to create a plaza. These plazas were envisoned as being places in which the public good gather. They were designed to allow people to sit in them and get a bit of a break from congested city life.

These urban plazas became so popular and trendy, that many zoning resolutions were changed to provide floor area bonuses to those buildings in which plazas were created. Many of these rules still remain on the books. The plazas were intended to replace streets and sidewalks as places for social interaction. They have mostly failed to achieve their goals.

However the main problem with these urban plazas is that they are not very nice spaces to be in. They are cold and windswept in the winter. When it rains, they are deserted. At night urban plazas are deserted and lifeless. They tend to attract crime and delinquency in these often unguarded spaces. The Chase building Plaza is one such example.

Chase building - Manhattan

In older traditional cities in which street walls are maintained, whether it is rainy, cold or even snowing, the streets are always full of life. What makes this possible is the mixed use nature of these older streets. People still circulate along streets to access shops and commercial spaces on the ground floor. The Ancient Romans knew it. The cities they built such as Pompeii had commercial uses on the lower floors of buildings and residences above. Older New York City Streets have this as well such as Stone Street.

Pompeii Excavations Italy

Stone Street Historic District New York City

We know that having stores on the ground floor is convenient for those whom live above. The people create business for the stores on the ground floor and the stores create a lively street in which it is pleasant local residents to be. However we still struggle with making good streets for our cities. A few tips for good street making still include maintaining commercial uses on the ground floor of buildings. Another way to make a good street is by allowing residences to be on the floors above these shops. Lastly buildings should be situated in manner in which no side or front yards are provided. This allows for a continuous street wall. Looking back to the past can clearly illustrate to us the methods of making good streets. The evidence and is abundant and clear and should be used to our advantage.

New York City In 2409 According to Mannahatta

2009-06-11T21:05:00.006-04:00

Manhattan Today - Image via Mannahatta

This first image is a familiar picture to many of us. It is a satellite image of the New York City Metropolitan region. It is an image that shows just how much man has been able to accomplish in the 400 years since the founding of New York City. We can truly appreciate the wonderful City that we all take for granted through the beauty of this image.

Manhattan in 2049 According to Mannahatta - Image via Mannahatta

This second image shows a view of what Manhattan may be like in 2409. This view of a Manhattan of the future is from the book Mannahatta, by Eric W. Sanderson and the Wildlife Conservation Society (The Organization which runs the Bronx Zoo). In the image we can see how Sanderson guesses Manhattan may be, 400 years in the future.

In order to give credit where it is due, Mannahatta is a wonderful book. It presents a great tome of information of what Manhattan was like prior to the arrival of the Dutch. It catalogues natural features such as hills and valleys. This great tome also covers topics such as the natural flora and fauna of Manhattan and its original inhabitants the Leni Lenape Indians. Mannahatta has great historical maps and wonderful illustrations as well. Sanderson should be highly commended for this original, great work.

However toward the end of this book Sanderson spends a few pages predicting how Manhattan will be in the future. This dystopian view of tomorrow shows a world in which centuries of progress has been erased. In Sanderson's fantasy of a sustainable future, large portions of the city will be returned to farmland as "Manhattan will be an exemplar physically and functionally of the Green City". Sanderson is showing us a scary vision, of how our great city may be once our urban infrastructure, building stock and way of life is systematically disassembled. As terrible as this map is, it does not seem too far off considering how enamored the people have become with the environmentalist movement.

Sanderson is quick to note that "whatever solutions we come up with will need to be implemented piecemeal, rather than as whole scale reconstructions". Rest assured these piecemeal "solutions" are already being implemented in the city in a variety of green initiatives. This view of a future Manhattan looks more like a view of Manhattan from the early 1800's than 2409. Sanderson presents a glimpse of an urban regression of monumental proportions. This transformation of a once great city into a wasteland is reminiscent of what became of Ancient Rome as the world was entering the dark ages.

In this vision of the future several areas will be reserved for high rises in the city including downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights and Long Island City. Sanderson truly foresees that most of Long Island, Staten Island, Brooklyn and all of Jersey City will become farmland once again. He also states that "Farms will be organized by cooperative (rather than corporations)". This view of tomorrow reminds me much of The Soviet Union. However instead of being a Country with "5 year Plans" and "Communes" as The Soviet Union once was, America will be a nation of "400 year Plans" and "Farming Cooperatives". Luckily my community in Bayonne is largely spared from the wrecking ball, aside from the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne disappearing from the map. Bayonne is not slated to become a farm in Mr. Sanderson's extremist view of tomorrow. Is your area spared?

Hopefully Mr. Sanderson is wrong about Manahttan in 400 years. However this prophecy of the future is certainly representative of trends in our society at large today. It is truly unfortunate Mr. Sanderson uses a few pages toward the end of Mannahatta to illustrate his hopes for the future. It sullies an otherwise well done book.

Xanadu - Redefining Ugly

2009-06-11T17:34:00.005-04:00

Xanadu - Image via blog.nj.com

New Jersey's last Governor Richard Codey referred to this mega complex as "yucky-looking". The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority which owns the Meadowlands Property on which Xanadu sits has stated that it has "widespread concerns with the current appearance" of Xanadu. Sadly they are right. Xanadu could possibly the worst looking building I have ever seen. It's aluminum siding panels come in colors such as blue, red green and yellow. One wonders if the someone in The Rockwell group, whom designed this monstrosity is related to a aluminum siding dealer. The colros chosen for the facades of Xanadu clash in an almost unimaginable manner. The Rockwell group should be ashamed. It never fails to impress me how awful this building is every time I am forced to look at it.

