The Preservation Loss Of 2015

http://curbed.com/archives/2015/12/17/preservation-lost-in-2015-hotel-okura-orange-county-government-center.php

Orange County Government Center
Paul Rudolph
Goshen, New York
archpaper.com

Hello Everyone:

The beginning of the year seems like an appropriate to look back the best of the previous year, while looking forward.  This is the time of the year when architects, planners, and preservationists love to make lists of what they deem are the best their respective professions had to offer.  Patrick Sission of Curbed reminds us that now, as 2015 is a faded memory and 2016 is still fresh, is a great time look at the "10 Important Buildings We Lost in 2015."  Of course, shiny new designs excite us in the same way as opening birthday presents do.  The sights, sounds, smells, and feel of new construction is enough to get even the most dour architect or design giddy.  However, Mr. Sisson reminds us that despite all joy, "...the building's ultimate impact on the environment is still unknown.  Landmarks or great structures that are destroyed leave mystery; the understanding of how they fit into the community make their destruction that much more unpleasant."  In the spirit of year end lists, Curbed asked this blog's two favorite organizations: DoCoMoMo and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to identify some of the most painful preservation losses of 2015. (http://curbed.com)

Lewis & Clark Branch of the St. Louis Library
Frederick Dunn, 1963
Moline Acres, Missouri
modern-std.com

The first painful preservation loss on our list is the Lewis & Clark Branch of the St. Louis Library in Moline Acres, Missouri.  This modernist gem was designed by Frederick Dunn in 1963.  The library gained notoriety for the Emil Frei stained glass by Robert Harmon, which resemble paintings on the brick surface of the building.  The St. Louis-based preservation advocacy group, Modern STL (http://www.modern-stl.com) tried to save The Library building from being replaced, "...suggesting an addition instead of a tear down..."  However, despite three years of campaigning, the building was demolished to make room for a replacement that opened this past autumn.  These is sliver of a silver lining, some of the Robert Harmon stained glass has been repurposed in the new structure.

Birmingham Central Library
John Madin, 1974
Birmingham, England
citymetric.com

  The next building on our list takes us to Birmingham, England.  The Birmingham Central Library, fondly known as the Ziggurat, was designed by local architect John Madin in 1974 and is "...seemingly the definition of peak Brutalism..."  The late grey block-like concrete structure was associated by some to be symptomatic of what ailed the Midlands.  Yet, this library was beloved and one of the largest in Europe, boasting "...30-plus miles of shelving as well as a Modernist symbol in the city's well-developed public square."  Sad to report it was torn down to make way for another commercial development and re-route traffic, part of a greater plan to replace many of the surrounding public buildings that energized the city square with more commercial development.  Mr. Sisson writes, "At one point, Richard Rogers was enlisted to design an equally monumental replacement, but a change in city government led to significant downsizing of the nw library. (http://www.birminghammail.co.uk)

Brotherhood House
William Lecaze
New York City, New York
nytimes.com

The Brotherhood House, together with the Birmingham Central Library and the Lewis And Clark Branch demonstrate the absolute necessity for the preservation of the recent past.  As buildings from the sixties and seventies begin to show their age, it becomes vital to identify excellent examples of the late modern period and the Brotherhood Building by William Lecaze is one such lost example.  The six-story limestone-and-granite structure in Manhattan's Garment District is probably better known to fans of the television series Project Runway. The Brotherhood House was home to the David M. Schwartz Fashion Education Center of the Parson School of Design.  However, that was not the original purpose of the building.  The building was originally intended to be a socially conscious community center, which included a synagogue, and hosted speeches by Robert Kennedy and other luminaries of the sixties..  Currently, it is being converted into a high-end hotel.

Park Avenue Hotel
Louis Kamper
Detroit, Michigan
en.wikipedia.org

Next on the list is the Park Avenue Hotel in Detroit, Michigan.  While the forthcoming Red Wings Arena has hockey fans buzzing with excitement, this sparking example of progressive stadium comes at a cost.  The cost was the demolition of the historic Park Avenue Hotel and the Eddystone were designed by local architect Louis Kamper, who also did the Book-Cadillac.  The hotels were bought by the billionaire Red Wings owners, the Illitch family, who agreed to rehabilitate the Eddystone in exchange for permission to raze the Park Avenue.  The Eddystone is currently being converted into a condominium development and the Park Avenue was imploded last July.

