Category Archives: Preservation

Biggest little whaling ship

Posted on October 5, 2015 by David Brussat

The Lagoda, at 89 feet in length and on display in the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s central Bourne Building, has been described variously as the largest model whaling ship and the largest model ship in the world. It was built … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Books and Culture, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lovely N.B. whaling district

Posted on October 5, 2015 by David Brussat

New Bedford’s Whaling National Historical Park, the preserved area of downtown that reflects the city’s famous industry, long gone and, some will say, thankfully so, is lovely nevertheless. Billy and I walked around a bit, visited the Whaling Museum (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, Photography, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Astonishing Ishmael in N.B.

Posted on October 4, 2015 by David Brussat

Traveling with my son Billy to New Bedford today, eager to check out the new addition to its famous Whaling museum, here is my column from 1997 about the Whaling City. The aquarium proposed for N.B. has not yet been … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Botching history in Newport

Posted on September 30, 2015 by David Brussat

In 1997, the Newport Historical Society hired Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the New York Times at the time and then the author of The New Yorker’s storied “The Sky Line” column (and today the critic at Vanity Fair), to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Architecture and happiness

Posted on September 23, 2015 by David Brussat

In “Why the ‘happiest’ cities are boring,” John Kay of the Financial Times makes a series of very important distinctions between happy cities and great cities, and in doing so he challenges most of the reigning official definitions of happiness … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Books and Culture, Development, Other countries, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mod dorms bite the dust

Posted on September 22, 2015 by David Brussat

Perhaps the worst-looking project proposed for the I-195 corridor has been abandoned. It is hard to say whether this is good news or bad news, given Rhode Island’s need to develop the land. How nice it would be to read … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, I-195 Redevelopment District, Preservation, Providence, Providence Journal, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Understand the Victorian

Posted on September 21, 2015 by David Brussat

Stephen Bayley, the architecture critic for the Telegraph, has written “Some Victorian buildings should be left to die.” He is correct, but some is a vague word, to say the least. “All modernist buildings should be left to die” is … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Books and Culture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

How not to “rebrand” R.I.

Posted on September 21, 2015 by David Brussat

Rooting around online in search of a website for the Metamorphosis dance troupe I saw in Pawtucket on Saturday afternoon, I came across what seems to me a perfect example of how not to “brand” Rhode Island. The pitch is … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, I-195 Redevelopment District, Preservation, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Staff surrounds Eiffel Tower

Posted on September 19, 2015 by David Brussat

Unforgettable forgotten moments from the past are pictured in this romp called “Unrocognizable Paris: The Monuments that Vanished,” on the blog MessynessyChic.com. The well-illustrated piece recalls when the Champ de Mars was filled with monuments made of “staff,” a mixture … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Old Video, Other countries, Photography, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

High tech on I-195 corridor

Posted on September 18, 2015 by David Brussat

“Display could light former 195 land” Find the typo in the headline above. … Give up? The letter b in “blight” was accidentally dropped. The headline should have read “Display could blight former 195 land.” Seriously, the headline, which appeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, I-195 Redevelopment District, Preservation, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments