A Tree with…Fingers?

First Ave. between 15th and 16th

While walking down First Ave. to get a bagel for brunch last Saturday, I noticed that a tree on the sidewalk had something white and stubby on it. Since it drew my attention, I went up to the tree to get a closer look and I realized it was a small ceramic or clay finger.

wtf?

Since I was just running a quick errand, I didn’t have my camera on me, so I went back to that spot yesterday to snap some pics. To my surprise, there was another finger. I just think it is the strangest thing. Also, since these fingers have long fingernails, they look slightly eery and creepy. I really want to know who put them there and more importantly, why? Is there any artistic significance or is this just a harmless prank? I wonder if there will be any more fingers popping up on trees in the city.

the second finger to pop up

Animals of the Urban Jungle

Lately I’ve been noticing that some buildings in the city have animals on them. Interestingly, they are not the kinds of animals–squirrels, rats, pigeons– that one usually associates with New York City. Instead, I’ve stumbled upon a pig, three horses and a dachshund!

192 Second Ave on 12th St has a painting of a pig enclosed in a yellow circle on both the West and South side of the building. The style of the painting reminds me of the Brontosaurus just a few blocks away on 13th and 3rd. Maybe they were both painted by the same artist?

I found this horse on its hind legs in the Lower East Side. Although it looks like a painting, it’s actually a separate piece and was installed onto the building.

There is a mounted wreathed white horse that is part of the outside decor of Paddy Maguire’s Ale House. The bar features a mounted horse since the owner, Patrick Maguire, is a former jockey.

Only a few blocks away, there is another mounted horse on the facade of what appears to be a private residence on 20th St between 2nd and 3rd. The house itself looks as though it may have been a carriage house at one point. Perhaps, the mounted horse is a remnant of the house’s history.

a closer look

Last but not least is this cute graffiti of a dachshund on Ave A. Please note the awesome graffiti proclaiming “you go girl” directly underneath it.

Dinosaurs in Manhattan!

While walking around the city this week, I stumbled across not one but two dinosaurs! Ok, so they obviously weren’t actual dinosaurs and no, I was not at the Museum of Natural History . Instead, they were on buildings.

On Ave A. and 12th St., I stumbled upon some graffiti of a  Tyrannosaurus Rex with “NYC eats its young” written next to it. Initially, I assumed it was a comment on the hypercompetitive, “dog eat dog” world of the city, but then I was shopping in Urban Outfitters and saw the same sentence on this  shirt. My gut told me it wasn’t just a coincidence so I did some googling and evidently, one of the characters  on the HBO show How to Make It in America wears the same t-shirt. So, the graffiti might be some sort of promo for the show or maybe the graffiti artist is simply an avid fan of the show.

The other dinosaur I stumbled upon was on the north wall of a building on 13th and 3rd. My knowledge of dinosaurs is limited but I believe this is a Brontasaurus. As you can see, this is a mural and not graffiti so it was probably commissioned. I have absolutely no idea what it is doing on top of the building for the furniture store Gothic Cabinet Craft but either way, I like it.

All This Building’s Saying Is Give Peace a Chance

This unique building with “PEACE” painted on the facade is located at 166 Avenue A between 10th and 11th Street. At first you may not even notice that it says “peace,” since the artist used stencil imagery and reduced the letters to their basic geometric shapes. I like that he used this particular style since it is not as obvious and forces you to really look at the building.

I was curious about the building itself so I did some investigating and discovered that the building  is the home of Dutch artist Anton van Dalen.

Also, the facade is not the only interesting thing about this building. If you look closely, you’ll notice a blue and yellow  structure on the roof. Initially I thought it was a flag, but it is actually a coop where van Dalen raises pigeons. According to a Daily News article, he has been raising pigeons for over 25 years and his coop may be the only one left in Manhattan! Also, these are not just ordinary pigeons, they have been trained to fly especially long distances.

I had no idea such an interesting and eccentric person lived only a few blocks away from me. Also, since the East Village has become gentrified in recent years, it is refreshing to see a remnant of the East Village’s history as a thriving artistic community.

Not Your Typical Townhouse

For the most part, 29th Street between 2nd and 3rd is a typical block in the concrete jungle. There are modern apartment buildings, bars and restaurants, but one structure sticks out like a sore thumb. Smack dab in the middle of this block is a wooden clapboard farmhouse with an adjoining brick carriage house.

I absolutely adore this house; it’s so quaint and rural. I feel like living in that house would be such a nice respite from the busy city. I also love how the house recalls some of New York City’s history. I can’t help but wonder what it looks like on the inside but since its privately owned, there’s no way to get a good  look.

