America's Lost Classical Architecture
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 май 2024
- Despite being a relatively young nation, the United States of America has a wealth of great classical architecture. Some of these masterpieces have unfortunately been lost however, either due to natural disasters, or by being demolished. In this video, we will look at four such buildings.
Music:
"Allégro"
By: Emmit Fenn (RUclips Audio Library)
"Brahms, Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39"
By: Martha Goldstein (musopen.org)
"Ravel, Miroirs - III. Une barque sur l'ocean"
By: Robert Ewen Birchall (musopen.org)
"Rachmaninoff, Prelude in G Sharp Minor Op.32 No.12"
By: Jeremy Ng (musopen.org)
"Ravel, Pavane de la belle au bois dormant"
By: Luis Sarro (musopen.org)
The destruction of Penn Station is an absolute tragedy.
A real travesty. Same for the Fed Building in Chicago.
when business wins...
@@pixlplague and was replaced with an ugly cconcrete circle.
@@elliepurser7867 brutal...
I don't get why americans don't preversed their historical architect buildings/structures so we can see it in the present.
I literally got angry when I saw the Chicago federal building’s replacement
Same
Me too.
ffs same. wtf man
it's just a building
L raging americans
Art demolished to be replaced by giant shoe boxes :/
exactly
And not even destroyed by war but on purpose .. what a shame.
@@vomm yes
Modernist architecture is the very definition of humiliating ugliness of garbage and cheaply bought souls!
@@vomm very true, a real shame.
"Classical" architecture developed over 1000s of years and gave us structures and interiors that still are striking in their beauty. The shift to "modern" architecture gave us functional structures that are generally considered ugly and soulless after less than a century.
Not to mention these hunks of glass and steel are abandoned a couple years later.
"Generally considered"
there were many examples of architectures in history: Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance
what is old we think beautiful in the future will be architects who will consider beautiful
but tearing down old buildings is an idiot
the usa is getting rid of old buildings, but some had to be repaired or discharged at san francisco and in europe I will keep them
fixes
it's only the USA {and china destroys too} destroys it
"Who Does Not Remember History Is Condemned To Her Again" - George Santayana
Classical architecture hasn’t evolved since the Middle Ages. It’s time to grow.
And they take no inspiration from their predecessors, unlike all the previous styles. It's similar to the cultural shift of the 60s.
Classical architecture > Modern architecture
yup
Eww, classical architecture looks racist!
@@hes_alive that’s because it’s not real classical architecture. The Greeks and Romans didn’t have white statues and buildings. They would have been painted in rich bright colors.
@@carlr.6263 its neo-classic
@@hes_alive that word is just as meaningless and garbage as post-modern architecture.
The demolition of Penn Station is why I've put a curse on NYC
they better not touch Grand Central
That won’t happen, because they made a law to preserve historical landmarks shortly after Penn station was demolished. Also they are now renovating Penn, so it won’t look as ugly and depressing as it’s been for the past several decades
@@t4squared Sorry to rain on any optimism u may have but for all the beauty of the Moynihan Train Hall, it still doesn't tackle the chronic issues of the main Penn Station
@@t4squared penn station has now already been renovated, it's looking good! Finger's crossed they demolish the old 60s eyesore next to it now that it's not got as much traffic, hopefully they rebuild the original penn station as it was or create something spectacular of the modern era, tho as much as that would be cool, I'm hoping for a rebuild myself.
“put a curse on nyc” like new yorkers wanted it, what an idiot
In France we have laws that forben demolition of old building. In paris for exemple, all « Classical » building and facade are rebuilt or clean all the time
Not to be sad, my dad is a real estate developer. In Dallas, we have restored a lot of lost architecture from the 1880s to the 30's. We are also starting in OKC, Amarillo, and other cities!
Sounds lovely🙏
@@ponysoldier6770 thank you! Our biggest project is restoring a small skyscraper in Dallas (9 story) that was modernized! It was an ornate Italian Renaissance Revival building, and we are rebuilding it AND adding back the surrounding buildings.
@@Changowarlord Amazing, keep up the good work!
@@ponysoldier6770 thanks lad!
Nice Rhodesia flag
My grandparents still talk about the old Penn Station with stars in their eyes.
New York never recovered from that loss. People wax eloquently about Grand Central, but have no idea how small it is compared to what used to straddle two blocks on 7th Avenue. This was tge grandest, largest, train station in the world. A worthy gate of entry into the nation's premier city. Now, one speculates what ring of hell that armpit of the city is an example of. This was the one of the greatest manifestations of civic stupidity ever perpetrated on the city. Everything about it is gross, disgusting, and repugnant. How cann any city have bragging rights when it presents itself innthis manner? Would you invite one to your home if the living room was in a state of squalor, filth and dissarray?The city continues to make band aid "improvements," but its merely lipstick on a pig.
It looked dreamy
@@luissantiago8446 either a testament of human stupidity or of corruption since according to the video people didnt want to get rid of it.
This is one thing I am glad about London for. We'd never demolish Waterloo, Victoria or Charing Cross.
@@xander1052 yeah but you have to live with british people so it equals out
Love this topic. America needs to start thinking more about preservation than destroy and build.
Agreed
Agree. When I went to Europe, it was interesting to see them persevere all their historic buildings. I wished the U.S did the same.
USA destroyed these beautiful pieces of history just to make more office buildings...
@@huntrrams There are some examples when historical buildings got demolished in Europe too, like for big infrastructure projects.
@@vomm in London they destroyed this old religious town with huge buildings and turned them into apartments.
Classical architecture is the peak of what humans have been able to design. It evokes both power and beauty in equal measure and can never be outshone by modern alternatives. This is my opinion despite me being taught in college about how great modern architecture is
How come it is the 'peak'?
