Of course, James Blish sent it into space
July 2, 2013 11:07 AM   Subscribe

Filling the East River. Filling the HUDSON River. Building a dome over Midtown. Borderline crazy proposed infrastructure projects for New York City.
posted by Chrysostom (45 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Fill the east river and divert the flow to the edge of Nassau county, then we can finally be free.
posted by The Whelk at 11:12 AM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


On the dome:

Of course, in reality, it likely would've led to strict urban segregation in Manhattan, between those "inside the bubble," and those without.

Is this as funny to New Yorkers as it is from a distance?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:13 AM on July 2, 2013 [6 favorites]


(also I want Gaudi's mile high Emerald City-esque tower on the tip of Manhattan please.)
posted by The Whelk at 11:14 AM on July 2, 2013


I can't imagine that airport proposal being anything short of the single worst mass loss of human life waiting to happen. One airplane landing short would take out the whole structure and everyone inside of it.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:16 AM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


I basically support any plan that makes New York look more like a Hugh Ferriss drawing.
posted by The Whelk at 11:20 AM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


My main beef with the lack of lower hudson crossings is that it makes fleeing the city during a zombie apocalypse so much harder.

maybe i should run for city council on this platform
posted by elizardbits at 11:23 AM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Also what is the purpose of the dome? It seems like the most stupid of the lot.
posted by elizardbits at 11:24 AM on July 2, 2013


There are a bunch more of these types of things on hyperreal cartography.
posted by desjardins at 11:25 AM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


"For toDAY third of MAY twenty-TEN ManhatTEN reports mild spring-type weather under the Fuller Dome. Ditto on the General Technics Plaza."
posted by octothorpe at 11:30 AM on July 2, 2013 [6 favorites]


Does anyone really want to be able to walk to Hoboken? Really?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:30 AM on July 2, 2013


Brunner refs are always welcome, octothorpe!
posted by Chrysostom at 11:36 AM on July 2, 2013


elizardbits - Climate control? Because weather is icky?
posted by Wretch729 at 11:37 AM on July 2, 2013


"Jacking up the whole island of Manhattan by six feet to compensate for rising sea levels, 2043" is my favourite implausible, craz-

Oh, wait.
posted by alasdair at 11:39 AM on July 2, 2013


No we let the lower levels flood and create a network of multitiered intersecting walkways and bridges and small boats.
posted by The Whelk at 11:41 AM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


I love the idea of keeping the summer grossness at bay but on the other hand I picture the dome being full of recycled fart air like in airplanes. Also how do they correct for the "everyone gets fried like ants under a magnifying glass" factor.

DOWN WITH THE DOME
posted by elizardbits at 11:44 AM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


It is a shame the NYTimes paywall didn't find a way to encapsulate the entire city.
posted by srboisvert at 11:45 AM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]




This article says the dome was supposed to regulate weather and reduce air pollution.

The plan was for the giant dome to reduce cooling costs in summer and heating costs in the winter. Buildings would not be heated and cooled separately, instead the entire dome would be kept at a moderate temperature level.
posted by Area Man at 12:12 PM on July 2, 2013


I can't imagine that airport proposal being anything short of the single worst mass loss of human life waiting to happen. One airplane landing short would take out the whole structure and everyone inside of it.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:16 PM on July 2


Eponysterical?
posted by silanfa at 12:20 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Buckminster Fuller: when in doubt, put a dome on it™
posted by ook at 12:21 PM on July 2, 2013 [4 favorites]


ook-- very similar to my rule of thumb regarding insects!
posted by Static Vagabond at 12:24 PM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


BLDGBLOG: Lower Manhattan National Park, which involves damming and draining the Hudson and East rivers.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:37 PM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


Fill the Hudson River with soda. Deal with it, Bloomberg.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:58 PM on July 2, 2013 [4 favorites]


Wait...you mean to say that Paradigm City was an actual proposal?
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:04 PM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


We don't need a dome. We need torn twisted remains of a dome to provide habitat for gibsonian liminal societies. Lo-teks, who reject society by repurposing its failed grand projects.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:10 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


ook: "Buckminster Fuller: when in doubt, put a dome on it"

