May 2003 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

The mother of all Modernist public places: Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, podium level, completed 1973.

The farther back the 20th century recedes, the more you shake your head and wonder what was going through their minds. Perhaps the imperial impulse is endemic to all societies, whether they are theocratic despotisms or bureaucratic democracies. You acquire enough wealth and power and terrible things happen. Gov. Nelson Rockefeller wasn't a bad guy. He did it all for the sake of aesthetics, being a "modern" art connoisseur. The architect was Wallace K. Harrison, better known for the UN building in Manhattan. What they came up with was a place that only a Toltec could love.

Considering I took this shot at lunchtime (12:15) on the first nice spring day. . . and considering that the four towers are full of toiling state workers, the emptiness of the vast plaza is rather remarkable. Conclusion: it totally sucks.

As America (and New York with it) enter the era of political psychosis attending the downside of the global oil curve, this place will surely become a favorite spot for the bloodletters.