Because classical architecture is designed to be beautiful, not to be useful (mainly). Art is useless and the only excuse to do a useless thing is to admire it infinitely, that's the reason why it evokes feelings, because it is human
@@xangarabana That's your opinion
@@bingvandermeer8830 yep, I wasn't trying to say it was objective. What's yours?
@@xangarabana I think art can not be judged objectively, because it is such a complex concept to grasp.
that first building looked beautiful. Bring it back I don't want international style T_T
i agree
It's brutalist (international style)
why did they demolish it?
@@vomm because people are stupid as hell
@@vomm Probably not enough space. But this is a stupid decision. We won't destroy the Louvre because there's "not enough place".
As an American, I thank you for this gift. Unexpected but very appreciated.
...Also evidently flattering and making false statements about the prevalence of classical architecture in USA, much to the contrary, if there was ever a developed nation in the world with so little classical architecture per land area then it is in USA. This German is still traumatized by the evil name put on germany and thinks he has to flatter the USA.
@@goognamgoognw6637 before around the 1950s or 60s it actually was the prevalent architecture in our country though but the old buildings got torn down and replaced with these boxes made of steel concrete and glass.
@@cheeto4027 I see, I did not think about that, good point. Still, when you look at the majority of buildings in the usa that would be residential houses you observe the following: Europe for centuries has built them in classical style with brick, very much in continuing the Roman tradition that was broken in the middle age where perishable wood was used but returned to brick at the renaissance and ever since, then usa residential houses are build like fancy frontier sheds or warehouses from stick wood and shingles. That is very much the modern equivalent of Europe's middle age wood building (not withstanding that due to the usa plutocratic controlled floating currency and banking monopolies structure, and the REA monopoly, they still manage to make these primitive dwellings as expensive as the real brick walls in europe). Some of these wood stick houses developed a plantation style, which takes more from the rugged frontier style than classical architecture. Yes there are uniquely rare exception like the Jefferson mansion built in brick and classical style, and probably in every county you'll find the governor or a rich industrialist mansion also built in that fashion but everything else is the middle age walls and structure (i am not talking about modern interior appliances). If you take a road trip in the usa, it is obvious, a chaotic landscape of new utilitarian warehouses all built in middle age utilitarian, short term style.
So why did USA never adopted durable brick and classical style for residential buildings. I think it's because of the above mentioned actors and also the lack of a tradition and example from past centuries of an aesthetically pleasing architecture.
@@goognamgoognw6637 America doesn't use brick?! Lol man, I rarely even see a building that isn't brick.
Ignorance moronic outsiders.
It pains me to see beautiful old buildings being demolished, even ones that were demolished long ago. I wonder what people in the neighborhood thought at the time? Where they mostly in favor of modern structures? I personally dislike most modern structures as they lack personality, in my opinion.
Well, they weren't really old to begin with. Chicago Federal Building for example was around 60 years old when it was demolished. That woud be like demolishing buildings from late 60's today. They looked "historic" because they were built following styles that there were already like a 100 years old. It's a beautiful architecture but in the 20th century it was kinda like building art deco today, it's pretty but it's also kinda fake because it belongs to a differnt era.
They never built them. They found them.
“Elite” opinion and monied interests always behind the demolition of beauty on the West. People do not support it.
@@clorox1676 You make a good point. I guess I am nostalgic for a time that was decades before my birth even. It seems that most people like things, including buildings, that are bigger, newer and more modern. (with the exception of things like the Tiny Homes trend and others).
There was many protests and backlash after the demolition of the Penn Station.
Modernity, post World War II style: Concrete-glass-steel boxes. Everywhere
they can't even do anything interesting with it like china or taiwan
@@samuelgaskell6424 hi, I'm from Taiwan. You're making a huge mistake if u think Taiwanese buildings are worth your time.
@@stoneruler Taipei 101 looks fucking awesome tho
@@samuelgaskell6424 not great not terrible. You can take a look at Taichung municipal office, classic glass box.
@@samuelgaskell6424 It's ugly one world tower look better.
The 60s and 70s are my least favorite decades for architecture. That’s when they destroyed most of the old houses in Athens Ga too.
Same here in Sweden. Most grand 17th century buildings were demolished for new minimalistic office buildings in the 60s. Now it looks dated rather than classic.
The whole state of Georgia is really just fuel for one really long, sad story about how capitalism and insterstates destroyed america's beautiful historic structures and neighborhoods and displaced its people.
@@kiewies it wasn’t the capitalism it was the culture of “new is always better”
@@withlessAsbestos ah yeah, i forgot. Bc capitalism definitely isn't "replace everything with something better". You're right.
Same here in Philippines when a lot of Baroque churches were replaced by modern ones. There is nothing wrong with modernism but I think It must have been nice if they rebuilt the baroque churches.
As someone from Dresden, Germany and a fan of classical buildings I found this video highly interesting. It's paradox if one considers that we lost so much beautiful old architecture in Germany due to air raids and at the same time, that also happened in the US without a single bomb drop. What a tragedy.
Nothing will ever be as beautiful as classical architecture, for nothing can be better than the proportions and harmony of the natural world
exactly
True that. The classical architecture in their Golden Ratio is simply amazing (along with the architectural trickery that was used to make them so beautiful). The only close thing would be the Shoin-Zukuri Style of Japan with the silver ratio (albeit this is in part due to the gardens surrounding the buildings).
@@icaruswindrune7116 yes
What an limited view or architecture or art you must have... So I guess art nouveau is not beautiful. I guess all the impressionist's paintings are also bad.
