Gothamist: Endangered: 2 Columbus Circle

Benjamin

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 00:00:40 -0500

I think 2 Columbus Cirlce is an attractive building in its own right and a very urbane addition to Columbus Circle. I visited the building when it was first built as the Gallery of Modern Art and was also delighted by its interiors. (The handsome wood-paneled galleries were pleasantly lighted by the porthole windows in the corners, and the galleries themselves were set-up in a downward cascading spiral pattern around the service core.) While everyone is, of course, entitled to their own taste, I find negative reactions to this building to be puzzling. One of the very first buildings to be designated a NYC landmark was the old Victorian gothic Jefferson Market Courthouse in Greenwhich Village -- which at the time was a soot-encrusted hulk bedecked in pigeon droppings. Ada Louise said about this building, something like, "If you can landmark this building, you can landmark anything." While I love old Jeff, I have to admit that for me THIS was an acquired taste (abetted by a thorough cleaning and sympathetic remodeling). I find 2 Columbus Circle, in contrast, to be very easy to like -- especially in comparison to many, many other buildings in quirky styles that have been landmarked in addition to old Jeff. Plus it would be great for NYC to be able to showcase three different "small" intact private museums, each of which illustrate a different approach to 20th Century musuem design by a distinguished 20th Century architect: the Guggenheim, the Whitney and 2 Columbus Circle.

bill

Tue, 25 May 2004 14:42:50 -0500

FYI: The organization is called the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

ozz

Tue, 25 May 2004 13:34:21 -0500

Have you ever had to work in one of these modernist prisons? Not a single damn window on the thing. It's an emblem of a time when designers thought their movements and their styles were more important than the environments they were creating for unfortunate people to inhabit. (Not that our time is necessarily any wiser). But if we're going to keep it, could we maybe just use it for storage? It'd make a fine mausoleum . . .

Erin

Tue, 25 May 2004 11:57:11 -0500

They must have taken down the ugly fence. Oddly, I just noticed it for the first time when I was walking past there last night. My first thought was, "Wow, that looks kind of out of place," especially in the shadow of the Time Warner Center. It's an odd-looking building, but New York is full of odd-looking buildings. I hope it stays as-is.

yojimbot

Tue, 25 May 2004 10:59:25 -0500

its a failure of modernist design. cool idea but lousy execution. it has to go.

Scott

Tue, 25 May 2004 10:21:52 -0500

I haven't seen it lately -- have they taken down that ugly fencing that surrounded the whole first level? That made it seem one step away from the wrecking ball.

David

Tue, 25 May 2004 09:10:54 -0500

I really hope nothing happens to this building. While I may not love the design, the fact that it is such a controversy makes it incredibly distinct. And like the Time Warner Center, it's the only other building that reinforces the shape of Columbus Circle. It's also a nice contrast to the surrounding buildings, including the Trump Building and those nasty looking ones along Central Park South.