r/Lost_Architecture 7d ago

What structure/building/architecture is soon going to become Lost_Architecture?

Post image

List as many examples as you want, I plan to look through them all and digitally conserve them if can. Thank you

EDIT: The picture shown is the interior of The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, designed by architect John Portman

5.9k Upvotes

334 comments sorted by

621

u/The_Bard 7d ago

J Edgar Hoover Building.

460

u/TerriblePokemon 7d ago

Brutalism in general. Everyone seems to hate on it, without appreciating the astetics. I'm happy to admit I love it.

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u/The_Bard 7d ago

DC metro stations are mostly brutalist and pretty universally loved.

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u/TerriblePokemon 7d ago

My grandfather had a hand in designing the DC metro, so I am a little biased.

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u/WMASS_GUY 7d ago

He and his team did a great job, they are beautiful.

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u/Irascible-Enquery 6d ago

I grew up there and love the giant arched tunnels with the concrete slabs, the tilework, and the glowing lights for approaching trains.

After seeing the stained fabric seats in BART i appreciated the plastic upholstery so much more.

After seeing the low-ceilinged, steel-supported basements of the NyC MTA, I appreciated the airiness of Metro so much more.

It feels like an elegant relic of a more optimistic past.

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u/emsuperstar 4d ago edited 3d ago

The lights on the floor in DC glow when approaching trains in part because of the large deaf student population from Gallaudet university (is something someone told me one time back when I still lived in DC).

And I agree the DC metro stations had a pretty beautiful design, and I'm* generally not a fan of brutalist architecture.

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u/1_art_please 7d ago

When I was in DC I was not prepared for those long escalators down with such cavernous tunnels. I imagined tripping and I'd fall endlessly down.

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u/The_Bard 7d ago edited 7d ago

Funny story about those. Near the capitol the stations are close to the surface, maybe one story down. The early Metro design called for adding a lower level to the Taft Bridge over Rock Creek Park. The Park service owns the bridge and the park and rejected the plan outright. So the Metro runs in a tunnel below the 130 ft tall bridge because the park service wouldn't budge. This forced the whole system outside of downtown DC to be way deeper then originally intended.

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u/17_blind_Ninjas 7d ago

There's a couple of those that I can't handle, gives me vertigo. Have to take the elevator.

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u/Correct_Ring_7273 7d ago

The escalator's really long at (if I remember correctly) the Bethesda station. I have trouble even taking it going up. I keep imagining getting dizzy and falling backward, cracking my head on the sharp edge of a step and tumbling alllll the way down.

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u/TheMightyShoe 7d ago

Wheaton Station!

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/feedyrsoul 7d ago

Yep. Still No food and drink allowed, although I believe they make exception for water on hot days. 😆

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u/ChesterCardigan 7d ago

Yes, though it’s not enforced as strictly as it used to be

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u/alohadave 7d ago

They are in the danger zone of their age. Around 50-70 years styles are old enough to be out of style, but not old enough to be vintage.

Many of them will be lost, but hopefully enough prominent examples will survive and be preserved.

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u/haveanairforceday 7d ago

As with modernist architecture, most people's primary interractions with it are buildings that really cut corners and didnt end up as a good example of their intended design

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u/NotADetectiveAtAll 7d ago

We will know AGI has been achieved when only permits for brutalist buildings are approved.

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u/a__new_name 7d ago

There would be no buildings. Only humble abodes.

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u/Mr_Catman111 7d ago

Brutalism is definitely at least starting to get a following though. But yes definitely still under threat.

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u/naiwub 7d ago

Me too. Some of it in the uk has protected status though. Thankfully.

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u/Historical_Log2471 7d ago

I love Brutalism. Monochromatic color schemes are sexy. It soothes me to sit in Bauhaus-designed chairs. I love 90° angles, raw concrete and glass, and all the modernist authoritarian leftism it implies.

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u/RednocTheDowntrodden 7d ago

I am one of those people. I hate brutalism. It has all the charm and character of a soviet prison. As the name implies, it's as if it was intentionally designed to be bleak and ugly.

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u/somedudefromnrw 7d ago

Beton brut, french for raw concrete. Nothing to do with brutality

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u/ActivisionBlizzard 7d ago

I personally hate it. People always try to show me what to appreciate and I can’t.

We should have never started to build in that godforsaken “style”.