@@monobgantonina5577 they are
Recently in the past year, we lost yet another classical American building. The Allentown State Hospital, with its beautiful dark engraved wood, lavish designs, arches, and pretty marble was demolished despite the citizens of Allentown’s utter dismay at the destruction. The site is now to be sold by the city to lost likely big brand places like Amazon and Walmart
Massachusetts has already lost two of it's kirkbride asylums, and lost several other hospitals.
the architecture isn’t that good, it’s nothing like old penn station or the singer building
@@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand It's a different style. Looks good anyways. I don't understand how the government allows such a beautiful building to be demolished? In my country such buildings would be classified as a monument and would be held to strict rules as to not change or demolish the building.
@@LMvdB02 America has a history of being behind.
There's an old theatre in salt lake city that probably is going to get torn down as well. It hasn't been taken care of either by anyone nor the city so it's literally just rotting away to the point it's about to collapse.
Don't remind me of the fact NYC lost an architectural wonder like Penn Station...
but at least they're trying to revive it in a way. The revival is better than being stuck in a stinky underground terminal mess below Madison Square Garden. For a while it was home to the state's only Krispy Kreme, which was the only good thing about it, until Krispy Kreme opened more locations in the surrounding area
Bro why do I see you everywhere? You remind me of M'aiq the Liar from Elder Scrolls, that dude was all over the map lmao.
Seriously! I bump into you and usually within a few days, sometimes hours lol we must be in the same algorithm group my dude. I’m always like “Avery consorte! ¿Acere, que bola?” 😁
MSG will be gone in a couple years sadly. These people never learn.
Wow, I felt like each of these transformations was a personal dagger to my soul. I've never been much of an 'art' person, but I feel like America has been dealt a huge blow by the high modernists.
they're not "high" anything, they're low, low as they come.... they were born low, they'll always be low -- there's nothing good about them....
It seems like so much care went into designing buildings back then. Even public high schools looked better.. certain styles just never go out of fashion. why anyone would destroy them is beyond me
Exactly my grandmothers house is a beautiful large Victorian home from the late 1980 luckily she was too established in the building to ever sell it so when a grocery store attempted to buy it she refused. Now across the street from her house is a giant parking lot with a grocery store.
the Mud Flood, probably
Architects hate people
@@Mr.Peetersen As an architecture student I'll say that they don't hate "people" they just hate you, me and the historical culture to which we belong. After world war 2, along with parallel movements in other fields spearheaded by the frankfurt school, they associated gothic and classical architecture with europe and america's "archaic past" and thought that by deconstructing the marble symbols of beauty and power they could usher in a internationalist utopia where there are no boundaries, no differences, no oppression. As you can see there is no utopia, only a grey sludge devoid of meaning and beauty.
@@shaunenwright7872 when you become an architect, please design beautiful buildings with symmetry and balance on a human scale
Penn Station was perhaps the greatest architectural loss in the US in the 20th Century...... at least Grand Central has survived to give us a reminder of what once was New York...
It was the most mindless act of vandalism. I’m always saddened when I see photos of what has been lost.
can we blame the progressives ?
@@chuck-jy7mz Yes.
Penn Station was far more beautiful than Grand Central Station.
I remember stopping there in the 1990s for a change of trains and a hot dog and being less than impressed after seeing it in so many movies. Now I understand why.
As a Chicago resident it brings sadness to see what once was. That federal building is way better than it’s replacement!
exactly
I'm not even an US citizen and it still makes me sad
I lived in Chicago for 28 years, sad during that time I never got used to Mies Van Der Rohe' s Fededral Plaza.Court houses should look the part and not just another office box. The old Federal Post Office gave d the city a civic dignity and grandeur it lost when it was demolished to be replaced with the current building.
Tragic how developers with deep pockets and political ties were given tremendous leeway in leveling much of downtown Chicago's urban infrastructure to be replaced with either hideous parking garages, or prairies of asphalt. The zoning changes that would make construction of international style buildings possible, wreaked havoc all over downtown. Shops, small hotels, eateries were knocked down, so they could erect a building sitting in a Plaza that would rise sheer and straight. The result was empty plazas that were always windswept, cold and uninviting. By the 60s, many felt that the Loop was old and faded. Buildings were not kept up, a common tactic for property owners who want to demolish structures. The buildings became eyesores. TZhis is the same excuse they used to tear down Penn Station in NYC. Scores of buildings came down. The Morrison Hotel was the tallest building demolished at that time. The LaSalle Hotel, with its French Mansard Roof. The Sherman House on Randolph, along with the Garrick Theater. The Masonic Temple, a fantastic building, whose reason for bring torn down was a desire to pay less taxes and upkeep on the hulking building. Block 37, which included a number of historic structures, including the law offices of Clarence Darrow, came down. The entire block, across from Marshall Fields, would sit vacant for 20 years! What current sits in the block is a mediocre, hodge podge of boring, buildings whose facades look like they can be peeled with a lube strip razor. Awful stuff.
@@luissantiago8446 exactly
When you think that art can never be regression, just look at the "international style"
But it's all "subjective" anyway according to the people who push that idea.
And Brutalism too.
@ Brutalism? At least Nazi and Soviet brutalism that Hollywood uses as inspiration for "evil empire" settings has style
It's a damn shame that these buildings are often demolished to be replaced with featureless boxes that aren't worth looking at for more than a second.
I think America’s biggest distinction between us and Europe is our refusal to look back and enjoy the past. There are soo many buildings and cathedrals in Europe that they won’t tear down bc they’re cool to look at and they don’t think of the corporate development space they could get out of it.
I’m not saying this is good or bad. Just a difference.
