Gothamist: Whitney Museum Eyes Downtown for Expansion Site

Jill

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:02:14 -0500

Yes, apparently it did. The Koolhaas design would have cost $200 million and the Graves design was estimated at $37 million. Thanks for the heads up, JR.

JR

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:27:53 -0500

Whoa there. You say: "in 2003, it shelled out $200 million for a Rem Koolhaas design that never saw the light of day." But today's Times has: "Maxwell Anderson, the Whitney’s previous director, said the museum spent nearly $6 million in architectural, engineering and legal fees to develop the Koolhaas design." That's a mighty big difference. Methinks your exhaustion set in before the last line.

notshowalter

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:15:58 -0500

these brownstones may be "historic" but the two that were to be torn down are decrepit, uninhabitable, and beyond repair. The Piano scheme merely calls for preserving the brownstones' facades and giving the illusion of preservation. Mostly the neighbors weren't as concerned with the historic character of the neighborhood as much as they were with a tall building "casting shadow onto their tomato plants". And I'm not making that up, someone really did say that. I was there. OK, so one person was genuinely concerned about inevitable damage to his house's foundation during excavation but I think he was bought off. I wish these people would use their clout and money and put all their effort into something worthwhile like renewable energy sources, not a cultural institution using their legal right to expand a worldlcass museum that just happens to be two blocks from their house. Crap.

free fridays

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:13:24 -0500

They should move the whole museum and tell the UES to go screw itself. And with that much in costs, will the Whitney be the first to crack the $30 admission barrier? I'm getting tired of paying for vanity projects of museum boards. The new MoMA is hideous. With all of the money in this town it would be nice if these museums were better endowed. I guess you can get a wing named after you but not the endowment.

nick

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:42:43 -0500

how many historic brownstones does the city need?? we cant preserve everything.