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“Congestion and aesthetic blandness define Penn Station.” Amen to the fine soul (of Michael Kimmelman) who wrote this piece proposing a new Penn Station which every New Yorker has scattered amongst the chaos, dirtiness and clutter. He asks,
What is the value of architecture? It can be measured, culturally, humanely and historically, in the gulf between these two places.
Then proposes:
But the only way to fix Penn properly is to move Madison Square Garden.
This map (see below) allows you to reconsider the West Side:
Move Madison Square Garden to the current site of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo imagines moving to Queens, and create a new light-filled Penn Station.
Even more of a pity when you realize the original jewel, the glory of the original Pennsylvania Station, demolished 1963 (see below).
Whoa; midtown and uptown storefronts signs, ye’ neon and font signs of old. This site is a little archival gem.
BRING IT!
Very cool blueprints have emerged for the Low Line; Under Delancey Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side lurks 60,000 square feet of vaulted ceilings and cobbled streets, sitting unappreciated in the dark. The Williamsburg Bridge railway terminal was abandoned in 1948, and has now become the focus of a group of entrepreneurs with an ambitious plan: to pipe natural light underground and create a subterranean park. (source: Sustainable Cities)
Mighty tall amount (via @animal new york)
Post No Bills: Finally, New York Views + Gita Lenz is on our map.
The long neglected work of Gina Lenz black and white photography surfaces with an amazing use of light (some of the photos are quite Hitchcockian with birdseye views, add a touch of Orson Wells mastery of light and sharp angles). Lenz covers the Mad Men of the City (long before the show was chic) and the various opulent window displays of uptown along with those quintessential, unmistakable New York hot summer moments of kids in swim suits, the working class and tenements lingering in the background. (The slideshow is imperative viewing).
Writer Gordon Stettinius laments: Later I learned that Gita had lived in the same apartment in Greenwich Village, at the corner of Carmine Street and 7th Avenue, since 1940. When living alone in a fifth floor walkup became impractical, our mutual friend Timothy Bartling— a chef in New York City fifty years her junior — helped her to move into an assisted-living facility and called to ask my advice about what do with her artwork and her photography equipment.
(Thanks to Josh Wallaert at Places for putting this on my radar)
Friends: Photographer David Leventi gets it. It’s the quiet New York, a bit clean, but still neon and coloured. From dusk til dawn; the city that never sleeps. I like to think of each of his shots as a story; I have about a dozen for both Odeon; maybe six for Schillers and the Empire State Building holds its own….
This is great ; via Carto Graphic and the idea to post this came from none other than This Isn’t Happiness. The illustrator, London based Anna Simmons also rocks out other cities. Check check.
If you haven’t had time to check in with From Your Desks lately, I recently talked to James and Karla Murray about their vanishing store fronts, graffiti and their pit bull, Tabasco. We also see their workspace and what is up and coming.
Hey, I know blogs stack up like magazines; so many, so little time. But the creative minds involved is too good to miss.
Therefore, I implore you…
Another sleek glass tower rendering, this one, 15 Penn Plaza blocking the clear city view of the Empire State Building. The New York Times article, Christine C. Quinn, the Council speaker, said the project was about jobs and signaled that “New York City is moving forward and moving out of this recession.”
“This project and this zoning vote today are going to help make sure New York City has a new and important 21st-century office tower in Midtown Manhattan,” she said.
Yes, I understand moving into the future, the next phase of Manhattan and the pricey world of real estate. Still yet, it cheapens the New York minute a bit more…for me.
New York Times reports the PamAm Worldport looks to be demolished for Delta’s new plans. ”Delta has long lamented the state of the Worldport, which it uses for many of its international flights, describing the space as unpleasant and unfit for its role as a gateway to the United States for international travelers. An earlier deal to exit the terminal was derailed by the 9/11 attacks; a renewed effort in 2005 failed to gain momentum.” This and perhaps I.M. Pei’s Worldport could be next. Curbed reports that Port Authority wants to wreck the other one; which remains to be seen. Preservationists will undoubtedly put up their fight. Still, where will Don Draper nab his drink? Oh right, we’re in 2010.
Locale: American Sugar Refinery, Formerly Havemeyers & Elder Sugar Refinery (1869 ff); also called Domino Sugar Refinery.Kent Avenue, between South 5th and Grand Streets.
The 11 plus acres are making way (under bated breath) for the unveiling of the new 1500 + residents along the Williamsburg waterfront. Construction commences in 2011 with the blueprints of the “New Domino” on view here.
Before and after/now and then. What have you; there’s no stopping now. The Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Williamsburg stamps its blessing, “Adant House and Power House are preserved as part of the redevelopment. We believe that a comprehensive preservation program, combined with high-quality new design and affordable housing will best serve the Williamsburg community.”
Would Brando’s Terry Malloy be cool with the project?
This is another skid-row landmark one won’t forget– especially during my four years in Hells Kitchen. Ah, the Playpen which seemed to be spared of the Times Square clean-up. The New York Times wrote a nice farewell to the eighth avenue establishment which certainly lived a long life until 2007. It’s the gallery of photos is most impressive; shows off the theatre’s structure and history. Certainly to all be part of another grand commercial scheme by Tisch. This old New Yorker won’t forget walking by many days with iced coffee or on her way home from work.
(images: New York Times)