This house dates back to the nineteenth-century and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

a plaque indicating its status as a Historic Place

A building like 203 East 29th Street is a rare site in New York City because the construction of wood frame buildings was prohibited by a city law in 1866. There are only a handful in the city and most are further downtown in Greenwich Village. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for these houses in the future.

Here’s  a New York Times article that discusses the building’s history a bit more.

Rooftop “House” on 13th and 3rd

I first noticed Kiehl’s interesting rooftop a few years ago and ever since, I always gaze up a look at the roof and wonder what it’s like up there. I always assumed it was some lucky person’s really cool  apartment but my dreams of real estate heaven were squashed by Time Out New York the other week!

These little wooden “houses” are actually just boiler rooms and roof access stairwells for the buildings three penthouses. While the rooftop “houses” were disappointing, this street corner does have an interesting history. This street corner is known as “Pear Tree Corner” for a pear tree Peter Stuyvesant, first governor of New York (then New Amsterdam), planted there in 1647. Unfortunately, a wagon collision  made the tree collapse in 1857 but in November 2003, Kiehl’s replanted a pear tree in its spot.

the new pear tree

Check out the article from Time Out New York here!

plaque commemorating the street corner's history as "Pear Tree Corner"

Cow Crossing on 12th Street

I stumbled upon this beautifully painted bovine on 12th St between Second Ave and Third Ave. The sculpture is on display in a townhouse’s “front yard”. Some of you may recognize the sculpture as being from CowParade. CowParade an international public art event that has taken places in major cities throughout the world. The cows are painted by local artists, both amateur and professional and are put on display throughout the city. The cows are then auctioned off for charity. The CowParade came to New York City in 2000 and there were 450 cows in the city!

a closer look through the gates

I think it’s so cool that someone has this on display in their yard and it’s great that the owners are sharing this work of art with passers-by.

Check out CowParade’s website here!

23rd and Fourth Ave?

I’m sure many of you are probably saying to yourselves, “Fourth Ave? There’s no Fourth Ave.” Well, actually there is. It is a slightly curved avenue that only runs from Cooper Square up to Union Square. Fourth Avenue used to run much further uptown, but in 1959 the New York City Council voted to change the avenue’s name to Park Ave. South from 17th St. to 32nd St. Since this building was building was likely built before the name change, its sign reflects the avenue’s old name.

This seemingly out of place sign was not the only strange thing I noticed about this building. When I looked up, I noticed the building had some unusual reliefs. I’ve seen putti and cherubs on buildings all over the city but putti/cherubs are male and have wings since they are angels. The sculptural relief here looks more like a porcelain doll than an angel. Although the sculpture appears more feminine to me, just because the sculpture is wearing a dress does not mean that the figure is female. Up until the early 20th century young boys wore dresses or gowns until they were “breeched.”
I’m going to try to do some research on the building and find out about the architect. I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting!

Spring is Here!

This winter was without a doubt long and miserable, so today’s 70 degree weather was much appreciated. I saw lots of people hanging out enjoying the warm weather on their rooftops. While sitting on the ledge of the roof is definitely dangerous, I can’t help but envy their unique view of First Ave. I just hope this warm weather sticks around. March is one of my least favorite months because it’s usually such a tease. It’s sunshine and shorts one day and then a few days later, it snows. Still, I think it’s safe to say that winter is officially OVER.

Strange Playground Name

This small playground is east of my neighborhood of Stuyvesant Town on around 17^th St and Ave C. Around the neighborhood, this playground is known simply as Murphy Park so I was surprised when I walked past it the other day and realized that its proper name is actually the strange and unusual Murphy’s Brother’s Park.

I couldn’t help but wonder how the playground got such a strange name. Was the naming of this playground the result of some sort of sibling prank? After all, who wants to be known just as someone’s brother? If I had a park named after me, you can be sure I’d want my first, middle and last name on that sign. Who knows, maybe I’d even add in my confirmation name. I would want it to be absolutely crystal clear who the park was named after.

According to the New York Department of Parks and Recreation’s website, the park was originally name Murphy Park in 1921 for politician and businessman, John J. Murphy. While a successful politician and businessman, most of his accomplishments were a result of his brother, Charles  “Silent Charlie” Francis Murphy, the head of the Tammany Hall. If any of you readers are classic movie fans, the character of Jim Gettys in Citizen Kane is actually based on Silent Charlie so he was obviously a pretty big deal.

In 1985, Murphy Park then underwent a name change to honor Silent Charlie. It’s nice that they changed the name to acknowledge him but I don’t understand why they didn’t just rename it “Charles Frances Murphy Park” or “Silent Charlie Park?” I couldn’t find any information on why he was called Silent Charlie but perhaps he was a more modest, behind-the-scenes kind of guy so the ambiguous name reflects his humble personality.