785 Eighth Avenue - 40-story Condo - Theater District - by Ismael Leyva Architects

**Derek2k3** · September 28th, 2009, 10:35 PM

**195Broadway** · September 28th, 2009, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by londonlawyer

Including that blank wall?

I think it would be fine but for that wall. That huge expanse of concrete looks like grey mierda in my opinion. Also, it's a shame that the largely abandoned dump on the north corner will never be redeveloped.

LL
My view is of the building itself. Not the location.
I understand the aversion to that blank wall. Certainly, it would be better in glass, but on the other hand, it could look one hell of a lot worse. I'm willing to accept the reality of it. Given that, the color, and horizontal detail denoting floors doesn't offend me. I like the bevel that cuts back into that side. Upon seeing it, I want to reach out and run my hand over that ridge. The tactile feel of such slight transitions has always fascinated me. I'm not sure why.
I really dig it's slenderness. The profile from the front challenges my intuition of what is stable. The first time I looked at a render of it, I did a double-take. That perspective still grabs my attention and tweaks my gut a bit. I like that sense of unease. As a roller coaster enthusiast, maybe that sets me apart from most here.
The slant of the roof helps defeat the ugly box syndrome.
Back to it's slenderness, Seeing balconies on a high rise usually has me conjuring up a visual of some Soviet era abomination. Clothes lines. Crap stored. Misery. Human warehousing. Not here though. The way they slant adds interest to the look and contributes to the visual instability. I like being able to go outside and experience the wonder of a thunderstorm, or high winds, or for that matter just to smell the air and hear the ambient noise. I could see myself out there often. But hey, I couldn't afford to live there, so I guess this is all a mute point anyway.

**londonlawyer** · September 29th, 2009, 06:48 AM

Good points.

PS: Did you work in 195 B'Way or do you just like it?

**BrooklynLove** · September 29th, 2009, 07:09 AM

I like this building more than Cassa.

**195Broadway** · September 29th, 2009, 11:55 AM

LL,
It has a special place in my heart.
My father worked there for the phone company when I was a kid. He loved that building, especially it's lobby, which at one point, was going to be given the suspended ceiling and florescent light treatment. Dad raised holy hell about it. I'm sure others did as well. It was the plan to remove those alabaster chandeliers that brought the issue to our dinner table night after night. Sanity prevailed and the company backed down.
I consider the lobby as a sort of shrine to dad.

**antinimby** · September 29th, 2009, 12:04 PM

Thank you dad. When was this? How is 195 Broadway today?

**195Broadway** · September 29th, 2009, 12:28 PM

Anti,
It was in the early 70's, I guess around the time of the energy crunch. Dad is no longer with us.

I just pulled up a photo of the lobby. It seems that someone has snuck the florescent lights into the bowls of the chandeliers. Have the globes gone dark for good?

**londonlawyer** · September 29th, 2009, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by 195Broadway

...
I consider the lobby as a sort of shrine to dad.

That's a nice story. I love it too. I've worked in downtown my whole working life (until now of course). It's a masterpiece.

**londonlawyer** · September 29th, 2009, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by antinimby

Thank you dad. When was this? How is 195 Broadway today?

It looks exactly as it does in the photos (i.e., magnificent).

**antinimby** · September 29th, 2009, 12:59 PM

Is it landmarked (both interior and exterior)?

Also, I wonder which dumbass wanted to drop-ceiling/fluorescent that magnificent ceiling.

**ZippyTheChimp** · September 29th, 2009, 01:14 PM

The building has been landmarked for some time.

The lobby was landmarked a few years ago.

The exterior and lobby of the AT&T building at 32 6th ave are also landmarked. Nicely done art deco.

**lofter1** · November 6th, 2009, 10:23 PM

Back to the buzz saw ...

Today it was trying to do an imitation of a zebra:

785 eighth

**londonlawyer** · November 8th, 2009, 10:15 AM

It would be nice if a tower was built up the side of this to get rid of the eyesore on the corner and to hide the blank wall on the north side of this piece of sh...

Linkster

**rlrl** · November 30th, 2009, 07:25 PM

I was doing some browsing this afternoon and found a pic of Robert DeNiro as Travis from Taxi Driver walking in front of the Hollywood Cinema in 1976. The pic was kind of blurred so i couldn't see it too well

one thing led to another and i was led to a fascinating pic of this block where 785 now stands, only the pic was taken in July of 1979

The amount of trash in front of the Hollywood and the sidewalk was amazing and the street block looked really skeevy. people here feel the street currently is gross, you should have seen it then. One thing i noticed was that the entire block was empty of pedestrains--not sure if the photographer waited until people cleared or this was an area that no one ventured into

Sullivans bar was there at 783--it appeared that some kind of hardware store was at 785. And at the corner of 47th(771) was some kind of gross looking orange and brown structure-- does anyone know what was at the corner?-- the site of B Smith's Restaurant that was there from 86-2003

Did this particular blockfront have issues with drug pushers and hustlers or was it tame?

**lofter1** · November 30th, 2009, 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by rlrl

... a fascinating pic of this block where 785 now stands, only the pic was taken in July of 1979 ...

Did this particular blockfront have issues with drug pushers and hustlers or was it tame?

All of the above & more; not tame a bit. Can you post that picture ^ or a link to it?