The Caryatids

There is much sensory input at street level in New York City that it is easy to miss those things which are above ground. Look up and you can explore the architecture so often overlooked by visitors and residents alike.

Here, at 91 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, is a commercial loft building built in 1894 and designed by Louis Korn. At the sixth floor level are six caryatids under four Corinthian columns and two matching pilasters. A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support, taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head.

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A Narrow Path

Many years ago, I became entangled in an argument regarding aspects of Christianity with a cousin and his wife in my family's home in Connecticut. It was Christmas time, and I felt particularly bad to have gotten into a heated debate with family about their faith. I learned that they were born-again Christians. At one point, I expressed my dismay and told them that I was very sorry. However, they said that they were not upset at all but that, to the contrary, they valued the opportunity to defend their faith and that debates of this nature only made them more resolute in their beliefs.

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Only Silver

My best friend was very excited and asked if I had a small glass jar. When I asked why, he said that a number of conveyer systems had been thrown out behind the local supermarket and there were mercury switches in them. "So what?" I responded. He said that this was a rare window of opportunity to collect mercury. By breaking the glass vials in the switches, he was able to collect a substantial amount of mercury. He appeared to have been more interested in the adventure than the goods, and he gave me the entire jar. And so this is how, as a young boy, I came to own a jar of pure elemental mercury.

Playing with it always produced wonderment to observe the unique properties of a silvery metal which was liquid at room temperature. I would marvel at the effect the mercury would have while rubbing it on a coin. The jar was left behind when I left my family's home, and sadly, I believe it was discarded long ago.

Perhaps not so sad, since I later learned that playing with mercury is not the most prudent past time. Silver would be a much better candidate for elemental curiosity, and later as a young adult, I became intrigued with silver - here was a precious metal that was affordable and attainable, and although it was not as much fun as mercury, it was at least non-toxic.

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Three-Toed Smoth

The elephant looms large in the lives and minds of children. After all, children do naturally gravitate to the big, and what suits that better the world's largest living land animal? Here, at Union Square, we have Gran Elefandret by renowned artist Miquel Barceló.* I'm sure many a child and parent have been enjoying Barcelo's 26-foot sculpture.

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Fountains

Depending on who's counting, the Palace of Versailles has more than 1,400 fountains. Due to the enormous amount of water required to fuel them, they are turned on infrequently. Even at the time of Louis XIV, the water supply was inadequate to run all of the fountains at once. There was even talk of diverting the River Eure to supply water to the fountains.

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'Tis a Sight to Behold

I have made another secret discovery.

You could easily find millions of New Yorkers who have no idea that this spectacular structure at 8 Spruce Street exists or that it is the tallest residential structure in the Western Hemisphere. I would be included in that group. However, as I approached the building, I began to recall the media attention surrounding this highly applauded residential tower, formerly the Beekman Tower and currently known as New York by Gehry, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.

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Serenity, Tranquility, Peace

Although technically in the borough of Manhattan, I have always felt it was almost a little undeserving for any New York borough to take claim to something so special as the Cloisters - it is located at the northernmost end of the island, as far as one can get from Uptown, Midtown, Downtown or any other area of that one would typically associate with New York City. Apart from the small number of residents in Washington Heights/Inwood, this area is really a destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

The Cloisters is a museum of medieval art and architecture, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Everyone loves this extraordinary complex - it's a close as you are going to get to genuine French architecture in the city. Germain Bazin, former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, described the Cloisters as "the crowning achievement of American museology."

The museum buildings were designed by Charles Collens and constructed from elements salvaged from five cloistered abbeys in France: Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville. The sections used were disassembled brick-by-brick, shipped to New York City and reassembled between 1934 and 1938. From the Cloisters website:

Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context.

Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters is a world apart from the glitter, glamour, hustle bustle and frenetic energy of the city. For most New Yorkers, Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters is a country getaway, a mini vacation. Visit the Cloisters if you want a small vacation from the city and Serenity, Tranquility and Peace :)

Related Posts: Down to the Cellular Level, Le Petit Chambord, Fire and Ice, Affront to Dignity, Paraiso, Steps From Paradise, Belvedere Castle, Devil's Playground

Stopped In My Tracks

In New York City, vagaries define the special. There is nothing more appealing than the lack of specific information or the secret. We just love "there's this guy" or "there's this place" with a lack of precise information as to where. Particularly in our current time, nothing is more unappealing to a New Yorker than a place that is part of a national brand or regional chain and has been marketed and branded to death.

