When it was completed in 1909, the original Met-Life headquarters at 5 Madison Ave was the tallest building in the world. (thanks for sharing the pic, edenpictures!) Though it lost the title in 1913 to the Woolworth, the Clocktower Building has been an integral part of the Manhattan skyline ever since. Personally, it’s my favorite…
Note: This exhibition is now over. There’s a really great new art installation in and around Madison Square Park… …which serves as a reminder that you should stop worrying about looking like a tourist… …and look up once in a while. Antony Gormley’s installation Event Horizon hit the media this past week, as news outlets…
I took this picture of Herald Square (6th Ave btw. 34th & 35th) this morning at about 6:45. A second later, I took the following picture. See if you can pick out the difference. Hint: the change is only a few pixels in size. If you noticed it, no, you’re not going crazy. Let’s get…
Pell Street is one of those iconic Chinatown blocks that filmmakers love to shoot on. Short and narrow, lined with brick apartment buildings, small storefronts, and an abundance of awnings and flags, the abrupt end at Mott Street gives it a sense of intimacy. While Pell Street is certainly one of Chinatown’s most iconic, one…
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…
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…