Day 121

Christ in the City

April 29th, 2012



by Benoît Gilsoul

Day 121

No sitting!

April 29th, 2012



These standpipe/sprinkler connections are not alone (image galleries here and here) in their hatred of the human tuchus.

Day 121

Herald Square Hotel

April 29th, 2012



Formerly home of the original Life magazine, where the Gibson Girl was created

Day 121

Monument to bookworms

April 29th, 2012



The main branch of the New York Public Library

Day 121

A little more detail

April 29th, 2012


Day 121

Beauty and Truth

April 29th, 2012



More library sculpture

Day 121

Portal of the day

April 29th, 2012



This vault door is a survivor of the Manufacturers Hanover Trust building's controversial conversion to retail space.

Day 121

La Maison Française

April 29th, 2012



The French building at Rockefeller Center

Day 121




St. Patrick's Cathedral, in the background, is the seat of New York's archbishop (whose deceased predecessors are entombed in a crypt beneath its high altar), and it's currently undergoing a much-needed multi-year renovation that — you never know — might shed some light on the mystery of the missing cornerstone. Also visible is the armillary of Atlas, who just recently underwent a good cleaning himself.

Day 121

St. Thomas Church

April 29th, 2012



The previous incarnation of this church, built in 1870 after the parish moved uptown, burned down in 1905. It's said that while plans were being drawn up for a new structure, the rector became so distressed by the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that he donated the entirety of the church's building fund to the relief effort, but this does not appear to be confirmed by any contemporaneous newspaper accounts. Whatever the case, excavation for the new edifice was underway by 1910, when one particularly violent blast sent stones flying across the neighborhood, onto and into many of the sumptuous mansions surrounding the site on Fifth Avenue.

Restoration of the church's 33 stained glass windows, which contain around 9 million individual pieces of glass, began a few years ago. It's an incredibly painstaking process, involving the extraction and cleaning of each piece of glass, and the total reconstruction of each window, with all findings carefully documented for the benefit of future restorers. Speaking of documentation, check out this video!

Day 121

Pulitzer Fountain

April 29th, 2012



Our friend Karl Bitter was the first to propose the creation of Grand Army Plaza, and he also designed this fountain, which occupies the southern half of the plaza. In fact, the sculpture of the Roman goddess Pomona that sits atop the fountain was his final work, or work-in-progress, anyway: before he had a chance to complete it, he was struck by a car and killed after leaving the Metropolitan Opera with his wife one evening in 1915.

Day 121

William Tecumseh Sherman

April 29th, 2012



Facing the Pulitzer Fountain, this statue stands across 59th Street in the northern section of Grand Army Plaza. These people are watching a small troupe of gentlemen engaged in street dance of the b-boying variety.

Day 121

Oblicua

April 29th, 2012



Part of the Rafael Barrios installation on the Park Avenue Malls

Day 121

Queensboro Bridge off-ramp

April 29th, 2012



Not to be confused with its cousin across the way

Day 121

What, no reward?

April 29th, 2012


Day 121

First Avenue

April 29th, 2012


Day 121

Graffiti spell-check

April 29th, 2012



Queensboro Bridge

Day 121

Roosevelt Island

April 29th, 2012



and its tramway

Day 121

Ravenswood power plant

April 29th, 2012



Producing somewhere around one-fifth of the city's electricity, this "Death Valley of New York City" is home to the famous million-kilowatt Big Allis, whose rocky childhood is now a thing of the past.

Day 121

Queensbridge Houses

April 29th, 2012



North America's largest public housing development has been a breeding ground for hip-hop talent over the years.