No one wants what everyone else has or wants to shop at places everyone knows about. This is at the heart of "being the best," an obsession in New York City. How can something be one of New York's best if it is part of a national franchise? Street cred for a business has to start with a minimum requirement of existing only in New York. The problem, however, is that unique places and services are fast disappearing. In the span of this website's existence, many iconic places I have written about have gone out of business.

I have even experienced a holding back of information, as if to be worthy of the knowledge, one must venture forth and ferret out a person or place's whereabouts on one's own. No pain, no gain. This holding back is often justified in that overexposure may ruin a business's character. Although this may be true, I think the real motive stems more from selfishness - those desiring the special want if for themselves. After all, how special can it be if everyone knows about it?

The shoe shiner is a perfect candidate for the New Yorker's lust for "there's this guy." By their nature, those involved in the business are sole operators and are often transient. In New York City, one should never underestimate the potential of any activity if done by an astute, aggressive, streetwise individual that can promote him or herself. Transient does not equal unsuccessful. Don Ward is a good example (not the man in today's photo). Located at 47th Street and 6th Avenue, Don has been shining shoes for over 20 years. He does an average of 50 customers per day at $5 per shine plus tips. This man has interesting insights*, aggressive solicitation and clever patter. He is quite the character and a bit of a celebrity, reminiscent of the Gentlemen Peeler (see my story here).

I have never felt comfortable with shoe shining. Although it is, perhaps, no worse than someone doing your laundry, shining shoes seems so transparently servile, too close to kissing someone's feet. Perhaps it is my French ancestry rearing its head. In an article from the New York Times in 2008, The Politics of the Shoe Shine, Roger Cohen writes:

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of societies: those where you can get a shoe shine and those where you can’t. France falls into the latter category. Search Paris high and low for a seat to kick back and se faire cirer les bottes: you’ll search in vain. There’s something about the idea of having someone stooped at the feet of a client applying polish to his or her boots that rubs the Gallic egalitarian spirit the wrong way. It’s just not what 1789 was about.

In the United States, of course, it’s a different story. Unlike humor, which is in short supply, or banned, a shoe shine is freely available at U.S. airports. Walk a few Manhattan or Chicago blocks and someone will be there to make your shoes gleam. There’s something about having someone applying polish to a blithe client’s boots that comforts American notions of free enterprise, make-a-buck opportunism, and the survival of the fittest.

Nonetheless, on my way to the Metro North train on Saturday, I could not help but be stunned by what I saw entering Grand Central Terminal. It was like a still frame from an old film set in New York City. Everything was perfect - two men alone on a quiet morning, the customer reading a paper while the shiner plied his trade, both basking in the yellow-orange sunlight streaming in. The whole scene gave me chills. Like the train that awaited me on track 24, I was Stopped In My Tracks ...

* From Don: "Ninety-nine percent of the time, women will look at your shoes and immediately dismiss you if they’re below standard. If you can’t keep your shoes looking decent, you can’t do anything else." "If you can’t take care of this one small detail, I’d hate to see your living conditions."

Related Posts: One Size Too Small, Urban Road Warrior, Very Resilient, Entombed, Uggly or Not, Mania, Just Passing Through, Camper, Grand Central

Uptown

The territory north of 14th Street truly is a world apart. There is much behind the downtown mantra, I never go north of 14th Street. There is a stoic pride and conviction that virtually anything one needs can be found downtown and it is not far from the truth.

I cannot speak for other downtown residents, but I go north for specific purposes and so infrequently that going uptown is like a small vacation. I literally feel like a tourist. I walk a neighborhood, often craning my neck and standing in wonderment at the massive stone, steel and glass edifices built on the island's bedrock of Manhattan schist.

The advent of the Internet had greatly facilitated price shopping for most products and services, including New York City hotels. Since that time, my family has been able to snag deals at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which has become their residence of choice when visiting the city. I enjoy traveling and visiting the hotel during their occasional stays.

Next door to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is the General Electric Building. The building is sometimes referred to as 570 Lexington Avenue to avoid confusion with the GE Building built later at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The 50-story, 640 foot Art Deco masterpiece was designed in 1931 by John W. Cross of Cross and Cross. Unable to lease the building profitably, in 1993, GE donated the building to Columbia University, gaining a $40 million tax deduction. Find more on the building here.

The base contains elaborate masonry, figural sculpture. On the corner above the main entrance, a conspicuous corner clock with the curvy GE logo and a pair of silver disembodied forearms. On August 25, 2006, I featured the lobby of the building - you can see it here.
Christopher Gray of the New York Times describes the building as a "suave fantasy of polished marble and modern metals."

