The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

http://www.nymetro.com/nymetro/news/...y/35th/n_8569/
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The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline.

By Joseph Giovannini

1. PENN STATION COMPLEX, Midtown, including Madison Square Garden and 2 Penn Plaza, by Charles Luckman Associates (1968): We tore down McKim, Mead and White’s Pennsylvania Station for this?

2. PARAMOUNT PLAZA, at 1633 Broadway, by Emery Roth & Sons (1968): A cheap black box with glitzy stainless-steel suspenders set behind a windswept plaza with two inexplicable holes in the ground.

3. ONE ASTOR PLAZA, at 1515 Broadway, by Kahn & Jacobs, with chief designer Der Scutt (1969): Infamous for its crown of rabbit ears, and just as clumsy on the ground, where the hulk dominates Broadway.

4. 1185 SIXTH AVENUE, by Emery Roth & Sons (1971): The most offensive of the long line of offenders along Sixth Avenue north of 42nd Street. Mean, ugly, and big.

5. NEW YORK TELEPHONE COMPANY BUILDING, 1095 Sixth Avenue, opposite Bryant Park, by Kahn & Jacobs (1974): This bland tower makes an unsuccessful try at collaging three architectural scales together—medium, tall, and Goliathan—to warm up the company’s image. Cold to the touch; needs a face-lift.

6. THE EX-AT&T BUILDING (1984), 33 MAIDEN LANE (1986), and 885 Third Avenue, a.k.a. the LIPSTICK BUILDING (1986): The worst of many by architecture’s Public Enemy No. 1, Philip Johnson, the cynic who believes in no style but practices them all.

7. 60 WALL STREET, by Kevin Roche (1989): A gargantua set within downtown’s fragile street network, its façade detailed whimsically to look like a column. Ha ha.

8. ONE WORLDWIDE PLAZA, at 935 Eighth Avenue, by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1989): Guilty of postmodernist me-tooism—a middlebrow attempt at ye olde Ralph Lauren. Complete with a failed English-style shopping gallery at its base. Wrong city, wrong century.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I agree with #6 and 7.

The other ones are OK... or really great in some cases.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I mostly agree with the list although I can think of worse: 55 Water and 1 Liberty for starters. I like the World Wide Plaza and the Lipstick Building though.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

The only building in this list and probably the only building in NY that I truly hate is 60 Wall Street. *The location, the bulk, the laughable design make for a disastrous effect on the skyline.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

3, 6 and 8 need to be dropped from that list.

I almost said #1 as well, but 1 Penn Plaza doesn't seem included in that one, and the rest of that complex is nasty.

For the others, as Rich, I only truly hate 60 Wall. The others are just filler, although #5 is pretty damn prominent. Hopefully that relatively large plot north of it will bear something that sidelines it.

I'm mildly amused that Metlife didn't make it, even tho I love that one.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

1. Agreed. Very ugly by and large. Especially bad considering what was replaced. 1 Penn is the best of the lot though.

2. Not great but better than any number of other black boxes.

3. Disagree. While not great it works well on the skyline.

4. Not good but bland enough not to be insulting.

5. Hardly among the top 10 worst. Not all that bad for its era.

6. 33 Maiden Lane is pretty bad but the ATT and Lipstick building are quite good.

7. 60 Wall only works well on the street level, exactly what he complains about. On the list but not for the right reason.

8. Compared to some other montrosities in the city this hardly qualifies.

Worst of the rest

1251 6th
55 Water St.
Solow
Mcgraw Hill
Home Insurance
888 7th
919 Third

I could go on.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

does anyone have any pictures of these?

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

You can find pictures of most of them at www.skyscrapers.com

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I think Joseph Giovannini doesn't really love NY.
The big, fat, tall buildings of the 60s and 70s are part of the cityscape, and every NY lover should accept them.

