Seeing as how we’re north of 1100 blog posts (as of March 2019), it’s probably too late for a Frequently Asked Questions post, but here it is anyway. This is the blog of Old Structures Engineering. Most of the posts are written by me (Don Friedman) but not all. Topics include pretty much anything touching …
The photo above was taken in the stair of a school, between the cellar (the first level below grade) and the sub-cellar (the second level below grade). More accurately, the line representing the flood during Hurricane Sandy was 33 steps, or roughly 20 feet, below grade. Grade at this location (according to the topo map …
The good news is that column isn’t broken. What appears to be a jagged break line running diagonally across is actually the border between where the old paint was removed prior to the last painting (bottom) and where all of the various coats of paint going back to 1905 are still present (top). It’s not …
In the picture above, the older buildings mostly have brick or limestone-veneer facades, while the new buildings mostly have glass facades. That’s partly the result of changes in architectural styles over the course of the twentieth century, party the result of advances in glass technology, and partly the result of construction economics. What’s notably missing …
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, New York’s municipal buildings were designed to impress, with an emphasis on architectural grandeur, even when the style was bizarre. After a period in the mid-1900s when quality and style suffered, we are now back again in the swing of good design. The picture above is the 1899 …
I mentioned before that differences in zoning have led to rather drastic differences in development between the adjoining cities of Hoboken and Jersey City. The pleasant street scene above is in downtown Hoboken looking south, the new towers in the distance are in Jersey City. The difference is even more dramatic when you’re on foot …
