A Building for the Modern Age

Every building should tell a story - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
Today it is muggy and warm. It rained earlier and the humid air gives me an all-over sticky feeling. My yard is very happy so I’ll try to be OK with it.

My blog topic today is of minor historical and cultural note -- I speak of none other than the Empire State Building in Manhattan that I visited in 1998. My thoughts about the building are not especially structured so I’ll just throw out some bulleted observations..

o The 103-story 1931 tower is an outstanding example of art deco. It has a more commanding presence than really any other New York building.
o It’s one of the tallest structures in midtown so it stands out sharply.
o It was built in 410 days, a schedule that would be daunting even now.
o It cost $40,948,000 even in depression-era dollars.
o The building was a culmination of roaring-20’s confidence but was completed just as the depression started.
o Its many vacant floors resulted in the nickname “Empty State Building”.
o The building has starred in 3 famous movies -- King Kong, An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle.
o It was included as one of the Seven Wonders of the World -- and still is a huge tourist draw in New York.
o It’s not the newest, tallest or most expensive building even in New York.. but it’s an almost universal reference point for “tall modern skyscraper”.

Just as with people, it stands as proof that style, stance and perseverance are just about as important as anything else. At least for the lasting impression.

Let's consider -- what is a famous tall building anywhere in Texas? We have some, and a commercial real estate agent would be glad to point you towards Thanksgiving or Reunion Towers in downtown Dallas. We have historically great structures like San Antonio’s Alamo and Austin’s Capitol Building.. But nothing -- absolutely nothing in Texas projects the midcentury can-do confidence of Manhattan’s art deco tour de force. The embossed mural on the ground floor tells the story of technological victory in Modern Times - a miracle decade of jazz music, skyscrapers, sports cars, flappers and all that man can do in his pursuit of business or pleasure.

Could the Empire State Building be built ever again in Texas or New York? Let’s say a modern 21st century facsimile? Let me count the ways and reasons not ..

o Real estate investors wouldn’t want to cede an entire city block for one building.
o Since 9/11 tall buildings are considered a security risk.
o Tall buildings might also be considered non-ecological.
o We live in an age of muted, me-too architecture -- a building which proclaims itself or emblazons a confident story would be considered too cocky and overconfident. -- politically incorrect.

Ask yourself -- what’s the last nice, new public building you entered in the USA? You probably said, “This is OK”... nothing like “Let me get a picture… Let me post this on Facebook”. There are some exceptions to my architectural critique although few and far between. The Getty Museum in LA is a stand-out. But much as I earlier described 2014 cars as bland “competent boxes”, I could use the identical words to describe new buildings in 2014. In closing, let us pay homage to the place and the time that gave us an American symbol, a true wonder of the world -- the Empire State Building.

Addendum 5/11/14 -- It's funny to note that The Mindy Project just did an entire show based around the Empire State Building in last week's episode. It's part of our national lexicon -- we can't get away from it. :-)

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