This 5 story mall is located on The Meadowlands in East Rutherford New Jersey. It is slated to feature 4,500,000 square feet of retail, office space, entertainment and a gratuitous skiing slope. The project was designed to be the largest mall in America. The project is now two years behind schedule after being scheduled to open in 2007.

Filed with over the top retail and excessive entertainment, this complex will put many Mom and Pop stores out of business in New Jersey. It is strange to build a ridiculous looking indoor ski slope in a part of the world, where real skiing is close by for much of the year. It looks like it belongs in Dubai.

Pepsi Feris Wheel - Image via Bloomberg.com

This Pepsi Ferris is god awful looking as well. It, along with the rest of this eye sore of a complex will all be easily visible from the New Jersey Turnpike. The Oil refineries along the NEw Jersey Turnpike have a much better sense of aesthetics then this shopping Center. Xanadu takes the title of ugliest building located at the Meadowlands. This is not an easy task considering the old Brendan Byrne Arena, Giants Stadium and the NEw football stadium are all particularly bad looking as well. All we have to look forward regarding this building is a day in which a wrecking ball will finally level it, and greatly enhancing its appearance.

Exterior View - Image Via fullyarticulated.typepad.com

Horrendous New Atlantic Yards Renderings

2009-06-09T11:51:00.005-04:00

Rendering by Ellerbe Becket Image Via Curbed

Rendering by Ellerbe Becket Image Via Curbed

The Atlantic Yards is a controversial, large development being planned in Brooklyn. The developer of the project is Forest City Ratner's own Bruce Ratner. This development is to be located on top of the Long Island Railroad's existing rail yard. Development for this site has been hotly debated for years.

In 2004 Bruce Ratner and a group of investors successfully purchased the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Forest City Ratner proposed to move the team from New Jersey to Brooklyn, as the centerpiece of his proposed Atlantic Yards development plan. Ratner's plans for this section of Brooklyn include the new basketball arena and 16 high rise office and residential buildings.

View Atlantic Yards in a larger map

Originally Ratner selected Frank O. Gehry to design his Atlantic Yards. Frank Gehry's design made use of his typical curved metal panels and odd forms. The Barclay's Arena for the Nets featured wonderful flowing metal panels. Frank also proposed the tallest building in Brooklyn to be built on the site. This deconstructivist, spiraling, metal clad building was to be dubbed "Miss Brooklyn" and it was to have surpassed the venerable Williamsburg Bank Building as Brooklyn tallest building.

This project has been controversial from the beginning. Brooklyn residents have been upset and outraged by Bruce Ratner's proposed use of eminent domain. He proposes to level several blocks of affordable housing in his development plans. The relocation of the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn has also bothered New Jersey Residents whom are sad to loose a home town team.

Nonetheless, this project was bold and well designed. Miss Brooklyn was to be an superb addition to the borough of church's skyline. The Atlantic Yards was bringing professional sports back to Brooklyn for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers left in the 1950s. It was doing all of this with Frank Gehry's world renown flair and style.

Original Gehry Design Image Via Village Voice

Unfortunately, these grand plans for the Atlantic Yards have more or less stalled. Construction of most of the bulk of the residential and office buildings including "Miss Brooklyn" are to be postponed indefinitely. These well designed buildings have all fell victim to the recent economic downturn. Plans are still on the table to build the Barclay's Arena in order to get the Nets to Brooklyn. Sadly, Frank Gehry's role as the architect for the Atlantic Yards has recently been scaled back as well. He will no longer be the designer of the new arena. The firm of Ellerbe Becket has been selected by Forest City Ratner to design the scaled back arena. Forest City Ratner has cited the economic slowdown as the primary reason for the change in architects.

New renderings of the proposed arena have recently been made available. I must say without any reservations that this new arena is bad looking. It is a true downgrade from Frank Gehry's proposal. The building reminds me of a shopping center or a big warehouse or parking garage. It looks cheap, poorly thought through and appears to have had any charming qualities of Gehry's initial design value engineered away. This rendering may be the ugliest arena I have ever seen and we have no lack of ugly arenas in America. What a shame.

Frank O. Gehry's IAC Building in New York City

2009-06-08T19:49:00.007-04:00

In 1929 Ephraim Owen Goldberg now known as Frank Owen Gehry was born in Toronto. His famous museum in Bilbao Spain helped turn the city from a sleepy, depressed, industrial city in to a tourist destination and center for the arts.

Mr. Gehry's work has been described as Deconstructivist. The Deconstuctivists attempted to create forms that were odd and had strange disjunctions between structure and skin. They largely designed in a manner to challenge the dogmatic modern, and structuralist styles. Deconstructivists often attempted to create buildings in which people felt uneasy.

Frank Gehry has been known for his curvilinear formed buildings. Many times he uses curved panels of steel or titanium in his buildings to create flowing, odd forms, that contrast greatly with largely rectilinear classical and traditional modern buildings. Frank has utilized cutting edge computer technology to realize his designs and they are generally thought to be unbuildable using pre computer traditional drafting technology. Frank Gehry adapted his own form of the Catia software in order to make his designs feasible.

Sensuous in form and material yet notoriously over budget, his buildings have been celebrated as masterpieces and reviled as eyesores at the same time. He is truly controversial and arguably the greatest living architect. Frank Gehry had struggled to get New York City commissions for years, with much of his work taking place in California and Europe. The IAC Building on the west side of Manhattan represents his first building to be successfully realized in New York.

