Right before Christmas, I was scouting up along Grand Concourse in the Bronx near 166th Street, where you find a whole bunch of art deco apartment buildings…
They’re all pretty neat, but one in particular caught my eye for a small detail I nearly walked right past…
Surrounding the entrance, beneath a stainless steel awning…
…A beautiful mosiac aquarium!
I stopped for a moment to take it in – I love the whimsical design and pops of color…
So much detail in this guy’s face…
Aquatic plantlife is also on display…
As I was taking pictures, someone told me I should check out the lobby. Intrigued, I went in the entrance hallway…
…and found myself standing in an absolutely stunning Art Deco masterpiece:
Seriously, how great is this??
As it turns out, 1150 Grand Concourse, popularly known as the “fish building” for its mosaic, is widely regarded as one of Grand Concourse’s art deco gems:
Built in 1937, the red, green, and gold terrazzo floor is particular stunning:
Really neat wall ornamentation:
Two murals by Rene and CP Graves adorn the walls, both sadly faded (I adjusted the photos to better make them out):
The second, following in the aquatic theme:
Entrance to apartments:
The elevators:
Finally, two rearlit floral stained glass windows adorn the walls near the entrance:
Ha, wow – I had NO idea this existed. A great reminder for the New Year that no matter how much of New York City you think you’ve seen, there’s always something amazing waiting to be discovered.
-SCOUT
PS – A few additional close-ups of the mosaic:
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