Great buildings lost to demolition, development and disaster

Progress in our society, culture, economy, technology and specifically in this case, our built environment – architecture, is an unstoppable force in modern civilisation. However, that does not stop us bemoaning or even being sentimental for buildings that no longer exist through decisions to demolish them to make way for new developments. Especially so in our past before awareness and support for architectural preservation and protection began to take hold. Awareness for preservation cannot stop disasters though, in the case of two of the buildings (Crystal Palace and Cliff House) – fire ravaged them eventually.

For these lost buildings, we lament their aesthetic qualities, the engineering prowess in the construction, the interaction we may have had with them, how they defined an area or their importance historically in representing a certain style or movement of the time. Look at this gallery of some of the more iconic and famous buildings that no longer exist and let us know, if you could have saved one of them from demolition or disaster, which would it have been?

All images in this article and on the Kaleidoscope blog site are available for licensing.  Please contact UIG at info@universalimagesgroup.com

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