Comments on: THE PRISONS AMONG US http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/ Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:33:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Patell and Waterman’s History of New York · Friday Upper- and Outer-Borough Links http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-193 Patell and Waterman’s History of New York · Friday Upper- and Outer-Borough Links Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:59:29 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-193 [...] missed this first one when it was new, but here’s a tour of prisons in all 5 boroughs. Follow it up with a tour of public restrooms. I’d like to dedicate the first link to [...] [...] missed this first one when it was new, but here’s a tour of prisons in all 5 boroughs. Follow it up with a tour of public restrooms. I’d like to dedicate the first link to [...]

]]> By: Ebonie Moorehead http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-187 Ebonie Moorehead Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:06:29 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-187 I really liked reading your post!. Quality content. I really liked reading your post!. Quality content.

]]> By: Me http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-142 Me Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:37:22 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-142 Good points, I think I will definitely subscribe! I'll go and read some more! What do you see the future of this being? Good points, I think I will definitely subscribe! I’ll go and read some more! What do you see the future of this being?

]]> By: Michelle Young http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-141 Michelle Young Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:36:36 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-141 thanks david! i think odd juxtapositions are what makes new york city so endlessly fascinating. robert venturi talks about that in his 1966 book complexity and contradiction in architecture, saying that most of the interesting juxtapositions have come from pure accident (trinity church amidst wall street, for example) but that urban planners should think about that when planning. he made sure to always connect his theories on architecture to the cityscape, predicting that urban planning was going to be come more and more relevant. thanks david! i think odd juxtapositions are what makes new york city so endlessly fascinating. robert venturi talks about that in his 1966 book complexity and contradiction in architecture, saying that most of the interesting juxtapositions have come from pure accident (trinity church amidst wall street, for example) but that urban planners should think about that when planning. he made sure to always connect his theories on architecture to the cityscape, predicting that urban planning was going to be come more and more relevant.

]]> By: David Vanderhoff http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-140 David Vanderhoff Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:00:30 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-140 I used to walk past the Lincoln Correctional Facility almost every day when I lived in East Harlem. It's surprisingly inconspicuous - I didn't even realize at first that it was a prison. It looks like a typical Beaux-Arts apartment building, blending in with the others that line Central Park along 110th St. The only telltale signs are the blacked-out windows, a battery of security cameras, and an ominous metal cage perched above the cornice. What surprised me the most about this prison is its park-front location. This real estate might not have been very desirable in the '70s when the city acquired this property and converted it into a pen. But the new luxury tower half a block away, at the corner of 110th and Lenox, speaks to changing times. I'm sure the inmates' views from the top are just as spectacular -- except for that cage! I found some photos here: http://harlemhybrid.blogspot.com/search/label/Lincoln%20Correctional%20Facility I used to walk past the Lincoln Correctional Facility almost every day when I lived in East Harlem. It’s surprisingly inconspicuous – I didn’t even realize at first that it was a prison. It looks like a typical Beaux-Arts apartment building, blending in with the others that line Central Park along 110th St. The only telltale signs are the blacked-out windows, a battery of security cameras, and an ominous metal cage perched above the cornice.

What surprised me the most about this prison is its park-front location. This real estate might not have been very desirable in the ’70s when the city acquired this property and converted it into a pen. But the new luxury tower half a block away, at the corner of 110th and Lenox, speaks to changing times. I’m sure the inmates’ views from the top are just as spectacular — except for that cage!

I found some photos here:
http://harlemhybrid.blogspot.com/search/label/Lincoln%20Correctional%20Facility

]]> By: Michelle Young http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-139 Michelle Young Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:55:18 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-139 thank you alex! i had been trying to figure out how to connect the idea of prisons to architecture and planning, as this is probably one of the most factual posts i've written. you make an excellent point - the only building i could think of that could possibly be beautiful while being a place of incarceration is the fictional rapunzel's castle, but it's because we always visualize it from the perspective of the prince! thank you alex! i had been trying to figure out how to connect the idea of prisons to architecture and planning, as this is probably one of the most factual posts i’ve written. you make an excellent point – the only building i could think of that could possibly be beautiful while being a place of incarceration is the fictional rapunzel’s castle, but it’s because we always visualize it from the perspective of the prince!

]]> By: Alex http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-138 Alex Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:53:35 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-138 As Hawthorne wrote, a prison is the "black flower of a civilized society" -- an inevitable and necessary weed growing through the crevices of our social order. I think that contemplating the idea of a prison shows that the sculptural aspect of architecture cannot be divorced from the functional; that aesthetic value derives from the purpose of a building. A building is not beautiful if you cannot leave it. As Hawthorne wrote, a prison is the “black flower of a civilized society” — an inevitable and necessary weed growing through the crevices of our social order.

I think that contemplating the idea of a prison shows that the sculptural aspect of architecture cannot be divorced from the functional; that aesthetic value derives from the purpose of a building. A building is not beautiful if you cannot leave it.

]]> By: Twitted by untappednewyork http://untappednewyork.com/2010/01/04/the-prisons-among-us/#comment-137 Twitted by untappednewyork Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:32:18 +0000 http://untappednewyork.com/?p=560#comment-137 [...] This post was Twitted by untappednewyork [...] [...] This post was Twitted by untappednewyork [...]

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