Tuesday, January 15, 2013

New York City's original Death Star

We had a post yesterday about 51 Astor Place, including quotes from developer Edward J. Minskoff from The Wall Street Journal. (Flashback: "it's great-looking, it fits in to the neighborhood, it's not overbearing.")

So, you know, at least one neighborhood blogger and several readers who just obviously don't appreciate great-looking architecture have dubbed 51 Astor Place the "Death Star."

Meanwhile! Turns out that this isn't the city's first Death Star... Crazy Eddie came across this Shorpy photo from 1902...


Per the caption, "The Waldorf-Astoria, New York." The original, and somewhat forbidding, Waldorf at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. Complete with the obligatory windowsill milk bottle.

Of course, this Death Star had a short life... In 1929, the original Waldorf-Astoria was demolished to make way for something called the Empire State Building. (Did plans for that ever move forward?)

Not sure I'd describe that old Waldorf as a "Death Star." Maybe we can swap this out for 51 Astor? Dibs on the corner room at the top.
at

5 comments:

  1. Ken from Ken's KitchenJanuary 15, 2013 at 7:57 AM

    Brrrr. Perfect for a Tim Burton remake of the Shining.

    ReplyDelete
  2. GojiraJanuary 15, 2013 at 9:49 AM

    Far more attractive and welcoming than 51 Astor Place. I'll take it any day over that excrescence, which will never sport a humble milk bottle on one of its windowsills. Which it doesn't have anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    That building (the Waldorf-Astoria) is an absolute monstrosity. Good to see that horrible aesthetic design isn't a new phenomenon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marty WombacherJanuary 15, 2013 at 12:20 PM

    Great find by Crazy Eddie!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    Wow! How do you just demolish a structure like that? Not only mentally (it's beautiful and must have been such process to build) but also physically, after it had stood for such a short time? Wild.

    ReplyDelete

Your remarks and lively debates are welcome, whether supportive or critical of the views herein. Your articulate, well-informed remarks that are relevant to an article are welcome.

However, commentary that is intended to "flame" or attack, that contains violence, racist comments and potential libel will not be published. Facts are helpful.

If you'd like to make personal attacks and libelous claims against people and businesses, then you may do so on your own social media accounts. Also, comments predicting when a new business will close ("I give it six weeks") will not be approved.