Towering Disagreement on Trade Center Design

Re “Capitalism Tops Democracy in Tower’s Design,” Dec. 20: Did anyone else wince while reading Nicolai Ouroussoff’s commentary on the new World Trade Center design? So much ink for someone so obviously miffed that his own preferences did not prevail. The design looks pretty good to me, and if it didn’t, I hardly think I’d blame the fact that real estate concerns played a big part in its selection. Art for art’s sake happens in lofts, not in grand-scale commercial architecture. And finding fault with the 1,776-foot height is just plain silly. Get over it, Mr. Ouroussoff. The building will look just fine.

Bob Warnock Jr.

Eagle Rock

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Re “Tower Will Put New York on Top of the World,” Dec. 20: So we’re back in business in Lower Manhattan. And once again, ours has to be the biggest. It’d be amusing if it weren’t so utterly depressing. This tower is a tribute not to freedom but to unchecked swagger and greed. It signifies our steadfast refusal to reflect upon ourselves, even in the wake of great national tragedy. A glass needle on top, of all things.

How can the rest of the world look at that and not see a taunt ... and after that, if history tells us anything, a target? Is it too late to reconsider this lunacy? Is there anyone out there big enough to step up and tell the emperor he’s naked?

Dawn O’Leary

Santa Monica