As Forgotten NY fans know, I wander the streets with a camera, seeking out bits of unusual infrastructure. I was snooping around Carroll Gardens and Gowanus recently when I spotted a curbside weathervane, mounted high on a curbside cylindrical pole, somewhat taller than the adjoining midblock lamppost, on #353 Court Street between Union Street and President.
I have to admit, after all these years I don’t know how to read a weathervane. Here the arrow is pointing west. Does that mean the wind is blowing from the east?
The pole is there on the oldest Street View image of the block in 2009. My theory is that it was originally a flagpole that someone stuck a weathervane on some time later.
Any area residents know what’s going on?
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6/3/25
9 comments
Yes, the rope at the top of the pole, going through a pulley would indicate a flagpole. The placement of a weathervane on top of a flagpole is highly unusual, as it is not an effective placement. By its nature, the top of a flagpole will sway as the flapping flag will pull it in different directions. A weathervane needs a solid base so that the vane will smoothly pivot to point into the wind. (The arrow shows the direction from which the wind is coming.) Also, the building is higher and very close to the weathervane, thus blocking the natural flow of wind. It is highly unlikely that this weathervane is providing any true reading.
They point in the direction the wind is coming from. The larger tail ensures it is downwind. Wind direction nomenclature also gives the direction from which it is coming. An “east wind” is blowing from east to west. A Nor’easter comes from the northeast, etc.
A weathervane should point in the direction the wind is coming from, although with the point bent like this one is, where it points is anyone’s guess.
The arrow points at the direction of the wind. If you look in the direction of the arrow, the wind will be in your face.
A weathervane points into the wind, so, if it points west, the wind is from the west.
You are correct. Whatever the direction the arrow is pointing is the direction that the wind is blowing from. However the building in this case will block a wind blowing from the east and have little or no effect on the vane. Unless a vane is clear of any obstacles, it is rendered inadequate.
The arrow will point towards the direction that the wind is blowing FROM. Thus, in your example, the wind is blowing from the west.
Lived in this area since 2002. This is the first it’s been brought to my attention. I will ask around. And yes, the arrow points into the wind.
Normally when I think about seeing a weathervane, I usually think about farms, because they are usually on top of barns.