Behemoths In My Town

As Daughter #1 and I drove into the city from our Wisconsin trip, we chose to go through town using streets and not highways.  Arriving at the edge of the city about 3 pm, we thought the highways would be clogged with home bound workers.  They were.  We also encountered detours that sent us onto streets we hadn’t planned to traverse.

 

Something horrible is happening to the neighborhoods we drove through.  Huge buildings – monstrous buildings – have been and are being thrown up to be used as lodging for human beings.  Taking the place of single family homes, these buildings seem to have no green space.  They have no character.  They seem to have windows that do not open.  They seem to be built for people who do not desire fresh air in their homes, but are willing to live with air conditioning, alone.

Neighborhoods are being destroyed.  Children will have no place to play, outside of their house and in their yard, under the watchful eye of a parent or other adult.  Will they be restricted to playing in the streets, as they seem to do in “big” cities?  There is a structure on the southwest corner of Mississippi and Broadway that appears to be an absolutely huge beehive!.  Window and window repeated and repeated.  Rows of windows – horizontal and vertical.  All of them the same.  This beehive takes up almost an entire block and sits encroaching on the sidewalk.  No sun can reach those sidewalks or the streets; the buildings block the sunshine.

I think that, perhaps, what may bother me the most is the UGLINESS of these structures.  They appear to be boxes set on top of boxes and beside boxes.  The architecture does not fit the neighborhood.  There is no compatibility with other buildings in the area.  To date, I have not had one person with whom I’ve talked think the new construction is suitable or pretty.  Is the plan to construct more hideous structures so the entire area looks like several beehives?  Is this what is being taught in college architecture programs?

Recently, while watching a television program, I saw aerial views of New York City and other large cities.  I wondered if that is where we are headed.  Many of our high-rise buildings are next to the railroad tracks that run in some parts of our city.  If the residents of those buildings want to give up their motor cars and ride the train everywhere, that’s fine with me.  And, if they don’t give up their car, where will they park?  Living in the West, we use our cars when we go to the grocery store and take home bags of food stuffs (we don’t shop every day and walk, carrying the purchases home).  We use our cars to get to medical appointments.  We use our cars to get our children to school.  Generally, we do not attempt to do these and other activities by using a bus or light rail or taxi – which would take many times longer to accomplish, as well as possibly increase costs.  Have you tried to get across town on public transportation, lately?  Also, we have our mountains and plains for recreation.  Are we going to rent a car every time we want to go to see those places?  To go skiing?  To take a short vacation or just a drive in the country?   Even getting to the airport for air travel would require a hassle.

All of the ugliness is not high-rise buildings.  Some are multi-plex buildings sandwiched between single family dwellings.  Again, these buildings have no character.  They are boxes, and they are indeed ugly.

 

Today, driving home from a workshop, I photographed some of those places that I’ve been talking about.  If I had attempted to get to the building where the workshop was held, it would have required two buses using a transfer; and hours of wasted time.  And, using public transportation, you travel on their time schedule.

I’m aware that much of our problem is that we are having an influx of people from other states, where I can only image that they are fleeing the “rat maze” in which they are living.  They seem to want open spaces, fresh air, beautiful views – I could go on.  Surely, these people can find another state where there are open spaces, fresh air, and beautiful views.  Montana.  Wyoming.  Idaho.  These states all come to mind.

I do not like this creeping foul use of building materials.  I do not want my city to become Los Angeles, New York, or any other city with nothing but high-rise buildings as homes for its residents.  But, I fear that that is the direction in which we are headed.

Be Safe and Be Well.

The Cranky Crone

Thoughtful comments are appreciated.