Thats wrong, Americans love beautiful architecture. However you also have these multinational corporations coming in and lobbying to tear down America's most beautiful site, many such cases across the country
@@GigaNietzsche "multinational" alot of those companies are ours, bud.
@@M50A1 Ours? Last I checked they operate on a global scale and outsource labor and aid in the subversion of my people via propaganda and mass immigration.
no its def bad...its an american trait to try and deny its history, because american history is full of so many crimes against humanity
@@M50A1 I would go on a limb and say most to all of those companies are ours.
Also, small nitpick and I'm sorry but
"a lot" not "alot"
So sad to see the old world almost completely forgotten.
Thats exactly why they have been on a mission to destroy it.
@@emmahogg7366 And guess who is behind it.
Very interesting. As a French, I am accustomed to see beautiful classical architecture, and when I went to Washington DC, I admired the classical architecture, it was like I was in an European city. Then, I went to Chicago, and that was not the same, those giants buildings make me feel I was in America, with only modern architecture, none of the buildings seemed to be built before the late of the XIX century.
That's because Chicago suffered a devastating fire in 1871.
@@catalannationalist9847 Thank you, beat me to it.
@@xxevery9seconds87xx Excuse me, what do you mean?
@@catalannationalist9847 he wanted to say the same thing, but you answered quicker than him.
Also because DC has a rule that no building can be higher than the Washington Monument (once tallest structure in the world until Eiffel Tower overtook it). This limits most building to 130ft.
As someone who lives close to the area I love seeing these great old European style works in the US where they are not too common.
After a night out in downtown on the drunk walk back I end up annoying my friends pointing all the nice buildings out LOL.
I find this fascinating from a European's perspective. Yes, we too have had a lot of destruction of classical buildings in the past 100 years, especially after the war. But we tried to reconstruct and preserve them as much as possible. My home country Portugal was fortunate enough to not suffer such devastation such as Poland, France or Germany for example, so we have a lot of untouched architecture. However, even when you go to these heavily WW2 affected countries, you still see a lot of classical architecture, especially in France. What I am getting at, is that unlike America, classical architecture still remains although not entirely. Everything is mixed. Modern with classical. It's very rare to see a full modern city like Chicago in Europe.
Well coming from France, I can tell you that French cities, except few in the north, didn't suffered a lot from WW2. Germany is the one that got most of the destruction and its awful to see how Germany changed since.
@@mrsupremegascon Nothing can beat Poland and its capital being nearly totally razed to the ground by Germans.
@@mrsupremegascon Strongly disagree. Poland got the most destruction.
As for the damage France had, no only northern and eastern cities were heavily destroyed, Paris and Lyon were too. For example Lyon had to rebuild 20 of its 24 bridges at the time. The differences to the USA are twofold: 1) barely nothing was destroyed there because of the war since the conflict took place on european soil; 2) when something was destroyed in Europe, we rebuilt it to a replica because we're actually aware of our cities architectural values.
I wouldn't say that chicago is full modern. It has a TON of classical architecture in some of its skyscrapers.
@@branigankerls yes, and the neighborhoods are mostly pre-modern 100ish year old brick buildings
I'm filled with so much rage to see all these beautiful works of art be replaced by sterile, glass cubes
I wish someone would have the spine (and the integrity) to bring this back.
Unfortunately, it's hard to bring back something already taken away, but hopefully, preservation becomes more important to developers in our country. (Also, don't forget some of those "glass cubes" have stories and value when they someday come to tear them down for whatever is next).
trump demanded that all new buildings be neoclassical, but it's easy to make ugly buildings in such a style if you're designing with CAD software. really we need more care put into our designs
@@brentlucke8713 I don't think anyone will mourn those modern monstrosities and the idolatry to ideals that are un-American that they represent.
How? Who's going to pay for them? It' is so much more expensive now to build them.
@@CaesarGB Oh I'm pretty sure many would disagree with you and be careful throwing the "un-American" catch-it-all verbiage around, cause I think what you are saying here is pretty "un-American."
There used to be such an art in making things, even the smallest corner in a building was intricately carved and well thought out. I know its not economical but I hope to see a Renaissance of this kind of care put into ordinary things in my lifetime.
2:11... they destroyed a beautiful building for a boring lifeless structure
Penn Station is one of the greatest tragedies architectural history. It just devastating.
In Germany a lot of pure classical buildings where damaged. After the war (at least in the west) we spend a lot of money we didn't have to reconstruct them. Interesting what happend in American.
Germany actually demolished a lot of their great buildings after the war because they lacked the money to restore them. In East Germany the communists demolished a lot of Palaces and Churches for ideological reasons.
I think the modern and classical mix in Germany is breathtaking.
Some entirely undamaged classical buildings and inner cities in germany were torn down in the 50s and 60s as well. Cologne Station survived the war and was replaced with an eyesore. Same for a lot of the historic inner cities that were removed during that time, as for example in kempten, which was largely intact and got torn down in the 60s to make way for concrete blocks.
So basically, America had the same kind of grandiose 19th century architecture as Europe, since architects took inspiration from eachother or just moved around. The difference being that, instead of the buildings being brought down by war, they were demolished when it looked like they wouldn't be profitable anymore, with a cheaper, slicker new one build in place.
Yes. But in Europe there's also a sense of cultural heritage. Historical buildings are kept and protected because of historical value. Some buildings that were greatly damaged in the 2nd World War were even restored!
I don't see that happen too often in the big cities in the USA. Entire city layouts have been changed, with city centers becoming parking lots.