View from 10th Avenue

Recently completed in 2007, this building is actually fairly conservative for Frank Gehry. This 10 story building's fluid like glass facade was bent on site, using a technique called cold forming. The project cost a mere 100 million dollars. The building disappoints as the flamboyant Gehry's first New York City building and pales in comparison to the likes of Bilbao.

However, the IAC Building is best appreciated from the Hudson River's shores in Hoboken New Jersey. The IAC building appears to float gracefully, much more so than when being viewed from Manhattan. It's light glass facade undulates and greatly stands out amongst the Manhattan grid iron and Chelsea's brick and concrete warehouses. The building is reminiscent of a yachts sails and almost appears to blow in the breeze from across the Hudson. It is truly a breath of fresh air. Having taken Mr. Gehry so long to break into New York City and given his age and the stalling of the Atlantic Yards project he will most likely not build much in New York. The IAC Center may be the best Frank Gehry project to be realized in New York City. One thing is certain, this sail like building of the great Hudson River is truly a New York City building and it will undoubtedly hold a special place in New Yorker's hearts.

View From Hoboken NJ

New York City's Disappearing Waterfront Industrial Signs

2009-06-07T19:58:00.005-04:00

The New York City waterfront was once a bustling place filled with factories and industry. As America and especially New York City have increasingly distanced itself from its historic manufacturing base these old factories have closed and disappeared. The increasing cost of real estate in New York, excessive environmental regulations and over priced unionized American labor have steadily been driving industry from the New York Metropolitan area and American shores.

Factories for Westinghouse and Pabst have closed long ago in Newark New Jersey. The old Colgate factory has closed in Jersey City. In Hoboken the Maxwell House and Lipton Tea factories have been closed as well. In Long Island City names such Swingline, Silvercup and Pepsi have vanished as well. Standard Oil is but a ghost in Bayonne New Jersey. Leaving these areas as playgrounds for the rich. Service based jobs have replaced these old blue collar working class jobs. Condominiums and office towers have eaten these old places of ingenuity, factories up one by one. In In the Brooklyn Navy Yard no further ships will be built. In Staten Island Port Ivory no longer produces bars of soap.

Long Island City's Pepsi Cola Sign

Apart from the manufacturing woes that plague America today, these disappearing factories along the Hudson and East River have contributed to an increasingly sense of placelessness for New Yorkers. The factories that once bustled along these rivers often times had large accessory signs that celebrated and heralded these great companies presence along the rivers. They gave a sense of place. These signs were not merely crass advertisement signs. These grand old sign's had character and were sources of pride for factory workers. Many times people would check the Colgate Clock's time from New York. Often people knew they were on their way home when gazing upon the Pepsi Cola Sign in Long Island CIty.

Jersey City's Colgate Sign

The lateset victim to fall is Williamsburg's Domino sugar factory. It is slated to become condominiums. Like the Jersey City Colgate Clock and Long Island City's Pepsi Cola sign, the Domino Sugar sign will be fixed up and remain on the roof of this old factory turned residence of the wealthy. A minimum the Domino Sugar sign will be preserved. It will remain as a piece of history. These signs will serve a visual reminders, place keepers, evidence of America's great industry. They will serve as tombstones. These great signs will help aid New Yorkers as they tell their children and grandchildren......"In the past, long ago New Yorkers had great factories that lined the rivers. The people worked hard, and created much. Men were proud of how they put food on the table and how they could build a many great things, but that is all gone now. We do not build anything in New York City today."

Williamsburg's Domino Sugar Factory Sign

35 Years of Light At The Yale Center for British Art

2009-06-05T21:12:00.008-04:00

Luis Kahn image via duongchan.wordpress.com

“All material in nature,
the mountains and the streams and the air and we,
are made of Light which has been spent,
and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow,
and the shadow belongs to Light.
- Louis Kahn”

Louis Kahn was born in an island in Estonia which was then part of Russia in 1902. His family emigrated to America in 1905. While in Russia Louis's face was very scarred when he took burning coals out of an oven. He has been mezermerized by their beauty. Even at taht young age he was mesmerized by light.

Over the coruse of his career Lou did not build much. Projects realized include the Salk Institute, Richards Medical Building, The Yale University Art Gallery, Dhaka and Exeter Library. These few projects in the way materials were used departed from the formal high modernism and changed architecture forever. By far my favorite Lou Kahn building is the The Yale Center for British Art completed in 1974 after his tragic death in New York City's Penn Station.

The building located in Connecticut has a plain, simple yet elegant exterior. With metal panels and exposed concrete beams. Beautiful view can be had from the interior out towards Yale Campus. The first floor is sidewalk is activated by having retail shops on the first floor. This was quite the anomaly for modern buildings during the time it was built.

Building Exterior

One slips into the Yale Center for British Art in one corner of the building into the Entrance Court. In this courtyard one can see a small sculpture. This multi story courtyard is finished with travertine floors, tasteful and tasteful wood panels. Light streams down from skylights above.

Entrance Courtyard

The Yale Center for British Art's interior is essentially organized around two courtyards. The first being the previously mentioned Entrance Court and the second being the library Court. Both of these courts serve as way finding devices in the building.

Library Courtyard

The Library Courtyard

As well done as the Entrance Courtyard was, it essentially sets the stage for the amazing experience in the Library Courtyard. Similarly to the first courtyard the Library Courtyard is a multi story space with skylights. However the light is much more filtered in the this courtyard due to the display of paintings inside. The same finishes are used except the floor is wood in this courtyard. The most impressive feature of the courtyard is a concrete circular egress staircase. The interior of the staircase is delight to walk up and down.