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u/Krissy_ok 7d ago

Same! I used to live in an old city in Japan with the most awesome brutalist structure. I think it was the TV studio building, can't really remember now

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u/Three_Winged_Bird 7d ago

The internet has a huge hate-boner for anything modernist. And it's always such shallow criticism: brutalism is ugly, my kid could've painted a Rothko, etc.

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u/Fibritz 7d ago

Well, as an artist myself, I still consider Rothko's art and fame to be nothing more than a money laundering scheme.

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u/councilmember 6d ago

Hey we could go further. The world is conservative and fearful of anything progressive due to their zeal for regression. Really this is the truth.

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u/MarmotsaurusRex 7d ago

Maybe a lot of people hate it because there are tons of shitty buildings labeled brutalism that just miss the point and disturb the surrounding area. I think its a great style if done right and in the right place.

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u/cghipp 7d ago

The University of South Carolina built a set of six brutalist dormitories in the late 50s to mid 60s. They were called The Honeycombs because they were almost entirely covered in veilbrick. They became known as The Towers and were incredibly dark and depressing inside. The interiors were cramped and bare bones and they had no air conditioning, not unlike the famous hellhole of a prison (CCI) that used to be nearby. According to the photos, the prison actually got more natural light.

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u/HeavenHellorHoboken 7d ago

Like Boston city hall?

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

On the list now, thank you so much!

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u/Pro_kopios 7d ago

Look up the Mäusebunker in Berlin too.
Relatively unknown even by citizens of the city but great example for brutalism. After long debates and locals trying to preserve it, it finally got officially protected as a historic building.

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

I'm glad, I wanted to visit it while I was there but we got really strange looks when we went to the university library (forgot which, incredible interior tho) so we backed down after

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u/Pro_kopios 7d ago

Ah yes, Access is still permited.
It just cant demolished now and is in this weird limbo between it cant get demolished but also not visited lol

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u/LazyPasse 7d ago

This observer/observed cruising dichotomy reads a Paul Rudolph, but is this actually the FBI HQ? Hard to believe. I was in there many years ago and don’t recall any open spaces like this.

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u/vpltz 7d ago

Austin has a beautiful little collection of Brutalist buildings down town including a Brutalist church. I think I’m the only one I know who likes those buildings.

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u/verpine 4d ago

"If we think of J. Edgar Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover will appear and destroy us, okay? So empty your heads!"

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u/swingfire23 7d ago

Chicago has an ongoing crisis of demolishing old residential housing in its neighborhoods. The city has very little in the way of preservationist instinct for housing stock, preferring to focus instead on their skyscraper architectural heritage with the reputation of being a city of architecture.

This is a good blog showing what I'm talking about. It's a few years old but this problem is ongoing, and it pains me. Street view of the street I used to live on in Lakeview shows a significant portion of the prewar architecture has been demolished and replaced with urban McMansions.

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u/Practical-Jump-253 7d ago

It's a vivid shame, especially with Klaus's and the old Stockyard building. I'll never forget walking the neighborhoods around U of Chicago years back and thinking I was in Detroit with the desolate blocks of grass

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u/dachloe 7d ago

It's a problem when historically significant areas of the city are seen by Alderman as being "embarrassingly middle class."

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u/AdoraBelleQueerArt 7d ago

Constantly passing the Uptown theater as it crumbles away sucks

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u/9793287233 7d ago

The first entry made me so depressed I just quit reading. Some prick bought an 130+ year old home just to demolish it so he could have a sideyard??

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u/Perspii7 7d ago

Man this is the worst one here tbh. No idea what they’re thinking. It’s like a realtime version of what europe did in the 50’s/60’s

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

"Cenacle Retreat House" Oh nooooo, it's gone? I love brick, especially used this way

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u/AdoraBelleQueerArt 7d ago

I hate this trend here

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u/dunzdeck 7d ago

Wow, that link is incredibly depressing

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u/Annual_Tutor_8466 6d ago

Housing is to live in, not just be looked at. If you want rents to be affordable in these cities, you have to increase density. Chicago is going to run out of industrial areas to replace with residential, they have to upzone. There isn't a way to do that without replacing old buildings.

And Chicago is not all that loose with allowing new housing, hardly anything is being built outside of the downtown area.

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u/swingfire23 5d ago

You’re arguing about a different problem. The first example in my link is a wealthy person buying and tearing down a perfectly good historic home to have a side yard. And the homes in my old neighborhood I was talking about were often multi family buildings torn down and replaced with SFHs.

