纽约曼哈顿湮灭的经典老建筑

　　At the end of this month, the Plaza Hotel will close its fabled doors so that its new owner, Elad Properties, can begin the process of converting the bulk of its rooms into condominiums and renting out new stores.

　　Although much of the plan remains hazy, the prospect of a construction crew stomping through the Plaza's ornate entrance has provoked a cascade of personal, sepia-tinted recollections among anxious New Yorkers. As with most treasured places, it is not just the architecture and décor that people so prize, but the memories that were born there.

　　The new plans for the Plaza have awakened recollections of the fate of the old Pennsylvania Station, the 1910 McKim, Mead & White masterpiece, the razing of which in 1963 ultimately led to the creation of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

　　In the 40 years since its founding, the commission has designated 1,119 individual landmarks and 83 historic districts, protecting about 23,000 fine buildings that would otherwise have been vulnerable to demolition. Among them is the Plaza Hotel itself, whose exterior, but not interior, was given landmark protection in 1969.
 
 
 
 
纽约曼哈顿湮灭的经典老建筑

　　今年4月底，美国纽约市曼哈顿中心的广场大饭店(Plaza Hotel)将被关闭，然后移交给它的新主人伊兰德房地产集团；该集团计划将广场大饭店改造成商场和公寓。

　　据《纽约时报》4月3日报道，广场大饭店在1969年被美国标志性建筑保护委员会(Landmark Preservation Commission)认定为国家级标志性建筑。但该委员会只规定要保持它的外部形态，并未限定它的内部功用。虽然具体的改造方案还不甚明了，但这一消息触发了一些纽约人对广场大饭店的留恋和回忆。

　　和许多珍贵的建筑一样，广场大饭店不仅是人们引以为荣的建筑装璜，更是人们记忆的载体。

　　报道说，广场大饭店的关闭让人们又想起了另外一些老建筑的命运。比如宾夕法尼亚州火车站，这座1910年的经典之作在1963年被夷为平地。这件事最终促使了标志性建筑保护委员会的成立。

　　标志性建筑保护委员会自成立以来的40多年里，已经认定了1119座标志性建筑和83座历史街区，并保护了2.3万座杰出的建筑免遭毁坏。(文/孙亚萍)