Multiple readings that we have discussed in this class mention how limited and valuable space is in NYC. Many of us have ideas about utilizing spaces that are abandoned, or in a state of decay. The High Line is a perfect example of repurposing an abandoned unused site into a public space. Other times repurposing a structure can be fundamentally wrong. This picture is of a building on New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn. It can be seen from the D train and I would often wonder why it was different from the buildings surrounding it. As I recently found out the building used to be Loew’s 46th Street Theatre. It has recently been transformed into another mixed-use rental. I know we need more housing to accommodate the ever increasing population, but this was a rich historical site. Destroying traces of the past this way is wrong.
I found these images of what the building looked like inside online and I was speechless. I was stunned and I am very upset that I never got to see it before it was destroyed.
I think NYC needs to make an effort to keep up old buildings instead of always building new ones. Our train system is so old, but the city is always trying to improve on it, we should be doing the same thing with buildings. Instead getting rid of them and rebuilding in its spaces, developers should be using the history and beauty of these old buildings to build on the character they already have.