Its signature crown of lacy radio-wave figures is a well-known midtown landmark, but the decoration of the lower floors is just as startling. Here a shrouded mechanistic figure huddles in a modernistic cloister, there an armored fist grabs an electric bolt. The entire facade is of a lightly variegated orange brick, which plays to St. Bartholomew's Church next to it on the Park Avenue corner.
See my photos of the church here.

When I visit the area, I am never able to resist stepping into Mr. K's restaurant, an upscale Chinese establishment located at 570 Lex. The plush banquette seating, the lush art deco interior, soft lighting all seem so befitting of the building it is in. For a little vacation, I just take the 6 train. Uptown.

Related Posts: The Last to Know, A Bottle of Schweppes, Cello Class, Ice Skating in October, The Plaza, Stamp of Approval, When Worlds Collide, 23 Skidoo, The Sherry, Saks Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Life at Night, Met Life Tower, St. Patrick's from the Rock, ESB Straight Up

Old New York, Part 2

(see Part 1 here)
The good news is that Greenwich Village is extraordinarily unique. The bad news is that if you want a piece of its history, good luck. The housing stock is very limited. And if you are like I am and attracted to row houses, the selection of available units is even more limited. Over the decades, I have from time to time looked at apartments to buy but rarely found anything I really liked, and if I did, the cost was extremely high.

I am forever asked why I am a renter and have not purchased a home after living in New York for over 40 years. The market in New York City is very different from anywhere else. There are over 2 million apartments for rent in the city with 65% rent regulated in some way. These regulations provide for below market rents and are a strong disincentive to move. The longer you remain in a regulated apartment, the greater the spread between your rent and the open market non-regulated places becomes - it is not uncommon for the difference to be 100% or more.

This anomaly in pricing just exacerbates the problem - tenants never move with a resultant lesser supply and higher prices for the free market apartments, whether rentals or purchases. If you are fortunate enough to rent an apartment in an historic building, it is unlikely you will ever find a place like it at any price, for rent or sale. In my own building, 3 out of four residents have lived in their apartments for over 30 years. Often, rentals in regulated apartments are no more than the cost of maintenance fees on a similar unit for sale. So why buy? Many analyses have been done demonstrating that in New York City, it can be more prudent to rent than to buy.

The 1830 Greek Revival townhouse at 23 Washington Square North has not been available for sale for half a century. It can be yours, however, the asking price is $25 million dollars. The size is 8,528 square feet or a cost of $2,931 per square foot. There are only 7 apartments on 5 floors. Do the math and you will see the problem - if this building were converted to units for sale, the cost per apartment including carrying charges would be stratospheric. Many buildings like this will often sell to one individual who will convert it to a single family home.

The rentals in this property illustrate what happens in this marketplace. A one bedroom was asking $4,775/month with the penthouse for $8,900 in 2010 and $12,500 per month in 2011. If you would like to get the flavor of what a parlor floor can look like in this type of historic building, see my photos here on the interior of number 24 next door, which one reader described as "real estate porn."

By day or night, looking out or peering in, the extraordinary historic charm is available in this rare window of opportunity to own a piece of old New York's Washington Square. Spare $25 million anyone?

Other Related Posts: The Feeling Passes, Overused and Abused, Bomb Factory, Left Bank New York

Old New York, Part 1

There are things you can't have in New York City. Many things. You can't watch the sunrise from a mountain top, hear the wind blow through alpine forests, or see the black of night. Much of what nature giveth, New York City taketh away.

The sound levels are very different here. I spoke to a friend recently from the suburbs who spent a night down the block - on the very same street where I live with the identical exposure. He said he could not sleep at all with the noise of constant traffic. The sounds of the city are only a familiar song to me - I sleep easily without window shades drawn and with all the city's ambient light and noise.

Here and there one can find tiny corners, places, culs de sac, alleys, parks, beaches, lakes, rivers - little pieces of the other world, the world outside cities. These special and often little known places in New York City provide magic carpets, that for brief moments can provide transport to a quieter, gentler city. I have shared these places with you over the years in this website.

I do love the city - the energy, vibrancy and stimulation are extraordinary. But the problem is that you can't turn it off. So for those times when I need respite and do not have the opportunity or inclination to leave the city, I seek solace in those special spots that hearken to a time gone by or a world apart.