Interior of Staircase

The fish of this circular staircase is stunning. Lou Kahn used form work for the concrete that when stripped away produced a very smooth surface. Kahn, always true to his materials and structure allows the depressions in the concrete from the form work to remain. He elects not to patch the scars of the concrete from its production. These scars on the concrete, similarly to Kahn's face would always remain.

Stairway Concrete Finish Detail

The Yale Center for British Art Kahn's last work is located across the street from one of his earliest, The Yale University Art Gallery. One can easily see how much he grew during his career between both of these buildings. The Yale University Art Gallery pales in comparison to The Yale Center for British Art. It is arguable that the Salk Institute or Bangladesh's assembly building, Dhaka was Lou Kahn's greatest work. Yet I would disagree. The simple arrangement of the two courtyards in he Yale Center for British Art, its simple materials and the manner in which light and people flow throughout the building, truly makes it his highest achievement.

Delirious Rem Koolhaas' McCormick Tribune Campus Center

2009-06-04T20:40:00.008-04:00

McCormick Tribune Campus Center's Exterior

The famous modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe began his directing Illinois Institute of Technology's School of Architecture in In 1938. When he began teaching at IIT he given allowed to design master plan and many of the buildings on IIT's proposed new campus. This campus is located in the Bronzeville setcion of Chicago. He designed these buildings in a Miesian style. The buildings were modern with plenty of glass and bronze detailing. His asterpiece building was the Architecture Department's Crown Hall.

Mies' Crown Hall.

Although Mies did not design all of the buildings on IIT's new campus almost all of the buildings were designed in his unique modern style. These buildings are clean and consistent in appearance. These building provide the perfect architectural background for Rem Koolhaas' McCormick Tribune Campus Center to shine.

Rem Koolhaas was born in 1944 in The Netherlands. He won a competition to design this building and it opened in 2003. The building is located on Mies Van Der Rohe's ladmark IIT campus. The site of the building is located on a piece of the campus in which the CTA's Green Line passes.

Rem decided to locate this one story structure underneath and on both sides of the elevated train. Rem surrounded the train tracks with a stainless steel tube in order to help mitigate the excessive noise produced when the train passes by. Thus not only dampens the sound of the train passing by, it creates a dynamic experience for passengers of the train passing though the tube. Although the tube is independant of the main buildings structure Rem cleverly places a metal panel on the interior of the building to remind occupants of the train and stainless steel tubes presence. This panel is not part of the actual steel tube but merely a decorative remider.

View of interior metal tube paneling

Although the exterior form of the building is quite stunning it is Rem selection of interior finishes that truly make the space incredible to be in. The fake steel tube like paneling is only one of these intriguing finishes. REM also chooses to leave exposed an unfinished green board gypsum panel ceiling in this 110,000 square foot space. He allows this green board to be exposed without paint allowing the occupants to see the tape and joint compund associated with the manner in which the ceiling was constructed.

Greenboard ceiling details

Rem also makes use of an interesting orange colored plastic and metal panel systems in certain spaces. As one walks by these panels, patterns become visible.

Orange Panels

This building is masterpiece of contemporary design. Rem Koolhaas is truly one of the most original architects practicing today. Rem Koolhaas' McCormick Tribune Campus Center stands out on the Bronzeville Campus of Illinois Institute of Technology as one of the best and most inspired buildings. This is certainly no easy task given is location on landmark campus design on of the modern movement's most celebrated Architect's Mies Van Der Rohe.

Its Not Easy Being Green

2009-06-02T19:23:00.004-04:00

Throughout the ages architecture has been categorized by a series of styles, following in more or less a chronological order. Buildings can therefore typically be referred to as being part of a time period or style. Styles are often driven by ornamentation, theoretical ideas or material types. For example the Romanesque style dominated around 1050 AD. It was followed by the Gothic style which was in turn followed by the Renaissance style. Each of these styles have certain characteristics. If we were to look at the Gothic style we would notice that the structure of the Cathedrals tended to be made of limestone, with vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses. The building's fenestration was dominated by the pointed arch and was often filled with stained glass. One signature of this style was the large stained glass Rose Window. Other similarities can been seen in the spaces created in plan as well. Gothic cathedrals tended to be built with cross shaped plan and had a vertical emphasis in section.

Buildings were designed in this style for a particular and clear manner. Gothic cathedrals were designed to be tall and important. When one entered into they would be overcome by the beautiful multi colored light streaming down from stained glass windows. This light was to representative and suggestive of the magnificence and splendor of heaven. The entire architectural experience was conceived to create fear of and appreciation of God in order to help strengthen one's faith. More or less these buildings succeed in their attempts to inspire.

Other styles have attempted to inspire in other manners. Renaissance buildings wanted to study and reawaken the knowledge of the Ancient Greek and Roman Classical styles, thus their forms were constructed in a manner to mimic, learn from and celebrate these ancient ruins. Buildings designed in the modern style celebrated the machine and man's ability to create in both the material selections and spatial forms.

Most recently in the latter part of the 20th century and the early millennium architecture has been responding to modern architecture movement. Modern architecture was at first widely accepted and celebrated for it's clean crisp forms, free from ornamentation. They sprung up everywhere. Later the modern style was to some extent reviled for creating buildings that were overly similar and for creating cold places which all seemed the same. Styles which reacted to the modern movement were post modernism, structuralism and deconstructionism. All of these styles were searching for ways to build buildings representative of contemporary society that were more dynamic and unique in nature. These styles succeeded in their goals to a certain degree as well.

It is my opinion that a new architectural style has come to dominate today. This style would be a "Green" or "Sustainable" style. Green design is everywhere you look. Green building is pushed froward by environmentalists, politicians and the media. It is certainly championed by the US Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects.

