vip in the city

Remember me to Herald Square

Passing through a drizzle-slicked Herald Square while running errands this evening…

This small, trapezoidal park was named for The New York Herald newspaper, which had its offices and plant one block north. Those headquarters were built by McKim, Mead & White in 1894; eventually, the building was demolished, and The Herald was sold to the owners of the New York Tribune. Not all Herald memorabilia was transferred to the new owners, however: the clock and bronze statuary – the 10-foot figure of Minerva and 7-foot bellringers Gog and Magog (a.k.a. “Stuff and Guff,” who knew?) — which had adorned the roof of the Herald building, were gifted to New York University. The school lent them in perpetuity to the city for the clock monument at Herald Square, designed by Aymar Embury II in 1940, where they have remained ever since, ringing in the hours on the James Gordon Bennett Monument’s bell.

The park underwent a $1 million restoration several years ago and reopened in 2000. Last September, a newly pristine Stuff and Guff emerged, burnished and restored under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society, the Parks Department, the Art Commission of the City of New York and the 34th Street Partnership.

Tags: Herald Square, statues

One man’s trash

Also at the Columbus Avenue flea market, I came across these “historical diggers,” who scavenge painstakingly through construction sites to unearth detritus of a forgotten New York. On display today, their collection of glass bottles, several of which date to the early 19th century:

Tags: antiques, flea market

Christmas 2007

Ah, the WPIX Yule Log: as a girl growing up in New York City (where the program ran for 23 consecutive years, beginning in 1967) I remember opening presents on Christmas morning, before the orange glow of this six and a half minute video loop of a log burning in a fireplace, as a soundtrack of holiday classics played in the background. For a few of those years, our family television actually sat alongside the real-life working fireplace, which in retrospect, seems very odd indeed.

Eventually, WPIX became the WB which became the CW, and the Yule Log fell by the wayside as one of those anachronisms of a hokier time. But it’s back by popular demand, and in 2003, the station even upgraded to a High Definition version.

This one’s all old school, though:

I’ll be back blogging after the holiday, offering a highlight reel of this past month, in my attempt to launch 2008 with some semblance of timeliness. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Tags: Christmas, WPIX, Yule Log