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Old-Time Photos Of NYC Take Us Back To The Last Depression

December 17, 2008 at 3:50 PM | 0 Comments

The New York Public Library has just uploaded reams of old-timey photos to Flickr, where you can now browse snaps from Ellis Island, Civil War-era pictures and even "Yosemite Views." But the 160-picture set called "Changing New York, 1935-1938" struck us as particularly relevant given current events that may soon wipe out the endless new bank branches that have popped up in Manhattan the past few years.

Among the photos of shanties on West Houston, elevated trains and horse-drawn carriages, there are also some NYC sites we recognize, like the Empire State Building (finished in 1931), the George Washington Bridge (also finished in 1931) and the palatial homes lining Gramercy Park. Financial crises or not, some things, it seems, never change.

Related Stories:
· Changing New York, 1935-1938 [Flickr]
· Signs [Flickr Blog]

[Photo of Herald Square: NYPL]

NPR Plumbs the Drains of Vegas

December 6, 2008 at 1:55 PM | 0 Comments

The urban exploration trend is at once fascinating and a little twerpy. Sure, the idea of scaling a bridge tower or slipping into an abandoned insane asylum is attractive in a subversive kind of way, but you've got to wonder whether a grown man who spends weekends dressed up like a cat burglar and dodging rent-a-cops is making the best use of his time. Explorers such as journalist Matt O'Brien, however, actually do a public service with their clandestine voyages through the urban underbelly of America. As a nifty NPR bit points out, O'Brien has spent more than five years exploring the extensive network of storm drains underneath Las Vegas, and his research has yielded a vivid picture of what life is like for some of the 14,000 homeless people who have slipped through the cracks of the city and wound up beneath all the glitz.

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Bringing The Streets Indoors

November 11, 2008 at 3:17 PM | 0 Comments

Canadian street artists Fauxreel and Specter have renovated an old warehouse into a dilapidated fake urban wonderland.

Called "A City Renewal Project," it's a secret world hidden behind a fake storefront in Toronto. Inside the seedy store is what looks like the workspace of an artist, filled with wood, construction materials and lots of Bell telephones. A back door will transport you into a long warehouse space that looks like an indoor facsimile of a real city street. Life-size black and white reproductions of closed and derelict stores line the walls of the warehouse. Further adding to the reality of the installation are real bus shelters, billboards, garbage cans--and real garbage. And of course, everything is covered in graffiti and tags.

The artists fear that the practice of tearing down old buildings and putting up brand-new condos is destroying their city's cultural history. Even the building the show is housed in is scheduled to be knocked down to make way for new apartments. A City Renewal Project is up until November 23, at inconsistent hours, so check the website for details.

Related Stories:
· A City Renewal Project [Official Site]
· Outside In [Torontoist]
· Toronto Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: A City Renewal Project]

Design Travel: Your Design City Photo Contest

October 2, 2008 at 2:30 PM | 0 Comments

The good folks over at Flickr are hosting a photo competition that ties in with the Design Cities exhibition being held at London's Design Museum. The exhibit, for its part, "tells the story of contemporary design through cities (London, Paris, Vienna, Dessau, Los Angeles, Milan and Tokyo) at their creative height."

The contest has few restrictions; any photo that represents contemporary design in your city is OK. Whether it's architecture, furniture, interiors or mailboxes, as long as it's great design, it's game.

A selection of photographs will be displayed at the Design Museum in January 2009, and one photo will be printed on 80,000 posters that are to be distributed in creative outlets around the UK.

Related Stories:
· Your Design City [Official Site]
· Design Cities Exhibition [Official Site]
· Design Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Research Study Travel: Melbourne IS Better Than Sydney

September 16, 2008 at 9:38 AM | 0 Comments

While Sydney might still hold the crown as Australia's most visited city, southern cousin Melbourne is poised to take over--and not just because if current population growth rates continue, it will become the largest Aussie city in 2028.