@@vaimantobe3034
The sad part--the modern replacements sometimes weren't even slicker. Take Penn Station. The original was apparently very easy to navigate--any idiot could figure out very quickly how to catch which particular train. Which is the genius of Grand Central Terminal--it's easy to figure out its layout. The new Penn Station is a hideous, dark, smelly maze of tunnels that go all over the place. It takes a freaking map to figure out up and down, left and right, let alone where you could catch your train. You have no idea how many anxiety attacks I've had trying to figure out where to catch my train with only minutes to spare. So f*cking annoying.
Classical architecture makes me have pride and feeling in a city. Modernist/post modern is ugly and rootless.
Thats the point
They're pretty indeed, but they are rehashes from European buildings from the 18th century built in the US in late 19th or early 20th century. Their historical and architectural value is arguable.
@@clorox1676 i wouldnt say that they arcetuctural value is arguable it is clearly quite buetiful far better that the brutalist and modernist we see today
@@clorox1676 Why is their value determined by their appropriation? Did not the Romans and Carthaginians appropriate their neighbors architecture? Honestly, the whole reason Americans have built such things is because they like having the best of things, so in a sense its an ode to the greatness of these styles.
@@whenthedustfallsaway It's not so much about appropriation, it's the fact that style of building has been built all over the world for 150 years. And not all of them are really valuable or even well designed. In the case if Chicago Federal Building, you can tell the proportions are pretty off and the whole thing is quite a bizarre collage.
Brutalist architecture has more soul than the "international style".
At least when I think of brutalist architecture I think of Soviet style buildings and not just a generic glass building.
That's not saying much - both are a blight
As a child, my Aunt took me to the circus.
It was held in the old Madison Square Garden.
We took a train into The old Penn Station, my Aunt showed me the " biggest area " under one roof.
It's was magical to me.
Then she showed me the biggest post office in America, it was gigantic! and I was 5 years old.
3 years later Penn station was torn down, and some of its statues were dumped out in New Jersey, they can still be found there today.
I think some of the old buildings should be appreciated, like a museum of time.
Buildings out of time.
Just a thought.
That is wonderful that you had those memories and remember the times and the feeling of then. Not much in the way of solace, I suppose, but i think it's neat to hear that you have seen the old Madison Square Garden, Penn Station and Post Office.
My sister is an architect and I always criticize the modern architecture she learned at the university, actually I'm not happy with this new type of cities, I saw beautiful 19th and 18th centuries houses demolished to build uncharacteristic 15 and 20 floors building, native and classical architecture it's the commune identity.
As someone who has been to American Cities and and also European ones (namely Florence, Rome, Venice, Paris, London, and Edinburgh), I prefer the European Cities architecturally speaking.
As for why we went with the modern/postmodern architectural styles - it has much to do with Bauhaus Style's wide adoption, the rejection of enlightenment thinking, the post modernist movement that ruined art in general, and probably how world war two affected the countries caught up in it (and maybe how classical styles were tied to the Third Reich for a bit. Don't forget that they wanted a world capital using Neo-classical styles).
Modern architecture is a monstrosity-it consider only the usage of the building, neglecting the beauty, which it something relevant as the cities are populated by humans and not robots.
The demolishing of those marvelous buldings is a shame. Even though they were not profitable, they were something people could admire and see meaning through.
I believe that cities' architecture should be everything but modern. We need to bring back the respect for the classical architecture and its inner power of meaning.
With modern technology we could build the most beautiful buildings ever made, but instead we build flat gray boxes.
A common theme with the loss of such buildings, including in my own city in the UK, is that they have usually replaced the buildings with structures that are bland and in many cases already demolished or requiring demolition. The 1960s have a lot to answer for!
I wish Googie architecture took off in the 60s, instead of the ugly boring "International Style"
Really hate the now utilitarian nature of modern architecture buildings.
same
Agreed, many developers have no concern for beauty, its a shame.
@@ponysoldier6770 truly is
Well, that is how the modernist doctrine is. It is a revolt against the bourgeosie and the enlightenment, after all - and also very closely linked with Communism due to its disdain of the Bourgeosie and how utilitarian it is.
Plus, the argument they use against classical designs is cost of materials, but they fail to mention that the can literally cast and stain concrete to look like wood - marble - granite - bricks - etc. and make buildings look like the capitol building for a lot less than if they were to use granite or marble. It would also lower the overall cost of upkeep - specially if they used roman concrete (which hardens over time and prevents cracks from spreading. Also hardens even faster when salt water is sprayed on it).
@@icaruswindrune7116 exactly
I’m from Chicago, the city known for the birthplace of the skyscraper ! It just makes me sad and angry that Future generations never got to see the first skyscraper to the pre- Chicago fire City Hall. I recommend reading the book Lost Chicago by David Lowe, has so many cool buildings lost to time or were demolished.
True. There is also the fact that we can only read about Downtown Chicago prior to being raised 4 to 14 feet and how some of the houses down there were swallowed up or demolished as a result.
Then you have the old city hall subway station of New York City - which was closed to the public for a long time (albeit now there are ticket tours sometimes) and the Pneumatic Tubes that served as the "first" subway stations of NYC.
There is also Penn Station, the Singer Building, Midway Park (which Frank Lloyd wright had poured his soul into), Mark Hopkins' Mansion, the Birmingham Terminal Station, the Beach Hotel, and the Hippodrome Theatre.
After researching this a bit, 6 of the extra buildings I listed (NYC's Pneumatic Tube System, Pen Station, Singer Building, Midway Park, Birmingham Terminal Station, and the Hippodrome) where torn down - 2 Burned down (Mark Hopkins' Mansion and the Beach Hotel) - and 1 (Old City Hall Station) was sealed up.
It is honestly such a shame that we cannot preserve the architecture of the past.
