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…
Quick announcement – I’m going to be a guest on the Leonard Lopate show on NPR! I should be on the Tuesday show – I’ll post the times on Monday for anyone interested in tuning in. Now for my Friday assortment of random pictures I took during the past week. First, what can only be…
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…
Friday’s finally here, and it’s time for another wrap-up of various odds and ends from a week in scouting. First, I was checking out a rooftop in the East Village when I noticed this interesting ice formation from the drain… …which, if you look at it from the right angle, looks like a very sinister…
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…