Architecture and public transport thread!

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Those buses are about a beautiful as buses get. The Unitrans bus system in the city of Davis, California has some old double-deck buses as part of its fleet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitrans

Here are some examples of Streamline Moderne architecture:

[img][800:1024]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Club_Moderne,_Anaconda,_Montana.jpg/864px-Club_Moderne,_Anaconda,_Montana.jpg[/img]

[img][800:702]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Cleveland_Greyhound.jpg/1280px-Cleveland_Greyhound.jpg[/img]

[img][800:500]http://www.valpo.edu/christopherchina/gallery/images/78opt.jpg[/img]



The spire (not the antenna) atop the Empire State Building has some Streamline Moderne elements.

And yes, those buses are really nice looking.

I have also been a fan of this building because of the sheer size of it and the fact that it just dominates the skyline. Yes, I know the Transamerica Pyramid is taller, but this one is a lot bigger. I also like the color of the granite.

The brick is a bit out of place, but otherwise it looks good.

This Safeway supermarket, believe it or not, is an architectural landmark of sorts.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/7554528@N0 ... otostream/

Wow, a thread with two of my obsessions!

When I was in high school, my plan was to be an architect. That didn't work out so well, but I still love architecture.
I also love public transport, particularly rapid transit. When I went to london when I was 15, I spent a whole day just riding the subway there, just to ride the subway there.

Here's a building I did an elevation of, way back, 25 years ago. I dug it up and scanned it in a few parts then stitched the image together....



I call it the "Pacific Trade Center", to be constructed in LA in the end of the 21st century.
over 12,000 feet tall. It's structure is essentially a cube, on it's corner, surrounded by support structure.
It's a "3" sided pyramid, with all faces 90 degrees from each other. A corner of a cube.
Kind of a Blade Runner feel to it, except much bigger.

Pretty cool, although I feel it would be intimidating to a decent amount of people.

I've found myself a fan of a lot of Raymond Loewy's work. http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/5/50680 ... ic-designs

Check out that artist's rendering of a monorail for Los Angeles.

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/nobody-w ... -512623502

That's pretty cool looking. Los Angeles is just too much of a sprawl to have good public transit in my opinion.

Modcom, you speak my language!

Do people where you are still hate it when someone brings up the Embarcadero Freeway? Or I-238's numbering?

I can't say whether or not people hate I-238, but I do know people still dislike the Embarcadero Freeway.

The deal with I-238 was that it according to the Interstate Highway numbering system, it should be an offshoot from an I-38. But there is no I-38. It was upgraded to an interstate highway in the 80s, and it was already a state highway 238.

Don't even get people started on I-99 (in Pennsylvania).

Interesting. I actually never knew what those numbers meant.

For me (as my avatar suggests), I've been fascinated with the London Underground - big and full of history. Hundreds of stations, each with personality - many were built in different era by different (often competing) companies, and each company had its own distinct style. Sub-surface stations are not always completely "underground" - many were built with openings in the tunnels to allow smoke to escape during the steam era. Tube stations and lines actually follow the path of streets above because during the time of construction, it was cheaper to bore directly under the streets instead of purchasing the rights to dig under buildings - Many stations are curved, resulting in uneven spacing between the train and platform, leading to the famous "Mind the Gap" warning, and a lot of stations found use as bomb shelters during World War II. Other metro systems may be bigger, newer, cleaner, or more efficient, but London is the one that captured my fascination.


Many stations on the Northern line were built in this style


Some station buildings had other buildings built on top. This is a similar design, but I believe it might have been built by a different company.


Many of the older "tube" stations each had their own unique tile pattern, most likely intended to make it easier for commuters to recognize the different stations. (By the way, someone needs to turn that access panel around on the platform so that the tiles match up)


Until a few years ago (before being taken over by the London Overground), a LU line ran through the Thames Tunnel, one of the first tunnels under a navigable river (opened in 1843). It was first built as a pedestrian tunnel, but was later converted to railway use.