[artspook]

I say build another row of BIG BAD "X"s on top of the 1st row ! . .
And paint 'em all screaming florescent Construction-Orange ! . .
It would look Mega-City Design-RAD ! . . BIG "X"s need strong color.

Even though architecture critic Paul Goldberger hated the diagonal steel bracing . .
when the Port Authority was built . . I've always thought it awesome-cool lookin' ! . .
(Goldberger & I agree on very little) . . The port-authority's gigantic row of "X"s . .
a multi-story truss two blocks long . . looks so minimal - so rigorously industrial -
. . so functional - so about the repetition of a simple modern form - so steam-punk - . .
so unique . . It holds up all those heavy busses for gosh-sake ! . . Show a little Heft ! . . And so it does - in spades ! Love it ! . . The generic interior is another matter entirely.

But they screwed it up when they wanted to domesticate it . .
they painted those big mighty "X"s green . . to match the old green McGraw-Hill Bldg. .
Critics Loved that idea - 'cause none of them ever got the industrial aesthetic thing . .
They thought the couch - the drapes - and the wall paper should all match pretty . . But
both buildings looked better when the Authority was a complementary industrial Red . .

These of course are the same smart people . .
who had orgasms when new buildings around the UN . . matched the height and color
of the Secretariat tower . . match it all up - keep it all the same - uniform bulk . . etc .
the bland polite city vibe . . even though the town was bankrupt and burning.

Then other idiot-critics had an idea - "For God sake obscure those raw P.A. trusses . .
(the XXX porn-palace owners are scandalized !)" . . Which they then started to do . .
(at the NE corner of the building) with huge square trellises to hold $-making signage . .
Exciting architectural form be damned.

But we're all much more adventuresome now - so . . I'll have another row of big "X"s
on top please . . for our beloved strung out NYC commuters . .
who sure as hell don't want to get off the bus in New Jersey.