Modernist gem or eyesore? NY building again stirs debate

In this Thursday, April 2, 2015 photo, the Orange County Government Center is seen in Goshen, N.Y. The long, heated debate over suburban Orange County’s government center could finally be ending with renovations next month that would trade in stack-of-asymmetric-concrete-boxes look for a sleeker, more anonymous facade. Critics compare the plan to desecrating a Michelangelo and note the building is on the World Monuments Fund’s global watch list. Others say the building is simply ugly and poorly designed. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) In this Thursday, April 2, 2015 photo, the Orange County Government Center is seen in Goshen, N.Y. The long, heated debate over suburban Orange County’s government center could finally be ending with renovations next month that would trade in stack-of-asymmetric-concrete-boxes look for a sleeker, more anonymous facade. Critics compare the plan to desecrating a Michelangelo and note the building is on the World Monuments Fund’s global watch list. Others say the building is simply ugly and poorly designed. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

By Associated Press April 12, 2015 4 min read

GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) – From the time it was built in this quaint village 45 years ago, the county building has stirred strong opinions for its modernism-meets-Mayberry look: a geometric jumble of irregularly stacked concrete-and-glass boxes.

While the Orange County Government Center has been hailed by architectural experts as a modernist treasure, many residents have viewed it as just an odd, ugly place to apply for a driver’s license.

As crews prepare to renovate and partially demolish the sprawling building in this suburban and rural county 50 miles northwest of Manhattan, local preservationists are fighting in court to halt a project they say will permanently disfigure the landmark.

Many locals have more mixed feelings.

“From the outside, it’s a horrible-looking building,” said resident Arnie Weintraub.