In fact, they're much better than the tall, anemic buildings like 425, 5th, or the squat boxes like CIBC that flourish in Manhattan right now.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I'm surprised that there's no Trump on the list. *
I'd put them in this order, from worst to less worse:

7. *Ruins the whole damn skyline),
1 . 1 Penn blocks ESB when coming in from NJ, sign on top is hideous, and of course the whole complex is awful, one of the worst mistakes in NY architecture
5. *Hurts to look at, combination of offensive design and slapdash construction
2. *Trully tacky , messes up broadway at street level
6. *Just because 33 Maiden Lane is so ugly--the other two I like-- but if you were to weigh them, the ugliness of 33 maiden Lane has done far more harm than the other two combined have done good.
3. *doesn't bother me that much. *They did tear down an historic nice hotel, but NYC has historic hotels out the ying-yang -- they tore one down to build the ESB.
8. *everything he said about it is right, but it has many redeeming qualities. *I like how it works as a complex and it looks fantastic in the skyline -- at night from a distance. *I see tourists taking pictures of it all the time! *If you squint your eyes when you look at it, you can't tell how chintzy the masonry cladding is.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I forgot 1185 6th ave, but that one doesn't bother me that much, either. *It fits in with its neighbors.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Whats so bad about 33 Maiden Lane? Are we not talking about the same building?

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../12/176973.jpg

It caught my eye years ago when I was in high school as the little medieval fortress of downtown :) I've been fond of it since.

I also have a soft spot for the neon red sign on 1 Penn Plaza. I have an image of it hovering over Union Square on a rainy night etched into my mind.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Wel, there's no accounting for taste. *You don't think 33 maiden lane looks like it was designed by an 11-year-old and built out of legos? *It's an ugly color, there's little subtlety to the design, and the quality of construction is poor. *It's a crude joke of a building, especially when you the real thing to compare it to nearby (Federal Reserve). *I can't stand half-assed historicism.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

The Federal Reserve. *This is how you do a medieval fortress:

http://www.TheInsider.com/nyc/photos/fedres.JPG

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

cant believe metlife didnt make the list, seems like a lot of people that building although i like it, it does block the view

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Don't forget SOM's other bulking horror the Mount Siani building on 100th street. Ugly, just plain ugly.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Yeah, that's a bad one. *Does anybody have any other additions to the list? *

What's the address of that 1960's monstrosity on the southeast corner of Herald/Greely Square? *It ruins a lot of views of the ESB.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Good pics...

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../12/176973.jpg

That's the Home Insurance building hovering above it to the left.

Which is uglier? IMO, the Home Insurance building. I guess I just dislike blank walls more than I dislike kitsch.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

The fact that I spent 4 years in the following building might explain why the color doesn't bother me.

http://www.shsaa.org/assets/images/d...808_front3.jpg

It slowly but surely wore me down into liking it.

And I do have a soft spot for legos too :)

I can see your point, but I don't see how its so bad that it outweighs the other two.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Don't get me wrong; I don't dislike kitsch. *It's all in the excution and context.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

This horrible thing?

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../09/126130.jpg

1250 Broadway

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

If I had to pick which one was worse, I'd go with the Home Insurance Building too - it's scary.


http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../12/176973.jpg

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

re: 1250 Broadway

Hard to believe it's by the same architecture firm as the Empire State Building.

re: *33 Maiden Lane

I'm not familiar enough with the Home Insurance Building to make a call. *I guess that would make it the lesser of two evils for me, because I have spent some time staring in bewildered anguish at 33 Maiden Lane. *It just offends me in a visceral way. *Maybe I had a bad childhood experience at a crappy pink toy castle. *We're just going to have to notch this one up to differences in taste. *

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Heh, you mean the one that looks like a smaller 1 Liberty Plaza?

Speaking of which, I pretty much agree with the top 5 of that list. *However, the Lipstick Building, Sony Tower, 60 Wall and WorldWide Plaza are all great. *I can tell you from experience that 1WWP is often misconstrued as a genuine, classic New York skycraper--especially at night with the floodlight arrangement.

(Edited by TLOZ Link5 at 5:07 pm on April 4, 2003)

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Don't know about One Astor Place or 33 Maiden Lane (tho any building with a sense of humor can't be bad), but AT&T and WorldWide Plaza definitely don't belong. :)

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Okay they're a little outrageous, but apart from the colors, what's not to like?
AT&T / Sony Tower, 1984:
http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../05/149655.jpg
Lipstick / 885 3rd Avenue, 1986:
http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../01/179996.jpg
Both designed by Philip Johhson.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

What's so bad about 60 Wall Street? *I especially like the upper part of the builidng with the columns and the slanted roof. *I think its neat.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Its not so much design for me as it is position.

http://photos.galatali.com/skyscrape...ATE=0;WIDTH=-1

1CMP might have been the first blow to the beauty of this scene, but 60 Wall was the final nail in the coffin. Its flat top is in the same neighborhood of where the setbacks begin on 40 Wall and 70 Pine, and its mass contains just as much space as those two. And its *so* close to the two of them that its always partially or completely hiding one or the other.

