Mostly empty post office on 8th Ave & W 33rd St.: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=2691
Abandoned law offices in lower Manhattan: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=2164
Biplane on top of a Manhattan skyscraper: http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=4202
The old one was as beautiful as Grand Central in it's time, I feel like we really lost something when it was demolished for and replaced with the present day abomination. It's like they finally realized what a loss it was and are trying to remedy it AND preserve another nearby beautiful building.
This http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_Station1.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_Station2.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NYP_LOC4.jpg
was replaced by this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_Station_concourse.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Jersey_Transit_termina... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Britney_Spears_MSG.jpg
If anything feels like a retrograde in civilization, Penn Station is it.
It won't completely replace what was lost, but I have high hopes it's a move in the right direction.
I love GCT, it's one of my favorite train stations in the world. London Paddington [1] and Antwerp Central [2] are also quite stunning and both have an interesting history.
In the same vein, I'd like to recommend watching the new drama series 'Mr Selfridge' starring Jeremy Piven. It depicts the early days of legendary London department store Selfridges [3]. Starting March 31, it'll air on PBS [4].
[1] http://theworklife.com/graham-miln/files/2012/01/Beautiful-i...
[2] http://dairyfreetraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Antw...
[3] http://london-sightseeing.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Sel...
[4] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/series/mr-selfr...
As an aside, I read reddit's r/architecture and find lots of the modern architecture discussed there quite dreadful, the group think seems to think that lots of flat rectangles with random material use. Everything looks same-same, unlivable and boring.
Walk around Grand Central and it's a model of efficiency, the number of people that can move about that facility without getting jammed up on thresholds and transitions, and oddball "innovative" hallways is staggering. Tall ceilings bring in ample natural light, the information desk is stunningly easy to find and offers the most important piece of information a train rider needs, a clock, large and high enough you can see it clearly from pretty much everywhere.
And it's simply a beautiful building as well.
It's magnificent. I'm convinced that the post WWII reaction to these older styles is where we collectively lost our minds, and we're only now starting to get them back.
However, I know of contemporary architecture that accomplishes that as well. For example, take a gander at Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building of Bangladesh [1] or Ton Albers' Gas Union building in Groningen, The Netherlands [2]
[1] http://www.archdaily.com/83071/ad-classics-national-assembly...
The Baroque Château de Maisons-Laffitte [1] would look splendid next to the Palais Garnier [2] built 200 years later all in a fictional city next to the Pantheon [3] built 2000 prior!
[1] - http://www.maisonslaffitte.net/ [2] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier [3] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome
I think this influence carried forward and evolved into Art Deco [4] somewhat, and the war simply killed off this entire line of movement.
[4] - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Chrysler_...
And then we end up with eyesores like the J Edgar Hoover building