I have been contemplating a post about city corners and why we need them to be built out densely to the sidewalk. With thoughts rolling around in my head about this I have been trying to come to some idea of what the corner means to a city. Questions and observations come to mind…..why are so many city corners that were formerly built out densely to the property line now converted to open parking and emptiness? Why is the corner building so often the first to be lost when an urban neighborhood goes suburban? Why is the dense corner so satisfying while the open city corner so forgettable? Queenseyes recent Delta Sonic post provided a great opportunity to explore the meaning and importance of the corner in the urban experience set against a new development that rejects dense urban development.
The Delta Sonic block on the west side of Main Street has been completely converted to a suburbanized style of development with the recent car wash / gas station / retail complex construction. In the process of completing this expansion a relatively large urban corner building was removed and replaced with a corner parking lot fronting a set back group of low rise strip mall buildings. The building that was removed was not ground breaking architecture and many probably never noticed it or paid it much attention. It did however contribute greatly to its urban setting.
Dense urban corners define the street space. They are like exclamation points for a block. Like a sentence without punctuation a block without a building completing its corners can not be read. By defining space, corner buildings create a a sense of place. As humans we crave a sense of place. We want definition of edges. We want to move from one space into another. We need clues to how our existence affects the world. We may not always be conscious of this desire for definition for space but it is there none the less. Cities are designed for human interaction. The best cities accommodate human interaction with densely built streets offering a multitude of events and services that demand human contact. Out of that human interaction comes incredible creativity and productivity.
Corner Buildings also define endings and beginnings. Intersections of streets are both starting points and ending points. They are places that choices are made. A block can gain its definition by the buildings on its corner. Since the intersection often holds the most distinct and visible property on a block the buildings that were built there are often the most expensively built out. They can proclaim themselves in two directions often having very expressive architectural features like turrets. They call out “You have to come over here”. I would be willing to bet that there are few people who have never used the phrase “meet me at the corner”. Corner buildings are landmarks and landmarks tell us where we are in the world.
Much of our suburban form of development is designed to discourage human interaction. Our society is consumed with efficiency, economy, speed, and fear. We want fast and cheap. We are increasingly fearful of taking risks or confronting the unknown. Suburban streets and stores are designed to be highly controlled and privatized. For instance, people feel safer parking in a private lot rather than on the street even when the street space may be closer to their destination. Densely built corner buildings are the antithesis of this societal trend. Corners create ambiguity. You can not see what is coming around the corner. They force you to make choices without preparation. This is one of the reasons corner buildings are the first to go. The entire Delta Sonic Block can now be seen before you even get to the corner….no mystery no surprises and plenty of safe parking controlled by the owner.
I can’t finish without talking about Edward Hoppers well known painting entitled “Nighthawks”. This painting is probably one of the most recognized and most widely reproduced paintings in the world. It depicts a night time view of a corner diner. The diner is brightly lit with large storefront windows wrapping the counter. The waiter dressed in white is serving a few sad and lonely looking customers. The urban scene outside the diner is dark and forbidding. There are two ways to look at this painting. Created in the 1940’s, just as the massive American suburbanization was to begin, this painting depicts the coldness, loneliness and danger that the city represented to many at that time. But you can also see that the corner with is bright interior is a haven. It is a place of safety and comfort. What happens to that image if the corner building is removed. Imagine that scene with an empty parking lot instead of those bright windows. I think Hopper is perhaps expressing a sadness for the coming destruction of the city in this painting.
Back in 1961, as the urban renewal craze was gaining strength in this country, Jane Jacobs came out with a ground breaking book called “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”. In that book she described how we were following a path of planning and design that was antithetical to the creation of healthy and vibrant cities. She also described in detail how great cities are composed and how people live in them. Over the past 44 years much of her thesis has been proven true but to this day we blindly follow the now discredited city destroying practices that continue to ruin urban environments throughout our country. It is difficult to argue for quality of life decisions like saving an old building on a corner. Our language does not give us powerful enough words and money speaks very loudly. This book is a great read for anyone interested in cities and will give you some of the tools and language you need to argue and work for a sensible and balanced form of urban development.