On that note, Happy New Year lol.
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This thread is one of my favorites on the forum. Thank you to all who contribute. It’s our city’s architectural history in pictures.
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Same here
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Lol that’s why I don’t care about midtown whatsoever.
So much ugly crap has been built over there that I don’t find anything enjoyable about that place.
Let the developers cannibalize midtown and leave soho, Flatiron district, tribecca, lower manhattan, etc… alone.
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I only care about lower manhattan to Bryant Park.
Anything from Bryant Park all the way to Washington Heights I don’t care about. Even the upper east side has been tainted by ugly, cheap condo buildings.
The upper east side used to be the “desirable” address to have which is why they built those condo buildings.
Developers made it ugly so lots of wealthy people are now moving to the beautiful places again like Flatiron and Soho.
That’s why I keep my eye on those parts of town. They exemplify the old world beauty of NY and still have character. When I start to the the same sort of upper east side condos going up in those parts of town then I’ll start to worry.
Like I said, keep the ugly in midtown because midtown is already a lost cause.
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I like a lot of the lower profile Art Deco buildings. For example, the Nelson Tower near Penn Station - At 560’ this would be a landmark building in a lot of cities, but nobody ever talks about this one in NYC - The base kinda sucks, but check out that nice massing and the contrasting trim!
I also like the stretch of buildings across Grand Central on the S. side of 42nd, there’s the Chanin Building and Pershing Square Building - They have really cool facades at the street level:
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I’m glad I barely know of any demolished art deco buildings. Downtown, there was an 18-story building demolished for the WTC, and a 20-story building demolished in the 60s for Chase Plaza. In midtown I only know of a few like the Bonwit Teller or Airlines Buildings.
30 Park Place also replaced a barebones 50s building that was supposedly art deco but it’s only ornament was a large plaque so I barely can count it.
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125 Park Ave, Right across from Grand Central had always made me gaze up in awe at the sheer amount of bricks in that building. It’s overwhelming to think about all of those being laid by hand.
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I think that’s because most Art Deco buildings were built in the “go big or go home” era.
I feel like a lot of the really good 1920s and 30s buildings were built big enough that it didn’t make sense to tear them down.
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That’s true; there are some small ones but most of them I’d say would be inconvenient or at least would have luck on their side.
The two that weren’t so lucky:
Roebling Building, 117 Liberty Street, 1927-1970. [Photo depicts the back alley/lot line sides]
Goldman Sachs Building, 30 Pine Street, 1930/1932. Demolished in 1962 for One Chase Manhattan Plaza
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Yes me too! I forgot which building is which, but this definitely one I always go “Holy smokes, they don’t make 'em like that anymore”
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One chase Manhattan strikes again. 
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It’s the central location of this building that makes it such a stain lower Manhattan. I really do find this building to be the catalyst for the invasion of glass boxes that followed.
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What’s worse is that the mall underneath is a ghost town. I took a walk down there not long ago. Though I will say it’s a well kept secret for whoever needs a break. Probably the only big place like it downtown and nobody seems to know about it yet.
These steps are a good place to rest after a long walk downtown.
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Interesting view from 60 Wall in 1940. At the bottom is the south Chase block, showing the 20-story Goldman Sachs art deco building on Pine. The block was razed from 1961 to 1962, and the plaza area and the annex wing to 20 Pine Street were finished in 1964.
The 1893 Manice Building; I’m amazed at how thin this was.
Similarly to how the void where the towers stood will never be actually filled again, I get weird feelings looking at buildings like 44 Wall Street, or 115 Broadway, or any others that face plazas, knowing that they were blocked by other skyscrapers around half a century ago but the space has permanently regressed.
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The 1897 Commercial Cable Building seen with the New York Stock Exchange, undated. Between 1903-1912.
The 1903 Blair Building seen alongside the Commercial Cable Building
1932; View of the Blair Building from the southwest; behind it can be seen tone of the domes of the Cable Building. On the left is an addition to the Cable Building built in 1905.
Broad Street and Exchange Place, 1955. The Blair Building can be seen wrapped in scaffolding before demolition
New York Stock Exchange, 1956. The empty site can be seen where the 3 buildings were demolished
20 Broad Street seen shortly after completion, 1956
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20 Broad is another huge let down because of it’s location.
I wish they would have built a large Art Deco building here instead of wait until after the war.
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All three of these need to be redeveloped. They were all built in the worst period of architecture IMO.
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Personally I love the one in the middle. Something about its massings are attractive to me but that’s my opinion.
The other two are tumors that need to be immediately eradicated however. 20 Broad especially, it has been around too long.
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