[Magdalen] End of Season.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

The current issue of the USA monthly, "Architectural Record," details  the
sad closure of the famed Four Seasons Restaurant in the landmark  Seagram
building in midtown Manhattan.  The restaurant will move elsewhere,  but it
won't be the same.
 
With the restaurant closure, apparently due to escalating lease fees,  there
will be an auction 26th July to sell off the incomparable furnishings by  
the
great international designers.  The travertine floors and wood paneled  
walls
are protected under the landmark designation for the building.
 
At one point, in the 1970's I made it a point to have lunch there, and I  
must
say that there was an almost spiritual sense when I entered the restaurant 
reminiscent of walking into Notre Dame de Paris for the first time.
 
The Seagram Building is my favorite New York skyscraper, and it was
designed by Mies van der Rohe, a German architect who ended up
founding his firm in Chicago.  Until I gave them to my daughter  last
year, I had two of his famous Barcelona chairs.  
 
I hate to see anything in this work of art (the Seagram) tampered  with,
but nothing is forever.  At least the building exterior may not be  altered.
 
 
 
David Strang - a confirmed Miesian.