Tuesday, June 23, 2009

those who don't know history...

I wrote about the Detroit City Council's decision to tear down the Central Depot (using stimulus package money!) a few months ago, but thought about it again when I saw this article, "Demolished! 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell to the Wrecking Ball", that shows pictures of the now gone train stations and of what is in their place.

My favorite, if you can call it that, is Chicago's Grand Central Station which was replaced by a vacant lot. (the lot is still vacant 40 years later.)

Old Penn Station in New York was called "the best thing about our city," and then torn down.

from The Infrastructurist.

6 comments:

Abbie Lee said...

Things like this make me want to hurl a wrecking ball at whoever made that decision.


Classic that it was funded by the stimulus package.

abigail said...

me too!

Steven said...

The Colosseum was an eye sore for what... about 1500 years before it was cherished as a monument. Thankfully it survived numerous stimulus packages.

Dionne said...

I can't believe such beautiful buildings so rich in history can be torn down like that. It's so sad!

Courtney said...

I think I wrote quite a diatribe on your previous post about Detroit's Central Depot, but really I hate our overall lack of appreciation for history in this country; historic preservation is so undervalued. Beautiful buildings though.

abigail said...

Courtney, you did and i loved it.
there is something rotten in American culture that we don't recognize the beauty and value in these buildings.