The Greek Revival houses of Washington Square North evoke the gentility of a bygone age. Here, at the corner of Washington Square North and Fifth Avenue is a row house where I have often seen windows open, lights on and a handful of people milling about. This is the world of Henry James, 1881, setting for his novel Washington Square.

A couple relaxes with glasses of wine, one resting on the sill, complemented by the exquisite air of warm evening, which has, after a long wet and cool spring, arrived at last. There's a canopy of trees overhead and the yellow-orange glow of lamps. Everything is soft. Pause on this corner with me and enjoy the soul of old New York...

Note: If you want a piece of Old New York at Washington Square, see Part 2.

Everything Looks Like a Screw

Surgeons like to cut.
I have always had a morbid fear of surgery. There's just something about all that cutting that bothers me. However, I do understand that surgeons like to cut and I can imagine why. As a small manufacturer, I often have to troubleshoot products and there is nothing as effective as opening something up and getting inside to really see where the problem lies. Why play with less direct solutions if the problem lends itself to a mechanical solution?

Builders like to build.
Robert Moses was New York City's master builder. He the most often cited figure in this website. This New York City planning czar had an unstoppable drive. He was never elected to public office, yet was responsible for the creation and leadership of numerous public authorities. He built bridges, tunnels, highways and shaped shorelines in New York City and environs.

One of Moses' projects which never came to fruition was the Lower Manhattan Expressway. This extremely controversial plan was to be a ten-lane elevated highway, I-78 & I-478, extending from the Hudson River to the East River, connecting the Holland Tunnel to the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges. It was seen by Moses as a much needed thoroughfare to ease congestion in Manhattan providing a roadway connecting traffic from New Jersey to Brooklyn and Queens. It was conceived by Moses in 1941 but delayed until the early 1960s.

The highway plan would have required many structures to be demolished along Broome Street, passing through Little Italy and what is now known as SoHo. Community activists led by Jane Jacobs effectively thwarted the project. The effort is now seen by many as instrumental in preserving the character of lower Manhattan.

Robert Moses and his works saw much public criticism. In 1974, The Power Broker was published. From the New York Times:

He indicated no wish to change with the times, but held to his views more ardently than ever in his later years, dismissing community opposition to his vast projects by saying, as he did in a 1974 statement, ''I raise my stein to the builder who can remove ghettos without removing people as I hail the chef who can make omelets without breaking eggs.''

The statement came in a much-publicized 3,500-word rebuttal that Mr. Moses offered to a highly critical biography of him by Robert Caro published in 1974, ''The Power Broker.'' The exhaustive 1,246-page work, which won the Pulitzer Prize, was written from the perspective of the newer approach to planning and redevelopment, and it contended that Mr. Moses had callously removed residents of neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal, had destroyed the traditional fabric of urban neighborhoods in favor of a landscape of red-brick towers and throughout his career had worked somewhat outside the normal democratic process.


Screwdrivers.
Surgeons like to cut, lawyers like to litigate, and builders like to build. For someone with a screwdriver, everything looks like a screw...


Photos: The upper photo is one of the supports of the Manhattan Bridge as seen from the walkway. The lower photo is a plan of the proposed Lower Manhattan Expressway.

Note: It is ironic that Robert Moses, a man who favored highways over public transit, did not hold a driver's license.

Dot My I

Poor surfaces. So often maligned. One should always look below the surface. See what lies beneath the surface because there is more than what meets the eye. On the surface of it, beauty is only skin deep.

Sometimes we love a surface - so smooth and shiny. It may be important to restore the surface, polish the surface or resurface.

Most of the world we see is surface. We admire and appreciate it, yet if we learn that what lies beneath the surface is somehow less than we expected, we are disappointed and it diminishes the surface itself.

New York City is a place of buildings, so we have lots and lots of large surfaces, looming over us daily. Here at 101 Park Avenue is a 49 story, 629 foot skyscraper. Eli Attia Architects designed the building, completed in 1982. It is the 64th tallest in New York.

Park Avenue and 41st Street is prime real estate, only steps from Grand Central Terminal. The building has its own Wikipedia page and has been used in film and television - in the 1990 film Gremlins 2, in Seinfeld as the site of George Costanza's office and as Dudley Moore's office in the film Crazy People. It affords, as would be expected, spectacular views. You can see a gallery of photos of the building here.