I read David Lowe's book upon arriving in the city. At that time I was fishing for a position at Skidmore, Owens,& Merril, which at that time , was the world's largest architectural firm. I was shocked and appalled at the city's treatment of its architectural heritage. Especially the uniquely distinctive, and beautiful edifices designed by Louis Sullivan. The Stock Exchange building, the Garrick theater. One after another. The 50s,60s and 70's found the city on a demolition binge. Not only buildings, but neighborhoods were decimated. The downtown area in 1980, looked like a faded dowager with missing teeth. In River North and areas surrounding the Loop, there were acres and acres of surface parking lots. It remained this way even until the end of the 20th century. The city had eliminated many of the smaller, modest buildings that contained family run businesses. When the lots began to redevelop, they opened branch banks, or Walgreens. Boring. Chicago with its grit and true character, was a more interesting city then the tourist trap its become today. There have been some improvements, especially with green spaces. Otherwise it offers a litany of what every other city offers, except the view along the lakefront. I left the city for New York, but before I did, I stopped at Graceland Cemetery to pay my respects and homage at the tomb of Louis Sullivan. Chicago never appreciates its own.
Chicago used to be so beautiful.
I know, I am 6th generation Chicagoan and I don't even recognize the downtown area anymore. Supposed to be a capital of architecture, but all the new buildings are fugly and forgettable.
Chicago used to be so beautiful!
Many of these buildings look better from a distance then close up. On the ground level, most of them are afflicted with the common problem of how to meet the street and relate to people. Most of these buildings have desolate lobbies, with slabs of marble and a reception desk enlivened with a floral sprig in a vase. Or cringe worthy examples of art. Older buildings lent dignity and decorum to human activities. Look at the old Continental Bank interior on LaSalle Street. A grand and glorious space. Look at what greets one upon entering the lobby of the Board of Trade Building. Banks looked like banks churches, looked like churches, not office buildings or lecture halls. Older buildings also had the tripartite formula in design. There was a distinctive bottom section, and different mid section, topped off by definitive crown. Builfings today are not so refined in finish, treatment, nor approach. The details are crude, coarse, and sometimes sloppy. This is the reason why older buildings age better then newer ones. Modern buildings are all about pragmatic utility, and constantly vie to appear, "sleek." When all they end up looking like cold, sterile tubes of silicone.
This breathtakingly beautiful building was replaced with a cold, sharp glass box... Paved paradise, put up a parking lot.🚧
Modern art and modern architecture are the two glaring examples of declines in human artistry. Modern art has turned art galleries into money laundries and modern architecture has turned buildings into shiny corporate boxes.
Modern art I'm fine with, when done well. There's lots of quite thought-provoking and beautiful pieces. That's because those pieces are done with care for aesthetics and proportions. The problem with modern architecture is that modern developers don't take what is great about modern art and apply it to most buildings. Instead developers use modern art as a barely-hidden excuse to make buildings that are ugly and cheap. Then when people complain that these buildings look ugly and cheap, the developers turn around and say "Well, that's modern art." No, it's not. It's just you being cheap.
@@Blakbox92 Yeah you are 100% correct. Dadaism is exactly what I was referring to and a lot of modern art is pretty good. I would also add brutalism as one of the biggest mistakes in architecture. I guess some people like it, but to me it makes spaces seem like parking garages.
Oh, unexpected but very welcome! Thanks for making and sharing. +1
post war western world: look at all the beautiful architecture that inspires us
post war architects: thats so true, we should demolish as many of them as possible and substitute them with brown cubes to honour classical's architecture rich history! Also, every other thing we build should be brown cubes but grey may also be acceptable. Finally we should call it brutalism, which completely drives home the idea of beautiful spaces made to measure to people's actual needs and requirements.
As much as I love classical architecture, I don't regret that brutalism happened. I think it has a coherent aesthetic of its own that's rooted in at least some discipline and craft - something which cannot be said of the absolutely vulgar architectural whims (e.g. glass buildings curved like bananas) that came after it. However yes, it is a horrific tragedy that we no longer see classical architecture as a cumulative, living heritage contemporary architects draw from for new projects.
@@HTtwentyten I totally agree with you in that, the one good thing about brutalism is the coherent aesthetic, which I feel is of primary importance in making a city look beautiful.
@@HTtwentyten I agree. I think people mention Brutalism so often because of the name. There's actually a certain amount character and even charm present in a lot of Brutalist buildings that's missing from the current Schizophrenic Moderne plaguing our cities.
@@HTtwentyten nope sorry, brutalism is satanic
I think brutalism is the worst architectural school bar none. This isn’t just my opinion, but it seems to be a pretty popular one (8 out of 10 of the least popular British buildings are brutalist). While it’s aesthetically consistent, the problem is its inhumane nature. International style glass structures at least allow for much light. Brutalist concrete behemoths are dark, decay after a few decades and have a psychologically oppressive feel to them (see Cabrini-Green public housing). There’s something almost fascistoid about brutalism, which is reflected in it’s inventors highly questionable political philosophy. The only thing good about brutalism, is that it was tried, failed and thankfully won’t be used anymore.
Wow this just made me so sad to see all of the great architecture lost
Might be my favorite video on yt. Traditionalism, architecture, quality classical music, doesn't get much better!
video?
@@edeliteedelite1961 good catch
This is a beautiful video. While I personally don’t have a great deal of attachment to classical architecture, I appreciate that you took the time to examine a nation’s culture, especially a foreign nation.
Love your historic architecture videos!
We shouldn't have let those who hate beauty dominate our architecture courses
so true
I feel architecture went down hill in the post ww2 period honestly I miss neoclassical and baroque or even Victorian. I know I sound strange but the buildings of the colonial era, renaissance, Middle Ages or anything earlier were truly superior to much of what the western world constructs today.
