Closing Bell: Controversial Buildings in the Heights
Today Brooklyn Heights Blog lists some of the “most controversial” buildings in Brooklyn Heights as an afterthought to the modern rendering for 27 Cranberry Street. The list includes the demo of 222 Columbia Heights, the 322 Hicks Street apartment building (pictured), and the modern carriage house at 123 Joralemon Street. “Out of context, fugly, or…
Today Brooklyn Heights Blog lists some of the “most controversial” buildings in Brooklyn Heights as an afterthought to the modern rendering for 27 Cranberry Street. The list includes the demo of 222 Columbia Heights, the 322 Hicks Street apartment building (pictured), and the modern carriage house at 123 Joralemon Street. “Out of context, fugly, or brilliant?” asks the blog. If we’ve learning anything we’ll just say: no comment!
322 Hicks was one of the few buildings highlighted in the Center for Architecture’s exhibit (last year, I believe) on “Context/Contrast”. The exhibit, purported to show good examples of nice contemporary design that responds to, but doesn’t mimic, the surroundings. For what it’s worth, the CfA seems to think it’s a pretty good building, and I agree…
Otis Pearsall has done more for historic preservation in one year than Blayze will do in a lifetime. His opinions are based on considerable study and thoughtful consideration. He is not “some idiot.”
…and that’s from somebody who isn’t even that fond of the old codger.
ML, that was funny.
kudos to the BHA and LPC for letting that townhouse get built instead of a imitation brownstone.
And the article is wrong about the Hotel Margaret. (Of course, I suppose since they can’t even bother to spell Bruce Eichner’s name correctly, what can you expect).
“Eicher sold the lot to the Watchtower who successfully argued for the right to build a new structure at the same height as the original.
Not so. It was Eichner who sued, and won, the right to build back to the size of the original. Which seemed fair to me. He designed the replacement as condos, and just before they went on the market, he sold the whole lot to the Witnesses, in what I thought was a slap to the people who were against his rebuilding. Pretty funny imo, the whole thing.
I think 322 Hicks is actually pretty nice. Plus, it’s a stones throw north of Atlantic and on a not-so-pristine block of the hieghts, so IMO it adds interest.
if a new building were built in Brooklyn Heights that all could agree was wonderful, I would worry that it would be a precursor to Armageddon. If everyone agreed in Brooklyn, the axis of the planet may be thrown off balance and we would all perish in a fireball of bricks and brownstone.
Most of the buildings mentioned on there are eyesores although 123 Joralemon Street, a pseudo-Carriage House is perfectly fine for the district. It looks comfortable in it’s surroundings yet there’s always some idiot who says it’s faux-nature is out of line, especially because it took down some 1950’s rancher. The only reason such a structure should have stayed was mainly for the mystery of it ending up in the dense blocks of the Heights to begin with.
Go to New Jersey, go to roughly any suburb in Long Island. Go to Ohio. Plenty of ranchers there.