Uniquely shaped, strikingly positioned at 45 degrees to the street grid and glistening with reflective glass, 101 Park Avenue makes an impressive statement on the Manhattan skyline. The day I photographed it, there was an evening moon strategically located. Looking up at that surface, everything was so perfectly placed in a scene of urban penmanship, not forgetting while I crossed the streets to dot my I :)

Down to the Cellular Level

A friend once so aptly said: everything is a competition, right down to the cellular level. All is poised, the net result of competing forces. In the world of physics, chemistry and biology it makes so much sense. In the world of human/animal relations however, it's often a bitter pill to swallow and I don't really like the idea much better than anyone else. I always hate seeing that springbok losing to the lioness.

I don't like to see everything as a contest, however I don't believe things can really be win-win either. Resources are limited, particularly money and time, so how can everyone win? Or win as much as they would like. I hate to say it, but life feels like a zero-sum game. Whether it is shopping, dating prospects, jobs, admission to a great college, sports, games, vacation choices, ranking in your class, what you will read, the blogs you visit, what you will do with your spare time or who you will call, choosing something is not choosing something else. We are besieged with unending decisions and we must choose (or be chosen) from the competing options.

I am a competitive person by nature and so my worldview is tainted by wearing those glasses. I do love working with a team, but honestly I work best when the team is on my side. I am a poor loser so I avoid direct competition as much as possible, particularly contests I know I will likely lose. I did not know growing up that I was a biggish fish in a small pond. Like many, I had a lot to learn about the size of fish and ponds.

I came to New York City in 1969. At that time, this city was the best to me - the biggest, fastest and most amazing place I could imagine. It had the most and best of everything - restaurants, buildings, people, opportunities, culture, money, street life, intellectual stimulation, merchants. As far as places go, it won the contest and I wanted to be with the winner.

Of course I have learned much over the years - the merits of other places and other cities, the relative meaning of best and that New York City is not the end all and be all. Even in the realm of cities, it is arguable whether New York is the greatest city in the world. Places like Paris eclipse New York in many ways.

Some tire of the urban grind (see Dwanna, Duffy and I Know). Most of my friends, many born in the city, have left and with no regrets. There are quality of life issues here - so many things that are undeniably easier and better in the country, suburbs or smaller cities. For most, even if they have the means, New York will always be the stereotypical "it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

New York City is not for the faint of heart. The stakes are higher, the costs are greater, competition much fiercer and the penalty for failure more severe. New York City is a magnet, attracting some of the world's best competitors, from gladiators in the ring right down to the cellular level...

Photo Note: New York City is not usually thought of as a city with a plethora of cathedrals and churches, as is Europe. However, surprisingly, New York City is home to the world's largest church - the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This photo was taken from the rear. You can see more photos of the interior and the story here.

Fort Schuyler

There are not a lot of forts in New York City and you certainly do not expect to run across a huge one, unbeknownst to yourself. It is unlikely you will ever run into this one by accident - Fort Schuyler and the Maritime College are not on the way to anywhere - they are destinations, located at the very tip of the Throgs Neck peninsula in the Bronx. On my recent excursion to the area, my intention was to explore Silver Beach. It is here by accident, that I discovered Fort Schuyler and the State University of New York Maritime College, founded in 1874 and the first of its kind in the United States.

I met a couple of cadets, and like all the military men I have encountered, they were very approachable. They answered a number of my questions regarding the Maritime College and explained the reason for small sailboats - there was a regatta under way, with the boaters undaunted by the cold weather. They also informed me that the entire area was open to visitors with the entrance way nearby.

I was surprised at how free and easy I was able to tour the area with no restriction and virtually no other visitors. Post-9/11, virtually everything in New York City has an added layer of security, including some of the most innocuous office buildings requiring photo ID. Places like the lobby of the Woolworth Building, one of my favorite spots to take visitors, is, sadly, completely off limits unless you have specific business in the building. As far as Fort Schuyler, however, I suppose a man in a small automobile armed only with cameras, poses little threat to a massive fort with military presence.

The location of the fort and college is at the very tip of the peninsula, where Long Island Sound meets the East River, affording sweeping vistas including Long Island, the Bronx, Queens and a panorama of the Manhattan skyline (essentially the same as that of Silver Beach). The Throgs Neck Bridge is ever present, juxtaposed against nearly every structure as can be seen in many of my photos of the excursion - see the full gallery here.

Fort Schuyler was one of many forts built along the east coast of the United States after the War of 1812, when it became apparent that the U.S. coast was poorly defended against foreign invasion. The French Style fortification was dedicated in 1875. The site also has a maritime museum, open to the public. Read more here.

