Travel back to a time when that eyesore of a Verizon Building wasn’t jutting out of the city’s skyline. This image is pretty self-explanatory, showing the skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge, and as it looked from that viewpoint during the years 1876, 1932, 1988, and a rendering of what it could look like next year. Since there’s such a big chunk of time missing there, here’s some video showing the same area in different decades. First, the 1970s: [ more › ]
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See The City Skyline Change, From 1876 To 2013
Apparently the Supreme Court’s decision is not good enough to the NY State Legislature when it comes to allowing religious groups to worship in city schools. Last June, the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals ruled that NYC public schools can prohibit religious services , and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case , letting the Second Circuit’s decision stand. But, still, the State Senate will consider a bill to allow religious services in schools . And the NYCLU wants to remind lawmakers why it’s a terrible idea. [ more › ]
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NYCLU Explains Why Churches Shouldn’t Worship In Schools
A cyclist is seriously injured today after colliding with a barrier on Varick Street near the Holland Tunnel. DNAinfo reports that the unidentified man was headed south on Varick Street around 2:30 p.m. when he tried to make a right turn onto Dominick Street. But there was a divider in the middle of the street that the cyclist either didn’t see or underestimated, and he went down hard on the pavement. [ more › ]
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Cyclist Seriously Injured In Collision With Varick Street Barrier
As Leonard Cohen once kind of sang , “We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky/and lost among the subway crowds I try to sing the Super Mario Bros. Theme song.” It might have just been a fantasy back in 1968, but Gypsy Joe Trane is making Cohen’s dream come true: below, watch a video of Trane performing the theme to Super Mario Brothers on an uptown R-train recently. As the video uploader put it, “This was one of the most entertaining rides I’ve had on the R. I like subway performers and these guys had the best approach I’ve seen: just stand and jam for many stops.” Let’s just hope that the pro-Koopa Troopas lobby doesn’t get wind of this. [ more › ]
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Video: Super Mario Bros. Theme Song On The R Train
NASA’s Image of the Day is this picture of a “massive crack across the Pine Island Glacier, a major ice stream that drains the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.” [ more › ]
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Beautiful, Depresssing Photo Of 19-Mile Crack In Antarctic Glacier
Click the image above to view the full photogallery. You can’t swing a dead cat in this country without hitting some architectural relic of a bygone era; in the case of midcentury modernism, it’s clean lines, boxy volumes, and ample use of glass that recalls the aesthetic that rose to popularity in the ’50s. Take this 1953 New Canaan commission by Philip Johnson. Immediately after completing his renowned Glass House, the architect endeavored to build a home for his friend Alice Ball. The completed product features expanses of glass, a stucco facade, and a pristine white interior. The 1,700-square-foot house was nearly demolished a few years ago, but, thankfully for preservationists, the owner was blocked from pursuing her dreams of building a new, larger home on the site. Today the totally intact and well-preserved Alice Ball House asks $2.795M. Despite the pedigree and the lovely look, it’s been listed for more than 1,200 days. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The Wolfson Trailer House is a 1949 commission by Marcel Brueur. Sited on 10 acres in the hamlet of Salt Point, N.Y., the four-bedroom home was designed around a Royal Mansion Spartan Trailer and includes a separate artist’s studio, which was added in 1960. Total square footage, 4,100; list price, just under $1M. Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos: Todd Eberle/ Wright 20 ↑ Located on .75 leafy acres in Philly’s pretty Chestnut Hill neighborhood, this Louis Kahn -designed one-bedroom failed to sell at auction in 2008 and is now listed for $1.5M. The 2,700-square-foot Esherick House was built in 1961 for Margaret Esherick, niece of Wharton Esherick, a sculptor and the man who designed the custom kitchen. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ The only celebrity home on this list, the Hollywood Hills mansion that once belonged to Heath Ledger (and before that, Ellen Degeneres) was built in 1951 and has perks such as an outdoor movie lounge and “multiple seating areas perched in the trees.” The two-bedrooms, two-bathroom, 1,800-square-foot “Treehouse,” as it’s known, is now asking $2.795M. