Ugliest Building in New York?

bloo_mountain: 11th Oct 2007 - 19:05 GMT

It's like Albert Speer meets Orwell's 1984, circa 1997. Does that make it the ugliest building in New York?

Probably just in the running.

anon (cpe-68-175-92-187.nyc.res.rr.com): 11th Oct 2007 - 19:06 GMT

I always thought the tall black monstrosity on the east side that looms over central park was the ugliest building in new york.

quarkwiz: 11th Oct 2007 - 19:20 GMT

The Metro Mall, on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village (at the end of the M line), is a horrific, brown-walled, brutally ugly monster of a building. I'd say it should definitely be on a shortlist for Ugliest Buildings in New York.

dangerduckie21: 11th Oct 2007 - 19:24 GMT

that's the ugliest building you can find in NYC?!! Come on over to Cleveland or Detroit, we can show you some buildings that make that thing look like a mini-palace...hell, this one doesn't even have any burn marks or busted out parts of walls!

Peter: 11th Oct 2007 - 19:26 GMT

dangerduckie: if theyre in cleveland or detroit, it would be hard for them to qualify for the title of ugliest buildings in new york, yeah?

sure, nyc has more run-down and burned out places- it is, after all, one of the most urban/blighted/largest cities in the world... i guess im focusing more on this in regards to "public architecture" and not "the burned out crackhouse on the corner"...

My Laptop Is Evil: 11th Oct 2007 - 20:40 GMT

IMO, it looks like it just needs a paint job and some modernized protective gratings.

It does look bad, but not completely beyond hope.

webmd: 11th Oct 2007 - 20:40 GMT

I think the fact that it stands by itself, is shuttered up and clearly not in use (or much use) its what is most ugly about it. And yet, not far is that really cool, eerie old Child's restaurant, also shuttered up but fascinating in its faded glory.

The way this place looks now, it's like a prison buiding. Or a SUNY dorm.:b

Peter: 11th Oct 2007 - 20:42 GMT

webmd: child's isnt shuttered anymore! theyre currently renovating it... i have some recent shots of it- its going to be the subject of my next post...

Franny Wentzel: 11th Oct 2007 - 20:50 GMT

Not even close! The buildings of the New York Plaza are by far the most ass-raping ugliest buildings in The City. Even worse is that they're the first buildings one sees coming up the Hudson River. The Titanic took the easy way out rather than risk having see them one day.

Peter: 11th Oct 2007 - 20:52 GMT

curiously, this was my 666th post on citynoise :-0

chai curious: 12th Oct 2007 - 03:48 GMT

i kinda like the one ny plaza building and i want no part of any ass-rapin'

sorchawench: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:23 GMT

Ugly or not, at least it appears to be zombie proof.

Dabroots: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:28 GMT

At least it's not a very big building.

My choice is the horrible State Supreme Court Building on Court Street. Looks like a leftover from the Stalinist USSR:

Poulet in Bondage: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:30 GMT

Awww, really? I'm kind of fond of them. Anyway, there are uglier buildings in New York--I second the Supreme Court in Brooklyn. It looks like it was designed by Stalin.

Melograna: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:32 GMT

The parking garage in Queens Plaza is among the ugliest buildings I've seen anywhere, let alone in NYC

Director Dale: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:33 GMT

The Adam Clayton Powell Junior State Office Building in Harlem

Shanghai: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:34 GMT

no way, i love that place! beautiful concrete i wish i could buy it and turn it into an art space.

Christina: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:35 GMT

It's actually still very much in use. It was built in the 70s, I think. I know they definitely still use the ice rink. There's a few apartment complexes nearby as well and the place gets a good amount of kids.

Though a lot of stuff in the area is either lots, construction, or apartments. There's a lot of downtrodden space in various areas of Coney Island.

Anon.: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:40 GMT

Nice post. I surfed in from curbed.com/archives/2007/10/11/thursday_pm_linkage.php - this is a good site here!

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 12th Oct 2007 - 13:52 GMT

Certainly is Stark, Abe or not.
I vote Queens Plaza, right off the 59th street bridge most ugly.

Peter: 12th Oct 2007 - 14:01 GMT

the above-mentioned post on Child's Restaurant is here, by the way...

Marquis: 12th Oct 2007 - 20:21 GMT

I like it. I've seen uglier. Like the plywood "mcmansions" being put up around whitestone. I'd rather live in the picture above, than in a shitty palace in whitestone!

Gordynate: 15th Oct 2007 - 13:03 GMT

This one would win, I think, but the truck redeems it.

And yes, the truck is built in forced perspective, in case anyone wondered why it looks so oddly shaped.

trip: 26th Oct 2007 - 04:37 GMT

that abe starks sports center looks more like a county jail or somethin

JOEY TPA - THE PUBLIC ANIMALS: 30th Oct 2007 - 09:45 GMT

Pace University could be considered a pretty ugly non-soulful building.

george: 2nd Feb 2008 - 16:58 GMT

i remember when the west side highway was still elevated that far down. past the intrepid. im 28 now but this was like 1983 maybe? that truck was still there back then but it had an american flag painted on it!!!

an_architect: 14th Jul 2008 - 21:03 GMT

well its a good thing most of people reporting "architecture hazzards" aren't architects...You know architecture doesn't just come and go...it stays for sometime...and designers work hard to show people how to consider the visual elements at play...everyone is always comparing old architecture with new stuff...expecting tremendous results from the past....you can't have everything you want all the time when a building is created and built....

Peter: 18th Aug 2008 - 00:27 GMT

another view:

still ugly...

Rich: 11th Nov 2008 - 23:53 GMT

That truck in front of the building on the westside hwy may have been reconstructed but this truck has been in this same location for a very long time. I remember when I was very young and the westside hwy was elevated, the truck had working headlights and the silouette of a man with an old applejack cap and the tires had lights on them that blinked in a revolving motion that made it appear the truck was moving. Some may think it's an ugly addition to this building but it's a landmark or should be.