Category Archives: Culture

The Three Best Entries in the World War I Competition are Classical

by John Massengale Posted on July 28, 2015

THERE’S STILL no resolution to the war in Washington over Frank Gehry’s design for a memorial to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Many who love Gehry’s work hate the memorial design,* which the Eisenhower family rejected. But Kansas Senator Bob Dole and … Continue reading →

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There are two types of architecture—Category I and Category II

by John Massengale Posted on July 21, 2015

I’VE TWEETED this post by Witold Rybczynski, and I’ve put it on FaceBook. But I don’t think it’s getting enough attention, so here it is again: Category I and Category II, by Witold Rybczynski: You can divide residential architects into … Continue reading →

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New Building for New Orleans

by John Massengale Posted on June 17, 2015

MANY ARCHITECTS will call this design “kitsch,” “pastiche,” or “nostalgic.” Pastiche means “an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period,” so it’s not really a criticism, although they mean it to be. For that matter, … Continue reading →

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Selling Snow To Eskimos Part II (BIG Photobombs Tribeca)

by John Massengale Posted on June 15, 2015

UPDATE: I rode a bike from Lafayette Street to the Hudson River today. At the beginning of the ride I looked up Broadway and saw the top of the Chrysler Building. At Fifth Avenue the Empire State Building came into … Continue reading →

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Honestly, isn’t this building giving New Yorkers the finger?

by John Massengale Posted on May 11, 2015

UPDATE: When I first published this quick post in September 2014, for some reason it attracted comments from young architects who not only wanted to defend the building, but who saw my comments as ridiculous. In retrospect, it’s obvious that … Continue reading →

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Happy Earth Day — The 21st Century Is The New Sixties?

by John Massengale Posted on April 22, 2015

EARTH DAY reminded me of my old friend Konrad Oberhuber, an art historian at Harvard when I met him, who later became the Curator of the Albertina in Vienna. In 1983 I went on a Fogg Museum trip to Prague with Konrad … Continue reading →

Posted in Bicycle, Classical, Culture, Current, Global, Historic Preservation, New Urbanism, Pedestrian, Street Design, Walkability | Comments Off on Happy Earth Day — The 21st Century Is The New Sixties?