As calls for greater implementation of Green style elements are heard politicians, will undoubtedly continue to enact legislation mandating them. Many municipalities require that either all new buildings meet Green style requirements or that buildings over a certain specified cost are required to be built in the Green style. Many times buildings are judged how "Green" they are by the the United States Green Building Council's or USGC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED. Buildings are judged to be either LEED certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum rated based upon how strictly they comply with a specified set of requirements. These requirements are spelled out in the LEED checklist. This checklist must be filled out listing the way a building complies with various odd requirements ranging from what types of materials a building is using, to whether a changing room is provided for bicyclists or even whether the building features bins for recycling materials. Filling out this checklist hardly seems to the apex of a great architectural style. It appears to be more of a bureaucratic requirement and it will eventually become a typical boring code compliance requirement, if public calls for Green style buildings continue.

LEED Checklist

Unfortunately, the Green Building style is essentially based upon a series of scientific theories or postulates, unlike the other architectural styles I have mentioned before. Whereas modern architecture attempted to mimic the machine and built mass produced buildings filled with lights and the Gothic attempted to inspire its buildings occupants, The Green Style attempts merely to minimize a building's environmental impact at any cost. In Green design the buildings form and materials are always secondary to the environmental impacts. Often times materials will be elected because they are good for the environment instead of aesthetically pleasing. Although architects will always attempt to include good design in any building, the Green elements of design are certainly the driving force behind these buildings.

The entire premise behind this Green style is flawed. Proponents of the Green style claim that humans have and continue to cause major environmental problems to Earth, which will in turn lead to global warming and other various environmental disasters. This style attempts to create sustainable or carbon neutral buildings to maintain the Earth's environment in a permanent static manner.

The earth is incredibly dynamic in a nature and scientists know that the Earth will not be suitable for human habitation forever. People often fail to remember that the Earth has been both frozen in the past and a ball of fire. In fact the ability for the Earth to remain habitable for life forms ultimately depends on the Sun. We know that as the Sun continues to burn it's fuel it will eventually expand and grow hotter as its transitions to a red dwarf sun. When the sun does this the earth could be incinerated. If the Earth is not incinerated It's water will most likely be boiled away and its atmosphere lost due to the sun continually giving off more energy. Life has existed on the Earth for roughly a billion years and the Sun is currently estimated to be too strong for water to exist in another billion years.

It is the goal of the Green Style to maintain the Earth's temperature, abundance of natural resources and plant animal and human life within a certain specified range. We know this to be utterly impossible and futile, yet we keep claiming that we can do it and keep trying like fools. The Green style seems simple and repetitive and derivative in its nature. The fact the Earth will one day end just as all things will, does not relieve us from our moral obligation to preserve the Earth's delicate resources the best we can. However the notion that we can create a Green style building Utopia in which the Earth will remain static is simply naive. As Architects, Engineers, designers and humans we can and must do better. We must move beyond the Green style obsession to more thoughtful and meaningful architectural styles and new building forms which respond to the human condition and delight us all. It is therefore that I argue that it is indeed "Not Easy Being Green" in comparison to other architectural styles. Because the Green style cannot measure up to the other architectural styles that proceeded it theoretically, intellectually and physically.

A Grand Beaux-Arts Procession Through The Bronx Zoo

2009-06-01T18:55:00.011-04:00

The Bronx Zoo is located in New York City's borough of the Bronx and opened 1899. It was originally known as the The New York Zoological Park. This park is located on 252 acres. This word class Zoo remains a prime example of what can potentially be accomplished when public private partnerships go right. The Zoo is located on a city park and receives municipal subsidies, while being privately run.

Approach to Baird Court

The historic original portion of the park is known as Baird Court. It was designed in Beaux-Arts style by Heins & Lafarge. The Beaux-Arts style is a neoclassical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. This court features a traditional grass mall flanked by a series of masonry pavilions on both sides and features a wonderful circular pool with ever playful Sea Lions. The formal main approach to this great court is through a beautiful metal art deco gate portraying animals. Upon passing through the gates and alley of trees a large circular driveway can be found featuring the grand Rockefeller Fountain. Past the fountain is a series of stairs leading to Baird Court.

Baird Court

Rockefeller Fountain

Baird Court's flanking pavillions are fairly low to the ground with a height of around 1 sotry. The Court itself is dominated at one end by the domed Elephent House. This is the tallest building on Baird Court and features a grand byzantine like dome and terra cotta detailing.

Elephant House

Barid court is surrounded by pavilions originally serving as a Primate House, Lion House, Administration Building, Main Bird House and of the Heads and Horns Building. Each of these Beaux-Arts pavilions were highly influenced by the Coumbian Expostion and the subsequent CIty Beautiful movement.

Administration Building

Today the remainder of the park is designed in a more naturalistic and much less formal manner. The winding Bronx River can be seen at points throughout the park as well. The Bronx Zoo is New York City Landmark and features over 4,000 animals today. This Zoo and Park is wonderful place to appreciate just how beautiful a city can be when it is designed in the City Beautiful and Beaux-Arts styles. Many of America's other great Zoos such as the San Diego Zoo and Washington DC Zoo although larger in size, pale in comparison of architectural significance. Below follows just some of the animals that can be seen at The Bronx Zoo.

Hope for Staten Island's North Shore Railway?

2009-05-30T21:54:00.014-04:00

Unlike all of New York City's other boroughs Staten Island has only one "subway". It is now known as the Staten Island Railway. As most Staten Islanders know that this one train line runs from Tottenville at the southern end of the island to the famous St. George ferry Terminal at the northern tip of the Island. Few Staten Islanders realize however that two additional commuter rail lines once operated on Staten Staten Island. One line was the South Beach line ter rail line ran from St. George to Wentworth avenue. The other rail line was the North Shore line which ran from St. George to Arlington. Each of these lines were part of the Staten Island Rapid Transit as the Railway was originally known.