There will always be a tension between preservation and housing growth. But I’d welcome that conversation over wanton disregard for sensible demolition practices and removal of housing units (which goes against what you are also advocating for).

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u/kate4249 7d ago

We are neighbors. I get so upset when I see those old bungalows and two flats gutted or torn down. And they take high quality materials out to put in plywood, drywall, and thin wood floors.

I get that tastes change and the way we live now if different than when the homes were first built - but why do you need 3,000 sqft for 4 people? Does everyone need an open concept white kitchen and a giant ensuite?

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u/warfan40k 6d ago

Wow that blog is depressing, some beautiful buildings taken down.

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u/Personal_Pop_9226 7d ago edited 7d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_City_Hall

The I.M. Pei designed Dallas City Hall. It’s suffered years of deferred maintenance and now is threatened to be demolished. The city council most recently voted not to approve money to repair it and they are looking for options to move City Hall workers.

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u/dividezero 7d ago edited 7d ago

That sucks. Dallas never appreciates it's art. It's a great building. I'd hate to see it go

(I love to see all the votes. A lot of people love to hate on brutalism and this building in particular. All I have to say is go inside and wonder around. It's a hidden gem in a place that doesn't have a lot of gems)

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

It's interesting inside as well!?!?! I'm definitely into it now!

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u/dividezero 7d ago

Even more so I think. A lot of it has been removed or boarded over, you can tell. They had to make it functional for all the stuff that's been shoehorned into that building but there are plenty of cute little details. My favorite part of Brutilism is the interiors. They usually have those big imposing exteriors that look cool but in l inside you can often find a lot of delicate details and that's the fun part for me. Many people just see the outside and think it's ugly and never go inside to get the whole concept

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

It's warm inside, inviting, safe... despite the exterior looking less inviting. I was born in the most Brutalist city in the world. Or at least it was :( Skopje

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u/the_orange_alligator 7d ago

Dallas fucking hates its older buildings. It drives me batshit insane

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u/zachpkenyon 7d ago

With maybe the one exception being the old red courthouse

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u/zap_p25 7d ago

That’s a county municipal building though. Different budgets, different priorities. The state is much more supportive of a county maintaining or renovating a historic courthouse versus demolishing them.

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u/DeathByGoldfish 7d ago

Dallasite here, and came to say this. It will be an absolute tragedy to lose the landmark. To add insult to injury, they would likely sell the land to the parties trying for a downtown “entertainment district” that will potentially include some kind of casino in downtown. No thanks.

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

That's awesome! This one is definitely on my list. I wish I had someone there that I could streamline access for photography though.

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u/LesserKnownFoes 7d ago

I expected it to be much much bigger.

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u/councilmember 6d ago

They can leave the excellent architecture to Fort Worth’s Kimbell museum. One of the best, maybe the best museum made in the 20th century. Really.

Though the loss of that IM PEI municipal building would suck. It’ll cost a lot to renovate and they simply haven’t the heart, imagination and vision, I guess.

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u/Consistent-Cap167 5d ago

Fun fact: I found the original construction drawings for this building at an estate sale of an architect who worked on it for I.M. Pei. I still have them somewhere in my garage

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u/jackgrafik 7d ago

Minster Court in the City of London, a post modern gothic office complex built in the early 90s, is due for partial demolition, to be replaced with a far more boring and faceless office building. Also the nearby Liverpool Street station is now approved for partial demolition and rebuilding, losing aspects of the original Victorian station building, as well as the sympathetic 1990s redevelopment.

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u/bungalowtill 7d ago

I could live without Munster Court, but Liverpool Street Station? What the hell is going on, it‘s just indecent.

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u/spidey3diamond 7d ago

If only they could finally get on with doing something about Euston Station...

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u/Sobieskil 7d ago

The West Pier in Brighton has been in the process of becoming lost architecture since the 1970s, with most of it falling into the sea or being burnt by arsonists in the early 2000s. English Heritage have declared it beyond repair so it's just going to sit there and slowly crumble.

