this episode has been brought to you by hunting clash today we'll have a look at what might
very well be the most bizarre building in new york city's history a monolith a giant marble
obelisk with thousands of circular windows on its edges curving inward to match a circular street
recent renovations have changed this building's aesthetic to better match its surrounding and
although this new variant might very well be even more hideous than the previous one
it still manages to evoke emotion so join me as we discover the history of new york's
lollipop building i'm your host ryan socas and you're watching it's history
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the story of the building on 2 columbus circle begins with the person who commissioned it
george huntington hartford ii who was one of the wealthiest people in mid-20th century america and
held many titles from businessman stage and film producer hair of the great atlantic and pacific
tea company or anp supermarket chain fortune holder and most prevalent for today's purposes
an art collector basically george was a baller as his vast wealth allowed him to
pretty much do whatever he pleased most of his indulgences were made possible from the amp
inheritance which in 1859 was the world's largest retail business actually by 1940 the securities
and exchange commission ranked his family amongst the wealthiest of the wealthy in the united states
he graduated from harvard in 1934 with a degree in english literature and quickly fell out of
his family business eventually he seemed to find purpose when he acquired a yacht which he
sailed very frequently however with the outbreak of world war ii in 1939 he donated that yacht to
the u.s coast guard who returned the favor by giving him a pacific army supply ship
the fs 179 in 1944 which also seems to be a bit of an unusual barter with the fiasco of the supply
ship and the war's end hartford found himself on the west coast of the united states he established
a presence in los angeles marrying an actress constructing hollywood's only legitimate stage
theater at the time he even went on to write some stage plays which were of varying quality by 1959
he found himself in some financial trouble amp had a significant dispute over the company's direction
resulting in george selling all of his shares in the company totaling to 40 million dollars or
382 million dollars in today's money at that point his wife promptly sued for divorce the following
year earning 1 million dollars for each of their two children the next few years of his life would
see him selling off many of his possessions in the throes of divorce he had some time to consider
the extensive collection of art he had gathered throughout the years including pieces by rembrandt
with all of this priceless art he reasoned that it would be a shame to keep them just for himself
but he wasn't about to sell them either so in 1956 huntington hartford acquired a lot in manhattan at
two columbus circle surrounded by streets on all sides one of which was broadway he planned to use
the area to construct a museum for his collection bringing us to what would become new york city's
weirdest building the lot previously hosted the grand circle hotel a seven-story building designed
by william h covet it was a grand victorian building that once defined the roundabout
it presided over in fact in 1875 the new york times described the building as the most healthy
location in new york city likely referring to its location directly overlooking central park by 1954
the city had demolished the building and its surrounding complex leaving the lot that george
now owned vacant he planned his museum in response to the abstract expressionism art movement of the
1940s and 50s which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with he didn't just dislike the movement
he thought it was morally bankrupt and the worst thing that someone in the 1950s america could be
communist this is quite ironic since the cia approved of abstract expressionism seeing
its abstraction as a representation of american free thought and markets
more importantly it was a counter to the socialist realism art movement in stated of the soviet union
geopolitical art movements aside george embarked on a journey to find the perfect architect for
his museum he eventually came upon edward doral stone the lead designer of radio city music hall
seeing him as a substitute for the job being a savvy proponent of american architecture and
sharing many of his views on art hartford brought stone on the project promptly stone
had developed a dislike for the glass and steel buildings that had become mainstream in american
architecture so the pair sought to make the building more palatable to the average person
seeming to bridge the gap between the middle class and the cultural elite the planned building was a
10-story poured concrete marble monolith with a concave north face that would match columbus
circle 1 472 bronze plated windows dotted the edges of the building supported by gothic style
columns with swedish red rose granite ovals as nice as that might sound the construction actually
faced many immediate roadblocks first off was a lawsuit from the museum of modern art which took
issue with hartford's intention to create a modern art exhibition that was admittedly very similar
to what they were already doing stone had also previously delivered designs on a building of
theirs but despite the suit construction continued but there were additional complications along
the way but the most significant challenge came from what was directly underneath the
building part of the building's design was an underground auditorium and administration area
but a solid rock formation was directly beneath the building so suddenly construction required its
workers to blast through rock and since nobody planned for something like that construction
fell behind schedule even further but when the building finally opened in 1964 it contained a
collection of galleries hosting both temporary and permanent displays below the lobby was the
154 seat auditorium and above the galleries was a storage area an administration area a lounge
and a restaurant and as benign as that all sounds when this building opened it created a tornado of
emotion throughout new york you see two columbus circles breaking of american architectural
