I was watching Mad Men the other night, and I loved the scene where that scumbag Pete Campbell was trying to woo the Madison Square Garden developers to let him provide their P.R. and squash the nutball commie preservationists who were trying to save Penn Station (McKim, Mead, and White, 1910). I love that Mad Men focuses in on these pivotal points in history, and evokes a feeling of being on the cusp of momentous change. A phoenix of historic preservation rose from the ashes of Penn Station; its demolition was the catalyst that brought people like Jane Jacobs, Ada Louise Huxtable and a slew of like-minded architects together to fight the good fight for preservating historic buildings and better urban planning. The episode inspired me to take a moment of silence to honor this Beaux Arts Masterpiece.

all images from newyorkarchitectureimages.com

Alright, I’ve gone a little bit off the flickr grid – my friend Lucia just posted some absolutely gorgeous photos of Best Farm on her facebook page and I wanted to share them. I believe her husband Brian took these and I felt compared to share:

Is there anything more beautiful than these simple American vernacular buildings?

I tried to research Best Farm online and found this shot. The property became part of the National Park Service in 1993, and I think this building is the same one shown above:

Does anyone know anymore about the preservation and restoration of this site? I believe it was a Civil War Battlefield in Maryland.

first two photos property of Lucia and Brian Hall. Last photo taken from here.