Architecture One of the distinguishing features of Grand Central Station, the giant incongruous clock has been lost in the refit. It seems like a small thing perhaps, but how many commuters must look over for the time expecting it to be there, only to find an electronic screen advertising watches?
"The quibble isn't with Grand Central per se but rather with an attitude toward preservation that leaves no room for the clock or any other anomaly. That mind-set banishes the possibility that disparate (read: tasteless/inappropriate/accu-mulated) elements can actually enrich the experience of a public place. In a recent conversation, Fred Bland--principal of Beyer Blinder Belle, the architectural firm responsible for Grand Central's resurrection--remarked that all that was really done to the station was to "clean it up." Although far more than that was done to improve the building, Grand Central has been purged of its diversity and rendered pure. It is now uniformly tasteful and consistent--in fact, a triumph of good taste. It is so consistent that even its goodness is inconsequential for the lack of any variation."
The recent refitting work at Lime Street Station in Liverpool was a vast undertaking, yet the character of the building has remained. Although it's not clear how far they may have gone if budget permitted. [metafilter]
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