Portland Gas and Coke Building
Portland, Oregon
chatterbox.typad.com

We now move from the recent past to a relic of the early twentieth century Gothic Revival.  The Portland Gas and Coke Building, in Portland, Oregon, once stood overlooking the Willamette River, a spooky reminder of the city's industrial past.  This haunting beauty met the wrecking ball late this year after preservation efforts failed to garner widespread support.  The massive building, abandoned in the fifties, was used to convert coal and oil into gasoline; gave a glimpse into Portland's working class history.  Patrick Sisson writes, "The lack of documentation about the structure only speaks to the mystery that seemed to draw admirers; according to local architecture critic Brian Libby (http:///chatterbox.typepad.com), one of Portland's most beloved old buildings has reached the end of its lifespan.

Harry Sythe Cumming House
Baltimore, Maryland
curbed.com

The city of Baltimore, Maryland has been in the news a lot this year and for all the wrong reasons.  This lovely city with its treasure trove of historic architecture has had its reputation as "charm city" take quite a beating lately.  One example of a lost architectural gem is the Harry Sythe Cummings House.  Blogger knows you all are wondering "who is Harry Sythe Cummings and why should we care about his house?"  Harry Sythe Cummings was the first African-American council member, elected in 1890.  His house was not just a place to hang his hat but, more important, it served as an early gathering point for the Baltimore chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, giving the nickname the Freedom House.  Unfortunately, the home was just outside-"...on the north side of Lanvale Street, as opposed to the south side"-if would have been protected as a contributor to the Marble Hill Historic District.

Belleview-Biltmore Hotel
Clearwater, Florida
preservation nation.org

One of the truisms about historic preservation is that not every older building is historic nor is it safe from the wrecking ball.  This is the case for the former "White Queen of the Gulf," the Bellevue-Biltmore Hotel in Clearwater, Florida.  The building, once the host of presidents, European royalty, and titans of industry, was listed by the National Trust on its 2005 list of "11 Most Endangered Historic Places." (http://www.preservationnation.org)  The hotel was built entirely out of Florida pine and accented with Tiffany glass was the largest wooden structure developed by railroad magnate Henry Plant.  Sad but true, the limited protection laws failed to keep this lovely reminder of the golden era of  Gulf hotels  from falling victim to developers with plans to teardown the grand lady and turn the 820,000-square-foot property into condominiums and townhomes.

Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
Morris Plains, New Jersey
blogs.cislead.com

The Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, New Jersey was an example of progressive mental healthcare in an era when psychiatric hospitals were anything but progressive.  The hospital was built at the turn to the twentieth century as part of initiative to reform the treatment of the mentally ill in the United States.  It was conceived as an entirely self-sufficient campus, complete with its own fire department, post office, and work farm.  At one point, it housed 5,000 patients including folk singer Woody Guthrie.  However, the building fell into disrepair and despite efforts by the National Trust, local preservation groups, the New Jersey state treasury officials, the building was demolished in early 2015.

Orange County Government Center
Paul Rudolph
Goshen, New York
archpaper.com

Brutalism or, if you prefer, Heroic architecture is a genre that may finally be getting its due.  As Great Britain begins to consider the history of Brutalist architecture, the new found interest in the recent past was enough to save the Orange County Government Building by Paul Rudolph.  Granted it is not the most attractive building in the world. It resembles a set of blocks, piled one on top of the other.  Yet, this gray concrete building was the subject of white hot preservationist interest and an intense court case.  While many have waxed prosaic about the this gem, perhaps Zaha Hadid said it best when she told the New York Times, in June 2015, Rudolph's work is pure, but the beauty is in its austerity.  (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive) 

Hotel Okra
Yoshiko Taniguchi and Hideo Kosaka
Tokyo, Japan
japantimes.co.jp

The finally building on our list it the Hotel Okura, in Tokyo, Japan,  by Yoshiko Taniguchi and Hideo Kosaka.  The hotel was closed this past August for massive renovations, which hope to be completed by the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.  The Hotel Okra was the dream collaboration between the lead architects and a team of craftsmen that offered a new spin on Japanese styles that went beyond nostalgia, creating "...both a summation of centuries of culture as well as a bold, forward-thinking statement of modernity."  Patrick Sisson opines, "Demolishing the building to make way for a new high-end hotel for the 2020 Olympics seems shortsighted; if the goal is to show off Japanese culture to the rest of the world, this suave hotel, host to movies= stars and world leaders for decades, surely the original design was an cultural ambassador worth saving."  (http://curbed.com)