In Plain Sight

  • Decapitation at the Ziegfeld

    Decapitation at the Ziegfeld

    If you go to the brownstone at 52 East 80th Street between Madison & Park… …you’ll see the decapitated limestone head of a Greco-Roman goddess in the front yard next to some trash barrels (gives you some perspective on its size). What does this sculpture have to do with New York’s incredible Ziegfeld Theater? This…

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  • The Last Phone Booth In New York City

    The Last Phone Booth In New York City

    There are only four outdoor phone booths left in Manhattan – and they’re all on West End Avenue. That’s it: four. This one is at 101st Street: This is at the corner of 100th Street: This tree-shrouded booth can be found at the corner of 90th Street. Finally, this is at 66th Street. And that’s…

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  • The Hungry Gargoyles of 110th Street

    The Hungry Gargoyles of 110th Street

    One of my favorite buildings in Morningside Heights is the Britannia at 527 West 110th Street. The building, built in 1909, is divided into two wings and features two rows of fantastic gargoyles below the second floor balconies: What makes this building particularly great is how low the gargoyles are to the ground. At only…

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  • Remnants of the Old W-burg Shopping Districts

    Remnants of the Old W-burg Shopping Districts

    I love seeing these signs gracing lamp poles in the North Williamsburg area because, to my understanding, they were put up long before the area went through its current day gentrification.  Sort of like if you put in shopping district signs, maybe a shopping district will follow? But North Williamsburg is not the only neighborhood…

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