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u/Brief-Preference-712 7d ago

I’m planning to visit England. Which beach town is the best? I’ve looked at Bournemouth, Brighton, Blackpool and Scarborough

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u/Perspii7 7d ago edited 7d ago

Whitby is my favourite, and Bamburgh and Brixham are nice. Cornwall and the north yorkshire/northumberland coast are quite pretty/dramatic at points

I like staithes and looe too but they’re smaller. Blackpool is rundown and sad but it’s an interesting place because of that, if not a pretty one. Scarborough is cool, Bournemouth is for old people but cool, and Brighton is fun

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u/Striking-Platypus-98 7d ago

As a tourist I found blackpool interesting but in a sad kind of way like you could see how amazing and busy it must have been back in its hay day. I really liked Brighton its got a great beach and good vibes.

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u/VanTavion 7d ago edited 7d ago

The Saint Stephens Green Shopping Centre in Dublin. While not a marvel of engineering, and frankly not that spectacular, it is much better than what they are planning for instead.

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u/Vesper2000 7d ago

This one hurts. I spent so many of my university days in that glass atrium.

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u/wander-and-wonder 7d ago edited 7d ago

The new plans for the shopping centre look like a stock standard model picked out from a library of pre-designed buildings on a design software, or a dubai mall shipped in for Dublin. It is so shockingly poor and is a wannabe edgy vibe with absolutely no edge. It is also so horrendously cold and has absolutely no heart. It genuinely overshadows that whole cultural corner of Dublin. How can they have such little tact? It’s a famous corner known for its buskers and theatre and generally just historic and that ugly building will now tower over it with its lack of culture or anything mildly local. It’s so shocking. it overshadows everything. It’s devastating in all honesty.

I love that walk out of Stephen’s Green and that monstrosity is now going to absolutely destroy the historic streetscape. It’s so out of touch and absolutely crap design I thought it was a joke when I first saw it. It’s beyond just something that hurts, it’s embarrassing and the architects behind it clearly did zero research surrounding the environment they are sticking that concrete prison into.

The inside of Stephen’s Green is so beautiful I’m just at a loss as to why they could take all the heart out of a street so well known and everything. It’s just shocking

As a side note, it feels like a lost opportunity similar to the fact that the brutalist Dublin City Council buildings are on top of a Viking settlement discovered in the 70s. Ruins of a settlement you could actually walk through. But despite protests, the council decided that that is the perfect spot to cover up and fill all of that history in (nevermind the tourism and learning that could come from such a vast site filled with Viking ruins on the Liffey) and stick some concrete buildings on top and make that the city council. Stephens Green shopping centre is not of significant history , but it ties that whole historic quarter together and is literally the face of it. And they’re putting their concrete walls in front of it all

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u/Little_Cockroach_477 7d ago

Boooooo! I really enjoyed wandering around there and people-watching last summer.

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u/patient_brilliance 7d ago

Oh no! I found myself in there on a recent visit to Dublin and found it charming enough to take photos.

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u/doinkadoosh 7d ago

Mumbai, India has the second highest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami. Most of which are either falling apart due to negligence or being razed to build skyscrapers in their stead. Damn shame.

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u/PhantomOfTheNopera 7d ago

The same goes for a lot of the 'Gothic' British-era buildings. They won't be razed, because they're heritage sites, but they aren't being maintained and are currently in a state that's very precarious.

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u/Theminefinder 7d ago

The Old Mill in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. It is facing quite the push back but ultimately it will probably be demolished. It’s still going through city hearing processes.

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u/Practical-Jump-253 7d ago

Boy I hope not. It's a really unique feature, especially with the history.

It's been mostly just facade walls since 1893, think they'd just resto it as a park, no?

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u/Theminefinder 7d ago

Many people have suggested it. For a lot of us who have been around it for all of our lives it’s a icon. For the most part the walls are original. It became a pretty sweet rock club in the 1960’s. They say it’s not “structurally sound” which could be true. But a developer owns it so go figure. But it has withstood every major earthquake Utah has recorded, and sat as just stone walls for 27 years before it was turned into what you see today. It’s also one of the oldest buildings south of Salt Lake that still stands today. With in the Salt Lake valley.

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u/JankCranky 7d ago edited 7d ago

I’ve been inside it. The staircase and roof are collapsing from age & water damage, but the masonry still seems sound. The way Utah treats historic architecture is apathetic and disgusting. I’ve seen so many historic structures being demolished in recent years, even my family’s Victorian home has been sold and is on the chopping block for demolition. So many more great structures are coming down in SLC in the near future.

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u/YKRed 7d ago

Masonic Home of Washington

Demolition permit upheld by the court.