Everything was pristine and immaculate - the grounds, buildings, roadways and artifacts. It was quite chilly, but this is the best of weather conditions for seeing New York City outdoors - crisp air, clear blue skies and greater visibility. Although the warmer months are preferable for walking and touring, the heat of summer also usually means hazy skies with poor visibility and, if you are taking photographs, poorer results. If you're looking for something truly off the beaten path, try the Throgs Neck peninsula with Silver Beach and Fort Schuyler :)

New York Rockies

110 York Street - Part 2 (See Part 1 here.) (see complete photo gallery here)

For years, on return trips home from Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge, I have observed this rooftop structure both by day and night. I promised myself that one day I would get to the bottom of this - a literal pursuit since this structure was atop a building located in Brooklyn, meaning I would literally have to venture down and explore under the Manhattan Bridge.

What was particularly compelling about it was the four exposed white steel truss system on the roof of the building which was illuminated at night, bathed in blues, greens, purples and reds.

Recently, this came up in conversation with someone familiar with the structure - he told me that it was occupied by architects and located on York Street. This rekindled my interest to bring this mystery to a close. On my first excursion, I did a cursory drive-by to confirm its location - 110 York Street.

On Sunday, I made a trip to Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn with the intent of returning to Manhattan by foot over the Manhattan Bridge and take a series of photos. I intended to time my afternoon so that I would cross the bridge after dark when the rooftop was illuminated. My return, however, was too early.

I was on a mission, however, and decided that I would return the following day after work when dark to cross the bridge again by foot. I had a burning desire and intention with my own mantra: Neither snow, nor rain, nor ice, nor gloom of night stays this courageous ambassador from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. *

There was snow and ice and gloom of night. But was I courageous?

There are two pedestrian pathways on the Manhattan Bridge - the one the north side is for bicycles - this is the side I needed to view the York Street building. However, a chain link fence obstructs a clear line of sight most of the way, so I found it necessary to climb and stand on a railing for the taking of photos. The roar and vibration of vehicles and the elevated subway was bad enough, but worse was having to use two hands to stabilize the camera while balancing atop a 4" wide steel railing which may or may not have been icy. See this in better detail at my photo gallery here.

The building at 110 York Street serves as the offices for a number of construction firms and most notably, Robert Scarano Architects, who originally occupied the top floor of this 100-year-old former factory building in Vinegar Hill. For a needed expansion, a 5,200-square-foot rooftop two story addition was designed by a member of the Scarano firm, Dedy Blaustein. The addition was completed in 2005. The lights used are a Color Kinetics LED system.

Blaustein's inspiration for the rooftop structure was the bridge: "We’re not the main thing here,” he says, gesturing toward the bridge. “That is the main thing here. It’s so dynamic. I had to do something crazy.” Some have referred to it as the "Jetsons Building." In response to critics, he said: “I didn’t design it for people to like it, I designed it for people not to be able to ignore it.” The project received a 2005 Design Award from Metal Architecture magazine and a 2005 Certificate of Appreciation from the Brooklyn AIA. From the Sarano website:

The Manhattan Bridge is the most visibly striking element of the site, running parallel to it only 20 feet away. For this reason, we designed an exposed steel truss system for the skeleton to intensify the dialogue between the structures. The design embodies a strong sense of dynamics. The structural axis is separated from the building exterior finish, providing a sense of movement, which is enhanced by the flying roof, sharp angles, and horizontal texture on the surface.

My affair has finally come to a close. I feel quite worn, perhaps not unlike the mountain climber who finally tastes the bittersweet success of arriving at the summit. Driven by an illuminated outline not unlike that drawn by a friend to describe the mountains of Colorado (see Part 1), I found this journey's end at 110 York Street in the foothills of the New York Rockies...

*The original seen on the General Post Office building reads:

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

The sentence appears in the works of Herodotus, describing the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus, about 500 B.C.

Note: The firm of Robert Sarano is the subject of much controversy - both acclaim and official censure. Robert Sarano is a New York City native, born in Brooklyn. He became a registered architect and started his own firm, Scarano Architects PLLC, in 1985. His academic credentials and awards are many. The firm has been responsible for over 600 buildings in New York City. However, sometimes referred to as the bad boy of architecture, Sarano has also seen a loss of self-certification privileges, loss of filing privileges, numerous lawsuits, worker deaths on 3 of his projects and has been charged with violation of zoning or building codes on 25 projects in Brooklyn.

New York Rockies

Colorado - Part 1

I do so love the mountains and here, in New York City, unlike perhaps San Francisco (a mountain lover's dream city), I must make do with the skyscrapers of glass and steel. 'Tis better I suppose than the lowlands of Holland. But it pales in comparison to the experience of the American West. I journeyed there in the early 1970s for the first time by car. I cannot imagine a more compelling road trip than going West by auto.