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ This 1,700-square-foot ranch home in Lansing, Mich.,was built in 1958 by William Kessler, the architect who designed the nearby Michigan Historical Center and was once called “the dean of Detroit’s architectural community” by the Detroit Free Press. It was here where Kessler, who studied under Bauhaus master Walter Gropius at Harvard, lived; the home has three peaked sections (dining room/lounge, living room/kitchen/family room, bedrooms), and was most recently asking $159K —although the listing was removed from Zillow at the tail end of last year. · Philip Johnson’s Follow-up to Glass House Worth More Than Wetlands [Curbed National] · Marcel Breuer-Designed Midcentury With a Built-In Trailer [Curbed National] · Louis Kahn’s Esherick House Continues to Linger On the Market [Curbed National] · Inside Heath Ledger’s Newly Listed Midcentury “Treehouse” [Curbed National] · The Other Glass House, Built by a Noted Michigan Architect [Curbed National]
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On the Market: Five For-Sale Examples of Beloved Midcentury Modern Style
Photo: 1stDibs The Farralone Estate in Chatsworth, Calif., which was featured as a House of the Day last month, is chock full of celebrity history. Frank Sinatra once sublet the place from its original owner, Chase Manhattan Bank heiress Dora Hutchinson, and Hutchinson entertained the likes of Ava Gardner, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland and Vicente Minnelli here. The most gripping, and most scandalous, episode in the house’s history is an alleged tryst between Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy. Last month, we couldn’t be sure if it were true or not, but 1stDibs has the location narrowed down to the one-bedroom guest house (above) that enjoys use of its own private pool. The sleek little cottage is like a miniature version of the 10,000-foot-main house designed by Pereira & Luckman. Click the image above to view the full photogallery. ↑ Now for a darker scandal, something fit for a Dominick Dunne piece, out of Newport, R.I. This massive mansion, known as Clarendon Court, was the scene of Claus von Bulow’s alleged attack on his wife, Sunny. Mrs. von Bulow ended up in a permanent coma, and Claus was later acquitted of any wrongdoing, but the spectre of guilt still hangs over this place. The spectre of taxes also appears to have been doing a number on the current owners, who don’t seem to have much left over to furnish this seaside palace. That should all change if this house sells for anything close to its $15.8M asking price, down from $17.8M in October 2010. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Back to the more romantic side of things, this suburban Chicago mansion was once the love shack of abdicated British monarch Edward, Duke of Windsor and the twice-divorced socialite Wallis Simpson. In 1941, tragedy again struck the sprawling brick manse as its widower owner, Charles Schweppe, shot himself here. Afterwards, the place wallowed in disrepair before being salvaged by a couple who were later foreclosed upon, this 33,000-square-foot estate is listed for $12M. ↑ While the previous two estates have been sitting on the market for ages now, a couple of other scandalous pads have been snapped up in short order. This one, the famous Dominique Strauss-Kahn townhouse in Manhattan—where the disgraced and later acquitted DSK holed up during the run-up to trial—either leased or sold about two weeks ago. The price was $50K per month or $12.5M, which means someone got a mightily expensive Christmas gift this year. Click the image above to view the full photogallery. ↑ Before Mr. Bernie Madoff came along and dominated the genre, the Tyco scandal was set to be the financial trial of the century. The ringleader of this merry band of fraudsters, Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski, spent millions doing up this seacoast New Hampshire estate in fine nouveau style. Then, when the exec was forced to sell, the next owners came in, tore it all out, and did it all again. Looking for a quick sale, they sent the palatial mansion to auction in 2010, where it sold for $4.1M. · Midcentury Manse with Many, Many Boldface Names Attached [Curbed National] · Farralone Estate [1stDibs] · 626 Bellevue Ave [Libby Kirwin] · Spooky House on a Storied Easy Street [Curbed National] · This Lakefront Mock Brit Once Hosted the Duke of Windsor [Curbed National] · Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s Tribeca House Now Just $12.5M [Curbed NY] · 153 Franklin Street [Streeteasy] · Tyco Crook’s Revamped Palace On Auction Block Today [Curbed National]