The Staten Island Rapid Transit was designed by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1851. The famous train tycoon Vanderbiult was born on Staten Island and had wanted to connect Clifton to Vanderbilt's Landing in Stapleton. This line was later extended to Tottenville. In 1883 the B & O RAilroad built the South Beach and North shore lines and completed construction in 1885.

Image via Wikipedia

The original stations on the North Shore branch were Arlington, Harbor Road, Mariners' Harbor, Lake Avenue, Elm Park, Tower Hill, Port Richmond, West Brighton, Livingston, Snug Harbor, New Brighton and lastly St. George.

However as with many other railroads by the 1950's the number of riders had plummeted due to the the automobile and buses. in 1953 New York City agreed to subsidize the St. Geroge to Tottenville line and the B & O railroad terminated passeneger service on the South Beach and North Shore lines. The last trains left on Tuesday March 31, 1953. In 1971 the Railway was sold from B & O to the City. Today the main line operated by the MTA. The South Beach line has almost completly disapperread any the typical ugly Staten Island townhouses have been built along its former right of way. However the the North Shore branch right of way still exists today. Although the lines have been deteriorated for over 50 years, the roads over the rail line were recently renovated by the DOT.

Plans have been proposed over the past few years to reopen this much need commuter service along this densely populated area. A feasibility study for reopening this line was completed in 2004. This study concluded that enough density exists in this area to support a train service. This is not surprising seeing as the area supported one fifty years ago. This study also concluded the railway could help reduce traffic on Staten Island's already overcrowded roads and could potentially help improve the surrounding areas poor economic conditions.

Time has taken a severe toll on this old railway. Major structural work to bridges, supports would need to be done to the railway. The existing track would be more or less useless. Station platforms have essentially disappeared. One length of the right of way is currently located on private land which causes major problems to reviving the North Shore Railway. Portions of the railway have washed into the Kill Van Kull and would need to be completely rebuilt.

Borough President Molinaro has also been looking to purchase nearby property to the old rail stations for park and rides. This is certainly a good sign. It estimated that about $400 million would be needed to revive this old railway and at that price it seems like a bargain. Nonetheless this project is critical for Staten Island and considering how much Staten Island pays into the MTA and how little it gets out it only seems fair. This project must go forward. Below are some images taken today of the current deteriorated status of the North Shore line at various old stops.

Snug Harbor

Livingston

West Brighton

Port Richmond

Elm Park

Mariners' Harbor

Arlington

Jersey City's H&M Railroad Powerhouse to be Stabilized

2009-05-29T18:59:00.009-04:00

Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse

Located in the Harsimus Cove Section of Jersey City is the Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse. It was built between 1906 and 1908 and designed by Architect John Oakman of the notable firm of of Carrere and Hastings. This brick 9 story structure was designed to power the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, which linked New Jersey and New York City for the first time directly by rail. The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad was turned on by President Theodore Roosevelt's order.

The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad had to run on electricity, because fumes, smoke and steam is particularly undesirable in a tunnel. Therefore the Powerhouse was designed to burn coal and generate electricity for this landmark train system. The Powerhouse itself was only in use until 1929 and was mainly used for storage after by the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad company.

The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad were designed to link the major railroad stations in New Jersey including the Lackawanna station in Hoboken, and the Pennsylvania and Erie railroad stations in Jersey City to Manhattan. Prior to the construction of these tunnels those traveling from the western United States to New York City would have to take a ferry from one of these rail tunnels across the Hudson River to Manhattan. The planning for the landmark Hudson & Manhattan Railroad even predates the Interboro Rapid Transit system in New York.

By the 1950's The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad was in bankruptcy due to a loss of ridership to the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. New Jersey Politicians had wanted the tunnels to be taken over by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. However this bi state agency refused to take on this money loosing venture.

The desire by the Port Authority to build the World Trade Center allowed a compromise to be reached. The Port Authority took over the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad for New Jersey and would build the World Trade Center for New York. The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad was re branded as the Port Authority Trans Hudson or PATH Train and remains in use today. However for during this time period and up until today the Powerhouse fell into disrepair and was completely neglected by the Port Authority.

Even with decades of disrepair this six story brick and steel structure still stands as a testament to its strength. By the 1990's the Port Authority wanted to tear down the Powerhouse in order to build a tower or turn it into a parking deck. In 2001 the Powerhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, even with strong opposition from the typically short sighted Port Authority.

Various plans for redeveloping the Powerhouse have been floated yet today it still sits in a dangerous state of disrepair. Almost all of it's windows are missing. Brick is falling off of the Powerhouse's beautifully detailed facade. Water has been pouring into the building for years and efflorescence, spalling and cracking can be seen on the facade. Holes can been in the brick and steel clad smoke stacks as well. Trees and vegetation of all sorts are growing on the building and taking a toll on the structure. Today the building still stands elegantly, defiantly and beautifully despite all that has been done to it. It looks like some sort of ancient relic or ruin form the industrial age.

Facade Deterioration

Amazingly a sign can be see on the site showing that the Powerhouse will finally have some work done to stabilize it. This work include installing the missing windows, laying down a new roof and drainage system. Th cost is estimated to be between 3 and 4 million dollars. It is being funded by the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. These stabilizations are schedule to begin in June.

