It’s one of those archetypal New York scenes: a squat, three-story building dwarfed on all sides by towering skyscrapers, the little building that could. Except, this little building happens to house a sex shop. Or at least, it did. I shot pictures of this beautiful art nouveau building at 38th Street & 8th Ave with…
Just wanted to share a building with you that really made my day while out scouting recently. I was searching around the elevated JMZ train in Bushwick recently, and happened to turn down Belvidere Street. Mainly lined with ugly, aluminum siding-clad squat buildings, one structure in particular seemed completely out of place on the street……
Chances are, when looking at the Chanin Building at the corner of 42nd and Lex… (picture credits: Emilio Guerra) …You’ve probably noticed the incredible friezes running the perimeter of the building, both in terra-cotta and bronze: (picture credits: Emilio Guerra) If you’ve never seen them, I highly recommend taking a moment to stare next time…
It might come as a surprise, but Manhattan has beaches. Yes, they’re small, often submerged at high tide, and you’d be crazy to go swimming in the water, but they’re still beaches. And there are more than you’d think. I’m a huge fan of any property in Manhattan that goes unused or ignored, or at…
There really isn’t any better way to describe it: look at the building on Water Street between Beekman & Peck Slip… And you’ll see a rooftop structure that can only be described as cruise ship-inspired architecture: The addition is appropriate to the building when you learn it is home to the Seamen’s Church Institute of…
Nothing annoys me more than scouting New York for an Ext. Dank Alley scene. For some reason (probably because of the movies!), everyone thinks of Manhattan as a city riddled with dark, grungy, dilapidated, smokey alleys that New Yorkers are constantly walking down and getting themselves into trouble in. The truth is, of course, that…
In keeping with yesterday’s theme of streets in New York that have an other-worldly feel to them, I have to mention a favorite place on West 53rd Street that always reminds me of my travels to the dusty southwest… …This church, a really neat adobe mission-style building nestled in amongst the brick apartment buildings and…
I love streets in New York that make you feel as far from the city as possible. Obvious examples include Washington Mews and Pomander Walk, but a third less noted example is one of my favorites: Centre Market Place in Nolita. Here, hidden in the shadow of the beautiful Police Building, a row of townhouses…
Note: this has since been removed. I was driving along Vernon Blvd in Queens when I spotted something you don’t usually see under the 59th Street Bridge… A bicycle garden! Or, to be specific, a row of flowers made out of old bike parts: Very inventive stuff – check out this sunflower… The group responsible…
I’ve been scouting midtown office spaces recently, many of which have had some pretty great views of the city like the one below. I’m a big fan of buildings with ornamentation that is essentially invisible from the street, and I happened to notice something neat on the roof of the building at 108 East 38th…