Is there a specific reason old public works projects used to be a lot more elaborate aesthetically versus the "lowest bidder" approach they take today?
If it was in the years between the Great Depression and World War 2, the Works Progress Administration that was part of the New Deal put people to work in building public works and art and teaching art, among other things.
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/01/16/wpa-us-infrastruct...
The first reason is that contemporary trends in architecture tend to favor more utilitarian designs.
The second reason is that public projects have a real problem trying to control labor costs during projects. The most artistic and aesthetically pleasing works of craftsman ship taking time and money public projects can't support right now.
On the surface, yes -- but Moses (for whatever reason) hated the subways, and was to some extent responsible for the neglect that made the system a wreck by the late '70s. (For those who have complaints about the way things are now, it was worse.)
In any case, a lot of the subway art described here was from before the '30s -- many of the stations described are part of the original IRT line, which opened 1904.
According to The Power Broker, Moses liked grand visions and held poor people in contempt, because he thought he knew what was good for them.
Rehabilitating the subway is not a new, grand project. It also would‘ve primarily benefitted the poor people in a way contrary to his visions. Finally, it would‘ve competed for federal money with his precious highway projects since the federal government would be reluctant to allocate too much money to one region. So the subway had all the things going against it, in Moses‘ opinion.
Comments
Is there a specific reason old public works projects used to be a lot more elaborate aesthetically versus the "lowest bidder" approach they take today?
If it was in the years between the Great Depression and World War 2, the Works Progress Administration that was part of the New Deal put people to work in building public works and art and teaching art, among other things. http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/01/16/wpa-us-infrastruct...
The first reason is that contemporary trends in architecture tend to favor more utilitarian designs.
The second reason is that public projects have a real problem trying to control labor costs during projects. The most artistic and aesthetically pleasing works of craftsman ship taking time and money public projects can't support right now.
Labor was cheap and expendable.
In NY, every minute you allow an employee near a ladder costs you money due to Workers Compensation costs.
In NY a lot of the public works from 1930-1960 was driven by Robert Moses, starting with his Jones beach projects.
The Power Broker would be my recommended reading.
On the surface, yes -- but Moses (for whatever reason) hated the subways, and was to some extent responsible for the neglect that made the system a wreck by the late '70s. (For those who have complaints about the way things are now, it was worse.)
In any case, a lot of the subway art described here was from before the '30s -- many of the stations described are part of the original IRT line, which opened 1904.
According to The Power Broker, Moses liked grand visions and held poor people in contempt, because he thought he knew what was good for them.
Rehabilitating the subway is not a new, grand project. It also would‘ve primarily benefitted the poor people in a way contrary to his visions. Finally, it would‘ve competed for federal money with his precious highway projects since the federal government would be reluctant to allocate too much money to one region. So the subway had all the things going against it, in Moses‘ opinion.