Image via jclist.com

The agencies should be supported and commended for these efforts to help preserve and save this critical piece of Jersey City's past. Let us also hope that any redevelopment of this property in the future will be sensible and will have a significant aspect of public program associated. The building itself could potentially serve as a wonderful museum.

Powerhouse

Saving The Bayonne Bridge

2009-05-28T18:54:00.000-04:00

The Bayonne Bridge

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Bayonne Bridge spans the Kill Van Kull. The bridge opened in 1931 and links Staten Island's Port Richmond area to New Jersey's Bayonne. It was designed by master bridge engineer Othmar Ammann & early skyscraper architect Cass Gilbert. This bridge was primarily designed to allow Staten Island to access Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel. It remains a source of pride and serves a symbol for the city of Bayonne. At this time of its construction it was the longest steel arch bridge. Today it is the third longest. For 75 years it has been and beautiful.

This bridge is undoubtedly one New York City's most beautiful bridges. Steel arch span bridges are no longer built today, after being surpassed by suspension bridges. The Bayonne bridge only rises 150 feet above the Kill Van Kull and the bridge currently presents an obstacle to containerized cargo ships passing beneath. This passageway along the Kill Van Kull serves as the primary shipping route for cargo ships entering the ports of Newark & Elizabeth in the Newark Bay. The next generation of containerized cargo ships will be unable to pass underneath the Bayonne Bridge and even today ships often have to wait hours for low tide to pass beneath the bridge.

So as the Clash once sung.....

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This is precisely the problem faced by the Bayonne Bridge today.

Sadly this gem of a bridge's future remains in question. It is currently being attacked, smeared and assaulted by those whom serve to benefit from the New Jersey Ports. We can already see posters pasted on walls and in subway trains calling for the "fixing" of the Bayonne Bridge. Investors and owners of the port claim that the next generation of ships will forgo New Jersey's ports in favor of places such as Norfolk Virginia. They maintain that by having trucked into the New York metropolitan area form Virginia will cause an increase in product prices. Unionized workers in the Newark Bay ports claim that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake.

Solutions proposed to the problem proposed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey include the following:

Option 1 - Raise the existing roadway of the Bayonne Bridge approximately 35 feet to allow the passage of larger ships.

Option 2 - Demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a taller one allowing ships to cross.

Option 3 - Demolish the bridge and build a tunnel.

Option 2 and 3 have also proposed allowing the Hudson Bergen Light Rail to be extended into Staten Island.

In Option 1 Raising the roadway will permanently alter the proportions of the bridge and will detract from its beauty. Options 2 and 3 both destroy the bridge which is unacceptable. None of these options preserve the Bayonne Bridge.

I propose a 4th option. Keep the Bayonne Bridge. If containerized cargo is to enter into Newark Bay's ports. It must be on smaller ships. Explore the possibility of expanding port capacity in Brooklyn and building the New York - New Jersey Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel.

View Cross Harbor Rail Tunnel in a larger map
New York - New Jersey Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel

In my proposal containerized traffic would continue to flow into the Newark Bay, albeit in smaller ships. Larger ships will be able to dock in the Port of Brooklyn. The rail tunnel will allow goods to be sent back and forth between the mainland & Brooklyn. Lastly the Bayonne Bridge will be preserved and continue to survive as a source of pride and beauty for the people of Bayonne.

World Trade Center and a decade of delays

2009-05-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Image Via WikiCommons

Most likely the World Trade Center memorial will only be partially completed by the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks. Had you told me no memorial would be complete within 10 years, in September of 2001 I would have accused you of being crazy.

It is offensive and insulting that no permanent memorial will be in place in September of 2011. No reasonable excuse exits as to why no memorial could be completed within 10 years of the Twin Tower's destruction. The rebuilding process at the WTC is a fiasco and joke. It highlights the Port Authority's ineptness and short sighted vision. Let us all remember that The Empire State Building was built completed in 18 months. This was done during the Great Depression before computers and modern technology. Groundbreaking for the original World Trade Center took place in 1966 and the both towers were done in 1971. We put men on the moon in 10 years and we cannot build one memorial.

Unfortunately, an incomplete memorial will not be the only missing piece of the master plan in place in September of 2011. Calatrava's transit hub will in all likely hood miss its anticipated deadline of 2013. It has also been value engineered to death loosing The wedge of light plaza has essentially disappeared.

Due to a lack of demand for office space in this down economy and Silverstein's failure to raise capital the Port Authority has now proposed to build only the first 6 stories of Norman Foster's 2 WTC and Richard Rogers's 3 WTC. These 6 stories would replenish most most of the retail space lost in the terrorist attacks. Estimates currently place Silversetin's early finish date to complete these towers in 2030. The Port Authority does not want to back Silverstein's office towers due to a lack of market demand. However we should recall that it took years for the original World Trade Center to fully lease its office space. The Empire State Building had leased so little space that it was commonly referred to as the "Empty State Building". Both structures were recognized as premium addresses for businesses and were completely filled in September of 2001.

The current proposal on the table for the World Trade Center is a far cry from Daniel Libeskind's original competition winning "Memory Foundations" master plan. The tragic events of September 11 provided a historic opportunity to build differently, to make a statement and to do the right thing. 10 years after the terrorist attacks we will only have "The Tribute in Lights", which while touching, is still not a formal memorial.

Image Via WikiCommons

We could have done much better and we failed. All of us should be ashamed.