We should rebuild these buildings maybe not in the same position but still I just want to see these majestic buildings in this modern world
Excellent video. Thank you.
Beautiful building replaced by rectangles... so sad
It's enough to make you cry. The same thing happened here in the UK especially in the 1960s and 70s.
And now the cheap and ugly replacement buildings are being demolished, so it was all criminally for nothing.
I wish we could be more like Germany and central European countries who actively rebuild some of that which was destroyed. Frankfurt has just finished rebuilding its Old Town for example and Hungary is rebuilding buildings in its Castle Area.
6:10 I can't even imagine that SF's original city hall was even larger and more ornate. The current city hall is already incredible. The dome of the SF city hall is larger than the dome at the national capitol.
The Fox Theater, a practically perfect condition Art Deco movie palace about a block away from City Hall, was demolished replaced by an atrocity known as Fox Plaza. It’s a brown shoebox where had my first grown up job.
That one isn't as sad, though. A huge earthquake ripped it apart. It wasn't greedy developers that brought its mighty columns down.
More please!! Thanks for this!
Stumbled across this channel and I'm not disappointed instant sub
Man, this is so sad. All those building except the last ones were infinitely better and more beautiful than their ugly modern replacements
Modern replacements are soul less.
@@ponysoldier6770 because the people who make them are soul less and reflect it through their architecture
@@micahistory Yes, of course, it certainly has nothing to do with the fact that nowadays buildings made of white granite and thousands of decorations are simply absolutely unaffordable. But it's the missing souls. Sure.
@@vomm You do know that there is a way to fake granite and marble, right? You can still use concrete and just have it stained by acid for a marble look - granite also can use acid staining, but there is also the ability to use special mixes to create "mineral veins" as well. Heck, you can even have concrete look like wood if you wanted too.
This is similar to how you can make cement look like bricks or how people would guild regular objects with gold leaf to make them appear more expensive.
So the entire thing about needing white granite is simply bull.
As for thousands of decorations, Classical Architecture and Romanesque Architecture are known for being sparsely decorated. So that two can be thrown out the window. Now if it was Gothic or Renaissance, then that might be a bit different - with Gothic probably being the most expensive of them all.
@@vomm Demolishing buildings that could last 500+ years for buildings that last 60 years? which is more expansive....
Makes a man want to cry. Modernist and International cities are a hellscape
Your channel is awesome man
I am immigrant to the US and never forget when I passed by SF city hall one day in my car by chance not knowing anything about it.
I was awestruck!
God Bless America!
My library still looks like this.
You could mention so many buildings in a video like this. I'm glad this has gained some traction on RUclips. Another horrible loss was the loss of the ornate original Madison Square Garden designed by McKim Mead And White with the current one that's nothing but a massive curved billboard on the outside.
plz make more videos like this. :) i really enjoyed it.
Great video. Thanks.
You’ll never guess who I blame for this…..
The old San Francisco City Hall looks like something you'd build in Anno 1800.
Wow, that's weird, because Anno 1800 plays in the time where buildings like the City Hall got constructed. What a strange coincidence!
@@vomm I meant the weird layout of it. Not the design elements. ^_~
@@Dayvit78 lol
You should do another video about this but showcasing other countries' destroyed/lost architectural legacy. For example Rio de janeiro and Sao paulo in Brazil lost absurd amounts of beautiful buildings that were iconic landmarks.
Excellent work. I heartily applaud the way you didn't take up much of our time. You're good at selecting the salient points.
Demolishing such beautiful marvels of art not only architecture but true art, only to be replaced by the blight of modernist and post-modernism is not only soul-crushing but an insult to humanity and beauty as a whole! Modernism and its successors are truly the greatest villains to cities more than any bomb or fire. We live in an age of previously unimaginable capabilities yet we create unimaginative and ugly buildings that look the same! Is this how we repay the previous generations? For all the beauty that they gave, even with lesser tools? And what of the future generations are we not to leave them with something that will make them proud to live in this world?
The 1960s - 1970s was a modern iconoclasm.
Great Video. I'm fortunate to have been recommended this in my RUclips feed. One suggestion though, the ending was too abrupt. It'd be better if you said something of the significance of these changes.
This video made me sub really enjoy your channel
Make Architecture Great Again
The “modern” style of architecture looks like the boxes that the classical buildings came in.
Fantastic video
Good stuff man!
A fact ignored by so-called “modernists”. is that genuine modern architecture is classical because it’s the style for all time. Ever since it’s beginnings in Ancient Greece some 2,500 years ago buildings have been constructed using these classical principals of design in spite of a prolonged but ultimately failed agenda since the post ww2 era to discredit it as “not being of our time”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
old penn station: let's build ourselves a roman basilica like building
"Your home?"
"Yes... and it was beautiful."
excellent video
seeing these beautiful structures demolished and then replaced by ugly glass buildings crashed me
The 1950's and 1960's were a period of architectural tragedies in the U.S. when so many beautiful buildings were torn down and replaced with plain & ugly eyesores.
YES! A NEW KINGS AND THINGS VIDEO!
Would you please make a video on what you think are the best American classical buildings existing today? So sad to know of the ones we lost, it’d be great to appreciate what we have now
The destruction of those beautiful neo-Classical buildings is nothing short of vandalism. What replaced them is not architecture; it is abhomination.
Why can't we build large buildings because it's more practical and functional but still retain the classical architectural look, surely that'll be better than the steel and glass junk that we see today?
Because it's cheaper and because our souls are rotten.
@@colonelsmith7757 To be frank, Græco-Roman temples become a bit dull after a while.
