DURING the summer, I walked many of lower Manhattan’s streets lengthwise from end to end, such as Barclay, Park Place, Murray, Warren, Duane. I have held the photos in reserve for when I need quick posts but don’t have much material on hand, and will probably be posting pages on these walks if the winter is anything like 2025-2026 (freezing and slippery) and I’m indoors for weeks. Walking on Barclay, though, I spotted some items so wacky I just had to proceed and show them now.
There’s a true skyscraper at West Broadway and Barclay, the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, located in the 82-story tower built as #27 Barclay in 2016, and proceeding through to Park Place. It’s across the street from St. Peter’s, the oldest Catholic parish in Manhattan (founded 1785, present building 1836).
When #27 Barclay was built, a walkway was vouchsafed to the public with seats and sculptures, no doubt more populated on a weekday than it was when I stumbled on it on a Sunday. I was immediately arrested by the sight of these gangly, guy-wired lampposts that look like NYC’s thick-trunked guy-wired stoplights after a bender. They appear to be allied species, like the okapi to the giraffe. I don’t know if the mastarms are movable, or if the lamps in the lantern-like fixtures are LED or sodium powered.
I really should pay more attention to the lamps that light semiprivate sitting areas, like this one.
Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
9/2/26