Demolition to Magnificent

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - Sachs-RYE-demo-001

A number of years ago I worked on an all-but-tear-down renovation in Rye, New York. This image shows the ‘house’ when the demolition of the existing house was nearly complete.

Today my client sent me a number of unsolicited snap-shots of the property now that the plantings have matured and softened.

It is deeply satisfying to know that my clients are happy, and that the blood, sweat and tears that went into making the project happen was worth it!

Here are some of their pictures…

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Hiding In Plain View: 90 Grove Street

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - Christopher-Street-Park-640x792
Photo credit: Paul Rocheleau

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I know that I am not alone in thinking that the historic West Village is the best neighborhood in New York City!

If you have ever wandered around in the West Village it is likely that you have walked right past one of my favorite houses in New York City – hiding in plain view!

I have had the pleasure of visiting this house on more than one occasion and want to share some of the things that make it so special….

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East 42nd Street: Walking Tour of Beautiful Spaces

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - Times_Square-650x433

Chances are if someone mentions ’42nd Street’ you will think Times Square.

Unlike many New Yorkers, I really do like Times Square – not the tourists, not the shops, or the restaurants; I am not even a huge fan of big Broadway shows – I just LOVE the spectacle of the space, the lights, and the energy of it all.

But this post is NOT about Times Square…

As a follow up to my recent post about historical preservation in the city, I want to share a ‘self-invented self-guided walking tour’ I took when I was still an architecture student in he early 1980’s of some magnificent spaces on the much less frenetic EAST 42nd Street…

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Landmark Interiors in New York City

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2015 - Penn 2
Image courtesy nyc-architecture.com

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This image is not war torn Europe after either of the World Wars.

It is an image from 1965 of the demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City, designed by McKim Mead and White.

And here is an image of the magnificent space that was lost….

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Design Leadership Summit 2014 – Fran, Jamie, Maya and many others…

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2014 - Design Leadership Network - 6A2A0485-L

The 2014 Design Leadership Summit started off with requisite cocktails and raconteur Fran Lebowitz in a conversation with Deborah Needleman – Editor-in-Chief of   ‘T’, the New York Times Style Magazine.  Lebowitz, as anticipated, was in full ‘Fran Lebowitz mode’ opining about the state of New York City “post–Bloomberg” and reminiscing, or rather bemoaning, the things about ‘old New York’ that have disappeared…

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A Modern California Vision Turns 50

Glenn Gissler - Blog - 2014 - ca9946-640x516

On a family vacation road trip in 1974 we drove our van down the Pacific Coast Highway – truly one of the most breathtaking routes in America – as it follows the Pacific Coastline.

We started at the northern border of California where housing and other buildings were scant, and as we got closer to San Francisco I started noticing hyper-cool 70’s buildings, house after house after of-the-moment house – and my adrenaline began rushing. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!

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