..[Please note: Some photographs (and links to/information regarding their original source) have been removed from this post at the request of the photographer. With that in mind we would like to take the opportunity to note that we do not maintain this blog for commercial purposes, and no profit is derived from it. When we post photos or other artwork it is with the intention of commenting on information or items that we find interesting; we hope that by doing so we might inspire readers to learn more about the topics we discuss, and to support the artists we feature.]
---
Glenwood Power Station. Photo courtesy imposemagazine.comOur friend Maya (whose
wedding we attended
in Vermont last September, at the beginning of our road trip West), recently put us up on some beautiful photos of the Glenwood Power Station in Yonkers, just north of NYC on the Hudson River.
The station was built in the early 1900s as part of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad's switch from steam to electricity, and later used to supply power to Yonkers and the surrounding region. (The architects, Charles Reed and Allen Stem, also designed NYC's Grand Central Terminal, along with the firm of Warren & Wetmore.) The power station was shut down in the 1960s and has been peacefully decaying since then, although it apparently remains structurally sound.
Photo courtesy imposemagazine.com
There have been attempts to protect the building through local landmark legislation, but those efforts have been stalled since 2005. In 2008, the
Preservation League of New York State named the building to
Seven to Save, its list of the most endangered properties in New York.
Photos courtesy imposemagazine.comThe building's current owner is actively marketing it for development. A proposal to turn it into an art museum with condo towers on top (removing the smoke stacks and skylight roof) was reportedly withdrawn in late 2007.
Photo courtesy imposemagazine.com
I hope that someone with the foresight to develop the building in a way that's respectful of the beauty of the original structure steps forward. If not, I'd rather just see it slowly disintegrate into its surroundings, industrial decay at its finest.
Photo courtesy imposemagazine.com
More photos and information at
Impose, here, and the
Preservation League of New York State,
here.
I remember one time cleaning out my Dad's liquor cabinet, which had been growing with every type of unwanted liquor, from Schnapps to way-past-their-prime Ports, and sadly we poured out 4 or 5 bottles of my Grandfather's Early Times bourbon, inherited on his passing, probably 10 years or more aged in the bottle on the shelf. We thought we would never drink it, it smelled so foul it made us wretch, but I know now that he probably drank it every day and bought it by the case. It's funny to me when people pick one drink and stick with it forever – their signature drink.
