Alternate Moscow

0 read

April 7, 2005, 12:48 PM PDT

By Anonymous








Check out the Moscow that never was -- but might have been, if Stalin had gotten his way.The architectural designs are in the City Beautiful vein, typical of egotistical rulers and their capital city makeovers. So yeah, there's that Daniel Burnham/Chicago vibe, replete with ultrawidescreen plazas and monumental buildings. And because it was the 1930s, you get some classicism mixed in with Hugh Ferris pulp science-fiction. But then, on top of all that you'll see some indomitable socialist modernism, the same stuff you can see in Revolutionary avant-gardism. Architecture was always a part of that artistic movement, expressing similar freedom of form and technological optimism. At least, that's how the art always looks to me.



Crazy constructvism and futurism and suprematism all tried to find inspiration in the giant machines driving the Industrial Revolution. You never would have wanted to live in one of these cities, or go to work in one of these buildings, unless you were Batman.



Or would you? I totally get the feeling of pride that comes from walking around an impressive city. Not to go all September-11 on you, but I remember taking the elevator to the top of the World Trade Center, to the observation deck, to check out a chess tournament back when I was working for Newsweek. The elevator doors opened just a few feet back from a floor-to-ceiling window -- I don't even remember which direction it faced. But my first reaction when those doors opened was a wave of vertigo, and an exclaimed "holy shit!"



Human-scaled cities. New urbanism. Walkable shopping streets. Parks. Cities integrated into the natural environment. You know I'm down with the program.



But cities -- and more precisely, skyscrapers -- are some of the best things people make, collaborative programmatic performance art. They are fists we shake at the sky. They scream at the universe, like Steve McQueen floating on the coconuts at the end of Papillon: "I'm still here, you bastards!"



That's the Revolution talking.


portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight