tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766817.post8105392684376328703..comments2023-11-05T22:35:31.766+00:00Comments on Neil Clark: The Empire State, still king of the skyscrapersNeil Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10479041156190090119noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766817.post-69658517292322298052011-05-08T23:51:36.150+01:002011-05-08T23:51:36.150+01:00Al Smith's folly almost never turned a run of ...Al Smith's folly almost never turned a run of profits, and the last thing that I read about it suggested that it was back in deficit again. Bizarrely, an office is apparently really cheap there, when they can be bothered to collect the rent.<br /><br />When I first went to New York, the Rockefeller appealed more--I looked at the Empire State building, and the dodgy lifts and the so-so pub just down from it (the ones at the tip of Manhattan appealed more) and just wasn't into it.<br /><br />Youthful folly. I think now that the Empire State is one of the most beautiful buildings that I have ever come across, on reflection--outside and in, from the useless airship port at the top to that stunning view from the roof. Old Al poured a lot of his desperation at losing the presidency in 1928 and his falling out with FDR into the stones, and they say that the cleaners and janitors worshipped him. From a personal point of view, I remember being up there with my brother, and feeling as though I were standing on the top of some living American pyramid on one of the best trips I have ever had. Beautiful thing. We went from there to the remains of the Fulton fish market where Smith started his career amongst the fishmongers and which some zip-zap health and safety or technology person had just closed down. It was all quite poignant, all very Bowery-and-Sidewalks of New York. They say that in Chicago, there are hearts that dream of Donegal, but why would any New Yorker ever want to go back when they saw buildings like the ESB?<br /><br />That was a nice post, Neil, many thanks-I hope that the Express paid you well!Martin Meenaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06092121503713511010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766817.post-25828942142077763462011-05-07T11:00:36.119+01:002011-05-07T11:00:36.119+01:00Most investments work, some don't.Thats why it...Most investments work, some don't.Thats why it is called entrepreneurship.<br /><br />Without somebody taking that risk the Brill building wouldn't have been built and that housing wouldn't exist.<br /><br />I understand that since the bursting of that "bubble" the property market in New York has not entirely disappeared.<br /><br />Yhe main difference between entrpreeurial projects is that when the former prove uneconomic somebody goes bust while when the latter do they just get a bigger budget/subsidy (eg BBC, housing associations, windmills). That is the enemy of entrepreneurship.neil craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09157898238945726349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766817.post-11336678867799609422011-05-06T20:39:02.800+01:002011-05-06T20:39:02.800+01:00"Eco-fascists" blah blah blah.The big sk..."Eco-fascists" blah blah blah.The big skyscrapers were part of a property bubble that popped leaving the owners scrabbling for tenants.The Brill Buiding with all its musicians and composers was sub-divided and sub-divided again to provide accommodation cheap enough for these low-rent types to afford.The rent-seeking property market is the enemy of entrepreneurship.DBC Reednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17766817.post-7012398949180873682011-05-05T16:21:45.755+01:002011-05-05T16:21:45.755+01:00Would never get planning permission in today's...Would never get planning permission in today's Britain. Technologically we can do far more than back then but the failure of imagination shown by the eco-fascists and the "Precautionary Principle" actually mean we do less.It isn't just socialism that is scared of its achievement it is the entire political class.neil craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09157898238945726349noreply@blogger.com