@@sirmount2636 Did you even watch the video? All the showcased buildings were unique in style and detail, with various elements that differentiated them from each other, unlike your average NYC skycraper which on its own you could not tell whether it's built in NYC, Shanghai or London; ridiculous.
Depends on where you look I guess, but there's a federal courthouse in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that was actually built less than a decade ago in 2012 in a more classical style.
www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/tuscaloosa-federal-building-and-courthouse
@@colonelsmith7757 They all look like ancient ruins. You don’t need to stay stuck in the past.
Thank you for reminding me of our past..
My city although littered with parking lots and garages and cut in half by highways there are several classical and historical buildings such as a grand courthouse with towering columns (just realized there are several courthouses similar to this but I love them all. My favorite building in the city is a classical sky scraper adorned by lions at the top on our main street. There are several classical stately looking mansions/ expensive homes in our historic neighborhoods. There are several gothic churches from the 1800s to early 1900s as well. There are many historic schools as well with at least one I have seen built in the 1800s, but most of our buildings in the 1800s are 1890-1899 and overall most of the historic houses at least were built in the early 1900s. Some of my favorite buildings from the 1800s are two Victorian houses built in 1890 and 1899. This just shows how easy it is to find historic structures if you look in the right places. My city has dealt with economic problems until it’s recent recovery and many of our buildings have been destroyed by highways I take the time to walk around my neighborhood and in my city reflecting at the beautiful landscape created by rooftops, columns, and windows. I want to go to Chicago soon.
What is the name of your city?
While the independent USA may be a ‘young country’ at 250 years old, it’s British colonial founding was 400 years ago. Much of the world did not have independent/unified countries with established borders at that time either.
Make Classical Architecture Great Again.
More like make new architecture classical again. Classical has always been great, it's just been disrespected for a while.
make architecture with personality again, at the bare minimum. Who looks at these glass rectangles and sees them as beautiful? I think there is a place for modern buildings, but they are overwhelming cities now and are destroying old, beautiful ones for souless towers for rich corporations.
@@awookieandagerman Why make a Greek style of architecture in America? Surely America should have a unique identity?
@@Vellichor358 If all you know about classical architecture is that it originated with the Greeks, then you have a lot of reading to do. Unique identity is a decent value, but so is being rooted in tradition, and America is the great melting pot of cultures and traditions. In my opinion, great American art and architecture should not be divorced from the various cultures and traditions of its people. For many of those people, their architectural heritage is classical or at least classically influenced. Look at any great city in Europe, and not only will you find an abundance of beautiful classical architecture, but you'll find each one has its own unique take on the language of classicism. So yes unique identity within a the classical language is not only possible, but it's the very standard for great architecture in Europe. Now we do also want to point to great architectural traditions from Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Native American, and many other cultures. If the people of a place came here, then their architecture is as valid here as anyone else's. America shouldn't be purely classical; it's architecture should be a physical manifestation of its inherent multi-cultural identity. I think the wrong solution is to do the majority of things in "international style" or whatever new trend among modernists is the most popular, as modernism doesn't have cultural roots, it has mostly half baked theories and concepts which rarely apply to real life as practically as its proponents say they do. Some modernist buildings and architects are great, certainly. I would be a fool to argue with the beauty of some of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest works or with the art of a great skyscraper like the Chrysler Building. However the vast majority of modernist architecture doesn't live up to the hype. It's ugly, alien, inhuman, impractical, and almost never built to last. Sometimes the best argument for classicism can be found in the simple fact that St. Peter's is still standing.
@@awookieandagerman There are no traditions in this country. No one has any real connection to those European styles because no one has any connection to any European traditions (except maybe Jews and immigrants). Building French/Italian neoclassical buildings is not going to magically bring back traditional values lol. Besides, those styles were responses to cultural trends of the time which dont exist today (emergence of enlightenment values and democratic ideals, I believe).
You say there is variation between the classical architecture of different cities but give no examples. I have been all over Europe and America it was all totally indistuinguishable. Every gothic cathedral the same. The only places that were memorable were the regionalistic modern buildings (Utzon, Aalto, Bonn, Zumthor, Scarpa in Europe... Kahn, Wright, Fay in the states... Murcutt in Aus) The traditional buildings I saw have the same problems as the modernist ones you hate: they say little about the places they are in. You would have every city have a classical city hall, a gothic cathedral, an art deco skyscraper. If all places have the same aesthetic they have no aesthetic at all.
America's beauty is not that it simply brings in cultures from around the world, but that it mixes and synthesizes those cultures into something new (prarie style, ozark gothic, neo-mayan, so-cal modern) Furthermore, its true that most modern buildings are of little value but this speaks to a problem with international building developers who design buildings they will never use purely for profit maximization - thus aesthetic is irrelevent to them. The design philosophies of several contemporary academics and architects remain sound (Frampton's critical regionalism, etc.) and can realistically be executed on a large scale unlike a return to traditional styles which is not feasible on a large scale. We can still preserve the best old buildings though.
If you think modernism doesn't have cultural roots you have a lot of reading to do. I can recommend you some books if you like
Your channel is really very interesting; I find the new San Francisco city hall looks like the Invalides in Paris but less well the old San Francisco city hall was prettier
Great video! Have you considered doing something similar for showcasing the classical buildings found elsewhere in the old colonial empires?
As a sidenote for the future, sewing is pronounced 'sowing'.
I think about the loss of the singer building every week. pretty tragic it was one of the first ever skyscrapers and it was torn down☹️
It’s a shame to see infrastructure constructed solely for efficiency, and that art and heritage is no longer put into the equation
Incredible reserch!
I wish all creators of “modern” architecture styles a very pleasant thermonuclear winter