Monthly Archives: August 2020

Still attacking Kennedy Plaza

Posted on August 31, 2020 by David Brussat

A sensible plan to renovate Kennedy Plaza attractively without evicting public transit from Providence’s central square – by far its most logical location – was submitted in 2013, designed by Union Studio. In 2015, this plan was frog-marched out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fly train through Wuppertal

Posted on August 26, 2020 by David Brussat

This old video, just over two minutes in length, takes viewers through the western German city of Wuppertal, population 354,382 (almost double that of Providence), on a “flying”  or “floating” train a year after its completion in 1901. The Schwebebahn … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

‘Ask Dr. Downtown’ revisited

Posted on August 22, 2020 by David Brussat

In my last post, “Modern Diner, USModernist,” I promised USModernist talk host George Smart (aka Mr. Modernism) to send him an example of my old “Ask Dr. Downtown” columns, from when I did a column of architecture criticism every Thursday … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Modern Diner, USModernist

Posted on August 19, 2020 by David Brussat

Great good news! I just now learned that, after half a year of closure, the excellent Modern Diner, in Pawtucket, has reopened. There is, I should say, nothing modern about the Modern Diner, just a ways down Hope Street, then … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Paris of the Middle East

Posted on August 16, 2020 by David Brussat

It’s been several decades since Beirut was commonly known as the Paris of the Middle East. The recent explosion, which devastated the port and wreaked serious damage on nearby central areas of the city, only adds to its problems – … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Creative capitulation in Prov

Posted on August 12, 2020 by David Brussat

In recent decades, art in Providence has served as a wrecking ball aimed not just at beauty but at the very concept of art, in a city that depends on art for its historical character, even as it brands itself … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Gehry Ike in its kitschy glory

Posted on August 8, 2020 by David Brussat

Frank Gehry’s monument to hims– oops, I mean to Dwight Eisenhower, does not open to the public until this Sept. 18, pushed back by the pandemic from May 8, the 75th anniversary of his victory in the European theater of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Notre-Dame: Copy the past

Posted on August 3, 2020 by David Brussat

It seems as if French President Emmanuel Macron has turned totally about on designing the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame after its fire of last year. After the conflagration he called for a modernist rebuild. About a year later, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments