In a message dated 7/24/98 2:19:00 PM EST, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< Has anyone a recollection of a building that caused them to panic? >>

The Tower Building, built in 1889 at 50 Broadway, is frequently considered the
lst steel framed skyscraper.   A story is frequently attached to the structure
(usually by ignorant walking tour guides and empty-brained guidebook writers)
that the height of the building caused people to panic.  The same story
sometimes gets glued on to the Flatiron Building.  Both accounts are without
foundation.

Several buildings cause me to cringe, if not panic:
        1. KPF's big ugly monster at the nwc of 57th & Lexington
        2. Thomas Beeby's supposed "historical restoration" of Ely Jacques Kahn's
Squibb Building, at 745 Fifth Avenue
        3.  KPF's 712 Fifth Avenue
        4.  Glendale bakery's butchery of the old Weyhe shop at 714 Lexington
      5.  Any building with Landmarks-approved "bronze" replacement windows
      6.  Kevin Roche's "contextual" addition to the Jewish Museum

Christopher Gray