So, I was checking my email and I got a message from a colleague about the store H&M. In New York the company decided to take the famous Flatiron Building [done by Chicago Architects Daniel Burnham & Co. and one of my favorite buildings of all time] and dress it up with their advertising by running a huge ad up the entirety of the chamfered corner of the building. Also, not too many stories up from the ground a set of scaffolding was converted into a billboard for citibank wrapping completely around the building. It marred the building’s surface and was in complete disagreement with New York’s Landmark laws [it is listed as a New York landmark]. This person was so outraged they took the photograph of the advertising [in the extended entry] and sent it to the commission who reported back that it was, indeed, in violation and the company had been issued nine violations. Its nice to see that sometimes Historic Preservation and Landmarks Commissions have legal ability to protect against things like this. photos in the extended entry.
taken in early 2003, this is the famous chamfered corner of the building.
photo taken from this site showing horrific advertising materials. obviously not the same angle, but it shows how terrible it looks.
