Farewell to New York's ugliest facade
It was ugly. It was bizarre. It was mind-boggling. It was a New York original. And now it's gone.
We're talking about what had to be the ugliest facade in all of New York City. Known variously as the "Foot Saver" or the "Dr. Locke" building, it was quite a streetscape aberration.
At some point -- we dare suggest it was the 1960s or 1970s, but bad taste truly has no vintage -- the townhouse-style building was insanely covered up in rust-colored metal sheets. Windows were of course, necessary, so openings were very crudely cut, apparently by a saw-wielding, blindfolded amateur.
There it stood, a testament to bad taste and to another time in retail along 34th Street. Dr. Locke/Foot Saver belongs to an era when low-rent retail, shoe stores and fast-food joints ruled the roost around Herald Square. There's still plenty of that, but more and more, it's high-end retail that you'll find along this stretch. Dr. Locke/Foot Saver survived the arrival on the street of Banana Republic and Club Monaco.
Below is the building today, covered in scaffolding with the ugly metal facade carted away. However the facade winds up looking, it will be an epic improvement. Sure, that's easy enough, but we doubt the new facade will be as perversely transfixing.
-- Rolando Pujol
Check out this post by Transfer on the Dr. Locke building, with plenty more pics. A little background on the Dr. Locke we imagine inspired the name. And chime in on your favorite ugly building here.