convention drew mixed critical reception in fact most official critics gave it very negative press
drawing attention to the use of ornaments on modern buildings it's byzantine styling some
even comparing it to the dodgers palace in venice to draw attention to how out of place it seemed in
the metropolitan of new york city in fact new york times architectural critic aydah louise huxtable
had something to say about it that would define this building's appearance for most of the
years to come drawing attention to the granite ovals at the top of its columns she called it a
die-cut venetian palazzo on lollipops forgive my pronunciation there critique so scathing that the
structure gained the moniker the lollipop building that's not to say that all the press was hostile
one critic by the name of stuart peterson stated that there can be little criticism of the building
itself considering all the maneuvering architects stone had to perform to make this style work
the critics generally recognized that stone's work on the building was undoubtedly impressive when
considering all factors the great news was that regardless of critical reception
the gallery itself became popular with the people of new york and beyond natives and tourists alike
generally enjoyed what the museum had to offer though those more well-versed in the world of art
found its display to be generally unremarkable but like with most great things decline
is a part of the story that's inevitable the success was as fleeting as many of huntington
hartford's other endeavors were after only five years of operation the museum closed its doors
its operating costs could not cover the income in total it cost hartford 7.4 million dollars
or 56 million dollars in today's money and hence hartford sold to columbus circle to
the fairlight dickinson university in 1969 which transformed it into the new york culture center
he relocated his art collection elsewhere and distanced himself from this failed venture this
sale marked the beginning of the end of new york's most unusual building as you
may recall from our report on singer tower or the downfall of penn station new property
owners have a tendency towards practicality in the face of expensive or unusual architecture
the building exchanged hands one more time in 1976 this time from the university to
golf and western industries its new owners turned ownership directly over to new york city with the
intention of its administration preserving it as a landmark immortalizing stone's masterpiece you see
by this time the building was a significant location to many new yorkers but there were still
many detractors the so-called lollipop building had not lost its nickname but it had taken on
an endearing meaning to some the post-modernism movement especially admired the lollipop building
for invoking classical architecture among thousands of steel and glass buildings pushing
the definition of the word modern unfortunately several voices in the city's administration
had a very different idea of the building's fate instead of preserving its unique classical build
some wanted to renovate it into a steel and glass structure to fit in with the rest of the city
they called it weak and claimed that its location over viewing central park demanded something
much grander than a marble slab the building's fate remained in limbo for decades with the
city revisiting the issue in the 21st century by then much of the support for keeping the building
as is had died down although supporters were still very vocal about the topic there were simply not
enough of them at one point the building found itself on the list of america's 11 most endangered
historic places as arranged by the national trust of historic preservation yet despite the ongoing
debate for the building's fate the landmarks preservation commission refused to even discuss it
by 2005 the museum of arts and design acquired permission to replace the building's exterior
after a long and very controversial battle however the controversy was not yet over
and would only be boldened in the future years renovation plans pressed forward despite the
opposition and the lead architect agreed that the location called for something more he even
stated that those who opposed the renovation were a very small exclusive and elitist group
that opposes most upper west side development as the replacement work continued many new
yorkers found that they missed the old marble the building had long displayed especially upon seeing
what was becoming of it the renovations completely removed the marble replacing it with a collection
of asymmetrical and off-centered gray panels and glass the brass lined windows were removed
entirely in favor of paneling recalling a more average new york city building upon seeing this
many new yorkers and the press immediately erupted in anger and disgust at the changes
some claimed that it felt alien standing where the old marble structure once was and that if
the city was lucky no one would notice it others argued that demolition was its only salvation
as they believed the renovation was a mistake though it is worth noting that mrs huxtable
also commented on the new look remember this is the lady who coined the term lollipop building
she exclaimed that criticism of the structure had been alarmingly out of proportion and flagrantly
out of control the museum of arts and design moved into the new complex regardless of the controversy
and it's important to note that the interior renovation did a lot of justice nearly tripling
space that art could occupy with 54 000 square feet of space the museum now had more arable
room for their exhibitions and events and unlike the older ventures the museum has remained open
ever since displaying art while some still mourned the old building for what it now lacks in artistry
who knows perhaps this was the point all along despite the controversy changes and somewhat
questionable figures behind new york's most bizarre building the museum at 2 columbus circle
goes on it still sparks emotion and debate which might indicate that the building as hideous
looking as it is is a relevant and powerful piece of art let me know your thoughts in the comments
section subscribe and check out our video on detroit's book tower and don't forget to check
out hunting clash by clicking the link in the description below this is ryan silkash signing off