It Looked Familiarish
From a story starring two old comic characters not seen much any more, Green Hornet and Miss Fury, the headquarters
Journal
Our work with old buildings has us studying a lot of different topics in addition to structural engineering – for example, architecture, history, and historic preservation – and we like sharing stories about what we’ve found.
It Looked Familiar: Oldey Timey
The first appearance of Batman: Note that the idea behind Detective Comics was that it would feature different detectives every
Again, A Matter Of Taste
There are times I almost get why people like the International Style. Clean lines, a nice pretense at rationality (see
Working As Intended
From one of Ellen’s projects, a “government anchor”: We find these in buildings, but not as often as we should.
A Lot Of Construction
From February 16, 1932, Rockefeller Center: It was probably taken from a high-floor window or the roof of 609 Fifth
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
First, from the Wurts Brothers, a view of the decorative spire at the Empire State Building from, most likely, the
Visible Genealogy
Maybe I’m kidding myself., but I feel like this is a good example of a building that shows you exactly
A Distinction
I’ve argued elsewhere that structural engineers are, in some ways, victims of our own success. in the mid-1800s, people were
It Looked Familiar: Again
Yelena Belova – the White Widow – attends a clandestine meeting: Bethesda Terrace and the Angel of the Waters fountain
Straining To Catch Up
The mid-twentieth century had some real weirdnesses in terms of building technology in the US, mostly caused by the combined
Development Of A Block, With Bonus Weird Ghost
I was out in Turtle Bay (AKA the eastmost part of midtown) and took some pictures of a construction site:
Natural Intelligence
Before handwriting recognition, bar codes, and national zip codes, the Post Office had people. Brooklyn Postal Station S, at 1075
Not Quite a Vermiform Appendix
Behold the glory that is the Franklin Avenue Shuttle: In addition to its not-very-New-York-like construction as an elevated, skulking through
Grading Height On A Curve
The Wurts Brothers give us the Williamsburgh Bank Tower on Hanson Place in Brooklyn, sometime in the 1930s, with the
Neon
From the Times, an elegy for neon: Last Call for Neon in New York City. In general, my reaction to
Building Investigation For Dummies
On the left, the original brick high parapet from the 1910s. On the right, the side of a roof bulkhead
Virtualization Of A Sort
Curtesy, again, of the Wurts Brothers, we have the underside of the Jamaica elevated (now the J train) running over
Lucy Moses Award: The Nivola Horses at Stephen Wise Towers
A project that we worked on received a Lucy Moses award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy this year. It is not
Genuinely Shocking
From the New York Public Library’s collection, two photos by the Wurts Brothers. First Coney Island Hospital at Shore Parkway
Various Options
A very old survivor in east midtown: We’ve got a very slender cast-iron column not quite in the middle of