Melbourne's also been rated sixth on an Ethisphere Institute study (Sydney didn't rate a mention) which rated it as a world city of the future. People-oriented city policies like introducing a bike rental system, cutting car use downtown and expanding public transport all make Melbourne's future sound bright.

Defenders of Sydney say it's just going through a "post-Olympic depression" but they're talking the Olympics of eight years ago--we say it's time to get over it. And we always did have a much softer spot for Melbourne, anyway.

Related Stories:
· Sydney Suffers and the Winner is Melbourne [SMH]
· Melbourne Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Vermin Inc]

Sky Is Falling Travel: Walking Past New York's Deadly Construction Sites

August 18, 2008 at 4:30 PM | 0 Comments

Watch out, New York pedestrians! Even more glass panels and other assorted detritus are flying off buildings and crashing to the sidewalks below. The latest was a 1,500-pound window that smashed into a protective metal shed above the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, injuring two people.

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Architecture Travel: Reactivate!! Instant Urbanism

August 11, 2008 at 1:30 PM | 0 Comments

The Espai d' Art Contemporani de Castelló museum, near Valencia, Spain is hosting a fantastic exhibit called REACTIVATE!! Highlighting architecture projects that transform underused and forgotten urban areas and buildings into vital public spaces, it runs through August 31.

The designers in the show have thrown out the notion of loitering and use temporary and modular structures to reshape the cityscape into a more interactive and enjoyable place to relax, play and connect with fellow residents. Nicknamed "instant urbanism," the projects of REACTIVATE!! turn transient areas permanent.

One interesting stand out is Popelka Poduschka's installation at the inner courtyards of the Museumsquartier in Vienna. In the summertime, 116 colorful over sized geometric furniture elements are scattered throughout the area, creating a playground that provides places to do some work or soak up the sun. In the winter, they are all piled together like building blocks, making an indoor gathering area where refreshments are served and DJs spin.

Related Stories:
· Espai d' Art Contemporani de Castelló [Official Site]
· Instant Urbanism [Worldchanging]
· Architecture coverage [Jaunted]

Hunting the Wild Parrots of Brooklyn

August 5, 2008 at 12:30 PM | 1 Comment

The 2003 documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" made San Francisco's colorful birds a minor tourist fixation. But you don't have to hit the Left Coast to get your urban parrot fix: It turns out the squawkers have been invading Brooklyn at a steady pace since the 1960s.

Steve Baldwin--who is not Stephen Baldwin--runs the website BrooklynParrots.com and offers periodic tours showing off the borough's parrot population. The Brooklyn Wild Parrot Safari takes visitors through the biggest colonies, which are located at Brooklyn College and in the Greenwood Cemetery.

The next tour is September 13, and, as Steve says, "This tour is free, but the parrots are hungry." BYO bird seed!

Related Stories:
· Brooklyn Wild Parrot Safari [Official Site]
· A Parrot Flock Grows in Brooklyn [BirdChannel.com]
· Animals Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jef Poskanzer]

Urban Travel: Small Cranes Are the Ones to Fear

June 2, 2008 at 2:15 PM | 0 Comments

Friday's crane collapse on New York's Upper East Side was the city's second deadly crane accident in two months. The incident comes on the heels of similar crane calamities in Miami and Annapolis, Maryland.

Today Slate's Explainer feature delves into all of this crane collapse madness asking "Why Do Cranes Fall Down?." Slate says an average of 82 people are killed in crane accidents each year, but apparently

The cranes that do fall over tend to be of the smaller, mobile variety--as opposed to gigantic, fixed-tower cranes like those involved in both New York City accidents.

That should be at least a bit comforting for urban explorers.

The accidents in New York and Miami all occurred while the cranes were being fitted with additional sections for added height. This process--known as "jumping"--seems to be the riskiest thing about the big cranes, while according to Slate, overly heavy loads and electrical accidents are the most dangerous things about the small ones. Heads up!

Related Stories:
· Why Do Cranes Fall Down? [Slate]
· After Crane Collapse, Experts Call for More Tests [AP, via Google]
· New York Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of NYC collapse: Paul Brady]