If you look above the doorway of the Trinity Building at 111 Broadway… You’ll see this row of faces staring down on you… Well, all except for one. Can anyone explain why this woman has her face covered in such an odd way? The Trinity Building, along with its sister building at 117, are two…
You never really think of Broadway having a beginning or ending. It’s the oldest north-south thoroughfare in NYC, and is derived from a Native American trail, the Wickquasgeck, which once carved through the swamps and rocks of the island. The avenue passes through so many important hubs of New York life that the idea of…
One of my favorite public art pieces in New York City is probably familiar to anyone who has ever waited in line for the Liberty Island Ferry. Located on the west side of Battery Park, the American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial is a haunting tribute to commercial seamen who lost their lives, for whatever reason, on…
I really dig the motif on this building, The Umbria, at 82nd St and West End Ave… …which I choose to describe as Evil Jester design. I like how the crooked nose sticks way out, and how it feels like you could actually put your hand in his mouth. Is that wolf part of his…
I was walking on West 77th Street when I saw it, poking through the trees…Something that seemed out of place… I climbed up the steps of a brownstone and got the best view I could. Is this another of the mysterious Manhattan rooftop houses? This glass-covered house isn’t on 77th Street…but it isn’t on 78th…
I was scouting around the West 70’s over by Riverside Drive when I saw this really, really interesting building ornamented in an incredible dragon motif (map link): It’s literally covered in dragons, starting with these lining the balcony, each with its own shield: These two look like they’re sharing a joke: Then, beautifully nestled in…
The cool thing about the Lamb’s Theater (currently under renovation) on West 44th Street in Times Square? The row of fairly unnoticeable lamb skulls lining the exterior. Sort of a weird building motif, especially for family-friendly Times Square, no? -SCOUT
Someone emailed me a couple weeks back that there was a man jumping off a ledge on West 23rd btw. 8th & 9th. It took me a while to finally get around to checking it out, but luckily, the man is still in the process of jumping: I believe this is some sort of art…
This building, 9 East 10th Street (once the home of author Dawn Powell), features a really, really neat building number sign. It’s beautifully ornate, especially on this otherwise unremarkable building. I love the African theme, sort of feels like it should be on the outside of a safari club (note: commenters are saying this is…
I was walking south down Broadway from 34th Street today when I saw this pretty amazing temple perched on top of a building at the corner of 28th Street: See it, jutting out from the left hand corner? It’d be sort of boring if it was just a building motif that spanned the entire top…