Hitting the Brakes in Times Square

2009-05-26T21:59:00.000-04:00

Suddenly I found myself on Times Square. I had traveled eight thousand miles around the American continent and I was back on Times Square; and right in the middle of a rush hour, too, seeing with my innocent road-eyes the absolute madness and fantastic hoorair of New York with its millions and millions hustling forever for a buck among themselves, the mad dream—grabbing, taking, giving, sighing, dying. Jack Kerouac -On the Road

Image From Wiki Commons

If Jack Kerouac were to set foot in Times Square today he would see a much slower and darker Times Square. Seeing as of today automobiles, that great American machine, will no longer be allow in the "Cross Rads of The World". Cars are no longer permitted north and southbound on Broadway between 42nd & 47th Street. As is this isn't bad enough traffic will aslo be banned between 35th & 33rd Street as well.

Image From Wiki Commons

We can all thank our all rich and powerful Mayor Mike Bloomberg for all of the probelms this will create. Worse traffic congestion and grid lock between Herald Square and Times Square. A plethora of problems regarding the delivery of goods to all of the businesses along Times Square. Turning Times Square into a desolate and abandoned place during the winter and of course tarnishing the "Times Square" brand.

Bloomberg claims that this closure will " Make New York more livable by reducing pollution, cutting down on pedestrian accidents and helping traffic flow more smoothly. Yet I wonder if this closing of Times Square to traffic is in actuality a form of punishment, due to Mayor Mike's failed proposal of forcing an 8 dollar toll on everyone whom dares to drive into New York City during the day.

Proponents of the plan claim that removing cars from these spaces will make Times Square like a European Piazza it should have had. However, Times square is in actuality more of an intersection than a public piazza. Others would argue that a space like this is certainly needed in a heavily congested area such as Midtown.

However, in actuality, Bryant Park is a beautiful tranquil space merely one block away. It is far more compatible with the uses that are proposed for this pedestrian only Times Square.

View Bryant Park in a larger map

The "Greening" or "Pedestrianizing" of Times Square in diametrically opposed to the qualities which make (or made) Times Square a wonderful place to be. These wonderful iconic qualities include: being fast paced, capitalistic, well lit, overly congested and technologically savvy. Times square is truly more a busy intersection in a Metropolis. The new "Safer" and "Environmentally Sensitive" Times square will be more dull, slower and boring. These qualities are opposite to what The CIty should be promoting for Times Square. New York should celebrating or enhancing the "Times Square brand that has existed throught history and made Times Square one of the first stops for visitors and tourists.

Times Square will never be a wonderful European Italian Piazza like.....

The Piazza Navona in Rome

Nor will it be.......

The Piazza di Spagna in Rome

Most insulting is the fact that New York City does a rich variety of quieter park spaces and piazzas including.....

The South Street Seaport

Union Square

Columbia University

or Central Park

Unfortunately Times Square will be doomed to be a more watered down boring place to be. Time Square will be more similar to an overly sanitized American Shopping mall then a Italian Piazza. Let us only hope that After its intial trial of one year the City will return Times Square to what always has and it ought to be the "Crossroads of The World. However I certainly expect Times Square to remain pedestrian only permanently, with more road closings to follow.

The Ghosts of The Newark Bay Bridge of the Central Railroad of New Jersey

2009-05-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

As a relatively new resident of Bayonne I have been doing some explorations lately. Recently, I was intending on checking out the old Bergen Point Brass Foundry near the entrance to route 440. While I was there I saw signs for the Newark Bay River-walk and decided to check it out. In this area along the eastern shore of Newark Bay sat a series of old Concrete and stone piers.

Although interested by them, I initially did not do any research into them and only appreciated them as interesting examples of urban decay and the industrial age of Bayonne. These concrete pilings jutted out towards Newark Bay towards Elizabeth. These concrete members were worn, weathered and covered in seaweed. These pieces of our forgotten past were arranged in groups of 4 members and 19 of thee groups of 4 extended out into the Newark Bay. They had been forgotten long ago. The lower stone portions of these members' joints were shot and I wondered how long before they too began to fall into the Bay.

I recently discovered that these wonderful remains are remnants of The Newark Bay Bridge of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The remains are located here.

View CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge in a larger map

Apparently this bridge was a 4 track railroad bridge. This bridge was designed by John Alexander Low Waddell and opened in 1926. lifts to it. It was used for freight until 1976 and passenger service was maintained on the bridge until 1978.

This image is from the forums at railfan.net

Two horrible accidents took place on this bridge including a commuter train falling off the south span of the bridge in September of 1958. Tragically 48 people were killed. In 1966 a freighter crashed into it as well.

This image is from www.nj.com

Although protests were heard from Bayonne residents due to losing both their commuter rail service and a landmark worthy piece of engineering. This wonderful old steel bridge was dismantled between 1980 and 1988. It was largely torn down in order to improve the ability of container ships to navigate Newark Bay. The collision of 1966 certainly helped fuel this argument. Let us hope that the Bayonne Bridge itself does not meet a similar fate as the The Newark Bay Bridge of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Seeing as one can already see signs posted claiming that action needs to be taken to replace that bridge to allow the next generation of container ships into Newark Bay.

Nonetheless it is truly a shame this great bridge is gone. Yet its few remains remain interesting and remarkable. Plans have been proposed to turn this old approach for trains into a fishing pier. Everyone loves fishing and it could potentially be a wonderful associated use for the remains, however I believe that changing these piers would be the wrong thing to do. They have been through enough over the years.

Although this fishing pier remains an interesting idea for generating interest and activity in these remains, the remains should be preserved instead. Preferably land-marked, with some sort of outdoor historical data, and as a the centerpiece of a small park.

Here we go

2007-05-05T08:47:00.000-04:00

I'm just trying to the sit up and running....... time to go volunteer with Habitat for humanity will be back.