Before leaving, I discussed my trip with a close friend who vividly described what I would see. "Do you know the way you drew mountains as a kid?" He illustrated with his finger in the air a typical jagged outline. "That's what it will look like." "As you drive through Colorado, it will be flat. And suddenly, the Rockies will pop up." The whole image of a child's jagged outline and mountains popping into view was burned in my mind forever.

And it was all true. As we drove through eastern Colorado, the landscape was no different than the flats of Kansas which we had spent a day passing through. Heat waves rose from the road and landscape in a classic mirage. I squinted for hours for those Rocky Mountains, only to find an my eyes fooled in one way or another. It became very tiring. Then there appeared the faintest mountain outline, which did not disappear, but only grew in size, jagged and dramatic beyond belief.

The first night the wind howled in the trees with a certain sound only heard in the mountains. I still listen for that sound. Everything was so big and grand. Colorado was everything John Denver had promised in his song Rocky Mountain High.

We examined our maps the next morning for the steepest roads, the ones marked dangerous for what I assumed would offer the most dramatic views. We navigated the narrowest, most precipitous two lane mountain roads I have ever seen. The unobstructed views through crisp clean air were absolutely astonishing. It seemed unbelievable that motorists would even be allowed to travel such roads at altitudes over 10,000 feet - one tiny error in judgement and it was sayonara.

More remarkable was our conversation that night with two fellow campers who were Colorado residents. When we expressed our harrowing but exciting journey of the day, they only laughed as they told how they enjoyed riding at night, driving as fast as possible on the most treacherous of roads. To me, this was sheer lunacy. Not only did one have to contend with serpentine roads and hairpin turns, but also Colorado was PITCH BLACK at night - there were no street lights in those mountains. I certainly was a risk taker, but this couple was truly out of their minds.

We journeyed on through Wyoming, Oregon and California that summer in a 30-day, 10,000 mile trip. To this date, it was the longest I have been away from New York City since 1970. For the resident here, spending long periods away from the city really gives a new, fresh perspective. Returning from that trip I could see and feel its gritty, dirty and very hard character. The mountains of Manhattan were different now.

On November 5, 2007, I wrote Magic Mountain, about the American International Building: "It is famous for its motif of a snow capped mountain - the base of the building is clad in granite while the upper portion, clad in limestone, becomes lighter in color until one reaches the very top, where it is white." The upper and lower right photos are from that story. A bit of the Rockies, popping up from the canyon floor of lower Manhattan.

But the night vista from the Manhattan Bridge in today's photo was not the reason I went on a journey as a Mountain Man, high in the New York Rockies...

The Perfect Gift

In 1978, High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for The Home, written by design journalists Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin, was published. This and White By Design were two hardcover coffee table books that I frequently saw in bookstores, promised myself I would buy but never did. The raison d'etre of the Hi Tech design movement is seen as an evolution of the scientific and technical advances of the 1970s and abundance of hi tech devices in common use, leading to the appropriation of industrial and technical products in the home. The book was seminal and influential in use of the term Hi Tech - read more about it here.

As a manufacturer for many decades, I found the use of the Hi Tech products in the home to be appealing for other reasons as well - the generally superior construction and cleaner, simpler design of industrial or commercial products. Those who use products in a commercial environment typically value function over form and durability over anything else. The foolishness of saving a few dollars purchasing equipment quickly becomes apparent when having to stop the wheels of production. Someone in business simply needs products that work well and reliably. And although aesthetics does not typically drive the design of commercial equipment, it does evolve towards the simplest form and construction that does the job properly. Often, this design becomes iconic and attractive from a minimalist perspective. One example is the bullet styled garbage can in stainless steel.

Industrial elements have other appeals. Around New York City, in the outer fringes and edges, one will often find photo shoots with fashion models superimposed over gritty or industrial urban backdrops. The juxtaposition of the very disparate elements is quite effective in making the subject stand out.

All this considered, I was stunned to see the couple in today's photos under the Manhattan Bridge on a freezing cold January day. The wedding is still a rather traditional affair and this was an extremely radical departure from the ever popular New York City locales used for wedding photo shoots such as Central Park on a beautiful spring or summer day.

I wish I was friends with this couple because I have such the perfect wedding gift that I really think they would love, a set of two books - Hi Tech and White by Design :)

The Porter House

Branding existed long before it became a studied concept in business or a buzz word in the vocabulary of marketers. And rich or poor, there are many words that in and of themselves connote exclusivity, privilege, wealth and the special.

