Category: architecture

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A New Jersey City Hall Renovated and Found Awesome Hidden Details Within

Renovation projects can be a nuisance, but that’s why the Jersey City took advantage of shelter-in-place orders to renovate their city hall.

The city’s government probably expected to make some repairs, but they found some cool things along the way. Mayor Steven Fulop explains:

Let’s take a closer look at what people had to walk on in Jersey City’s city hall.

Photo Credit: Steven Fulop

This grey linoleum floor does the job all right, but it’s kinda meh. Workers removed it and obviously had to get the glue off.

Photo Credit: Steven Fulop

At first glance, this looks sloppy. But a nice polish revealed a hidden treasure!

Photo Credit: Steve Fulop

This beautiful floor looks like a work of art and gives the city hall a more regal touch. Many tweeted replies in response to this new finding.

Many rightfully criticized the decision to cover up this amazing floor.

One person shed some light as to why some gorgeous architectural accents have been covered up over time.

Here’s yet another great explanation that can help us understand what people in the 1960s were thinking.

But others in social media chimed in with findings of their own.

Check out this vivid description.

And here’s yet another treasure found after removing some carpet.

This person replied with another story about what they found as well.

One person summed up this find nicely:

Looks like Jersey City has a popular new find. Architecture fans are probably clamoring with the city already.

Have you found anything interesting when doing home or business renovations? Our comments section is a great place to share your findings!

The post A New Jersey City Hall Renovated and Found Awesome Hidden Details Within appeared first on UberFacts.

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15 Cleverly Converted Buildings

I love seeing repurposed buildings and structures. I used to live down the street from a Walgreens (#8 on this list) that was previously a bank, and they kept some very cool touches from the original structure.

Take a look at these clever conversions. I think you’ll be impressed.

1. A little different now…

My college used to be a shopping mall from mildlyinteresting

2. That is very cool.

My apartment building used to be a school. from mildlyinteresting

3. Pump iron where the tellers used to work.

This gym that used to be a bank from mildlyinteresting

4. I’d love to live in a place like that.

My house used to be a police station and my bathroom is an old jail cell, the original window is still in place from mildlyinteresting

5. Feel the history come alive.

Supermarket in Venice used to be a theatre from mildlyinteresting

6. Love the floors.

This thrift store used to be a bowling alley. from mildlyinteresting

7. Leave the bucket up!

This Jamba used used to be a KFC so they painted over the bucket from mildlyinteresting

8. Walked by here many times.

This Walgreens in Chicago used to be a bank, and now it has a vitamin vault from mildlyinteresting

9. Have a seat inside the vault.

The Subway I went to today used to be a bank. Instead of removing the vault they just added more seating inside from mildlyinteresting

10. Spooooooooky, isn’t it?

My apartment used to be a prison from mildlyinteresting

11. This is amazing!

This grocery store used to be a hockey stadium from mildlyinteresting

12. Just go ahead and repurpose that.

Local Mexican restaurant used to be a Chinese restaurant. Instead of painting over a mural, they just put sombreros on the pandas. from mildlyinteresting

13. Love that marquee.

This gym used to be a movie theater from mildlyinteresting

14. Another great awning.

This Walgreens built on an old movie theatre from mildlyinteresting

15. Drive on through!

My local Dunkin’ Donuts used to be a car wash so the drive thru is inside the building. from mildlyinteresting

Do you have any cool converted buildings in your town?

Tell us about them and share some photos in the comments, please!

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A London skyscraper melted…

A London skyscraper melted several cars and started fires due to the intensity of the sun’s reflection on its south side. It had to be fitted with a permanent sunshade to prevent more incidents.

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15 of the Ugliest Belgian Houses You’ll Ever See

There are no shortage of things in this world that go so far down the ugly scale they begin to somehow get cuter – like the scale is actually a loop and not a straight line.

I wouldn’t have guessed that this would apply to houses, but thanks to blogger Hannes Coudenys, now I do. Belgium is notorious for its quirky buildings, and in 2012 Coudenys started an Instagram account documenting some of the weirder ones.

It’s called Ugly Belgian Houses, and even architects and architecture enthusiasts can’t get enough.

After you scroll through these 15 bizarre architectural oddities, you’re not going to be able to, either.

#1. Are you sure it’s finished?

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David Gebouwi

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#2. A couple couldn’t decide on what kind of house to build and so this happened?

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?

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#3. Warped storage box or a house?

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Calimero house

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#4. Why would you do this.

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Ugly Belgian house protecting it’s nest.

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#5. So weird.

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Nobody puts Baby in the corner

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#6. No idea what’s happening here.

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All roads lead to R̶o̶m̶e̶ an Ugly Belgian House.

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#7. It’s a door! It’s a window! It’s both!

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You had one job (pic by @_schrooten )

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#8. That’s quite a beak.

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Luke, I am your house

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#9. I can’t stop staring.

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The temple of boom shake shake shake the room

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#10. Is it falling apart?

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Sink outside the box

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#11. This one, though.

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When your house is a vegetarian

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#12. It looks like it’s made of Legos.

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#10yearchallenge

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#13. I’m strangely uncomfortable.

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When your architect fell asleep

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#14. Somebody pissed this house off.

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Pytagorage

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#15. In a science fiction movie, this is where the evil scientists are being all evil-y.

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Chernobelgium (pic by @pabloxcepeda )

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You can keep up on Instagram or Facebook.

Hot tip: don’t build a house like this.

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The “Half-House of Toronto” Still Stands Strong After All These Years

A string of Victorian row houses went up on St. Patrick Street in the center of Toronto between the years 1890 and 1893. Each one was an identical, connected home and they were numbered 52 1/2, 54, 54 1/2, 56, 58, and 60.

Today, just 1 remains – 54 1/2 St. Patrick Street – and it turns out it was aptly numbered, since it’s standing as “half” a house.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

In the 5 decades between when the houses were built and the 1930s, developers were keen on obtaining the buildings, and used aggressive tactics – one resident told the local newspaper he had received upward of 300 requests in a year.

One by one people gave in and the houses were demolished to make room for “progress,” until only the Valkos family at 54 1/2 remained. And they weren’t going anywhere.

That fact didn’t stop the developers who had bought the rest of the row – they tore down all of the surrounding (and connected) properties until only 54 1/2 remained standing, looking as if a whole house had been cut in two.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

The actual process of disconnecting the homes from 54 1/2 was a dangerous undertaking – load-bearing walls connected bedrooms, and a single miscalculation could have caused the Half House to tumble along with the rest. Though it remained standing, the owner at the time of the demolition (Emily Brown, the Valkoses daughter and her husband) complained to city officials about seeping rain water, insulation, and the unfinished appearance of the outside of their home.

Emily moved into a nursing home in 2012, selling the property to Albert Zikovitz, who worked in an adjacent office building, before leaving her childhood home.

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Today, the building is privately owned and vacant, a remnant from a different time. Valued at over $650,000, the Half House of Toronto has been standing next to a housing project since 1975, and it doesn’t seem as if that will be changing anytime soon – if ever.

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Forty years ago, a prominent designer…

Forty years ago, a prominent designer received a call from an undergrad architecture student who told him that a design flaw in his 59-story Manhattan skyscraper could cause it to collapse during a storm. Initially he scoffed, then disturbingly, figured that she was right. 00

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Lewis Bradbury asked a $5/week…

Lewis Bradbury asked a $5/week draftsman with no architectural training to design his $500,000 building in 1892. Wyman agreed after consulting his dead brother via Oija board. The Bradbury Building in LA is a National Historic Landmark and appeared in movies such as Blade Runner. 00