The Future Isn't Quite What Hugh Imagined

New York, NY - Franny Wentzel - Monday, June 7th, 2010 : goo

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Many of you are familiar with Hugh Ferris's concept sketches of the kind of building you might get from the limits set by the 1916 Zoning Resolution

The final form has been published often...

But how often have you seen the finished building?

Or it's neoclassical variant?

Mr Ferris further developed the concept into a futurescape...

...that saw life on the silver screen inthe 1930 film Just Imagine depicting The City in 1980

Am optimistic proposal was made for The Sara Delano Park area...

...sometime around the 1939 Worlds Fair.

One of the many schemes for a new City Hall was this one reminiscent of what got built for Los Angeles

This scheme by the Starrett Company for a 100 storey office megablock was likely one of the reasons for the 1916 rezoning

The 1920s saw many a curious proposal - like this fifty storey tower based of the Washington Monument

This was a single tower proposal for the Majestic apartment buildings on Central Park West

This is a Mayan-inspired proposal

This looks more like a 1980s attempt at Art Deco

Hugh Ferris meets The Gherkin

A German Expressionist tower...

...whose big brother nearly got built by Met Life

The Phone Company toyed with a couple ideas...

For it's building on Barcley & Vesey Streets

The Irving Trust building also went through...

...a few concept sketches

Old man Chrysler went through several designs...

...before getting it right

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Louis: ditto... unreal

Janet: A revelation! Thanks for posting

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