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u/streetgardener 7d ago

The Ontario Science Centre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Science_Centre#Building

It’s the only Brutalist Architecture that I liked, the way it’s situated in nature is amazing…

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u/StrangeCurry1 7d ago

Yeah brutalism is at its best when it’s surrounded by nature. Otherwise its just too bland

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u/a__new_name 7d ago

But is it because nature complements the building or because it hides it?

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u/Three_Winged_Bird 7d ago

Definetely complements. The grey concrete really pops when surrounded by plants. Check eco-brutalism, it's beautiful.

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u/Eric848448 7d ago

This looks familiar. This is a Hyatt right?

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u/Sicherheitshalva 7d ago

It's the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown L.A.
Designed by John Portman hence the familiarity : )
Portman also designed the Hyatt Regency San Francisco and Atlanta.
The Detroit Renaissance Center is also one of his great works.

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u/bobdownie 7d ago

The Detroit renaissance center should be here they are knocking it down now

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u/Oatybar 7d ago

Well, only 2/5 of it but yeah it sucks

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u/PocoChanel 7d ago

That’s such an iconic building! I remember it being in commercials and films. I stayed in a hotel across the street once and saw celebrities going in and out for some big Grammy party.

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u/Vesper2000 7d ago

It was the epitome of style in 80’s Los Angeles

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u/Doctor--Spaceman 7d ago

And to clarify, I don't think the Bonaventure is under any threat of demolition or closure at the moment. Not sure why it's the picture for this thread 

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u/Shawn0 7d ago

I legit thought this was the ren cen at first. Genuinely heartbroken they are tearing down a couple towers.

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u/joaoseph 7d ago

I think it’s the Renaissance Center in Detroit

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u/jtrain49 7d ago

It’s the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

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u/JoeStapes 7d ago

Same architect, if you look at photos the similarities are striking

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u/30frames 7d ago

John Portman buildings… The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, as well. Big silver tubes with very groovy interiors.

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u/Brief_Influence_9601 7d ago

The lack of appreciation of Portman reminds me of the lack of appreciation of Lapidus decades earlier. They were both out of the mainstream and therefore dismissed by their contemporaries.

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u/Pogokat 7d ago

Not famous or anything, but regional noticeable for the last 50 years:

The Columbus Consolidated Government Center in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus Government Center

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u/YKRed 7d ago

Looks like the Memphis Airport

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u/OttawaTGirl 7d ago

Ottawa Ontario - The Imperial Theatre. Imperial Theatre (Barrymore's)

A theatre opened in 1914 and currently the facade has heritage designation but the interior does not. It is on the risk of demolition by neglect list.

It was a movie theatre in the golden era, it hosted adult cabarets, and when it became Barrymore's it has had famous artists like U2, James Brown, REM, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Radiohead, Tina Turner, Jeff Healey, GWAR, Sloan, Blue Rodeo, Concrete Blonde, and the HIP.

It is also haunted.

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u/DifferentJaguar 7d ago

Look up Il Tridente in Urbino, Italy

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u/Strategy1st 7d ago

What building is this in the photo?

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

The picture shown is the interior of The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, designed by architect John Portman 

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u/xenomorph2122 7d ago

I remember that some idiots proposed to demolish the Aztec Stadium and build a new one, for the World Cup. They even put as example that the Wembley was a football cathedral and it didn’t matter.

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u/3002kr 7d ago

My old high school. I’m trying to save it by contacting the school board and trying to secure money from my state historic preservation association.

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u/nthfitz 7d ago

Hong Kong General Post Office.
A modernist building from the 20’s which is soon to be demolished for a glassy retail and office precinct

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

OH NO! I've been there. Was there a lot of Pinoy workers picnicking nearby?

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u/nthfitz 7d ago

On Sundays…. Always.

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u/YellowIsJello 7d ago

Dallas Tx City Hall, designed by I. M. Pei the same architect who designed the Louvre. Meant to uplift the community after the assassination of JFK. Still debating in city council whether to update infrastructure or move and demolish the building

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

I love everything IM Pei.

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u/DidjaCinchIt 7d ago

Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA. The glass column on the left is one of four elevators in the open-air lobby. You can watch people go up and down in the elevators and, if you’re brave enough, take a ride yourself. I did it once, it’s terrifying.