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../12/134577.jpg
http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/im/df/134577/

As you can see, its the only substantial structure in the 1930s triangle. That horrible SOM box for the Stock Exchange would have been right in front of 40 Wall *shudder*

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

This is what's wrong with 60 Wall. a sledgehammer on the skyline.
http://www.pbase.com/image/14343674.jpg

I like Sony/AT&T and Lipstick.
WWP looks ok from a Hudson ferry, but shows its flaws on 8th ave.
How did 55 Water miss the cut, given it's prominent location?

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Why do you say it's a prominent location ?
In a postcard, maybe...

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

It's just a crude building, utterly tasteless, and the classy 1920's neighbors only accentuate that fact.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Yes.
If only it was reclad...

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

They could make it into a Buddhist pagoda.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Prominent as in...hard to avoid seeing it.
http://members.aol.com/smurphy110/down/55water.jpg

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Prominent as in...painfully noticeable, hideous, and with a total lack of redeeming qualities.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Do you think it could withstand another 50 stories ?
That might be a solution.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

It was probably built as cheaply as possible, hence no extra support capabilities.

What would you suggest the reclad it with? With its shape it would be hard to make it look nice with any kind of facade. Maybe reflective glass?

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Imagine the skyline without it.

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/tra.../12/134577.jpg

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

None of those buildings are an eyesore to me. They are all cool buildings in their own right. One Astor Place and One Worldwide Plaza are cool buildings and stand out well. I know the World Trade Center was considered a blight at first, but everyone grew to love it, especially now.


(Edited by Ptarmigan at 9:53 pm on April 5, 2003)

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Beautiful Pic DBH. I like the building. Or, as the point it seems you want to prove, the skyline wouldn't look like it without it. It's already hurting with the lack of the WTC, which as Ptarmigan noted, was not really liked at the beggining.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

I agree with all of the buildings on that list except for one - 60 Wall Street. Maybe y'all think I'm crazy but I've always liked that one more than a lot of others. It's just so...different. There's just no other building in the world like it! Of course, many of you are thankful for that...

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Well, it wouldn't bother me in Las Vegas.

The eight worst buildings to have blighted our skyline
 

Speaking of Vegas, I've heard that it was originally intended to be an American version of Monte Carlo.

So much for that brilliant vision. *I always laugh at the concept of Sean Connery wearing a tux at that casino in Diamonds are Forever.

60 Wall Street: AAAAACK! PHFFFFFFT!

I like it. It's just a natural part of the skyline to me.

I'm truly surprised that some don't mind One Astor Plaza. It looked gronky in the art textbooks @ high school and even gronkier in real life. (it's fugly, fugly, fugly and IMHO does ruin an otherwise funky skyline in that part of town). A product of its time I guess.

I searched for the most unflattering pic I could find http://www.sayhey.co.uk/invboard/htm...cons/laugh.gif

http://www.skyscraperphotos.com/cit/dny03/b/igny344.jpg

Even @ street level it's offensive :evil:

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/1astorbase.jpeg


**After having hammered the point home, I do hope that the crown is still floodlit @ night - it's only redeeming feature.

.....

I can't recall if I responded previously, but for me, at the moment - Penn Plaza is just terrible.

How about One Liberty Plaza. If Darth Vader ever designed a skyscraper.......
And the 3 behemoths between 47th and 50th on Ave of the Americas deserve special praise for just how GOOD they are at showing everything that was wrong with architecture of that time. I feel so overwhelmed (not in the good way) dare I look up at that trio. And you gotta love those almost attractive plazas, especially considering what's right across the street.

Oh, and all the 40's/50's "wedding cake" style buildings that look surprisingly cheap and flimsy.

Today I passed the Javits Building and thought aloud, "When will they demolish that?"

The plaza out front is quite nice. Any demolition proposal should save the plaza.