Upper West Side Building Ornaments

 By Christian Rowe

For the last couple of days I have been exploring and studying the rowhouses and building ornaments on the Upper West Side. Row houses and apartment buildings were made mainly to house people in the middle class. Architects used materials like brownstone, limestone, brick and sometimes terracotta to construct these houses. They also used detailed designs of faces, plants and animals carved into the buildings’ facades (called ornaments) to decorate them. Most of the buildings I visited were constructed around the 1880s.

Some of the ornaments were not in the best condition and needed restoration work while others were in great condition.

The left ornaments are broken, the right ones are in one piece.

 The first house I saw at 200 West 98^th Street had Greek-looking faces on the facade of the building. The faces along the left side of the rowhouse were broken and need to be restored but the faces on the right side were in one piece and just in need of a cleaning. Another ornament I saw at 46 West 90th Street really stood out to me. The designs on that building are little birds on a branch eating berries off a tree. I found this interesting because walking through Central Park I saw a similar bird eating berries the same way. I wonder if the architect drew inspiration from Central Park because the scene and the design looked very similar.

Inspired by nature

A detailed Bucranium (Latin for "Bull's Skull")

 The most unique design I saw on my journey was the Cliff Dwelling. This apartment building features ornaments of cow skulls and Aztec masks. This building gives me a sort of Mexican vibe. Also the building is in a triangular cut. The architects apparently used a Pueblo Deco style of architecture.

Aztec mask

Aztec mask protected by wild cats

 In an old LANDMARK WEST! newsletter published in 1996, architectural historian Kathleen Randall makes a very good point on the inspiration for these designs on the buildings. After reading her article in the newsletter I came to the understanding that she feels the faces on many of the ornaments reflect the anxiety of the decades following the Civil War. I agree with Ms. Randall because during this time there was sort of a gloomy mood going around because of all the corruption going on in the city. This journey was really a learning experience for me to find out more history about one specific building type in this great and lovely neighborhood -the Upper West Side.

Why so serious?

A Night on the John J. Harvey

By Christian Rowe

On July 16, 2014, LANDMARK WEST! hosted a summer evening trip down the Hudson River on the retired historic Fireboat John J.Harvey. Built in 1931, the John J. Harvey was the first large modern fireboat built in America. Every fireboat before her was powered by steam. The Harvey has five 600 HP diesel engines. The boat has the power of 20 fire trucks and is capable of pumping 18,000 gallons of water per minute! Although the boat was retired in 1994, on September 11^th, 2001, it was put to service evacuating lower Manhattan and pumping water to put out fires. Today, the boat cruises the Hudson doing tours for school kids and showing off her beauty.

Tharrrrrr She Blows!!!

During the ride on this awesome boat I was given a tour of the engine room, which was very cluttered because of all the equipment. The five diesel engines were completely visible, and the room felt like a furnace. The water for the fire hoses was pumped from the river into huge vacuum cylinders. When I went up to the captain's cabin I saw the radar and the GPS. The radar shows you moving boats and the surrounding land. The GPS tells you the water’s depth. This was an amazing experience because before my internship at LANDMARK WEST! I never heard of this boat and thanks to them I took a ride on it. To all my fellow New Yorkers go visit the Double J. Harvey! You will love it!

 

The captain's cabin on the John J. Harvey

Exploring the Landmark Bridges of Central Park

by Christian Rowe

On my Central Park exploration today, I noticed things that I would not have paid much attention to before beginning my summer internship with LANDMARK WEST! The first thing I noticed was that when you enter the park at 77th Street you walk over a beautiful double arch bridge – and you don't even realize it. The designers of the park strategically used nature to disguise man-made structures throughout the park. I also discovered that the more you walk through the park the more the scenery changes. The way Central Park was designed, every few steps reveal something new to see while other features disappear or reappear in different positions. To test this idea, I stood still and take it all in and then took five steps in any direction to see what happened – the scene definitely changed.

When you enter the park at 77th Street you walk over a beautiful double arch bridge – and you don't even realize it!

The location for Central Park was chosen by the city because its natural topography was too rocky to build houses on. One of the reasons why the city decided to build a park may have been  because we had something to prove to Europeans who thought we only cared for our individual selves instead of the greater public. The park was originally going to be smaller, but the land was too rocky to end the park at 106th Street so they extended it to 110th Street. The designers of the park were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux who won a contest with their design. They had the winning design because theirs was the most naturalistic and asymmetrical, which was the style of landscape design that everyone wanted in the 1850s.

The Ramble Arch has gaps on the sides so it looks like some rocks fell off over time, but at the same time the gaps give you a clear view when you look over the edge.

After crossing the bridge at 77th Street we walked to the Ramble, which is a part of Central Park where the forestation gets really thick – it’s easy to get lost in there. Once again the Ramble Arch was completely hidden until we were standing on top of it. From the top the Ramble Arch looks like a natural rock bridge (besides its concrete floor). It has gaps on the sides so it looks like some rocks fell off over time, but at the same time the gaps give you a clear view when you look over the edge. Looking at the Ramble Arch straight on, it sort of looks like you are entering an ancient ruin in the jungle.

Looking at the Ramble Arch straight on, it sort of looks like you are entering an ancient ruin in the jungle.

My favorite bridge in the park that I visited today was the Balcony Bridge because it looks so peaceful. Aside from the skyline and the people rowing boats you get the feel of being on a rock looking out at a flowing river separating two parts of the jungle. Here at Landmark West! we enjoy the privilege of having Central Park in our city   – you should too!

My favorite bridge in the park that I visited today was the Balcony Bridge because it looks so peaceful.