HIDDEN JERSEY CITY JCM
Who Would Have Thunk It? An architectural gem is hiding in plain sight STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATE ROUNDS
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here’s nothing hidden about the Interpretive Center in Liberty State Park. What’s hidden is its architectural pedigree. This “wildlife interpretive center for the study and exhibition of the indigenous wildlife and environmental aspects of the park” boasts an award-winning design by well-known postmodern architect Michael Graves. OK, so I’ve jogged around it, walked around it, biked around it, viewed its exhibits, and even attended a Walt Whitman lecture in its auditorium, and the words “postmodern” and “award-winning” never entered my mind. It took a new book, The Best Architecture Outings near New York City (Rutgers University Press, $19.95) to bring it to my attention. Authors Lucy D. Rosenfeld and Marina Harrison write, “Graves combined familiar traditional forms of architecture—including columns and gables and imposing entrances—with a contemporary aesthetic.” The “intimately sized” center was designed in 1980.
30 • Jersey CITY Magazine ~ SPRING & SUMMER 2010