This was an explanation I have read as to why those of ordinary means often buy a very expensive gourmet food product, such as artisanal ice cream. Because at least for a brief time, they can enjoy the best of something. This certainly was the case growing up on the poor side when we would occasionally "splurge" on a food item. For my parents, this might mean a porterhouse steak, ordering "I'll take the porterhouse" as if "the" (as opposed to "a") conferred even greater scarcity or mythic status, leaving a child to wonder - was there only one porterhouse steak back in the kitchen?

I have noticed the structure atop another building in today's photo for some years now, always wondering about it raison d'être. This is the Porter House, a residential building which consists of both a conversion of an historic building and an expansion sitting atop the the historic yellow-brick building. The property abuts the Old Homestead Steakhouse in the meat packing district. From the New York Times:

The Porter House, a new condominium rising 10 stories above the rapidly changing area known both as Gansevoort Market and the meatpacking district, takes its name from the cut of steak. Completing the circle, that cut of meat had, long ago, taken its name from a type of building.

The 22-apartment luxury development on the corner of Ninth Avenue and 15th Street offers high ceilings, large layouts and asking prices of $1.1 million for the smallest two-bedroom apartments.

The lower part of the $22 million project is a careful restoration of a brick Renaissance Revival warehouse built for Julius Wile, wine importers, in 1905. Until recently the building was owned and occupied by a furniture manufacturer.

The old part of the condominium is topped with four new sleek full stories with a facade of zinc and glass that cantilevers eight feet over the top of an adjoining building, and two partial floors that wrap down on the back of the old six-story structure. The zinc panels are to be laced with vertical lights that will glow softly in the evening light.

The project will have 5 one-bedroom apartments; 13 two-bedrooms, some with studies or terraces; 3 three-bedrooms and a four-bedroom duplex with a private rooftop deck. Prices range from $735,000 for one-bedrooms to $4.15 million for the penthouse. Taxes and maintenance on a typical two-bedroom costing $1.3 million are about $2,700 a month.

The Porter House was named after the porterhouse cut of steak to link the marketing of the building to the Gansevoort Market, according to Bruce Ehrmann of Stribling Marketing Associates, which is selling the condominium units. The name of the steak, in turn, is widely attributed to porter houses, coach stops that served steak and ale in the 1800's.

Much as the restaurant patron who has saved for that dinner splurge, I'm guessing the developers were hoping that prospective buyers would be thinking, I'll take the Porter House :)

Hide and Seek, Show and Tell

There's a brilliant and frustratingly absurd Monty Python comedy sketch called Olympic Hide and Seek. One competitor is allowed to travel by any means and hide anywhere in the world while the other competitor counts to one thousand, then begins to search. Winning times are over 11 years.

Whether you are in the real world or that of Monty Python, if you are looking for hide and seek activities which are not mainstream, success is usually found in the geographical edges and neglected fringes. The balloon of conformity and mainstream behavior presses the unconventional and unaccepted into the edges, corners, fringes and remote hinterlands of the landscape.

Look at the large gay communities in the United States. Many are located in remote or isolated areas - Key West, Florida, Provincetown, Massachusetts and the West Village. Even in Fire Island (which is beautiful - see my photos here), the predominantly gay communities are located geographically out of the mainstream - Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines.

However, once an area becomes more well known as a enclave for the unconventional, hide and seek often becomes show and tell. And there is no better example than The Standard. This hotel was developed by Andre Balázs and straddles over the High Line, an elevated park created from an abandoned elevated railway, 1.45 miles long, in the west side of Manhattan (see here). The Hotel itself is located in the stretch in the far West Village near the meat packing district, what has become one of the trendiest neighborhoods in New York City.

The place became a scandal with a flurry of media coverage in July of 2009. There were reports of nudity and every manner of lewd activity displayed in the windows of the hotel including shooting of porn films and couples having sex. The exhibitionist activities were actually encouraged by the management even putting in writing on their Facebook page:

"We encourage you to exercise your inner exhibitionist," and their website asks, "Whatever you do, just make sure the shots are HOT and that you get them to us in whichever way you can. It's all about sex all the time, and you're our star."

After public and neighborhood outcry over the "peep show", the hotel removed the explicit encouragements and tried to tone things down. If this is the kind of thing you're looking for, explore the outer fringes and there is where you will find the world of Hide and Seek, Show and Tell :)