Did You Know? / History — No comments
29
Mar 12

Did You Know: Madison Square Garden

DID YOU KNOW Stanford White’s design for the former Madison Square Garden included a soaring, 32-story tower modeled after the Giralda in Spain? The tower, which housed White’s apartment, was the tallest in New York upon completion in 1891. It was topped by a scandalous 18-foot-high gilded copper statue/weather vane of the huntress-godess Diana shooting a bow and arrow. The American morals crusade Anthony Comstock ranted against the unclad figure and succeeded in getting her clothed, only to watch a nasty gale disrobe her. The ever strident White responded by installing uplights to draw even more attention to Diana’s attributes. The small park opposite Madison Square Garden was thereafter frequented by men with binoculars instead of children, who were now whisked away.

Share
Architecture / History / This Day In Architecture — No comments
23
Mar 12

This Day in Architecture: March 23rd

(Courtesy of Samuel North)

ON THIS DAY in 1857 E.V. Haughwout & Co., the greatest china and porcelain tableware dealer in New York, opened its 5-story emporium on lower Broadway — a forerunner of the gigantic department stores of the post-Civil War era. Designed by architect John P. Gaynor like some great arcaded Venetian palace, the two facades of the imposing corner building were constructed in cast iron, not marble, and forged in Daniel Badger’s famous Architectural Ironworks foundry. Inside was the world’s first passenger elevator, a $300  hydraulic lift installed by Elisha Otis. Its 40-feet-per-minute climb paved the way for desirable upper floor real estate and ever taller buildings. The Haughwout Building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965 (the same year LPC was established) despite the objections of Robert Moses, who wanted to carve an expressway through this part of Manhattan.

Share
Architecture / History / This Day In Architecture — No comments
19
Mar 12

This Day in Architecture: March 19th

ON THIS DAY, always on March 19th, ever since 1777, the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano from their winter home in Goya, Argentina some 6,000 miles away. Thousands of these tiny birds blacken the sky as they arrive to faithfully build their nests under the eaves of the old mission built in 1776. The seventh in a chain of 8 California missions founded by Father Junipero Serro, Mission San Juan Capistrano, also included a great 7-dome church,  the largest stone structure west of the Mississippi, which enjoyed pride of place from its dedication in 1806 until six years later when an earthquake reduced the 5-story church to rubble. Short of a miracle, no one can really explain why the swallows appear on this precise day (nor why they leave just as precisely on October 23rd), but modernization has exacted its toll on this annual rite. Since the mission is no longer the largest building in town, some of the birds build their mud nests under the eaves of big new expensive subdivisions, much to their owners’ dismay.

Share
← Older Entries