Cities: April 2008 Archives
Photos compare the streetscape created by old and new buildings in Seattle: "This isn't about nostalgia for old buildings. The old streetscape reaches out to the passersby, while the new turns its back."
Valley Of The Moon ~ Tucson AZ
"Valley of the Moon is a unique area built by George Phar Legler in the 1920s for the purpose of appealing to the magical imagination of children and of bringing mental and spiritual relaxation for visitors to the site." A curious collection of concrete and rock sculptures, in the same genre as Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park or Hugh Davis's Blue Whale. I visited during a special open house while on a business trip, probably in 1999 or 2000.
Urban Review STL: Finishing Ballpark Village...
The planned mixed-use office and entertainment area around Busch Stadium III in St. Louis is still just a muddy semicircle where half of Busch Stadium II was. Steve Patterson says put design standards in place and sell it off piecemeal, instead of waiting for someone with the resources to build it all at once. (Read the comments, too, and think about the situation with Tulsa's East Village/East End.)
History of Brookline: North Brookline
Swamps and farmland gave way to single-family homes in the 1890s and some brownstone apartments in the teens.
One of 17 pedestrian-only footpaths and staircases. This one leads up the northeastern slope of Corey Hill.
The history of Brookline's Coolidge Corner
The commercial heart of my college years. Here's the Town of Brookline's Coolidge Corner district plan (2.5 MB PDF) for balancing preservation and demand for new development in the district.
Neighborhood Conservation District Study for the Town of Brookline, MA
Includes links to many neighborhood conservation ordinances around the country, plus samples of detailed guidelines for two districts in the town. (2.5 MB PDF.)
New York Times: Journeys | Oxford, England: A Pub Crawl Through the Centuries
The Lamb and Flag, the Eagle and Child, the Rose and Crown, the Kings Arms, Old Bookbinders, the Turf Tavern -- Cozy, centuries-old places to enjoy a pint.
West and Clear: The State of Fort Worth Preservation
It's better than Tulsa's. Fort Worth has three designations to protect significant historic buildings: Demolition Delay, Historic & Cultural Landmark, and Highly Significant Endangered. The blogger lists downtown Fort Worth buildings that are protected in one of these three ways, but notes: "There are many incredible historic buildings downtown, but a great many of them are completely unprotected from the wrecking ball.... People these days are more sensitive than ever about protecting and improving our natural environment, but far too many people don't even think about protecting and improving our built environment.... It is important for our community and our sense of place to preserve the quality structures that tie us with our history, and the fact that so many of Fort Worth's remarkable architecture is either not protected at all, or given the bare minimum of protection with the lacking Demolition Delay designation, is very unfortunate." (Via The Road Trip Destination Guide.)
Best coffee house? - CityVoter Oklahoma City
A poll which happens to have helpful links to seven OKC area java joints.
the good city: Philip Bess: Good cities are like pizzas
Quoting Leon Krier: "A neighborhood is to the larger city what a slice of pizza is to the whole pie: a part that contains within itself the essential qualities and elements of the whole. In the case of a city made of neighborhoods, this means that a neighborhood contains within walkable proximity to one another places to live, work, play, learn and worship."
Crunchy Con: Cash poor, culturally rich?
The connection between economic decline and historic preservation: "An American town that was doing well until the Civil War, more or less, and then was frozen for a hundred years, today looks vastly better than a town that was swamped by the modernist bulldozer. The paradox, of course, is that relative poverty froze the town at what was a beautiful era of architectural history. (I think one of our regular readers who lives in an old New England village remarked the other day that the reason her town is so lovely and walkable today is that it was poor during the era when cities were rebuilt to accomodate cars and the assumptions of mid-century modernity)."
City Room: Brooklyn Storefronts as Metaphor for a Changing Borough
A love of the small and local is on display in Paul Lacy's new book Brooklyn Storefronts: "Granted, 'you can't judge a book by its cover,' but a small, independently owned store is singular and so is a handpainted sign. When you see one, you have to wonder whether there will be something inside not found in the other stores, let alone the chains and franchises. Very often there is: a lovingly made dish made from a family recipe, a display of photographs or posters, a funny story, catchy tunes from another land: there are so many surprises." (Via City Comforts.)
Urban Review STL: Boston's City Hall and Plaza
In the '60s, the City of Boston replaced busy, bawdy Scollay Square with this monstrously empty and useless plaza. But they have free wi-fi!
National Architectural Arts Center: Policy & Programming Report
What do you do with a quarter-million pieces of demolished architecture? Store it in a huge abandoned factory east of St. Louis and plan to open a museum.
Fascinating photographic documentation of St. Louis-area buildings, historic landmarks, restorations, demolitions, blight, and ruin.
Candy Chang: A Return to Main Street
Where does an urban hipster go when New York rents are too high? Candy Chang says they should head to the "abandoned downtowns of medium-sized American cities." "Thankfully urban renewal didn't bulldoze everything and we still have all these quaint, historic, pedestrian-friendly downtowns with mixed-use buildings and sidewalks and everything Jane Jacobs waxed poetic about New York's little neighborhoods. It's all there ready to be populated by cute hipster girls and funny poignant boys and corduroy'd academics and couples thinking about getting a dog and everyone else in Brooklyn..."
