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The year is 1965 and for all we know, nukes are pointed our way less than a hundred miles away and we're racing for the moon in our newfangled hot rods. Cities are
nearing the boiling point and we're trying to renew them with open spaces and highways we'll later regret. Modernism is evolving to embrace this space age madness.
Highway 61 Revisited is the soundtrack to the revolution against, well, do we even know? The year is 1965 on City Line Avenue, and Holiday Inn has opened the most modern, space age slice of swank the Avenue has seen, replete with a revolving top floor restaurant called the Empire Room. Holiday Inn eventually moved on (and then built another friggin hotel next door) and Adam's Mark assumed responsibility. It too, it would seem, eventually discovered that City Line grew up around it in a way that even this once modern hotel could not accommodate. The freeway with traffic lights has seas of parking lots, TGI Fridays, shopping centers and mass communications. City Line is weird. In our 21st century autocentric society, the Adam's Mark welcomed you to City Line. (Well, right after that hokey City Ave sign. First of all, Philly Skyline will always call it City Line, and secondly 69th Street wants its original idea back.) It was the pinnacle of that mini-skyline, the City Line almost-urban cluster. And now it's going the way of the space race, thanks to Target. Now, I like Michael Graves toasters and cheap shampoo as much as the next guy, but we can't help but think that Target didn't think this through; that they weren't thinking outside the big box. Twenty-three stories of already-made hotel space (or kondo krazy konversion?) is going to waste for a big flat box of a Target. I'm not saying City Line couldn't use a Target -- it probably could. But to do it at the Adam's Mark's expense seems unnecessary. These here are just two simple pages of pictures, a before and during, if you will. The 'after' will come as soon as demolition is complete. Which reminds me: why are they not just imploding it? I understand that implosion is expensive, but isn't it also expensive to hire crane operators and demolition crews to take it down bit by bit over the course of half a year when it could be done in less than 60 seconds? Uncle Kage has got a nice tribute to the Adam's Mark over HERE that's worth checking out. To launch these pictures, click below. |
