About This Blog

New Yorkers are notorious for rushing through our streets, heads down, all too often oblivious to the beauty and history of the buildings around us. This blog aims to explore some of those buildings, from the famous landmarks to unknown gems. Hopefully your interest will be piqued, and the next time you're walking down a NY street you'll take time to stop and look up.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Ornamentation

As regular readers of this blog (all two of you) know, I love the beautiful and unique architectural ornamentation on many of the old buildings in NYC.  Which is why I wanted to call your attention to two things.  The first is the Brooklyn Museum's Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden. Situated in a small area behind the museum, next to the parking lot, the garden features about a dozen beautiful architectural ornamentations that were saved from demolished buildings.








Saturday, July 2, 2011

Cunard Building

The Cunard Building at 25 Broadway is one of those imposing structures with a massive facade that when seen quickly from the street can look like any other Renaissance Revival office building.
It has all the standard features, such as arches, columns, quoins, and cornices...
But when you look closer, you'll start to see what differentiates the Cunard Building from others.
Its ornamentation (like the keystone featuring Neptune above) is all nautical.  The theme relays the business of shipping that went on inside to the passersby outside.  They are treated to images of ships, shells, compasses, mermaids and other sea creatures.