Day 589

is the name of this bronze replica of Scabby the Rat currently on view at Lever House. The courtyard in which the rat sits is private property, but it's open to the public at all times, with one exception. "In a practice going back to 1953 and a custom that can be traced to Anglo-Saxon England", the courtyard is closed for part of one day each year to provide the owners with a solid legal defense against any potential claims of adverse possession, even though it now "seems inconceivable that Park Avenue passers-by could ever make a claim that they are the actual owners of Lever House’s courtyard."