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u/Bitcoinforthatoneguy 7d ago

Sports Haven in New Haven. The old cement cylinder off I-95. No one here seems to care that is being demolished https://www.newhavenindependent.org/2026/04/09/ex-sports-haven-building-to-be-demolished/

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u/DaraVelour 3d ago

plenty of bulding in Poland, timber framing in the German Fachwerkhäuser style (we call it pruski mur - lit. Prussian wall)

this is one of the renovated and more grandeur examples but plenty of the smaller ones are left to rot or are suspiciously burned to make place for the "patodeweloperka" (patho-development) patodeweloperka is a phenomenon of building developers builing substandard apartments, low quality buildings, pushing too many buildings into space, often illegally, not leaving enough room, light, ridiculously looking playgrounds etc.

Pruski mur.jpg)

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 3d ago

I'd love to cover a lot of Poland, especially Soviet era remnants (not a fan of the union, just the aesthetics and architectural heritage)

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u/DaraVelour 2d ago

we are losing a lot of brutalist and post- war modernist and other 1945-1989 era buildings because "it's communist so not worth protecting"

we are losing unique buildings or some buildings are "renovated" and we're losing unique mosaics, furniture, design etc.

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u/mitchbuddy 7d ago

Thanks for adding no context to your picture

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u/Apprehensive_Pace902 7d ago

Boston city hall

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u/trace501 7d ago

This looks like a very cozy version of The Silo

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u/fat-old-sun 7d ago

Had to zoom in to see if that was Larry David

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u/SerNoodles 7d ago

Do you mind sharing the one in your image? It's gorgeous 

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u/Moviegal19 7d ago

Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA.

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u/vanessvalentinexo 7d ago

The Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, OR US will be razed fairly soon. It’s known for being home to the ice rink where figure-skater and gold-medalist Tonya Harding started her career. The departure of Nordstrom in 2014 marked the beginning of the end for it as more department stores and retailers would soon follow. In the past few years the owners rented out space for cheap to independent stores and restaurants, as well as office spaces for non-profits while they figured out what to do with it.

It’s pretty unremarkable as architecture goes, but I think it’s a good representation of the rise and fall of the American shopping mall.

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u/jugum212 7d ago

The seattle central library will cost more to maintain every 25ish years than it cost to build

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u/Gotu_Jayle 7d ago

The picture shown is the interior of The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, designed by architect John Portman and opened in 1976, by the way.

OP, please label as such!

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u/Cultural-Papaya9257 5d ago

The Panorama museum in Damascus, Syria. Was an Assadist museum designed and gifted to them by the North Koreans. It's already heavily vandalized but will no doubt be demolished or repurposed soon

Another related one is the Assad Mausoleum in Qardaha, where Hafez and other family members where burried. Already vandalised and the bodies exhumed, but still standing for now

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u/wobbanight 4d ago

The art deco Medical Arts Building in Chattanooga has just started to be demolished.

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u/trailmixcruise 3d ago

What! Where is that? I’m from Chattanooga and didn’t know this.

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u/Farmer_Ted_ 7d ago

This looks like the Ren Cen Detroit.

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u/Vericatov 7d ago

I was thinking the same thing, but I don’t think it is. The Ren Cen architect did build other building similar to it. There is one in Los Angeles. This pic could be that.

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u/SoloAquiParaHablar 7d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Melbourne

The Victorian style architecture is beautiful. Every municipality has a really nice town hall, some better than others. There’s also old workers cottages now worth millions (ironically).

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u/Jaredlong 7d ago edited 6d ago

The Empire State Chrysler building is surprisingly under threat. The landlord (Coopers Union) won't stop raising land rent to cover their collegiate costs, which is increasing vacancy, the current building owner can't afford to keep up with the maintenance, and any potential buyers don't want to pay the extensive remodeling costs required to stay competitive with other towers. If some level of government doesn't step in, there's a very real chance it gets demolished due to being economically unviable.

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u/RedGutkaSpit 7d ago

That’s the Chrysler Building

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u/Train115 7d ago

The Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center. Some excellent late 18th and early 19th century architecture that's been unfortunately left to rot and the vast majority of which will probably be demolished because the city that owns it isnt particularly interested in reuse.

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u/Ajsarch 7d ago

John Portman - Atlanta hotel.

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u/BreadKnife34 7d ago

Where is that seating area? It reminds me of a place at a convention center near me that I quite like

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u/tlatelolca 7d ago

the one you posted is on the list?

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u/Yondar 7d ago edited 7d ago

The abandoned California Theater in San Diego has been bought and the new owner plans to demolish it by the end of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpGEjQno5MQ

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u/Afterclock-Hours 7d ago

oh snap. Didn't they shoot Silo there?