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Scandals: Five Luxurious Houses With Famously Unseemly Backstories
NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank, the commander of the International Space Station, saw what he described as a “green glowing arc” rising above the earth’s horizon on Wednesday night. What he caught sight of some 240 miles above Tasmania was actually Comet Lovejoy, a “sungrazer” (a comet on a path that takes it near the sun) recently discovered by amateur astronomer, Terry Lovejoy. Burbank was in awe of the sighting, which you can see in a video below; he called it “the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in space.” [ more › ]
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Video: Space Station Captures Incredible Image Of Comet
Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos: Leigh Davis and Zechariah Vincent/ NYMag Jon Sherman, founder and head designer of the wallpaper firm Flavor Paper, packed up and moved himself and his business to the commercial hinterlands of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, he must have known the new place would have to make a splash. The new industrial-looking building, designed by Jeff Kovel of Skylab Architecture, is kitted out on the interior with some of Flavor Paper’s most striking designs. The roof garden is bordered by bright purple paneling, the master bedroom of Sherman’s personal penthouse is done up in faux fur, and the skylit living room features a deeply textured modern fireplace. Quite a showplace for Flavor Paper’s products, enough to keep clients like Lenny Kravitz and Frank Gehry coming across the river. Click the image above to view the full photogallery. Photos: Payton Turner ↑ For sheer craziness, there’s not much that can top this seemingly-innocuous patterned wall treatment. Produced by Brooklyn-based artist Payton Turner, the design is, in fact, artfully-arranged stickers featuring everything from birthday cakes to butterflies to dollar bills. Perfect for a kid’s bedroom, so long as there’s time to carefully apply thousands of tiny stickers in a designated pattern. Photo: Max Kim-Bee/Veranda ↑ Some big-name interior designers have been going out on a limb with the patterned walls. Martyn Lawrence Bullard used monochrome squiggles on the walls and ceiling of the Veranda Concept House. Bullard said he wanted to give the media room a “Studio 54-Halston vibe.” We’re thinking it might give the occupant a headache instead. Photo: Simon Upton/ Elle Decor ↑ Elle Decor ‘s archives offer up some interesting alternatives to the usual paint and wallpaper. This formal dining room has a series of vases on the sideboard, but they’re accented by unusual wall decals depicting vases. None too surprisingly, this is the dining room of formal-meets-subversion fashion designer Donatella Versace. Photo: Eric Boman/ Elle Decor ↑ In an equally playful alternative to a thousand tiny stickers, the entrance hall of a family’s Manhattan roost was done over with the lyrics to the Rolling Stones classic “Loving Cup.” The multi-colored felt letters were the brainchild of Muriel Brandolini, who, by the way, just opened her own Manhattan apartment to the New York Social Diary. · Factory Life [NYMag] · Please Welcome the World’s Craziest Wallpaper to the Dancefloor [Curbed National] · First Look Inside Veranda’s First-Ever Concept House [Curbed National] · Cover Story [Elle Decor] · Cover Story [Elle Decor] · Inside Muriel Brandolini’s Ever-So-Cool Manhattan Apartment [Curbed National]
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Innovation Week 2011: Innovative Wall Treatments Sure to Spice Up Boring Interiors
Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos: Jeffrey Hirsch/ NYSD House One thinks of a lot of things when the name Muriel Brandolini —darling of daring decor—is floated: colorful stair risers, bright, exotic fabrics, and so on. Her own home, as one learns from today’s New York Social Diary House column, features much more neutral tones but loads of touches no one else on Earth would be able to pull off. Case in point: library walls covered in custom gold silk taffeta, a deep-teal modern bed frame in one room and an ornate 17th-century wood-and-brass Portuguese bed frame in another, upholstered ceilings, and dining room walls “covered in white corduroy from Holland and Sherry. They were hand-beaded in Vietnam by Trinh Ly Quynh Kim with a quotation from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. ” Inspired? Get in line: unfortunately the auction where hundreds of the decorator’s furnishings went on the block has passed. · Muriel Brandolini [NYSD House]
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Designer Homes: Inside Muriel Brandolini’s Ever-So-Cool Manhattan Apartment