The Lower East River Side

Williamsburg is starting to look like Jersey City these days with it's new skyscraper themed waterfront.  Now stage two is being planned on the southern end of the 'Burg, centered around what used to be the Domino Sugar Factory (pictured above).


There is a current exhibit at the American Institute of Architects space on LaGuardia Place showing a potential future for the landmarked site.  Rafael Viñoly Architects has designed a plan to remake the 125-year-old industrial complex into an 11.2 acre, mixed-income residential and mixed-use development.  What's nice is that they've preserved the Domino Factory at the center of it all. What's not so nice is that, other than some street amenities,  it looks just as bland as the Trump West Side Railyard development.


If development continues like this, Williamsburg is soon going to resemble the Upper West Side.  Maybe that's the plan, at least for Bloomberg who likes to turn every unique neighborhood into a generic super-hi-rise, vertical version of suburbia.  But it would be a shame to see the quirkiness of the 'Burg blanded out like this.  

The BEST Showrooms From The 1970's

The TARGET chain of department stores is always getting credit for being stylish and sharp in terms of design for it's vivid ads and corporate styling. However, the exterior of most TARGETS have a tendencey to look the same...big red-brick boxes.

Way back in the wacky 70's, there was a chain of catalog stores called BEST that prospered in the mid-Atlantic region and was known for its unusual storefronts. The founder of the company, Sydney Lewis, had an avid interest in art and architecture and hired the revolutionary SITE firm for one of BEST's first showrooms, pictured here.. Called the "Indeterminate Facade", the company's Houston location made a crumbling, post-apocalyptic statement that TARGET would never dare.

This is BEST's most famous facade but there were others, which you can check out here on the SITE website. They company had a decade-long collaboration with the firm which turned out some really stunning work. Unfortunately, BEST went bankrupt in the mid-80's and their visually shocking showrooms are only a memory today. The one in Houston was intact for more than 10 years after BEST folded. But recently a new tenant sliced off the "indeterminate" top of the facade and now it's just another big white box on a Houston highway.