The New Year Opening Bang: Roosevelt Island Collapse

2008_01_smhp2.JPG

You might remember the Southpoint Competition a year or so ago, which proposed preserving the old asylum at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, NYC. We do: we submitted an entry for it. The former building is load bearing masonry, with stone facing, and is vaguely castle-like. For some this building represents some kind of pinnacle of Gothic Revival Architecture. We don't get that, probably because we attended a university that was designed by Cope and Stewardson. A few castellated cornices does not groundbreaking Gothic Revival make, but that is our opinion.

Anyone who has visited the asylum knows that the old building is little more than a ruin, stabilized by luck, some steel, and a lot of ivy. And some theatrical uplighting. Which made the idea of preserving it something short of silly, both from a cost standpoint and a use standpoint. It's frankly more interesting as a ruin...turning it into a building again would make it bland again.

At any rate, the old walls have tipped definitively (ouch, sorry for unintended pun) into the ruin category. It has partially collapsed. If a building collapses on Roosevelt Island, does anyone see it? Well, yes. A week later, we totally get word of it.

Via Curbed, who also has some other interesting links to follow on the subject of crumbling NYC buildings.

Advertisement

Support our advertisers because they help keep the content free.

If you're interested in advertising, contact us.

Email This