You probably know 570 Lexington as the skyscraper behind St. Bart’s Church: a towering 50-story behemoth of salmon brick, clearly affirming the Art Deco maxim of signifying power through simplicity. Originally built for RCA-Victor, it later became the G.E. building, and was ultimately donated to Columbia University during tough economic times. I’ve walked past the…
I was walking down West 46th Street in Hell’s Kitchen recently when I noticed a break in the buildings… Most of the time, this sort of thing just turns out to be just a nook where residents pile garbage…But as I looked closer… I noticed something peeking out in the back: what looked like a…
Whenever I see a sign like the one below hanging outside of an abandoned property, I immediately feel an intense desire to get inside. When such a sign is hanging outside a hotel built in the early 1900’s in Southern California that has been boarded up since 1939, that urge goes through the roof. Let…
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…
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……