The years between 1880 and 1920 changed American city completely : From elevators to air conditioning to electricity , the monumental buildings bear during this period seemed like living thing , humming with life . But as quickly as they rise , many of them were pull down — victims of the same progress that drive them up .
“ After World War II,”NPRonce put it , “ such buildings fell like leaves in autumn to make space for a novel way of life . ” These buildings — many of which represented first - of - their - form technical achievements just years before — were woefully outdated for the post - War city , where telephones and open plan post reigned . They had to go — and in an era before historical preservation even had a right name , there were very few people fighting for them .
The Singer Building in New York
We have the Burj Khalifa , but in 1908 , the world had the 612 - foot - high Singer Building — built by the eponymous stitching machine conglomerate .
The tallest building in the macrocosm for a time , the business district turning point was a victim of the great corporate migration towards midtown — in 1968 , when advanced renter found themselves badly - served by its cumbersome , archaic floor plan , it became the tallest building to ever be dismantled in NYC .
Garrick Theater in Chicago
Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan had a brilliant , tumultuous relationship — and a portfolio of work that made Chicago a landmark of other modernistic architecture . And the Garrick Theater — aka the Schiller Building — was the eminent - technical school cherry on the top : The massive house opened in 1892 , a year before Chicago hosted the World ’s Fair .
But by the 1950s , a tenacious decline had landed it on the list for razing . A young preservationist and photographer , Richard Nickel , document its death and salve piece of its facade and upcountry after the wrecking ball had swung in 1960 ( one objet d’art even fronts Second City ’s comedy theater ) .
image : The Richard Nickel Committee and Archive / Dwell .
Today , Nickel is acclaim as a institute hero of historical preservation — and one of the only informant of software documentation of Adler & Sullivan ’s demolished chef-d’oeuvre . Tragically , he was killed while salve artifact from another razed Sullivan building .
Birmingham Terminal Station in Birmingham, Alabama
Built at the final stage of the Victorian era , this railroad track station was like a temple to the train : Modeled after Istanbul ’s Hagia Sophia , its Byzantine spires raised eyebrows when it opened in 1909 . Another victim of the descent of the railway system , local counselor essay to save it — but it was demolished in 1969 .
Astor House in New York
Maybe it was n’t particularly beautiful , but the Astor House was one of those buildings that much entail New York to the rest of the country : Built by the ego - made millionaire John Jacob Astor and the prestigious designer Isaiah Rogers , it opened in 1836 boast everything from gas firing — then a oddity — to indoor plumbing .
But like so many other enceinte construction of New York , only 70 - odd twelvemonth later on , it had become relative . Everything in the hotel was sell off , andthe construction was demolish .
Images viaDaytonInManhattan .
But not before the New York Tribune publish a poetic farewell between the House and its neighbor , St. Paul ’s Cathedral :
Image via TheBowery Boys .
The Wabash Terminal in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
key as “ the most beautiful railroad building west of New York,”by theThe Pittsburgh Post - Gazette , and “ the great Beaux - Arts skyscraper in the city ” by others , the exalted Wabash end only lasted from 1904 until 1954 — it was part destroy after two fervour made it virtually unserviceable .
Penn Station in New York
Penn Station , of class , is the full-grown one : The wipeout that united interested citizens and architects to make the movement that we , today , know as historic preservation .
unluckily , New Yorkers could n’t break off the wrack clod from coming down on the original station , a grand Beaux - Arts structure design by McKim , Mead , and White in 1910 , was torn down in 1963 .
US Post Office in Boston
build up in 1885 , the U.S. Post Office and Subtreasury was built by Alfred B. Mullett , a hero of the ornate Second Empire panache , and was knock by many Bostonians as overwrought . Above , Historic New Englandshows us what it looked like draped in mourning after President Grant ’s death , in 1885 . But by 1912 , its nobleness had diminished . It was razed in 1929 :
wipeout Images : Boston Public Library onFlickr .
Chicago Federal Building in Chicago
Opened in 1905 , this tower Chicago building housed everything from Union tourist court to the post bureau . But by 1965 , it had lingered long past its useful life history — and it , too , was razed .
City Hall Post Office in New York
Mullett ’s 2nd donation to this list is the City Hall Post Office , built in 1905 near City Hall in lower Manhattan . It , too , was widely hated by the public ( some anticipate itMullett ’s Monstrosity ) , partly due to a structure accident that killed three workers earlier on . It did claim some cool bells and pennywhistle though , like a pneumatic mail legal transfer organisation . Alas , nothing could reanimate its reputation with the public , and it was level in 1939 .
Lead image : The gearing shed of Chicago ’s Dearborn Station being torn down .
ArchitectureDemolitionnew york
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