Facade

Hot Bird Hanging On: Atlantic Yards Destruction Update

There's a new construction update on the 'Yards over at No Land Grab. We swung past on Saturday to find the Hot Bird building on Vanderbilt has survived so far. * Demolition is complete at 465 Dean Street (block 1127, lot 54). Clean up and back fill will be completed within this 2-week period. * Demolition is complete at 814 Pacific Street (block 1129, lot 45). Clean up and back fill will be completed within this 2-week period. * Demolition is complete at 538 Vanderbilt Avenue (block 1129, lot 46). Clean up and back fill will be completed within this 2-week period. * Demolition is underway at 546 Vanderbilt Avenue (block 1129, lot 54) and will continue for the next two–three months.

Gingerbread House - It's Beautiful Bay Ridge

Thanks to the commenters who helped place the Gingerbread House, also known as the Howard E. and Jessie Jones House, on the corner of Narrows Avenue and 83rd in beautiful Bay Ridge. It's an Arts and Crafts design from 1917 by J. Sarsfield Kennedy, who also designed the Prospect Park picnic house. We'd read about the Gingerbread House in Kevin Walsh's book 'Forgotten New York' some time ago, so were thrilled to finally get down and see it. You can find out more on the FNY website.

The Gingerbread House

More eccentric architecture in Brooklyn, but where?

Broken Angel Gone

Above, the Broken Angel how it looked today, and below how it looked last time we were there.

Halloween Bungalow

Spotted in Coney Island this sunny afternoon.

Out of Town: 7049

An abandoned bungalow in the Catskills.

Crown Heights: First House & Garden Tour

This Saturday, the Crown Heights North Association (CHNA) is sponsoring their first annual house and garden tour: "We are celebrating the beauty and culture of our neighborhood, and our recent designation as the first new Historic District in Brooklyn in over 10 years. This inaugural year, we are showing 10 houses, two historic churches and one community garden." The tour starts at 10:30 a.m. at St. Gregory’s RC Church, 991 St. Johns Place at Brooklyn Ave. Organisers hope invited officials (Mayor Bloomberg, Marty Markowitz, LPC Commissioner Tierney) will show up. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.crownheightsnorth.org or at the start of the tour.

Out of Town: Brutal Boston

On emerging from the underground at Government Center I immediately felt like was back home, on the South Bank. Boston City Hall, Government Center (Gerhardt Kallmann and N. Michael McKinnell, 1969) Shot from the same spot. As Nicolai Ouroussoff put it in an NYT article last year, "This is not a friendly place for architecture."

Domino Sugar Factory Landmarked

The brick buildings, including that chimney stack, are now safe. The neon sign is not included in the landmarking, but the developer is "looking at ways to save it" reports AMNY today.

Wow. Ditmas Park.

Gehry, the Guardian and Atlantic Yards

In the Guardian, Ed Pilkington takes a look at Gehry's IAC building and gives the Yards a wee mention:

"As the project's lead architect, Gehry is at the centre of the [Atlantic Yards] dispute. On the one hand, he is being tugged by a highly organised protest movement that has managed to whittle down some of the more ambitious elements of his design, if not kill it off altogether. On the other, he is having to please a famously hard-nosed developer, Bruce Ratner, who will only stomach so much risk-taking from an architect. It doesn't bode particularly well for the outcome that Gehry has christened the tallest building in the scheme, a 511ft tower of glass and metal, 'Miss Brooklyn'. He says it is his 'ego trip.

"It is a gamble indeed. Gehry has finally arrived in New York. But when Atlantic Yards is completed in 2017, will he wish he had never done so?"

Desktop Day: Tasty Provisions

This week we present a victim of the Atlantic Yards project. Our version is Ratner-proof and is sized as a PC wallpaper. Instructions Left-click on the image first to open up the large version. Windows PC: Right-click on the large image and select 'set as desktop background'. You can also right-click and 'save as', then use your desktop properties settings to add the file you just saved and format it how you prefer. There's more info on customising your PC desktop here.

Mac: Macintosh instructions can be found here.

Out of Town: Amherst

Out of Town: People of Praise

Out of Town: Drive

Out of Town: Cosmic Bowling

Molding the Metropolis

Robert Moses (1888-1981), architect of the 1964 World's Fair and a guy who "got things done," is the subject of a trio of exhibitions under the banner of "Robert Moses and the Modern City." "Remaking the Metropolis" at the Museum of the City of New York (to May 28) observes 30 years of Moses frolicking in his own municipal sandbox. “Slum Clearance and the Superblock Solution” is at Columbia’s Wallach Art Gallery (to April 14). "The Road to Recreation" is at the Queens Museum of Art (to May 27), with the opening reception this Sunday afternoon. While you are there, it's well worth taking a stroll round nearby Flushing Meadows Park to see the rusting giants of the World's Fair.