All good things end — architecture included. Yesterday, we showed you nine buildings lost to the sands of time. Gizmodo readers responded with their own contributions to the list. Who knew there were so many mourned buildings?
We’ve rounded up some of the most intriguing comments you guys left on the original post. It turns out that there are many buildings long gone but not forgotten — check them out below.
Richfield Oil tower in Los Angeles, 1928-1969
[tonyschmo; Images: Martin Turnbull]
Philadelphia’s Broad Street Station 1881-1953
[carbonrain; Images: Wikipedia]
Cincinnati’s Old Main Library, 1874-1955
“Cincinnati nerd here. It’s remarkable how little attention is paid to this building, even among the circles of the City’s plentiful history and architecture nerds. Photographic documentation of the building is incredibly sparse, but it’s a complete gem.” [andyfortson; timateo81; Images: Moon to Moon]
Minneapolis Metropolitan Building, 1890-1961
“Once, in college, while procrastinating studying for some overly specific elective on an engineering topic I knew I’d never touch again, I came across a book that looked interesting.
This book first introduced me to the greatly lamented Metropolitan Building in Minneapolis, that managed to escape early rounds of building razing, but was bulldozed in 1961, after surviving so long. This building was, to date, the most beautiful and momentous construction in Minnesota.” [bdsimmons2; Images: Wikipedia]
BrainForest adds that “it was also a very innovative building, with a full-height atrium and glass elevators, floors, and stairs, so offices got natural light from inside and out.”
The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, 1893-1906
“No shout out to the liberal arts building from the Chicago world’s fair? That building was quite the looker in my opinion.” [CheesyJif; Images: Domu]
Omaha Post Office Building, 1898-1966
I always mourned that I never got to see the old Omaha Post Office building, torn down in 1966. [MrGlitch; Image: Omaha.com]
Atlantic City’s Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel, 1906-1978
[lemonsmark and Nargus; Images: Wikipedia and Woodhaven Historic]
Reno’s Mapes Hotel, 1947-2000
[Gary; Image: Scott Schrantz and Around Carson]
Rochester’s Central Station, 1914-1978
“Rochester, NY lost many buildings during urban renewal – but our lost train station was pretty bad. Central Station in Rochester is rated as the 7th most beautiful train station in the US – but was demolished in the 60s (our temporary station has been in place ever since…yikes).” [Dan Howell; Image: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division]
Muncie Delaware County Courthouse, 1885-1966
“Mostly because it was replaced by this monstrosity.” [dhbaldwin; Image: Davis County Courthouse]
Detroit’s Old City Hall, 1871-1961
“I would nominate Old City Hall in Detroit for this list. Built in 1871, razed in 1961.”[Newspapermann; Image: Historic Detroit]
Boston’s Elevated El Train, 1900s-1987
“Not a building, but I was sad to see the elevate E line go in Boston.” [fadecomic; Images: Boston Public Library and The Elevated]
The Portland Hotel, 1884-1951
“Demolished to make way for the cesspool known as Pioneer Courthouse Square.” [Brandon Freel; Image: The Oregon History Project]
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Auto Showroom, 1957-2012
“I find that interiors are often overlooked when it comes to preservation. Traditionally, we prioritise the facade regardless of what actually happens to the guts of the building — the programmatic space that, increasingly, gives a structure its identity or, at the very least, is typically in conversation with its exterior — (a point that’s been flaring up in relation to the Folk Art Museum).” [Gary-X]
John Marshall High School, 1901-1960s
The John Marshall High School in Richmond VA was demolished in the 60s.When it was built in 1909 it was considered the nicest, grandest (and most expensive) high school in the South. [HiMyNameIsJayAgain; Image: Vintage Richmond]
Portland, Maine’s Union Station, 1888-1961
“In Portland Maine we lost this beautiful train station which was replaced by a strip mall with a Dollar Tree. The new train station is in a ridiculous location that is impossible to walk to. WTF?” [HighStrungLoner]
“In the mid- to late-1800s, my city of Bangor, Maine, was the lumber capital of the world and a stopping point for Henry David Thoreau’s travels. By the 1960s, some of its glory had faded and city planners enacted a policy of Urban Renewal. It was terrible, and we lost a ton of historic buildings, including Union Station, a famous train station with a prominent clock tower. Residents of the city still rue this period to this day.” [mchabe; Image: Wikipedia and Renaissance Restorations]
The Barcelona Pavilion, 1929-1930
[CleverUsername; Image: Jim on Flickr]
The Masonic Temple Building, 1892-1939
“Built in 1892 by Burnham and Root, this 22-story “skyscraper” was long the tallest building in the city.” [Werunbushwick; Images: Wikipedia and Appstate]
