^^ I don't see why a post office is any less swag-tastic than an ugly modernist toilet bowl. If there's any swag to be had in the architecture, it's in the clubhouse, not the facade.
Does anybody actually think MSG is attractive? Obviously the interior's been remodeled numerous times, but the exterior is still pretty awful, and it's crowded out by all the Penn Station entrances. MSG is an outdated inefficient arena sitting on top of an outdated, inefficient rail station. It's really a lose-lose and any option that doesn't move MSG elsewhere will result in a sub-par station. The tunnels are laid out such that the platforms are more or less centered between 8th and 7th, although some of them go a bit further west - that's why the West End Concourse is possible.
The solution shown in NYguy's renderings is perfect - a dedicated headhouse on each side of 8th Avenue, with MSG in the west part of Farley (where it's not above platforms) and a reclad/renovated Two Penn Plaza. I think the architecture could use some work, but the concept is exactly right for New York.
One thing I've never heard discussed is where the postal functions would go. Obviously, that's an important service that needs to remain somewhere in the city.
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la forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel...
Last edited by ardecila; Mar 7, 2011 at 10:50 AM.
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