Re: General Electric HQ | 244-284 A Street | Fort Point
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Whigh - don't bother responding to this. I'm infrequently on here and nearly always scroll through your posts without reading, and will do the same for whatever wikipedia dump you decide to retort with. The only reason I even noticed this was through the extensive quoting by Sicilian. This post is really for the rest of the forum, because that congress quote is one of my favorites.
Devem -- I'm going to ignore your admonition to not bother to respond -- Why -- because although I don't actually care if you read my posts or not -- others do read them and often thoughtfully comment -- and some even appreciate them.
Note just for your benefit this will all be stream of conscious with no use of Wiki though I may check on some spellings, as that is one of my major communications handicaps
Okay, and here is why I actually decided to respond to your posts. Your "understanding" of Preservation is the antithesis of it's entire modern concept. Let's go to the US Congress, 1966, when they were developing the foundation of historic preservation as we know it. (emphasis mine)
That is all just a matter of opinion as the definition of such changes with "fads" Take for example Sumner Appleton who can be considered one of the progenitors of modern historic preservation. While he saved Paul's House from its ignominious state circa 1900 -- he decided to restore the house to what [people at the time thought] was appropriate [circa 1900 understanding of such] and that was to try to restore the house to its original condition [circa 1700]. Unfortunately, that very act of preservation permanently distorted visitors' ideas about the house when it was inhabited by Paul.
Paul was a kind of late 18th C state-of-the-art guy [introducing rolled copper, etc.] -- its hard to imagine that he would have lived in an essentially medieval house with tiny windows. And most dramatically, we can see the house's former roofline on the wall behind it. More than likely Sumner Appleton removed the very essence of the house as Revere lived in it, and as Paul updated it to meet the style of the time, and to house his huge brood of children.
OK: Point by Point for the rest:
That much is pretty obvious... I've spent some time googling how to fly a plane and have walked around airports, so I should be able to pilot a jet, no? Or are you just knocking an entire industry because you can't wrap your mind around a concept you can't tabulate?
Actually, just because I can "tabulate" or solve a quadratic equation or two -- doesn't by any sense make me immune to appreciating things which are "hard to tabulate" -- rather than a recitation of my interests well beyond engineering and science -- I'll just paraphrase if not quite quote a joke [ostensibly based on a true bit] concerning a meeting of the MIT Faculty.
A professor teaching a humanities course [we were actually required to take such when I was an undergraduate] observed that a student of his -- a John Milton was having a hard time with English Poetry -- the entire faculty chuckled. After a few more mundane issues were discussed, a Math Prof remarked that he'd had a German student a few years back whose name was Karl Gauss. The math Prof went on that Gauss flunked a course in advanced Geometry. The uproarious laughter was limited to the Math, Physics and EE faculty members -- the rest stared dumbfounded.
By the way on the specific matter of historic preservation I was one of the incorporators of the "Friends of the Battle Road" [along with people such as Thomas Boylston Adams] which was established to help the US Park Service in dealing with issues connected with Minuteman Historical Park. We had discussions such as whether to rip a porch off an old farm house when the house was being "restored". The same family had lived on the farm and in the house for many generations since before the Revolution and had added the porch to be "with-it" during the mid 19th C. Our group suggested leaving it -- as it was an organic part of the house -- the Park Service decided to follow its "iron clad" rule book and removed it as it was not circa 1775. Of course just down the road a piece the same Park Service was restoring a house to the mid 19th C [in the same Park although a "different unit"] because it was connected with the Concord Authors [Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott]. We also discussed the surface to be used on the 'Patriots' Path" used by the Minute Companies to skirt around the Red Coat sentries, flankers and grenadiers as they traveled essentially parallel to the Red Coats during the running battle. the Park Service wanted asphalt to make sure it was ADA compliant -- But we won this one.
No one could claim any authenticity for even a formal path -- especially when the Park Service restored the Battle Road itself to gravel and sand [although the historic surface is intentionally buried under the "modern restoration" such as by Hartwell Tavern.In the end we agreed to settle on a stone dust surface with a couple of board walks where there was near-permanent swampyness.
So, actually I have some practical experience with historic preservation -- i didn't just stay in some old Motel 6 or Day's Inn and obtain it through osmosis.
Wrong, it was part of the original construction, as referenced by Sicilian. But don't let facts get in the way of your ramblings...
Actually I'm willing to bet it was not part of the original construction -- but was part of the organic growth of the complex [see above]. Why am I so sure, because when I was last down there looking at the buildings its clear that they are different. Not at all uncommon and the two buildings along Necco Ct which are connected by a smaller bridge have known different dates of construction. i believe that they are 2 or 3 years apart.
Another story -- I did quite a bit of work in Stamford CT for a couple of years as a hybrid between a consultant and an acting Chief Engineer. I often traveled on Amtrak to the Stamford Station [sometime on Amtrak changing to Metro North in New Haven]. Anyway after leaving New Haven and before getting to Stamford the train would travel through the war-zone liked devastation of Bridgeport CT. It was bleak and unpleasant [especially when I was returning after dark]. However, the bleakness was ameliorated by the portion of the trip spent passing the Jenkin's Valve Works -- proudly proclaiming its mastery of valves since 1852 [I think]. As you proceeded along -- you saw a complete history of industrial architecture from the original brick to early 20th C Chicago-style industrial to finally a sheet metal later 20th C addition. Of course, unfortunately it was all empty -- the company had ceased making valves in Bridgeport. Doubly unfortunately, I always planned to bring my Pentax camera [this was pre-good digital camera era] -- finally on one trip I did -- unfortunately, Jenkins was just another pile of rubble -- no more Chadwick Leadworks exuberance on the original building. And no more even sheet metal shed. No preservation here. I think it turned into a parking lot for a Jai Alai parlor or something.
The bridge in question is over a street, visible from a major thoroughfare (A Street) as well as the Fort Point channel. The other is half the length and straddles an alley. In terms of character defining features, it is actually the smaller one that could be removed without any adverse effects.
Well A Street at Necco CT, is hardly a major thoroughfare although it does provide access to the large surface parking lot. I've been down there several times since GE decided on the site for their HQ -- while I've avoided rush hours -- most of the time I stand in A street without much concern of passing cars. Yes it is visible from the Ft. Point Channel if you know where to look -- but since its recessed back down Necco Ct [not really much more than an alley itself] -- you have to know where to look.
There is no argument for the comparison -- GE is incorporating the shorter, smaller one into their restoration of the two old brick and beam buildings as part of their HQ campus. The longer and larger one crossing Necco Ct., can't be used as GE doesn't control the other end [which is sheet rocked-up anyway on the Summer St. side] and their side is open to the GE building. It's not even clear as to who actually has title to the "famous Green Bridge."
So because a bunch of significant things have been destroyed, we should allow all the things to be destroyed?
No of course not -- and I've never said that. All I did was observe that it seems a bit excessively coincidental that this particular bridge is the subject of such attention when other more significant and famous bridges have not commanded such. In particular, no one seemed to give a rat's patootie about the collapse of the Long Island Bridge and the dismantling of the Rolling Draw [part of it preserved on land].
Anyway -- the preceding was not carefully researched and its the middle of the night - -so I apologize to the rest of the Forum for rambling
