I wish I knew how to read an armillary. Its four intersecting hoops were teaching tools that illustrated the geocentric universe. With a model of Earth at their center, the various angled rings represented important cosmic coordinates where one might track the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets in the sky. The globe is tilted at the same 23-degree angle the Earth has as it circles the sun, along with a pair of rings embossed with signs of the zodiac. On sunny days, shadows fall on the embossed Roman numerals to indicate time of day. The local youth has removed the Pisces symbol but we must be grateful that further desecration has not been carried out to date.
The armillary is located at the north end of the Brooklyn Promenade at Columbia Heights and Orange Street. A similar, more ornate armillary can be found in Manhattan at Clara Coffey Park at Sutton Place South and East 53rd Street. Unlike the Sutton Place armillary I do not know the artisan here.
I created the Brooklyn Promenade page in January 2019 when reconstruction of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway seemed imminent. In true NYC fashion, no agreement has yet been arrived at what kind of reconstruction there should be; some groups want to eliminate it completely, but in that case it’s unclear where the busy truck traffic that uses it would be relocated to.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop. As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
4/6/25
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We locals think of the Promenade as the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I have a tiny copy of this which I bought at the Greenwich Observatory in London. I’m sharing this article/link with numerous locals and local news sources!