Article: "15 Iconic Buildings That Should Never Have Been Demolished"

[DavidC]

15 Iconic Buildings That Should Never Have Been Demolished


David

[Roderick Grant]

#5, Savoy-Plaza Hotel, wasn't a particularly fabulous structure (McKim of MM&W), but its demolition made way for the massive General Motors Building by Edward Durell Stone, the architect everyone loves to hate. The scale of this beast, which extends from 57th to 59th Streets, upset the scale of the entire 59th Street block front facing the south end of Central Park, one of the best views of Edwardian NYC as seen across the pond, and set the pace for the era of big, fat, mediocre high rises that have had such a terrible impact on the aesthetics of the city.

#7, Brown Derby, was only partially demolished. The "hat" portion was only part of the structure; it was saved and moved, while the prosaic portions were obliterated without loss. The Derby hat was placed on top of a building on Wilshire at Alexandria, looking rather silly. Although the name persists, the derby has been removed, so the connection is lost.

#10, Richfield Tower, was one of the great tragedies of the Art Deco era. It was one of the 3 best AD buildings in Los Angeles, along with Bullocks Wilshire and the Oviatt Building ... both of which still exist.

[DRN]

The Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel in Atlantic City NJ was demolished in 1978. Garry Marshall’s “Beaches” was filmed in 1987-1988. It was not an actual filming location.

Still, a building that could have been renovated and used as part of a larger complex.

I’d add LHS’s Schiller Building and Theater to the list.

[Roderick Grant]

...not to mention LHS's Chicago Stock Exchange Bldg.

[DavidC]

......not to mention FLW's Larkin Administration Building.


David