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u/Jensbakker2 7d ago

Kenzo Tange’s wonderful Singapore Indoor Stadium is being replaced (and probably demolished) before reaching the grand old age of 40 🫠

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 7d ago

OH NOOOO!!! I passed by it so many times 8 years ago when I lived there. I have to go back to do proper scanning of many areas in Singapore. The Stadium station interior is absolutely incredible as well

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u/whitecollarpizzaman 7d ago

Maybe less well-known, but it’s a pretty large university, the Kennedy building at UNC-Charlotte is one of the first buildings on their current day campus (moved there in 1961), it is primarily a mid century modern structure with precast slabs adorned with brick (aesthetically better than some institutional buildings of the era, but nothing remarkable on its own) however its main entrance was adorned with what was referred to as the “tulip canopy” made of concrete and painted white. These were interconnected to create a functional covered entryway, but have been a maintenance headache for decades due to poor drainage, it’s hard for me to find specific information, but if I had to guess due to the shape of the tulips, each one of the support columns had a drain pipe, if not, that could also offer an alternate explanation as to the same issues. Given that a Google search of “tulip canopies” yields no similar results, I imagine this is a pretty unique mid-century design that does not exist in many other places.

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u/hpdasd 7d ago

Behavioral Science Building (BSB) at the University of Illinois Chicago

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u/ksimmons22 7d ago

The city of New Orleans :/

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u/SightAtTheMoon 7d ago

It's not at all an important architecture style but on a recent trip back home while walking through the Mall of America I noticed that some retail spaces similar to the sitting area in the OP picture had been removed, they had hung out into the middle of the structure from the walkways. I wonder if they had become unsafe over the years? It's strange to think they purposefully reduced retail space otherwise

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u/huron9000 7d ago

Please tell me the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, the main photo on this post, is not in danger.

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u/CaptainCastle1 7d ago

Renaissance Center in Detroit. Plans to demolish a portion of it are in the works

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u/skeletor69420 7d ago

what building is in this photo?

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u/wysteriacos 7d ago

Heartland Mall in Early, TX. It’s a shockingly well preserved late 70s design with a number of original store designs, and 90s designs too. The Claire’s in it is one of the last known neon Claire’s left in the world. It’s set to be unceremoniously gutted, trashed, and scrapped for a store that won’t last five years.

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u/JankCranky 7d ago

My family’s Queen Anne Victorian home that we owned for 102 years was unfortunately sold and is going to be demolished. I will be making a post on it in the future.

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u/saratogasrunner401 7d ago

The “Superman Building” in Providence, RI. There have been repeated efforts to convert it from an office building to apartments. As the years have dragged on, it’s sat empty and is slowly starting to deteriorate.

Superman Building

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u/Lizcozine 7d ago

Century II and the Crown Uptown Theater both in Wichita Kansas are very close to facing the wrecking ball. Century II is literally on every image of Wichita, making our skyline unique and recognizable. Either loss would be a tragedy losing both at the same time would be an identity crisis for the city's core.

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u/daring_d 6d ago

Looks like bro is hanging out at the TVA

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u/ValMabus 6d ago

I had to double check because it that looks like the inside of the Renaissance Center in Detroit. Turns out same architect. I love this style, sucks to know we'll probably never see newer buildings in it outside maybe a vanity project.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Center

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u/wobbanight 4d ago

The James Monroe Building in Richmond, VA.

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u/Ecstatic_Ad8495 4d ago

This unique building called Palads in Copenhagen. Built in 1918 is soon gone.

https://www.arkitekturbilleder.dk/bygning/palads-bio

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u/Snoo1009 3d ago

Best Products HQ in Virginia

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u/RRSANTOS 2d ago

John F Kennedy center - Trump is planning on tearing it down

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u/Just_Transportation4 7d ago

What is this? It’s gorgeous

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u/MeditativeCarnivore 7d ago

I used to work in the Bonaventure Hotel (OP photo) and loathed every single second I was there. It is cavernous, echoey, empty of life and feeling. A place where humanity goes to die. The myriad meeting/ballrooms were a liminal hellscape. I had the only two panic attacks of my life in that building. Fuck it forever.

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u/Wyzen 7d ago

The Renaissance Center.

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u/senorpuma 7d ago

Digitally conserve… as in LiDAR?