If you liked it then you should have put a dome on it.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 1:20 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Damn I would have loved to see that suspension bridge with 800-ft. towers! I mean holy wow!
posted by Mister_A at 1:25 PM on July 2, 2013


But I guess it would be too tempting for pitchers to crash into.
posted by Mister_A at 1:25 PM on July 2, 2013


I can't imagine that airport proposal being anything short of the single worst mass loss of human life waiting to happen. One airplane landing short would take out the whole structure and everyone inside of it.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:16 PM on July 2


I think you overestimate the destructive power of an airplane vs a structure of that size. For example, look at the horrific example of 9/11: The planes went in one side of the tower and esentially disintegrated, spewing small debris out the other side. That was on a structure one block long. This proposed airport was 144 blocks long. It would be more of a "Captain, hull breach detected on deck 7" level of damage to the overall structure.

Also for perspective, this idea was proposed only a year after a B-25 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building with no long term catastrophic damage suffered to the structure.
posted by barc0001 at 1:31 PM on July 2, 2013


Lower Manhattan National Park, which involves damming and draining the Hudson and East rivers.

Wait, Manhattan could rise from a deep forested canyon and sit atop a massive mesa like a perfect fantasy novel cover illustration? Complete with bridges spanning vast valleys? We could possibly use it as a hydroelectric dam?

Where do I sign?
posted by The Whelk at 1:41 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


Dome blue? Is this a thinly veiled ad for the dull soap-opera-ish Stephen King authored TV show about a dome?
posted by Cranberry at 2:16 PM on July 2, 2013


NoxAeternum: "Wait...you mean to say that Paradigm City was an actual proposal?"

I require the ability to favorite something at least 10, if not 20, times. One is simply not enough for this genius.
posted by wierdo at 2:19 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


These aren't all that big. It's not like they're trying to dam the San Francisco Bay into two large lakes or drain the Mediterranean.

The first one got big enough that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 1:1000 scale model to test it.
posted by ckape at 2:30 PM on July 2, 2013 [2 favorites]


Is this a thinly veiled ad for the dull soap-opera-ish Stephen King authored TV show about a dome?

The King Dome? That imploded back in 2000. It was awesome!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:30 PM on July 2, 2013


Not all that farfetched. Manhattan is full of small streams and rivers that have been filled in.
posted by Melismata at 2:43 PM on July 2, 2013


One airplane landing short would take out the whole structure and everyone inside of it.

I think you underestimate the era's acceptance of transportation bereft of safety features. People accepted automobiles that today would be considered death traps until Ralph Nader came along.

Anyway, with the contemporary (and included) example of Robert Moses, there was a tendency to think big during this era, with the added bonus of not having to consider externalities that you didn't care about. But when you look at e.g. JFK, Logan, Narita, and Chek Lap Kok, among other examples, building airports over "unnecessary" bodies of water is a fairly common practice.
posted by dhartung at 3:01 PM on July 2, 2013


Damn I would have loved to see that suspension bridge with 800-ft. towers! I mean holy wow!

They built one pretty close to that size in San Francisco. Jumping off it is something of a civic pastime.
posted by localroger at 3:05 PM on July 2, 2013


New York will be Venice in our lifetime.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:12 PM on July 2, 2013


#Dome Stop Believin'
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:14 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


It could happen to LA too.

#Dome & Out In Beverly Hills
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:15 PM on July 2, 2013


Melismata: "Not all that farfetched. Manhattan is full of small streams and rivers that have been filled in."

Yes. The Hudson River is slightly larger, however.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:29 PM on July 2, 2013


And more flammable.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:48 PM on July 2, 2013 [1 favorite]


True, true. #Dome by the River
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:48 PM on July 2, 2013


LOMEX came pretty damn close to actually happening. 10 lanes of highway surrounded by housing projects. Lovely.
posted by R. Mutt at 4:03 PM on July 2, 2013


Hats off for the James Blish nod! Loved those book when I was a kid.
posted by Max Power at 8:44 PM on July 2, 2013


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