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  #1  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 2:00 PM
Mountain man Mountain man is offline
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Your city's most iconic building

What is the most unique, kind of ugly, building that is historically integrated into your cities core? I am not looking for brand new glass buildings no matter how amazing they look. Here are a few examples that are among the more well known buildings:

San Francisco: https://www.google.com/search?q=down...6Q-2vRVNMAU6M:

Denver: https://www.google.com/search?biw=19...qBJazCq1itsSM:

These two buildings are very unique to there respective cities and each scream Denver or San Francisco
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  #2  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 2:39 PM
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source: http://themanonfive.com/post/9301539...uilding-c-1969


he'll be celebrating his 50th birthday next year.
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  #3  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 2:43 PM
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For Houston and to outsiders, probably a derelict abandoned stadium.



For locals, The building formerly known as the Transco Tower:


Last edited by JManc; Jun 13, 2018 at 4:55 PM. Reason: Added Transco
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  #4  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 2:50 PM
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In Minneapolis, if you are looking for ugly iconic it has got to be Riverside Plaza:
mplsnov201427 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr

For attractive iconic I would say the Wells Fargo Tower:

mplsdec201514 by Andrew Smith, on Flickr
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  #5  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 3:47 PM
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MayDay MayDay is offline
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For Cleveland, the ugly/iconic would be the former Cleveland Trust Tower (now Metropolitan at the 9) - designed by Marcel Breuer:

Before redevelopment it was vacant (not abandoned) since about 1991:


After redevelopment, it's one of the pricier rental places in downtown - the attached rotunda building now houses a grocery store:


For the beautiful/iconic, hands down - the Terminal Tower:
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  #6  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 3:57 PM
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it's only a couple of years old, but the JUMP building in Boise gets the most people asking me "what the #@! is that?"



source



source
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  #7  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 4:34 PM
cannedairspray cannedairspray is offline
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Well...what the fuck is it?
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  #8  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 4:37 PM
mhays mhays is offline
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My impression after paying signficant attention to it is it's a place of excitement and ideas, about the community, everybody is welcome...and what the fuck is it?

Seattle would be the Space Needle of course. Some would say it's sorta ugly. PS its look is slighly changed due to a $100m upgrade, with most of the work now done.
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  #9  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 4:44 PM
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it's what mhays said.

instead of trying to explain, here's the website:

http://jumpboise.org/your-visit
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  #10  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 4:48 PM
cannedairspray cannedairspray is offline
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Baltimore has the nice 10 Light Street:


www.yelp.com

And the dumb Schaefer Building:


www.skyscrapercenter.com
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  #11  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 4:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MayDay View Post

For the beautiful/iconic, hands down - the Terminal Tower:
That is easily one of my favorite buildings anywhere. Impressive in person.
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  #12  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:04 PM
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Limiting ourselves to downtown, the most beautiful iconic building in downtown Asheville would likely be the pink-roofed Art Deco Asheville City Building:


Source.

It has strong competition from the Jackson Building, First Baptist Church, Grove Arcade, and Basilica of St. Lawrence though. Meanwhile, the ugliest iconic building downtown would likely be the former BB&T Building:


Source.

Enjoy it while you can though, because by the end of the year the BB&T Building will look like this:


Source.

The BB&T Building has a lot less competition for ugly in downtown Asheville, but it does have a single strong contender in the US Cellular Center. After the BB&T finishes its revamp later this year, the US Cellular Center will be, far and away, the most hideous building downtown.
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Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc View Post
Meanwhile, the ugliest iconic building downtown would likely be the former BB&T Building:


Source.

Enjoy it while you can though, because by the end of the year the BB&T Building will look like this:


Source.

that's a shame. the original facade has far more integrity than the schlock-fest they apparently want to turn it into.
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  #14  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
that's a shame. the original facade has far more integrity than the schlock-fest they apparently want to turn it into.
There was a certain honesty to the old BB&T Building, but in addition to redoing the building and adding some Art Deco-ish gewgaws, the developer is also tearing down the BB&T parking deck and replacing it with retail space, so I think we come out ahead in the deal.
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  #15  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JManc View Post
That is easily one of my favorite buildings anywhere. Impressive in person.
Agreed, one of the best anywehere.

...

I love 10 Light Street.

I hate the Schaefer Building. It's a bad skyscraper drawing that I did in 1985.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cannedairspray View Post
Baltimore has the nice 10 Light Street:


www.yelp.com

And the dumb Schaefer Building:


www.skyscrapercenter.com
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  #16  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
that's a shame. the original facade has far more integrity than the schlock-fest they apparently want to turn it into.
This is truly awful.

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  #17  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 5:31 PM
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
This is truly awful.
Meh. The developer redeemed himself by tearing down a parking deck and putting up shop spaces which reactivate the back side of this block, which has been a dead blank wall since the 60's. I'm inclined to be forgiving. I'll also say that this redevelopment looks like it will seriously improve the little plaza on the front side of the building.
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  #18  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 6:46 PM
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I think they usually fail miserably whenever they attempt to "improve" the facades of 1960s international style boxes. They always seem to end up producing some totally generic-looking condo schlock.
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  #19  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 7:42 PM
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i’ll do midtown st louis...this apt building sits on a pronounced ridge sort of lording over midtown and the modernist design on the side used to rain bricks. the entire urban renewal complex has been rehabbed since and actually looks rather nice.



on the flip side in midtown, heres the continental life bldg (also apartments)

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  #20  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:57 PM
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The Asheville building has some problems, definitely some ugly elements, but I'd hazard that outside the niche world of Chicago/International Style skyscraper fans, most people will prefer the new version.

And while I will fully admit that the shaft of a skyscraper is mostly an aesthetic sculptural element and therefore totally open to subjective aesthetic tastes, I have to say that at the ground level, where the building interacts with the sidewalk and where Jane Jacobs-style human-scale visual diversity is objectively important to good urbanism, is the plain boxy version has serious failings that the new version's more ornamented facade directly improves.

Unfortunately, the new version's improved sidewalk-level facade appears to be totally ruined by a much worse sidewalk & plaza. They're replacing the open sidewalk of the old version with a curving barrier wall and planters that look like they'll force pedestrians to approach the building from only one angle. That's objectively worse than the old condition, although it has very little to do with the architecture.
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