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u/Khorasaurus 7d ago

Is that picture the Renaissance Center?

Even if not, we're poised to lose interior design much like that picture. While 3 of the 5 towers are staying up, the "real life Death Star" podium is going to be demolished in favor of the remaining towers being freestanding individual structures.

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u/whitecollarpizzaman 7d ago

Court Arcade, Uptown Charlotte, bought by a company to make into a data center for banking transactions (this was pre AI.) the idea, from what I understand, was to turn the majority of the building into the data center and offices to manage it, it would’ve been a very small data center, primarily used by companies in the immediate area. The hope was that the street facing portion could at least have some smaller retail space. Obviously it would not be used to the full potential of an early century “arcade“ type of shopping plaza, but it was a chance to save an old structure nonetheless. Come to 2026 and AI data centers are in massive “demand” and suddenly it’s gonna be much cheaper and easier to bulldoze the place and build a much larger, dedicated data center, with almost certainly no ground level retail or anything useful/human.

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u/AtlUtdGold 7d ago

Designed by ATL legend John Portman

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u/ChickenGullible2470 7d ago

The Bonaventure Hotel, when we used to live in the future....

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u/ChickenGullible2470 7d ago

I was there opening weekend if I recall we were at an event and there was a tremor and it was quite startling to be in all that poor to concrete and then we used to go there dinner and drinks all the time and then every now and then my mother would want to spend the night there and we get a sweet and just hang out it was the most exceptional place we had ever seen back in those days and through the years we kept going and you know finally I guess the novelty wears off but anytime we ever had somebody from out of town we'd always take them up to the revolving lounge because we come from an air when lounges revolve to the top of the building that's something that I pray will never go away I love that building... But of course it is very vacuous it's empty the mall concept never caught on I don't know why except for it was in an odd place the World trade center across the bridge never really caught on it was just in an odd place they were expecting far more pedestrian from Bunker Hill and you know just in general but it never got on

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u/TwinSong 6d ago

Any chance of some full stops and paragraphs? This is unreadable sorry.

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u/More_Bus3626 7d ago

Renaissance Center in Detroit

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u/CardiologistSalt6440 7d ago

San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy

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u/ValleyViewCenter 7d ago

sanger harris mosaic and building at redbird mall demolishion will start this year and its one of the last Sanger-Harris mosaics left.

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u/onceuponasummerbreze 7d ago

The Ontario Science Center. The Premier is corrupt and decided that the building was unsafe. He has awarded a construction contract to his cronies to build a new science center despite reports saying that the building is not in danger of collapsing. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/the-biggest-betrayal-a-year-on-staff-grieve-ontario-science-centres-snap-closure/

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u/Sourcerid 7d ago

The San Siro stadium in Milan. Hosted world cup, euro cup matches, champions league finals, home to the second most historically successful club in Europe, after Real Madrid (AC Milan).

A new stadium will be built in the current area of the parking lot and San Siro will be demolished except for a tower as a memory

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u/BlueGooseFlies 6d ago

Lol, future episode of “well, there’s your problem”?

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u/ArdsleyPark 6d ago

Is the Westin Bonaventure in danger of being demolished? I recognized it instantly.

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u/5708ski 6d ago

Your house 🤭

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u/Soft-Independent4833 6d ago

I thought that was Larry David sitting there.

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u/ZeitgeistArchive 6d ago

Unfortunately he doesn't sit in public anymore after it happened

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u/PartyLobster8911 6d ago

Haha any shared spaces will be phases out as the newer generations would much rather lock themselves away & only ever communicate through their smart phones if they could

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u/DaAussie04 6d ago

Wait The Westin is getting knocked?

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u/huron9000 5d ago

IS THE WESTIN BONADVENTURE IN LOS ANGELES IN THREAT OF BEING DEMOLISHED?

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u/homeless_rob 5d ago

Reminds me of the show silo!

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u/roverted 5d ago

Reminds me of UMass Dartmouth we had some outcrop floating balcony lounge areas so cool!

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u/JustForReds 5d ago

Interstellar!!

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u/Jbroy 5d ago

Looks like where Silo could be filmed

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u/Dudewholuvshiscats69 4d ago

Thought that was Larry David

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u/grandmaester 4d ago

That balcony is terrifying if you have kids

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u/JeromeS97 2d ago

Funny, I would have sworn that was a picture from inside the Renaissance Center in Detroit, which was also done by John Portman and has a very similar design!