Miscellaneous Forum

According to this Reuters story, VT's #1 ugly building is Boston City Hall. Excuse me, but what about "national historic site" do these folks not understand? It's still up in spite of any architectural shortcomings.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081114/lf_nm_life/us_travel_picks_ugly;_ylt=Ara8_t6K1bstL._an3IyzcAEtbAF

Subjective opinion.

No condemnation, but I can see why Boston City Hall has gained the distinction you question.

While you may have been inspired to join VT in order to post to this Forum, I do hope that you will find sufficient reason to stay, to continue to post opinion, and to share your own travel tips, pix, & experiences.

My own submission would have been the post-Stalinist kitch-koncrete-kreation known as the Hotel Vrba, in the Sandzak of Novi Pazar, but criticizing that edifice could possibly earn me refusal for entry at the border, so I shall reserve comment.

dd--

it's up, but it's ugly, and the feedback we've gotten is along the lines of a person I spoke with who works in the building:

"it's a building in which every room is a basement office"

and

"it's a dungeon"

That's interesting. I was just in Boston and didn't think it was ugly at all.

I hate the thing, and I have to see it several times a week. Inside it's dank, dark, visibly decayed and prisonlike, and the plaza it squats on is a windswept useless tundra.
And the insult to cap the whole monstrosity is that a vibrant urban community was demolished to make room for it.
I don't see how status as a 'National Historic Site" confers redemption on such a giant mistake. Pull it down and make a pretty park for decent working people.

I thought it ugly as sin as well but it did make for a fascinating little research project after I got back from Boston and starting writing up my page. Here's an interesting page about it:

www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Boston_City_Hall.html

And another (somewhat diametrically opposed):

www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=148

All interesting stuff!