History / Preservation

A new series of exhibitions being organized by the Getty Trust around the subject of LA's modern architectural history includes a significant blind spot, says Christopher Hawthorne. He outlines the prequel necessary to understand the whole story.

April 10, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

A quaint downtown L.A. alleyway celebrated for its Old World charm has been cleared of its outdoor dining facilities to ease access to a rehabilitated theater's loading dock. Can an equitable compromise be found?

April 8, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Chris Bentley explains how San Antonio's Beaux Arts federal courthouse became an unlikely paragon of the GSA's sustainability efforts while balancing a sensitive historic renovation.

April 7, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

Ever wonder what downtown Boston looked like on the eve of the Civil War? This photograph taken from a hot air balloon by James Wallace Black is thought to be the oldest aerial photo still in existence. Google Earth eat your heart out.

April 5, 2013 - Smithsonian

For years, the Watts Towers have suffered from problems small and large: bits of decorative glass and pottery falling to the ground; cracks snaking their way through the structures and growing longer over time. A new effort aims for lasting fixes.

April 5, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

To coincide with the release of a new book detailing the creation of Mies van der Rohe's renowned Seagram Building, Mark Lamster speak with its author Phyllis Lambert - one of the key figures in the building's development.

April 4, 2013 - The New York Times

For far too long, the shaping of public spaces has been left to architects and urban planners, who plan from the top down. The most successful projects involve people directly in deciding how their public spaces will look, feel, and operate.

April 4, 2013 - Shelterforce Magazine

The post office and the church are just two of the many building types which once occupied central places in our communities, but have become obsolete due to cultural, economic, and demographic shifts. To what lengths should we go to preserve them?

April 3, 2013 - New Geography

Local lore, and Hollywood movies, have it that a conspiracy by car companies led to the dismantling of L.A.'s sprawling streetcar system to induce dependence on newly built freeways. Eric Molinsky tells the real, but no less dramatic, story.

April 3, 2013 - 99% Invisible

When it comes to New York's two rail stations, there's the iconic Grand Central Terminal that just celebrated its centennial, and then there's Penn Station - which all mourn because the original was razed in 1963 - except the NY Post's Bob McManus.

April 2, 2013 - New York Post

During Michael Bloomberg's time in office, New York City has protected more historic sites than under any of his predecessors. The 41 new or expanded historic districts have developers fuming over what they see as planning overreach.

April 2, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

In Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood, NYCDOT is looking to replace the area's historic cobblestones with artificially aged new ones to improve accessibility and bike-friendliness. Preservationists and residents are aghast at the "phony urbanism."

March 31, 2013 - The New York Times

A successful tax credit that boosts development and preservation in St. Louis's historic urban core is under legislative attack in Missouri.

March 30, 2013 - Next City

The mayor and city planning department's vision of a taller, denser, and more transit-oriented Hollywood is facing stiff community opposition as a proposal for a $664 million, two-skyscraper complex goes before L.A.'s Planning Commission.

March 28, 2013 - Bloomberg

As New York celebrates the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, which nearly suffered the fate of the city's other grand station, Governing has assembled a photo collection of nine other treasured stations that continue to live and prosper.

March 27, 2013 - Governing

Philadelphia's award winning police headquarters, called "the Roundhouse", has received a belated 50th birthday present: the threat of demolition.

March 26, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

When the 807 ft. MetLife Building in Manhattan's Midtown opened half a century ago, it was viewed as an 'assault' on it's iconic neighbor, Grand Central Terminal. However, it was indicative of what the real estate market wanted in the 1960s.

March 26, 2013 - The New York Times - New York

The conversion of an historic art deco baseball stadium in Indianapolis into loft apartments is one of the most inventive adaptive re-use projects we've ever seen.

March 26, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

If you paid attention to the visions unveiled a year ago by the teams competing to develop a master plan for the area around L.A.'s Union Station, you might expect to see a development-focused final product. Apparently, you'd be wrong.

March 23, 2013 - Curbed LA

The absence of redevelopment over the past 50 years has allowed Cuba to become "one of the world’s most significant but overlooked troves of Art Deco architecture." With many buildings in a state of disrepair, some are trying to raise awareness.

March 21, 2013 - The New York Times